“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
Two Horses
Unknown
Submitted By Johanna
Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing. If nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her halter is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her. As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray. When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell. Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need. Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see. Good friends are like this ..........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there. Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
You…Who Hung the Stars
By Regina
If I had to pick a moment in time
In which I first heard your call
My thoughts go back to a night long ago
And a song… called El Shaddai.
Its words filtered through my mind
And I could not hold back my tears
I think my heart knew even then
That to You it would consign.
Though it took years to find the door
And the path of Your will for me
With each step You brought me closer
Until I searched for truth no more.
In looking back I see
At least I think I understand…
Just why it took me so long
To fully grasp Your loving hand.
A calling that came through song
And some years spent on a quest
Before I could learn what was right
I had to experience what was wrong.
As I ponder this thought further still
It’s the same for all of Your creation
A lesson involving time to learn
And alignment to Your will.
To know You is to love all that You are
And to want to know much more
To know You such a blessing
You…who hung the stars.
Inspired Writings
Avoidance of Seduction
Mark 4:19 -- but the worries of this age, the seduction of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Matthew 13:22 -- Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
One of the large teachings in scripture is to avoid the love of material things and of money. This is actually an aspect of the Way, and is intertwined directly with the avoidance of greed and selfish ambitions. For example:
Colossians 3:5 -- Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.
In that way, seduction can come in multiple forms, all of which can be very dangerous, and only lead down to death.
Proverbs 6:26 -- For a prostitute's fee is only a loaf of bread, but an adulteress goes after [your] very life.
It was actually an interesting footnote for the first phrase of the above proverb is the following: Or On account of a prostitute, [one is left with] only a loaf of bread
Now, if one puts together all the forms of seduction that must be avoided because the seduction only leads to death, oneself may find the following scripture concerning Babylon in Revelation:
Revelation 17:5 -- On her forehead a cryptic name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE VILE THINGS OF THE EARTH
If oneself is not careful with what is within their heart, the desire for the world may take over the desire for Father. It may be thought that perhaps abstaining from everything from the world may help oneself avoid seduction, yet, in a way, that can be very cowardly, too.
Colossians 2:23 -- Although these have a reputation of wisdom by promoting ascetic practices, humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value against fleshly indulgence.
It would actually take courage to accept that Father has created oneself with specific aspects, such as a stomach and other body parts that require specific nutrients to continue in the way Father has created them, rather than to reject them in order to try to avoid the incorrect usage of them. A person whose body shows a need for the consumption of the nutrients that come from chocolate, like antioxidants, is different from the consumption of chocolates to satisfy an unhealthy desire for pleasure. At the same time, however, it would be manipulative to oneself to think that oneself needs a specific food but then eats copious amounts of it. In a way, as well, the stomach may only feel full after the stomach is settled, so as to practice another aspect of Father's Way, which is to be content with what one has at that time.
Proverbs 11:26 -- People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it.
And in a slight further expansion of the above proverb:
Leviticus 25:37 -- You are not to lend him your silver with interest or sell [him] your food for profit.
Although the above is only a part of a larger section concerning a poor brother, and to treat them as a foreign resident, it still is quite a lesson to consider. Even if one's brother is rich, lending with interest is like asking for something in return, and that can be much like what Christ spoke of here:
Matthew 6:5 -- "Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They've got their reward!”
So, returning to the topic of diverting away from seduction, it is important to realize that evil will attempt to use one's own desires against them, and to try to keep oneself away from Father's love.
Genesis 4:7 -- If you do right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.
Instead of allowing evil desire to drive oneself, allowing good desire to flourish for Father would produce good fruits. Such fruits should be protected for Father, and surely, Father would help to protect Her children. Just some items to keep in mind as events continue to unfold. Evil may seemingly offer a temporary reprieve from one's pains, but that would be like asking evil to hold back Father's rebuke, which is given in love. Rather, wait patiently for Father's rescue, as Father fulfills Her Word.
Hebrews 6:15 -- And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.
Nourishment From The Throne
“For the LORD gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6
Cherubic Commander: "This is the plan prepared for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all the nations."
"The LORD of Hosts Himself has planned it; therefore, who can stand in its way? It is His hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back?"
Where were those two Scriptures taken from?
Early on when Father first sought to use the Jehovah's Witnesses to make Her Truth known, Satan infiltrated and spawned off with a similar group that originated within the International Bible Students Association from which the Jehovah's Witnesses were also formed. Note whose name they use to signify their organization.
http://www.dawnbible.com/index.html
http://www.dawnbible.com/content.htm
http://www.dawnbible.com/dawn.htm
http://www.dawnbible.com/booklets/grace.htm
Note how similar they are to the Jehovah's Witnesses teachings.
One point they differ on with the JW's who reject blood transfusions. There are other points of difference, but much of what they teach is in union with the JW's.
"Thus we see that there is no similarity at all between the ancient custom of drinking blood, which was forbidden by the Lord, and the modern science of blood transfusion. There-fore, only by being definitely misapplied can the Scriptures be construed to forbid deriving benefit from this very humane application of medical science. No one should permit such a flagrant misapplication of God’s commands to deter him from receiving the benefits of blood transfusion through fear of disobeying God and of being sentenced to the “second death.”
Satan's intent was and is, to be similar, but not a carbon copy. Neither teach the true concept of Father's Word. Satan never intended to, and the JW's missed the mark by relying on their own understanding instead of seeking Father's spiritual nourishment.
Jeshaiah: They did not focus on Father's greatest commandment and the second one like it as they attempted to piece together Father's Great Jigsaw, and turned aside towards piecing together other aspects of scripture that weren't focused directly towards Father.
In turn, they unwittingly and possibly unknowingly became instruments to Satan in trying to decipher the scriptures and prophecies so as to aid the evil and rebellious side of the war.
Regina: I would agree, bro. I was pondering this tonight and the visual that came to mind led me to think about how so many religious organizations seem to have focused on the wrong things, which in turn caused confusion, which led to chaos - which is so not Father. And having heard many of the messages of religious organizations today, I guess that many lean on their own understanding, or pick and choose what they want to agree with and promote to their congregations because they may not like or agree with the true message or they change it to suit their own thoughts or motives, rather than doing what Father wishes - so in essence like you said, their focus isn't directly towards Father.
It's almost as if they were working on a puzzle and fit in a piece that wasn't meant to be matched up with the other. (Like with the falsehood of the trinity - which nobody REALLY understands, but accept as truth anyway) And rather than taking the time to find the correct piece, forced it into place where it didn't belong. When this is done with one piece, it's a small mistake. But because the first piece wasn't properly in place, as you continue with the puzzle the mistake grows larger and larger still until eventually the entire puzzle is a mess and can't be completed.
It's just occurred to me that building a puzzle is actually one pastime that requires perfection...
Father's perfection is seen in Her creation. Everything works perfectly together and in harmony with one another in the human body and in nature. So, it would stand to reason that perfection is also required in putting the pieces of the puzzle together and coming to a complete understanding of The Word and Father's nature. There really is no room for error because the error compounds if not gone back and corrected right away.
I experienced an example of this past week when I attended Belinda's funeral. The pastor was speaking of Christ's return. And at one point he said (I'm paraphrasing) "Christ said In my Father's house there are many mansions...and in some translations houses, or rooms...and I'm going away to prepare a place for you."
Well what came to mind when I heard him say that was that there is only ONE accurate and truthful translation. Whether it be dwelling places, rooms, mansions or houses... only one of those is accurate and true. A dwelling place can be different from a room, a house differs from a mansion, so it matters which word you use because the meaning of the word holds symbolism, so you can't just use any word, you have to use the right word in the same way that you have to use the right puzzle piece to connect the other pieces of the puzzle.
That's just one of the reasons why it's so important to always be looking to Father for guidance in order to cut through the fog of confusion that Dawn attempts to create, making it harder to find Father and Her truth. I've personally experienced many times, Yahweh's Spirit will help you find the piece that fits perfectly and brings knowledge, understanding and wisdom. And...if you're having trouble finding the piece you don't have to force another one in it's place, because you know if you're just patient and wait, She will help you find it eventually, when She feels the time is right.
Signs From Above
“He rescues and delivers, He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:27
UFO over Peoria, Ilinois while triangle craft moves low over Carbondale
December 1, 11:55 PM
UFO Examiner
Roger Marsh
Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If MUFON investigates and reports back on any of these cases, I will update this page. The following reports and their headlines are unedited and uninvestigated. In other news: Margie Kay was recently appointed to the MUFON Star Team by Richard Lang, and will be doing investigations in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa and surrounding states. She joins Debbie Ziegelmeyer, Missouri MUFON State Director, who was appointed to the Star Team early this year. Congrats Margie - keep up the good work. First up are two Illinois cases reported on November 30 from towns separated by about 265 miles. We'll check in soon with Illinois MUFON Director Sam Maranto to see where these cases end up.
Unknown Object Photographed in Blackpool, UK
UFOCasebook
Published: 2:11 PM 11/28/2009
Blackpool, UK - 11-05-09
Blackpool tower - The photograph was taken from the central pier, off the main promenade. I was taking photographs for stock photography web sites of Blackpool Illuminations at approximately, 19.45 on the 5th of November, 2009. When I was checking through the photographs at 100%, I noticed what I thought was light contamination. This was not the case, I therefore checked for other causes that it could have been to produce this effect, all probable causes were nagative. I now believe it to be a UFO.
Mass UFO sightings across South America cause panic, video
Michael Cohen m.cohen@allnewsweb.com
A wave of mass UFO sightings across South America is currently occurring, leaving bewildered witnesses wondering if indeed beings from other worlds might be visiting Planet Earth. Stunned residents of towns and villages across Argentina, Peru and Chile as well as other nations have seen multiple objects ranging from ‘mother ships’ to ‘Cigar-shaped’ crafts over the last week alone. In at least one case a power outage accompanied such an event. The event receiving the most publicity occurred in Salta, Argentina where at 2am on November 27 the city plunged into complete darkness as it suffered a total electrical failure. Phones stopped working and even taps ran dry. Allegedly intense heat engulfed the town and a huge ‘mother ship’ type UFO was seen above the town studded with flashing lights. It is claimed that the town electricity failed at the moment the UFO was seen to pass over the power plant. Hundreds of individuals witnessed this craft. UFO researchers and government authorities have descended on the area to investigate this incredible occurrence.
Unknown Object Photographed over Tubac, Arizona
UFOCasebook
Published: 6:16 AM 11/26/2009
Arizona - 10-27-09
I was on vacation in Arizona recently and took a picture in a place called Tubac. Upon my return looking at the photos, I noticed an object in the sky: I hadn't noticed it at the time I took the picture. I would be very interested in your opinion should you wish to look at it. (Editor's Note: I wrote T L back, telling him that the only conventional explanation I could think of would be a helicopter. I also asked him if he, by chance, heard anything at the time the photo was taken... below is his reply.) Thanks, for your reply, I did not see it or hear it. Like you, I feel it could possibly be a helicopter, though I would have thought I would have heard it and seen it as it appears not too far from me.
Five UFO Objects Sighted and Captured on Camera at West Sikkim
UFOCasebook
Published: 1:29 PM 11/28/2009
Gangtok, India - Five UFO objects sighted and captured in camera at West Sikkim The repeated information of UFO sightings in and around Sikkim now a days, has made everyone surprised. Eventually one of the enthusiastic students set a remarkable breakthrough by capturing the flying object with his camera. He has been in continuous observation over the said UFO objects after announcement was made by VOICEOFSIKKIM SMS NEWS alert. “The said object flew a bit slowly while they came out from backside of mountain, thanks to God that I was capturing a scene of mountains and the object appeared in my camera aperture." I clicked it- there were was five of them moving towards border side of Nepal. As I know there was no any sound nor did I spot any smoke trails!”
Signs Down Below
"But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of religion but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Op Lets People Upgrade Their Eyes To HD
Sky News
by Thomas Moore
December 3, 2009
Patients are having their eyes fitted with an artificial lens that allows them to see in high definition. Surgeons begin the process by implanting the lens into the eye using the standard procedure for cataracts. Then, for the first time in Britain, they can fine-tune the focus of the lens several days later. The technique gives patients vision so sharp that it is even better than 20/20 - the best an adult can usually hope for.
Floating oil tankers here to stay
The Globe and Mail
by Emma Farge
December 3, 2009
Oil product tankers idling in quiet waters of the world's oceans are unlikely to move on until well into 2010 when more refinery shutdowns could curb production and force vessels to unload. Floating oil product volumes, comprising mostly distillates such as diesel and the heating fuel gas oil, have surged to unprecedented levels of about 100 million barrels, but refiners are still pumping out more than the world can consume. “We see no quick solution for the floating storage issue. It might run into the third quarter of next year,” said analyst David Wech at JBC Energy, adding, “the high contango reflects the supply-demand imbalance which is most dramatic in distillates.
At midnight last night, the United Kingdom ceased to be a sovereign state
Telegraph
by Daniel Hannan
December 1, 2009
We woke up in a different country today. Alright, it doesn’t look very different. The trees still seem black against the winter sun; the motorways continue to jam inexplicably; commuters carry on avoiding eye contact. But Britain is no longer a sovereign nation. At midnight last night, we ceased to be an independent state, bound by international treaties to other independent states, and became instead a subordinate unit within a European state. Yes, a European state. Take a quick dekko at the definition set out in Article One of the1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States: “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.”
Berlusconi 'cut deal with Mafia', court told
The Independent
by Michael Day
December 5, 2009
The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, made a deal with the Sicilian Mafia in the early 1990s that put the country "in the hands" of the Mob, a court in Turin was told yesterday. Gaspare Spatuzza, a jailed Mafia hitman turned witness, told a packed and heavily guarded bunker courtroom that his Cosa Nostra Godfather boss had cut a deal with Mr Berlusconi in 1993 that provided unspecified "benefits" to the Mafia in exchange for political support. The media tycoon entered politics a few months later and won his first term as Prime Minister in 1994. Spatuzza said his boss, Giuseppe Graviano, who was jailed over Mafia bomb attacks in Rome, Milan and Florence, had told him that the Mob had "got everything" with the help of Mr Berlusconi, adding that Graviano called Mr Berlusconi "the man from Channel 5", in reference to his TV network.
Bank failure tally reaches 130
CNN Money
by Hibah Yousuf
December 4, 2009
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The nation's tally of 2009 bank casualties hit 130 Friday when regulators shuttered a large Ohio bank, an Illinois bank, a Virginia bank and three small Georgia banks. The largest bank to fail was AmTrust Bank in Cleveland. Regulators also closed Benchmark Bank in Aurora, Ill., and Greater Atlantic Bank in Reston, Va. The Buckhead Community Bank in Atlanta, Ga., First Security National Bank in Norcross, Ga., The Tattnall Bank in Reidsville, Ga., were also closed. Customers of all the six failed banks are protected, however. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which has insured bank deposits since the Great Depression, currently covers customer accounts up to $250,000.
Signs in Humanity
'Global surge' in rhino poaching
BBC
December 1, 2009
Rhino poaching around the world is on the rise despite efforts to protect the animals, a report warns. The global surge in the illegal trade has been driven by demands from Asian medicinal markets, the study by conservationists concluded. It suggests that a decline in law enforcement is the main reason for the rise in poaching in Africa. The report found that 95% of rhino poaching in Africa since 2006 had occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
US military suicides reach new high
The Intelligence Daily
by James Cogan
December 2, 2009
(WSWS) -- The number of serving American military personnel who took their lives in 2009 has already exceeded last year’s record. These suicides are first of all tragic. Secondly, they indicate the immense psychological harm that the neo-colonial wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have inflicted on members of the armed forces. The US Army, the largest branch of the military, suffered the most dramatic increase. By 16 November, 140 soldiers on active duty and 71 National Guard and Reserve personnel had taken their lives this year—a total of 211. By comparison, there were 52 Army suicides in 2001. The number steadily rose over the following years, reaching 197 in 2008. The overall suicide rate in the US Army has reached 20.2 per 100,000 personnel. The Marine Corp recorded 42 suicides as of October 31—the same number as in all of 2008 and a rate of more than 19 per 100,000 personnel. Among Americans in a comparable age bracket to military personnel, the annual suicide rate is approximately 19 per 100,000 people. For the overall US population, the rate in 2006 was 11.6 per 100,000, though the number is expected to have increased since the onset of severe recession and mass lay-offs.
FIRST-PERSON: It's not all about love
Baptist Press
by Kelly Boggs
December 4, 2009
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following column addresses issues of homosexuality and is written to inform adults. It contains descriptions of the Folsom Street Fair, an annual sexually charged, perverse event in San Francisco with mostly homosexual participants. The column shows what is at stake in the cultural battle and what the future holds for the society and our children if activists succeed in defining homosexuality as a protected status. ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--"San Fran Considering Gay Public Sex Tents," the headline on FoxNews.com recently read. The accompanying story pointed out that a member of the "leather community" made the suggestion that tents be made available during the Golden Gate City's Folsom Street Fair and companion Up Your Alley Fair to allow participants to engage in sexual activity. The sex tent suggestion was made in response to complaints about public sex taking place during both of the events.
Tel Aviv: Why did a lone gunman shoot 13 people in cold blood in one of the world's gay capitals?
The Independent
by Matthew Teller
December 5, 2009
At 10.20pm on Saturday 1 August 2009, a man walked along Nachmani Street, a residential road in central Tel Aviv. He went into the apartment block at number 28 and down a flight of steps to the basement flat, where a song by Blur was playing on the stereo amid the sound of laughter and conversation. There, the man shot 13 people, killing 26-year-old Nir Katz and 16-year-old Liz Trobishi, before returning up the steps and disappearing into the promenading crowds. His identity remains unknown. Understanding what happened that night is not easy. It might be tempting to assume that such an attack – unprovoked, apparently indiscriminate – was political, somehow connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it was not, for the basement flat at 28 Nachmani Street is the headquarters of the Aguda (Hebrew for "association"), otherwise known as Israel's National Association of LGBT, representing the country's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities.
Mexico City police free 107 'slave workers'
AP
my San Antonio News
December 4, 2009
MEXICO CITY — Mexico City police on Thursday freed 107 people who were forced to work under slave-like conditions in a clandestine factory making shopping bags and clothing clasps, authorities said. Police raided the factory, which was hidden inside an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center, after a worker escaped and informed authorities, Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said. Twenty three people were arrested for human trafficking. "The victims were being exploited and some were sexually abused," Mancera said. Many were suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, and some had cuts and broken bones.
Arks of Safe Haven
www.arksofsafehaven.org
"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?" Isaiah 58:7
The mission of Arks of Safe Haven is to connect via an extensive network and online message board forum, those individuals and families who have been affected by recent economic downfalls and are in need with those individuals who are ready, willing and capable of providing assistance to those in need with employment, shelter, work, food, clothing and other necessities.
Coupled with our primary mission of delivering the Kingdom Message of Salvation, the assistance of Arks of Safe Haven is available to all who are in need. Our purposeful intention is to follow in the footsteps of Christ as our example, by providing hope to the hopeless and answering the prayers of those who have been forced to live outside of society.
How You Can Help?
In order to provide for those whose outcry of prayers have reached our heavenly Father's ears, Arks of Safe Haven is seeking out those who are able to provide shelter, whether it be an extra bedroom, empty rental property or a work for room and board agreement. Additionally, we also act as a liaison in connecting those with tangible items to donate to those in need like Food, Water, Clothing, & Other Personal Items. We pray that your heart is motivated to make a contribution, no matter how small. Visit www.arksofsafehaven.org and view the many posts from those in need to see if you're able to help with advice, prayers or goods & services.
LeeAnn - Kissimee, FL - Hello, I appreciate anyone taking the time to read my post. I am a mother of three boys, that are the recipient of a terrible situation. I was having a terrible time after the hurricanes three years ago ( I live in Florida ) and was a single mom. Like all mothers, I wanted my children to be safe and cared for while I looked for a solid home and a better job. I was working through labor pools and just all around having a terrible time. My step mother at the time stepped up and offered to take my children until I moved. I hated to do it, but I agreed, because I wanted to do what was best for my boys. It took two months to move and get a good paying job in the new area. Unfortunately, my step mother gave me a hard time, she thought I should have a longer history with this company before my boys came home. I reluctantly agreed and continued to see my boys every weekend and send money for their care. Since this time, I took my mother to court to return my children. it was a very easy case the judge told me. They were ordered home immediately. Unfortunately, my step mother does not take orders from anyone, and she cut ties with me and took my children and moved. I saved money for another attorney and a private investigator. It took a year to save the money and find them four states away. I took them back to court and the result was my father going to jail for contempt and my step mother never showing up. I started a case in the "home" state of my children like the judge here suggested. I have been reunited with my children!!! They have been removed from my step mothers care and at a neutral home until court orders them back after their investigation. I have been told that they are to be returned to me on Dec. 27th. I am so excited!!! however, here is my need.............. I have spent everything I have on this case to get my babies back. Even my vehicle has been repossessed. Every dollar I make, and I do work full time, goes to the care of my children and supporting the home I am in. Since I provided every bit of belongings to my parents when they received my boys, I have nothing left. I have no toys, clothes, games, etc. I have nothing for Christmas, and no money to get anything. My children have asked for very little. They would like new bedding, TV, and a video game system. I have posted my ad before on Craigslist, however most of the responses are asking for sex in trade. I cannot do that. I have given my all to try to save, but the trips up north and court costs have broken me. I have cleaned homes for a living for years, empty homes, rentals, resale’s and businesses. I would gladly work off any amount that I would receive in help. If I can even get gift cards, I would be thankful for that. I am in a terrible bind, and have always given my all for helping others, I pray that someone out there will have the ability to help me now.
Thank you for reading my post, and if anyone wants to help, I have a great friend that would receive any help. I am never home ( always at work, and looking for more when I am not at court ) anything can be sent to 121 San Benito Way, Kissimmee Florida. I will gladly respond to all emails to brenaleankramer@yahoo.com. PLEASE if you can find it in your heart to help me, I would be in your debt, and will find a way to return the help. Thank you, LeeAnn
Unemployed, Orlando FL - hi all you guys out there....we are blessed to be alive, even if we are struggling to survive....i was fully employed as well as a full time student, but recently had to make a hard choice between finishing school and quitting my job because they would no longer accomodate me even after i was reassured i would be accomodated.....i will start a new job in feb, if i can make it through my internship period, my internship is unpaid, but i will be hired at the intern site pending my completion, i am able to feed myself (foodstamps) and i am staying with a friend but with no money coming in completeing my internship seems dismal my primary concern is gas money to get back and forth to my intern site 6 days a week approximately $15/ a week. could someone sponsor me for the next 6 weeks? total of about $90. also i wont be able to make my carpayment for dec and jan aproximately $750.00.... i need a helping hand to get through these two months so i can have a better future and in return help someone else who may be struggling....ty for your help.
Signs in Natural Disasters
“You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:6-7
Melting Antarctic could cause Sea levels to rise twice as fast
Mail Online
By David Derbyshire
1st December 2009
Melting ice in the Antarctic could contribute to a 4.5 foot rise in sea levels within the lifetime of babies born today, scientists say. A new report by 100 leading academics warned that the impact of global warming around the South Pole has been underestimated - and that warmer oceans will speed up the amount of ice and snow flowing into the sea by the end of the century. The 526 page study also predicted that parts of the continent could turn green in coming years, as alien plants, beetles and mosses take advantage of a projected 3C rise in temperatures. The authors of the report say it is the most detailed yet into climate change in the Antarctic.
Hawaii volcano emissions prompt federal disaster declaration
10/1/09
By Brooks Baehr
Hawaii News Now
WASHINGTON (HawaiiNewsNow) – Gases in the volcanic fog, or vog, from Kilauea volcano are killing crops and costing Big Island farmers millions of dollars, but help is on the way. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared Hawaii County a natural disaster area. The designation means farmers there can apply for low interest loans from the federal government. It is estimated that 2,000 to 2,500 metric tons of sulfur dioxide billows from Kilauea's Halemaumau Crater on any given day.
132 flu patients hit with brain disorders since July
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Associated Press
11/24/09
A total of 132 influenza patients in Tokyo and 27 prefectures have developed encephalopathy, or swelling of the brain, since July, according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Normally, only about 40 to 50 seasonal flu sufferers develop encephalopathy each year, meaning the latest figure has already more than doubled in four months since the new strain of flu began spreading. Encephalopathy occurs when viruses cause the immune system to overreact, resulting in a swelling of the brain. Though the ages of the 132 people in question range from 1 to 67, most were under 15. By age, 7-year-olds constituted the largest group, with 22 sufferers. This is older than the average age for encephalopathy sufferers, who are most often aged between 1 and 3.
Spanish eggs blamed for two salmonella deaths
By Sean Poulter
1st December 2009
Two people have died and scores have fallen ill following a food poisoning outbreak linked to cheap eggs from Spain. Some 144 cases of Salmonella enteritidis have been confirmed since the summer in the 14 recent outbreaks. They are in addition to more than 400 reported illnesses linked to this strain of the bug in England and Wales this year. The two dead were residents of a care home. While it is known they were infected, it is too soon to say whether this caused their deaths. Five others were so ill they needed hospital treatment.
Samoan Tsunami Was 46 Feet High
December 4, 2009
UK Times
The tsunami waves which struck Samoa and American Samoa, killing more than 200 people including a British toddler, were more than four storeys high when they slammed into the coastline, scientists have revealed. New Zealand scientists studying the size, power and reach of the tsunami as part of efforts to guard against future disasters said they found up to three destructive waves were caused by a magnitude 8.0 undersea earthquake which struck the Pacific islands causing mass devastation on September 29. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwar) and GNS Science in New Zealand carried out field work the tsunami and released their data today, and revealed the waves towered up to 46 feet high — more than twice as tall as most of the buildings it slammed into.
Natural Disaster Update
Source: http://home.att.net/~thehessians/disasterwatch.html
QUAKES -
12/5/09 -
5.0 FIJI REGION 5.2 MOLUCCA SEA 5.0 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION 12/4/09 -
5.2 WESTERN TURKEY (plus multiple moderate aftershocks)
5.2 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
12/2/09 -
5.4 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
5.0 FIJI REGION
5.4 SAMAR, PHILIPPINES
5.1 TONGA
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.3 RODRIGUES REGION, MAURITIUS
11/30/09 -
5.3 FIJI REGION
11/29/09 -
5.4 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.3 POTOSI, BOLIVIA
5.3 MOLUCCA SEA
5.1 TONGA
5.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.2 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
11/28/09 -
6.0 SOUTH OF SUMBAWA, INDONESIA
5.2 SUMBA REGION, INDONESIA
5.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
6.0 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA
6.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.1 NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
5.1 NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL PERU
11/27/09 -
5.0 SOUTH OF SUMBAWA, INDONESIA
5.1 TONGA
5.2 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.4 LARA, VENEZUELA
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
11/26/09 -
5.2 NEAR N COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA
5.2 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
5.8 EL SALVADOR
5.3 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
5.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.1 SOUTHERN GREECE
5.1 SOUTHERN GREECE
5.1 SOUTHERN GREECE
5.2 TONGA
INDONESIA - A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook islands in eastern Indonesia on Saturday, felling a power pole into a market crowd and panicking residents.
VENEZUELA - An earthquake of 5.6 magnitude shook western Venezuela early on Friday, panicking residents and damaging some buildings, but no deaths were reported.
VOLCANOES -
MONTSERRAT - A rising number of power cuts across Montserrat has been blamed on ash from the country’s active Soufrière Hills volcano falling on power lines in inhabited areas. “When you have the ash falling on the power lines followed by the rain, the weight of it shorts out the lines and trips the feeders. It is similar to a fuse blowing. The problem is also compounded when there are pyroclastic flows (from the volcano), which often causes lightning, and this also affects the electrical supply system.” Since October there has been growing activity at the Soufriére Hills volcano, which led to a mass evacuation from parts of Montserrat when it erupted in 1995. Winds have also recently sent more ash into the safe zones of the island.
VANUATU - More than 300 villagers have been evacuated in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu after an erupting volcano started spewing smoke and ash onto their homes. Residents were loaded onto fishing boats and shipped to the far side of Gaua island after the volcano, which has been rumbling for the past two months, started erupting on Thursday. "They're evacuating people to the other side of the island. The volcano was throwing ash in the place they live."
MONTSERRAT - Light ash has fallen over the capital of Montserrat after the Caribbean island's temperamental volcano hurled another round of hot rocks and gases. A small pyroclastic flow nearly reached the ocean as Soufriere Hills shed part of its old dome this week. Friday that ash fell on parts of Olveston and Old Town. Tremors also shook the volcano as it began emitting lava closer to the summit. Soufriere Hills has shot several plumes of ash in recent months.
RUSSIA - Despite no reports of activity, Bezymianny Volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula exhibited a modest plume on November 25.
TROPICAL STORMS / TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES / RISING SEA LEVELS -
INDONESIA - The coastal folks and fishermen are affected by the climate change whose effects include changes in tides, accelarating abrasion, unpredictable seasons, and declining fish yields. The Krui fishermen of west Lampung today can't predict the weather, while their ancestors could by examining the sky and stars. Just by reading the position of the southern constellation (shaped like a sting-ray) they could tell the start of the west and east monsoon seasons. "Now we can't predict them." The stars are constant but the times of the west and east winds are no longer predictable. "The last four years have been unpredictable." Often the winds would change within days. "The sea's condition has changed in the last four years and the change is even everywhere," said the head of the climate change and air quality center. The global change has OVER-CHARGED THE ATMOSPHERE with energy which causes prolonged tropical storms. Wind orientations also change quickly. The global change has also created the wet hot season, which is unfriendly for fishermen because it forms convection clouds (clouds moving upwards because of MASSIVE MOTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE) above the sea. These clouds pull the mass of air around them, which in the end causes rain with high waves. Under normal conditions, the hot season is dry - which helps the fishermen. "The same condition is happening along the northern Java coast." The coasts, the borders of seas and lands, are very vulnerable. When the precipitation is high, combined with environmental damages on rivermouths, then floods are imminent. The combination of the rising sea level with the change of the wind pattern causes high waves, which also inundate the coasts for a long period, a phenomenon called 'rob' by the locals. "The coasts of Demak and Pekalongan in Central Java used to have only several days of rob in a year. Now hardly a month ever goes by without a rob."
SAMOA - Two months after a devastating tsunami killed nearly 200 in Samoa there are growing concerns for the thousands of traumatised survivors who desperately need help. Whole village populations along the ravaged south coast of Samoa have fled to the hills unable to face the sea which claimed their loved ones. The village of Saleapaga lost around 40 of its people to the tsunami. Unable to deal with the destruction, 90% of the village has fled inland and formed a new settlement. They are too scared to go back. "All of the family used to live on the coast, but now we are afraid to stay there. We don't ever go back." Such is their fear of the sea that they would rather live inland, even though there is no running water and no power. Every day trucks bring crucial water supplies, filling donated water tanks and any containers the villagers can lay their hands on. A New Zealand funded survey looking at the tsunami's impact on children has found they desperately need counselling.
TASMANIA - ABNORMAL TIDES reported in northern Tasmania last week are being attributed to a RARE ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE, known as a meteo-tsunami. The Weather Bureau took several calls from people in Stanley, Port Sorell and Bridport who noticed particularly high and fast moving tides on November the 22nd. The bureau says it was caused by a RARE rissaga, or meteo-tsunami, but it is not known what triggered the event. "Unlike the conventional tsunami which we've come to know which is produced by a seismic activity, so an undersea earthquake or some sort of earthquake...this is produced by an ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON. So a deep low pressure system, the passage of a front moving through quite vigorously." A Bridport shack owner witnessed the event. He says in a matter of minutes the tide came up to his shack and then went back out dragging two trees with it. "I reckon within 10 minutes it was up over the sand bar coming towards us. Fairly forceful, you probably wouldn't have stood up in it. It was pretty strange and eerie because you sort of didn't know how far it was going to come. We didn't know whether to retreat to higher ground."
PHILIPPINES - Even before it could even affect any part of the country, Tropical Storm Vinta (Nida) weakened into a tropical depression Thursday morning, state weather forecasters said. As of 10 a.m., Vinta was at located 1,120 km east northeast of Basco, Batanes and is almost stationary. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kph. "The system is expected to dissipate within 12 to 24 hours as it drifts slowly northwestward. "
Was Super Typhoon Nida the STRONGEST STORM EVER? - Super Typhoon Nida had a pressure reading of 869.3 mb (25.67" Hg) on Wednesday. Super Typhoon Tip holds the record for the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide; Tip bottomed out at 870 mb in 1979. The official wind numbers put Nida at 160-knot (mph) sustained winds; SSEC estimated 164 knots (189 mph). Officially, Tip had 165-knot winds. Recon flights no longer take place in the Pacific (insinuating that the record cannot be officially broken anymore). "Three researchers determined two typhoons, Angela in 1995 and Gay in 1992, maintained higher Dvorak numbers than Tip, and believed that one or both of the two may have been more intense than Tip." So in short, the record cannot be technically broken by Nida, and there was at least one storm (Monica in 2006) which had a pressure reading less than Nida (rated at 869 mb by Dvorak classifications), but Nida has proven to be one heck of a storm. Fortunately she is projected to curve out into the Pacific without reaching Japan.
VIETNAM - A tropical low pressure that is producing gusts up to 80km/h in the East Sea is heading towards the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago. The low pressure will produce choppy seas off the coast. It is QUITE ABNORMAL to have a tropical low pressure at this time of year. "It is hasty to say whether the low pressure will be upgraded to a tropical storm." However, localities especially in the southern coastal provinces, should be on the look out for bad weather due to the low pressure, and be ready to deal with natural disasters. Boat captains should monitor the weather closely before going out to sea.
BURMA - An infestation of rats caused by Cyclone Nargis is threatening to devastate rice crops in the Irrawaddy delta - in contradiction of government claims that Burma is set to produce a one million tons surplus for export. The rat plague - affecting over 700,000 hectares - has developed because the cyclone killed off natural predators such as snakes, dogs and cats. Although 2.5 million rats have been exterminated in the past few months, their fast breeding rate means there could be as many as 10 million of them still in the delta. There are no estimates on the extent of rice crop damage, but more funding is needed to ward off “further damage and a possible spread of the rodents to crops not currently affected.” The regime-linked Myanmar Rice and Paddy Association claimed earlier this month that Burma’s rice exports could reach one million tons for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. That figure would be about 300,000 tons more than Burma claims to have exported in 2008-2009 - the year Nargis struck.
PHILIPPINES - A four-month-old baby died on Wednesday when she ran out of oxygen after the ambulance rushing her to the hospital got stranded in floodwaters brought about by Tropical Depression Urduja. President Arroyo was called on to immediately release the P200-million rehabilitation fund she promised in January following the almost weeklong flooding due to the tail end of a cold front. “Our people in Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro are in need of immediate assistance. Where is now that fund promised in January yet?” Dredging of the Cagayan de Oro River is now a must, and this should begin immediately to avoid future floodings in the city in view of weather reports that more typhoons are yet to hit the country before the year ends. As of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, there were already 2,584 families affected by floods and landslides in the city. Urduja totally damaged 44 houses and partially damaged 14 houses in the city. The affected families have evacuated to temporary evacuation centers in schools, covered courts, barangay halls, multipurpose halls, churches and chapels. Meanwhile, as of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, an estimated P10 million worth of fish cages in the towns of Balingasag and Magsayay were wiped out by rampaging waves brought by Urduja. Big waves destroyed at least 27 fish cages in Magsaysay and five fish cages in the mariculture in Balingasag. These fish cages are for bangus (milkfish).
MADAGASCAR - The United Nations is appealing to its members to contribute $6 million ahead of a wave of intense cyclones expected off the Indian Ocean next month, focusing on the needs of Madagascar most. This year meteorologists are warning that four to five powerful tropical storms will swirl through the island causing large-scale destruction and putting thousands of lives at risk. "We are in a very grave situation and need to pre-position supplies in the areas most at risk to be able to effectively save lives and mitigate the impact on these communities." Due to its geographic location, Madagascar is affected every year by three to four cyclones. Over the last two years, the country was hit by five cyclones affecting over 463,000 people, damaging 2,276 classrooms, destroying 180,000 hectares of agricultural land and leaving 190,000 people homeless. "The tragedy is that this is an annual event and it appears that each year the severity and impact is potentially greater."
HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING / LANDSLIDES / UNUSUAL & OUT-OF-SEASON WEATHER -
BRITAIN - RECORD RAIN IN NOVEMBER in Malvern - In fact, it rained every single day in November, except the last, making 119.1mm of rainfall in total. “With two days rain at the end of October it made it a run of 31 consecutive days with measurable precipitation. This is a VERY RARE occurrence in this part of the country. From the records similar wet months were May 1983 with four dry days, January 1988 with three and November 1997 with five. All these three months had over four inches of rain but not consecutive days.” It was fortunate the rain fell steadily throughout the month, meaning rivers were able to cope without flooding. “November was a wet and mild month. Of particular note was that rain fell on every day but one, which HAS NOT OCCURRED IN ANY MONTH FOR AT LEAST 30 YEARS.”
FLORIDA - Approaching storm could be worse than Hurricane Ida, forecasters say. Meteorologists expect it to present a more significant severe weather threat than the late-season hurricane. The powerful winter storm will blast across Northwest Florida tonight and Wednesday bringing torrential rains, gale-force winds and storm surges comparable to a tropical storm. Weather forecasters expect the cyclone, which is taking shape off the Texas coast, to produce rainfall totals as high as 8 inches in some parts of the Panhandle. Winds along the coast could gust to 40 mph, and a 5-foot storm tidal surge in the Pensacola area is possible. A cold front was moving through Northwest Florida and was expected to stall out over the gulf last night and early today. The combination of the front and a low pressure area will produce the nasty weather. “We’re in our highest spring tide cycle right now. Combine that with really strong winds and that’s why we’re concerned about coastal flooding and beach erosion.” The wind and rain could be comparable to a “low-end tropical storm,” and the tides could be worse. Seas as high as 18 feet are predicted. "This includes the possibility of destructive straight line winds, and the threat of tornadoes does exist." Meteorologists stated several prediction models are in agreement on the UNUSUAL SEVERITY of the approaching front.
The global death toll and financial cost of catastrophes has dropped sharply this year after reaching near record levels in 2008, initial estimates from reinsurer Swiss Re indicated Monday. With one month of the year left, the total cost to society of natural and man-made disasters had reached 52 billion dollars (34.7 billion euros), about one fifth of the 267 billion dollars in damage wrought in 2008. Meanwhile, the global death toll fell to 12,000, just five percent of the 238,000 deaths recorded over the whole of last year, according to initial estimates. "We were lucky, but that may not be the case next year." Claims from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters during the first seven months of 2009 were still nearly double the average over the last 20 years. "Though losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters have continuously trended upwards in the past twenty years, we still see high volatility from year to year." Two single events, Cyclone Nargis and the earthquake in Sichuan, China, accounted for the huge majority of fatalities in 2008, which was also the second costliest year on record. The biggest insured loss in 2009 -- 3.54 billion dollars -- was caused by winter storm Klaus in France and Spain in January. Meanwhile the deadliest event was the earthquake in September around the Indonesian city of Padang, which left more than 1,100 people dead
SAUDI ARABIA - the death toll from floods that tore through the port city of Jeddah this week has risen to 103, with another 1,400 rescued. Torrents of water inundated the Red Sea port on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia saw SOME OF ITS HEAVIEST RAINFALL IN YEARS. Many people were drowned or were killed by collapsing bridges and in car crashes. Newspapers have repeatedly reported on the poor condition of the sewerage infrastructure of the city, where many people live in unauthorised developments built on dry riverbeds.
The city of Jeddah drowned in six-hour rainfall - Although the level of rainfall that night did not exceed 72mm, it was ONE OF THE MOST DEADLY FLOODS THAT SAUDI ARABIA HAS EVER EXPERIENCED. The climate this year was a curious combination of joy and fear. The entire region, not just Saudi Arabia, has been experiencing a terrible drought, which has resulted in rivers drying up and farms depreciating, along with the WORST DUST STORMS IN RECENT HISTORY. After the ground has dried, and the clouds have disappeared, the people of Jeddah return to their old habit of queuing up [for water rations] in front of the water tanks. Jeddah is a city of contradictions; a city where people are dying of thirst at the same time that they are being swept away by floods.
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE-
CALIFORNIA - prolonged drought, the WORST IN STATE HISTORY, has depleted the Sierra snowpack and reservoir levels. Complicating matters are federal restrictions on delta pumping levels in order to protect endangered fish species. The water shortage has forced California cities large and small to ration supplies and idled large tracts of cropland in the state's Central Valley, which has long produced over half the fruit, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States. California officials said on Tuesday that drought and environmental restrictions have forced them to cut planned water deliveries to irrigation districts and cities statewide to just 5 percent of their contracted allotments. Although the state Water Resources Department typically ends up supplying more water than first projected for an upcoming year, its 5 percent initial allocation for 2010 marks THE SMALLEST ON RECORD since the agency began delivering water in 1967.
NEBRASKA - No matter how you measure it, November was very warm in Lincoln. By one comparison, it was even warmer than October. "How rare is this to have November be warmer than October in Lincoln? VERY RARE." For only the second time in 123 years of weather record keeping, the average high temperature in November -- 57.6 degrees -- was higher than the average high temperature in October - 55.7 degrees. The only other year that happened was in 1925, when the average high in November was 0.2 of a degree warmer than that year's October. October 2009 and October 1925 were the two coldest on record in Lincoln. The normal difference between the two monthly average temperatures is about 15 degrees.
AUSTRALIA - The rotting carcasses of thousands of wild camels who have died of thirst in Australia's desert Outback are polluting vital waterholes and sacred sites. Thousands of pools, creeks and other water supplies for local indigenous tribes were rendered undrinkable by the decay, with a "significant health risk'' when they were refilled by rain. Without significant rainfall, tens of thousands more camels in the drought-gripped region face a similar fate, with dire environmental and cultural consequences. Native animals are also perishing as a result of the mass deaths, with "massive'' impacts on biodiversity. Meanwhile officials are preparing for an aerial cull of 3000 of the humped pests near the remote Northern Territory community of Docker River with helicopters and snipers. Protracted drought drew the camels into the township in search of water, leaving some residents cowering in their homes as the camels smashed through water mains and invaded the airstrip.
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne has sweated through THE HOTTEST NOVEMBER ON RECORD as temperatures soared for weeks before welcome rain finally arrived. The city's mean daily maximum temperature stands at 27.4C degrees, beating the high of 25.5C degrees recorded back in 1862. The record-breaking heat came during the first half of the month when 10 consecutive days experienced temperatures above 30 degrees. Rainfall in the northwestern regions of the state saw nearly three times the level of normal rainfall this month, which will help ease the bushfire threat.
SYDNEY also has had its HOTTEST NOVEMBER ON RECORD with maximum temperatures 2.5 degrees above average.
SPACE WEATHER-
Huge Explosion Reveals the Most Massive Star Known - All supernova explosions are violent affairs, but this one takes the cake. Astronomers have spotted a NEW TYPE of extremely bright cosmic explosion they think originates from an exceptionally massive star. This breed of explosion has been long predicted, but NEVER BEFORE SEEN. Like all supernovas, the blast is thought to have marked the end of a star's life. But in this case, that star may have started out with 200 times the mass of the sun. The supernova in question, SN2007bi, was observed in 2007 in a nearby dwarf galaxy. Scientists knew at once it was something different because it was about 50 to 100 times brighter than a typical supernova. "It was much brighter, and it was bright for a very long time."
UTAH - Space buffs have some astounding new calculations about the gigantic fireball that lit up part of the west two weeks ago. They now estimate the meteor lit up 500,000 square miles bright as day. A lot of what people thought is turning out to be wrong. The Nov. 18 fireball was apparently much higher and farther away than it appeared, never closer than 120 miles to Salt Lake City, which makes its brightness all the more amazing. In surveillance video from the Salt Lake valley, the Wasatch Mountains turn from midnight to noon, as if a zillion-watt light bulb switched on. "In the trillions of watts of power, which is a fair percentage of the power being consumed by the United States of America...I'm estimating it entered the atmosphere at about 50,000 miles an hour." The space rock evidently traveled north to south and exploded 35 miles high, 120 miles west of Salt Lake. Photos taken the next morning seem to show two smoke rings. They may be an echo of the double flash or double explosion noticeable on some videos. For a populated place like Utah, the Nov. 18 event was practically a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
HEALTH THREATS -
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday warned about an e-mail scam that claims people age 18 and older need to create a personal profile as part of a purported "state vaccination program." The CDC said clicking on the e-mail link could install a harmful computer virus and advised users to avoid unsolicited links and use caution when sharing personal information.
Poland's top civil-rights official has asked prosecutors to investigate the Polish government for refusing to import pandemic flu vaccine. The official said refusal to order vaccine is endangering public health. The administration has said it won't import vaccine unless producers take responsibility for any side effects.
Japan: Abnormal behavior in young patients - Japan's health ministry says that 151 flu patients under age 18 showed abnormal behavior, such as "acting violently or uttering gibberish," between late September and early November. Most of the patients were believed to have the pandemic virus; 62 were receiving oseltamivir or zanamivir, but some were not on an antiviral. Reports from Japan in recent years have suggested that the use of neuraminidase inhibitors may lead to unusual behavior in children and adolescents.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is awaiting more details on clusters of oseltamivir-resistant pandemic H1N1 cases in the United States and Wales, but doesn't think they signal a major shift in the virus. The clusters involved severely immunocompromised patients. It's not clear if recently reported mutations are linked to more severe disease.
The global number of swine flu deaths has jumped by more than 1,000 in a week. At least 7,826 people are now known to have died following infection with the H1N1 virus since it first emerged in Mexico in April. Europe saw an 85% increase in the week, with the total number of deaths rising from at least 350 to at least 650. However, in most cases the virus continues to produce mild symptoms. An overwhelming majority of patients usually recover, even without medical treatment, within a week. The biggest rise in deaths was recorded in the Americas, where the death toll rose to 5,360 - a rise of 554 cases in one week. Health authorities in Norway and France have each recorded two fatalities from a mutated strain of H1N1. China, Japan, Norway, Ukraine and the US have also recorded cases of people being infected with a mutated strain. The question is whether these mutations suggest that there is a fundamental change going on in viruses out there - whether there's a turn for the worse in terms of severity. The answer right now is that we are not sure." Mutations are common in influenza viruses. "If every mutation is reported out there it would be like reporting changes in the weather."
Flu increasing in some regions - In its global pandemic update, the World Health Organization said that flu activity has peaked in the United States, Canada, and some parts of Europe, but is increasing in central Europe, Russia, and some parts of western and central Asia. Respiratory illness activity is also intensifying in southern parts of China and Japan, as well as northwestern parts of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. In Africa the pandemic virus is cocirculating with the seasonal H3N2 strain.
Many Californians now immune - California's state epidemiologist has estimated that 11 million people, or close to 30% of the state's population, have acquired immunity to the H1N1 virus through infection or vaccination. About 3 million Californians have had the flu already. Close to 800 people in California were hospitalized because of H1N1 in the past week, and 12 died.
The European Union's drug regulatory agency issued its first report on the safety of novel H1N1 vaccines. The data come from a system that collects and evaluates suspected adverse reactions. So far the agency has detected no unexpected serious safety issues. It is assessing new clinical data showing a greater incidence of fever in children age 6 to 35 months who have received their second Pandemrix dose. It said reports are increasing as more vaccine doses are administered. (pdf file)
An aid group working in North Korea said the country has detected a pandemic flu outbreak in Sinuiju, a northern city on the Chinese border. Cases in children are increasing, and North Korean authorities have taken emergency countermeasures, the group said. The antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is scarce in the country. The government has not officially acknowledged any flu cases.
Cell phones - There has been no substantial change in the number of adult brain tumours since mobile phone usage sharply increased in the mid-1990s.
RECALLS & ALERTS -
Nationwide recall of all Slim-Fast ready-to-drink products in cans, due to the possibility of contamination with Bacillus cereus.
Diamond Pet Foods issued a recall for Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat because they have the potential to produce Thiamine Deficiency
Signs in False Shepherds & False Religion
"For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also." 2 Timothy 3:6-9
Vatican and Muslims condemn Swiss minaret ban vote
BBC
30 November 2009
Religious leaders across the world have criticised Switzerland's referendum vote to ban the building of minarets. The Vatican joined Muslim figureheads from Indonesia and Egypt, as well as Switzerland, in denouncing the vote as a blow to religious freedom. France's FM Bernard Kouchner expressed shock at the ban which, he said, showed "intolerance" and should be reversed. But European right-wing groups welcomed the result, calling for other countries to take similar measures. More than 57.5% of Swiss voters and 22 out of 26 cantons - or provinces - voted in favour of the ban on Sunday. The proposal had been put forward by the Swiss People's Party (SVP), the largest party in parliament, which said minarets were a sign of Islamisation.
2nd gay bishop for Episcopal Church, Anglicans
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER and RACHEL ZOLL (AP) –
Dec. 5, 2009
LOS ANGELES — The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles elected a lesbian as assistant bishop Saturday, the second openly gay bishop in the global Anglican fellowship, which is already deeply fractured over the first. The Rev. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore needs approval from a majority of national church leaders before she can be consecrated as assistant bishop in the Los Angeles diocese. Still, her victory underscored a continued Episcopal commitment to accepting same-sex relationships despite enormous pressure from other Anglicans to change their stand. The head of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has said she would consecrate any elected bishop as long as church rules for selection were followed.
Religious Leader Tells Planned Parenthood Rally Abortion a "God-Given Right"
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 3, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- During the rally yesterday sponsored by the Planned Parenthood abortion business and other leading pro-abortion groups, Rev. Carlton Veazy told the small gathering of hardcore activists that abortion is a "God-given right." Veazy is the head of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The rally was a time for abortion advocates to rally together to press for taxpayer funding of abortions and saw a small crowd of just a few hundred people -- compared to the 100,000 or more who attend the March for Life. Veazy was the closing speaker for the Stop Stupak rally and he told the activists they had more than merely a so-called constitutional right to an abortion. “Don't let anybody tell you that religious people don't support choice,” Veazy said, according to CNS News. “You not only have a constitutional right for abortion, but you have a God-given right.”
Atheist Group Takes ‘Godless Holiday’ Campaign Nationwide
By Matt Cover
CNS News
December 01, 2009
(CNSNews.com) – The American Humanist Association is expanding its “Godless Holiday” advertising campaign to five major American cities this Christmas -- taking its message of a holiday season without religion nationwide for the first time. The ads read: “No God -- no problem! Be good for goodness’ sake. Humanism is the idea that you can be good without a belief in God” and feature several people in red and white Santa hats. The new ads come on the heels of an AHA campaign last year which asked “Why believe in a God?” and featured ads on public transit in Washington, D.C. Previously, the atheist campaign had been confined to the Washington, D.C., area, with signs and advertisements featured prominently on the city’s Metro subway trains and buses.
Irish pilgrims suffer eye burns after "apparition"
DUBLIN (Reuters)
Dec 2, 2009
Catholic pilgrims have suffered eye damage after staring at the sun in the hope of witnessing an apparition of the Virgin Mary, a doctor said on Wednesday. On one occasion in October, some 10,000 people gathered at the Knock shrine in northwestern Ireland hoping to see Mary, despite pleas from an archbishop to ignore invitations to the event by a self-proclaimed spiritual healer. Some of those present said they had seen Mary, venerated by Christians as the mother of Jesus, and attributed her presence to the sun suddenly breaking through the clouds, changing color, appearing to come closer or spinning in the sky. Eamonn O'Donoghue, an ophthalmologist at University College Hospital Galway in the west of Ireland, said he had several patients whose retina had been burned by the sun during a visit to Knock. "All of these people were under the impression that they would see strange phenomena if they looked at the sun, it is associated with events at Knock," O'Donoghue told public radio RTE.
Faith under Fire
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
“You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endured to the end will be delivered.” Matthew 10:22
Five More Christian Leaders Sentenced in China
Compass News Direct
December 3, 2009
Bypassing the court system, China arbitrarily sentenced five more leaders of the Fushan Church in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, on Monday (Nov. 30), this time to re-education labor camps for two years, according to China Aid Association (CAA). A Chinese court last week sentenced five house church leaders to three to seven years in prison after they were arrested en route to Beijing to file a complaint about an attack on their church, according to the advocacy organization. The five leaders sentenced to labor camps this week were accused of “gathering people to disturb the public order” after they organized a prayer rally of 1,000 people the day after military police and others attacked their church members and building on Sept. 13. In what CAA termed “an arbitrary administrative sentence by the Public Security Bureau enacted so the leaders would not be ‘required’ to go through the court and prosecution system,” China delivered the verdicts to church leaders Li Shuangping, Yang Hongzhen, Yang Caizhen (wife of Pastor Yang Xuan, who was sentenced to three years of prison on Nov. 25), Gao Qin (also known as Gao Fuqin), and Zhao Guoai.
Egyptian Christians Refuse to Open Stores After Muslim Riot
Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter
Nov. 30 2009
ISTANBUL, December 4 (CDN) — More than half of the population of Muslim-majority Turkey opposes members of other religions holding meetings or publishing materials to explain their faith, according to a recently issued survey. Fully 59 percent of those surveyed said non-Muslims either “should not” or “absolutely should not” be allowed to hold open meetings where they can discuss their ideas. Fifty-four percent said non-Muslims either “should not” or “absolutely should not” be allowed to publish literature that describes their faith. The survey also found that almost 40 percent of the population of Turkey said they had “very negative” or “negative” views of Christians. In the random survey, 60 percent of those polled said there is one true religion; over 90 percent of the population of Turkey is Sunni Muslim. Ali Çarkoglu, one of two professors at Sabanci University who conducted the study, said no non-Muslim religious gathering in Turkey is completely “risk free.” “Even in Istanbul, it can’t be easy to be an observant non-Muslim,” Çarkoglu said. The report, issued last month, was part of a study commissioned by the International Social Survey Program, a 45-nation academic group that conducts polls and research about social and political issues. The survey quantified how religious the population is in each of its 43-member countries.
Murder Of Priest Highlights Missionary Role In Russian Church
By Kevin O'Flynn
Radio Free Europe
Dec. 1, 2009
MOSCOW -- Flowers still decorate the gates of St. Thomas, the small wooden church in the south of Moscow where Father Daniil Sysoyev served. They represent an outpouring of grief for the priest who had built his parish from nothing and hoped to eventually build in place of the modest wooden structure a brick church big enough to hold 2,000 people. Four red carnations adorn a photo of the priest, who was murdered November 19 after an unidentified gunman entered his church and shot Sysoyev twice. Someone has pinned up a poem dedicated to him. A sign nearby notes that surveillance cameras have been installed at the church in the wake of the tragedy.
Three churches attacked in two days in Tamil Nadu
AsiaNews
12/01/2009
Coimbatore (AsiaNews) – A group of Hindu extremists attacked a new Christian Church, the Church of South India, in Sulur, in suburban Coimbatore, a city in the southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The attackers struck yesterday. After they broke the church’s windows, they threw stones inside the building. A bag containing a bottle of petrol, a diesel can and cotton waste was found after the incident. It is evidence that the attackers were planning to set fire to the place of worship. Local Christian leaders believe that the goal was to create panic among local non-Hindus. “This attack in the wee hours of Monday is the third of its kind in two days in Tamil Nadu,” Sajan George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christian (GCIC), told AsiaNews.
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
By Regina
This article has appeared in a past newsletter, but I felt urged within my heart to share it again. The holidays are times in which many become wrapped up in manmade traditions and the material things of this world. It is a time when it is easy to turn a blind eye to the big picture of what is going on around us and the signs that are being given as warnings to mankind.
Matthew 16:2-3 He answered them: "When evening comes you say, 'It will be good weather because the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can't read the signs of the times.
In the past there have been many judgments made by Father against mankind. They have included Adam and Eve, Cain, The Great Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Pompeii, and many more. In our weekly newsletter, we have done our very best at bringing you news stories of all the signs we are currently witnessing in the world around us. Unfortunately, while many know how to read the appearance of the sky, they cannot read the signs of the times.
Numbers 14:11 [ God's Judgment of Israel's Rebellion ] The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people despise Me? How long will they not trust in Me despite all the signs I have performed among them?
Have you taken the time to read them and truly ponder the meaning behind them all? Have you noted all the major changes that are occurring here on earth, which include what scientists have coined as “Global Warming”? Or the increase in Natural Disasters, Plagues, Famine, Fires, Droughts, Heat Waves, Extreme Cold, Melting Ice Caps, Volcano Eruptions, Tsunami, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Floods etc.?
If you have, then you may be wondering to yourself, “Is God Angry?”
The answer to your question is “Yes, God is Angry.”
However! God is also Love.
So how can God be angry and love at the same time?
Because She has warned us and She has been long suffering in that the wrath has been a long time coming. Many, unless they live in the specific areas that are experiencing the horrific natural disasters, simply don’t understand or comprehend the magnitude of these disasters. Some, like the Fallen Angels of Adam and Eve’s time, believe that Father’s wrath will never come, or that it will come all in one day. Others are so wrapped up in their lives and the ways of this evil world that they completely miss the many signs exhibited both through nature and society that make it so plain to see. Others lean on their own understanding in attempting to decipher prophecy and are consequently blinded to the truth that is all around them.
Our Ministry, for nearly five years now, has known the truth and has been well aware of the signs that have been given to mankind. As part of our stewardships we have delivered the Kingdom Message of Salvation, which not only explains what is required for Salvation but also delivers a warning to those who refuse to accept the truth.
Luke 21:11 There will be violent earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.
Luke 21:25 [ The Coming of the Son of Man ] "Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring sea and waves.
Does it not seem coincidental to you that these things have been prophesied are the exact same signs we are witness to today? That the US Dollar is nearly valueless? That oil prices surge? That layoffs and unemployment are at unprecedented highs? That food, electricity and water are becoming more and more scarce? That Natural Disasters continue to impact not only many lives, but also the economies of many countries – each affecting other countries around the world? That prayer and all signs of Christianity are being forced from public view? That the unnatural marriage between gay men and women socially acceptable. That many have come to the forefront proclaiming to be Messiahs? That Organized Religion around the world is receiving much scrutiny and bad press?
Currently, God's holy angels are pouring out the bowls of wrath on an evil world of people. Keep count of how many more are perishing by God's hand, and those dying from Satan's hand in causing violence throughout this planet, just as he did before the global flood. As time moves on the numbers God executes will be evident by those that are soon to perish by the emptying of more wrath from the bowls. The destruction IS coming from Father. It is a final warning during the tribulation period before the door closes and the cup of wrath is administered.
If you believe that it is only nature, only "global warming" that is bringing devastation, then you need also to understand who nature is a part of - God - and who uses it to bring forth Her will - Her holy angels. The bowls of wrath represent nature at its deadliest. The cup of wrath represents execution by holy angelic warriors.
How do you know that what we reveal comes from God? Moses is our example:
Numbers 16:28-30 "Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD sent me to do all these things and that it was not of my own will: If these men die [naturally] as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD."
Yes, God is Angry, but God is also Love. She is the giver of all life and the One that decides who shall live and who shall not. She has blessed us with free will and is still giving mankind every opportunity to repent with a humble heart and accept Her son as Lord and Savior BEFORE Her wrath arrives. We have been warned it would come and we have been warned what will happen if we fail to heed Her warning. It is not Her wish that Her children should perish but a balancing of the scales must take place. Her name must be vindicated before all of creation. Heed Her warning. Turn to Her with a humble heart and acceptance of Christ Jesus as your savior. It is the only way to escape God's wrath.
Nails In Your Hands
By Everybodyduck
The nails in your hands
The nail in your feet,
They tell me how much you love me
The thorns in your brow,
They tell me how, you bore so much shame to love me.
And when the heavens pass away,
All your scars will still remain,
And forever they will say,
How much you love me.
Forever my love
Forever my heart
Forever my life is yours
Forever my love
Forever my heart
Forever my life is yours
its yours
Inspired Writings
Keeping Faith Amongst Abuse
2 Peter 2:2 -- Many will follow their unrestrained ways, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
1 Timothy 6:1 -- All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God's name and His teaching will not be blasphemed.
Acts 23:5 -- "I did not know, brothers," Paul said, "that it was the high priest. For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people. "
Proverbs 24:17 -- Don't gloat when your enemy falls, and don't let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
False religion has had a horrible impact on the pure Truth that people have sought. In the same way, so have many other things. One impact is that people would give up hope in seeking the Truth that Father provides in one's heart. In this, one could become hard-hearted, or many other things that turn oneself away from Father and Christ, which causes much further pain, and destruction. Another impact or reaction because of abuse is that the victim will then go out to seek revenge in some form against their abuser. This does not follow with Father's Wisdom, either, which causes further separation from Father, and destruction.
Proverbs 20:22 -- Don't say, "I will avenge this evil!" Wait on the LORD, and He will rescue you.
In terms of the current government, the government has misled very much, as well. The Truth of its activities, and what it has allowed people to believe have all led down a very wrongful path. Some people have been able to see through the lies the government speaks, yet, may also decide to ignore the lies and attempt to continue living the same way after having received that Truth. Or, as spoken above, may give up hope. In fact, their loss of hope may even extend into losing their hope in Father, which is very bad.
The process that would seem to occur would seem to go in a bit of a progression. If an individual becomes confused by a course of events that occurs to them due to a source that tries to destroy the individual's ability to discern the Truth from lies, as seems to continue even now, then the only way to undo the evil that attempts to cause confusion is to turn towards Father and Christ in order to obtain the Truth so as to find a steady foundation to stand upon and not stumble any further. As it is, there will be a course of events continuing to unfold soon that will be devastating. If at any point of the process that evil may attempt to use against oneself, oneself does not break the chain, then that person may become further chained to evil. At the same time, during each part of the process, Father is still there, able to break the course of events evil seeks to use to enslave a person.
Proverbs 8:4 -- "People, I call out to you;
my cry is to mankind. “
If one does not hate the chain that evil tries to bind them with, then the removal of the evil from their life cannot be complete.
In the course of events that occurs to the world government(s), even amongst the world governments' resistance to Father and their misleading and persecution, it is still important to remember Father in Proverbs 24:17. Just as the destruction that occurs from a tornado or hurricane isn't to be desired. So, keeping faith in Father, and maintaining the proper attitudes even concerning those that have done or do oneself harm, is extremely important so that Father's Will may be done even in one's heart.
Romans 12:20 -- But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.
Nourishment From The Throne
“For the LORD gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6
Cherubic Commander: Here's some things for all to ponder.
Zechariah 1
A Plea for Repentance
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: 2 "The LORD was extremely angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell the people: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: Return to Me"—[this is] the declaration of the LORD of Hosts—"and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts. 4 Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to Me"—the LORD's declaration. 5 "Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? 6 But didn't My words and My statutes that I commanded My servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? They repented and said: As the LORD of Hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so He has dealt with us."
The Night Visions
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
First Vision: Horsemen
8 I looked out in the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley. Behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 I asked, "What are these, my lord?"
The angel who was talking to me replied, "I will show you what they are."
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth."
11 They reported to the Angel of the LORD standing among the myrtle trees, "We have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet."
12 Then the Angel of the LORD responded, "How long, LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that You have been angry with these 70 years?" 13 The LORD replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.
14 So the angel who was speaking with me said, "Proclaim: The LORD of Hosts says: I am extremely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was a little angry, but they made it worse. 16 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I have graciously returned to Jerusalem; My house will be rebuilt within it"—the declaration of the LORD of Hosts—"and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.
17 "Proclaim further: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem."
Second Vision: Four Horns and Craftsmen
18 Then I looked up and saw four horns. 19 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these?"
And he said to me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."
20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, "What are they coming to do?"
He replied, "These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These [craftsmen] have come to terrify them, to cut off the horns of the nations that raised [their] horns against the land of Judah to scatter it."
Isaiah 54:16 "Look, I have created the craftsman who blows on the charcoal fire and produces a weapon suitable for its task; and I have created the destroyer to work havoc."
The furnace that produces the angelic and physical weapons to be used to forcefully bring Christ Jesus' Kingdom to reality by crushing all earthly kingdoms of power. Michael is the destroyer angel that will work havoc. His split energy off of Christ Jesus is the creation of Father's work. Father alone created Michael as Her one and only direct creation.
Proverbs 8:30 "I was a skilled craftsman beside Him. I was His delight every day, always rejoicing before Him."
Just as no human can live in space without oxygen and shelter because of its environment, so too is it true that weapons must be produced that are suitable for the task at hand. Michael was aided in his task by other skilled angelic hosts:
Exodus 35:10 "Let all the skilled craftsmen among you come and make everything that the LORD has commanded:"
Mankind sees the signs, but the mass population fails to recognize where those signs originate from. The governments of this planet who are in the know, they know Yahweh is planning the invasion of this planet. Psalm 83:5 "For they have conspired with one mind; they form an alliance against You —" If the governments in the know of what's going on in the lower heavens admitted that Yahweh is behind the vast majority of crafts being sighted by the masses, then they know the people would look to Yahweh over human rulership. So, they hide the facts and they:
Psalm 83:3 "They devise clever schemes against Your people; they conspire against Your treasured ones."
Job 38:5 "Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?"
Prince of Yahweh II was a competent mason, and Father makes mention of the mason's level. Perhaps Father guided Prince of Yahweh II to that trade. His parallel in life with Christ Jesus has many similarities:
Isaiah 28:17 "And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason's level." Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place."
Christ stands for "justice" by his split self as Michael "measuring" the "line" of vindication against those that are slated for destruction, and Prince of Yahweh II fights to level the plain of evil in the pursuit of "righteousness under Michael's command."
Isaiah 34:11 "The desert owl and the hedgehog will possess it, and the great owl and the raven will dwell there. [The LORD] will stretch out a measuring line and a plumb line over her for [her] destruction and chaos."
Father uses Michael acting as the destroyer angel with the mesuring line to determine who will be destroyed, and Prince of Yahweh II with the plumb line in taking the lead as a destroyer angel in past times, who now leads in the battles fought by the Lion's of Zion. A unified effort by Father's chosen to bring Satan's rule to an end.
2 Kings 21:13 "I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line [used on] Samaria and the mason's level [used on] the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down."
The bowls of wrath. The cup of wrath brings the toast to the death of the wicked that they will drink from:
Psalm 75:8 "For there is a cup in the LORD's hand, full of wine blended with spices, and He pours from it. All the wicked of the earth will drink, draining it to the dregs."
Jeremiah 25:15 "[ The Cup of God's Wrath ] This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to drink from it." They will be forced to drink Father's wrath:
Jeremiah 25:28 "If they refuse to take the cup from you and drink, you are to say to them: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: You must drink!" No one will escape the wrath that are left on this planet.
Luke 22:42 "Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me—nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."
Christ Jesus drank from the cup of wrath that will be poured out on this wicked world. By his doing so, those that are salvaged will not be part of the wrath. Instead, the wrath will pass over them, for Father's wrath comes from on high, and only those that do not receive Salvation will receive the final contents of that cup. When the cup is poured out, it symbolizes that Father's anger has been emptied upon Her enemies and that the anger has passed away from Her. Her restraint to take action for past sins is no longer necessary because the penalty for sinful humans has been paid by all human offenders, including one that never deserved Her wrath. Christ Jesus. His consumed portion of wrath relieves those salvaged from tasting the bitter wine Father has prepared.
Signs From Above
“He rescues and delivers, He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:27
Giant UFO Causes Commotion in Salta Town, Argentina!
Source: Diario Popular (Salta, Argentina)
Translated by Scott Corrales, IHU.
Posted: 10:45 November 27, 2009
Perhaps the most chilling detail of what happened yesterday (11.25.09) morning in Joaquin V. Gonzalez, a town of 20,000 residents considered by traditionalists as the “heart of the province of Salta” is the abundance of eyewitness accounts and the manner in which they are so perfectly synchronized with each other. This little town is also known to the ever-watchful gaze of science for the fact that its heights are regularly swept by the passing of UFOs. The entire town – or at least those who were awake at 0200 yesterday – agree that it was hot, an unbearable heat that kept people from getting a good night’s sleep, their eyes wide open under treacherous, menacing and stormy skies. Outside, people drank cool drinks or ate ice cream hurriedly, before these were reduced to sticky confections. This was the fate of many residents of Joaquin V. Gonzalez, engulfed by nearly 300,000 hectares of soybeans, when at 2:00 a.m., with heat still burning under their skins, they saw a strange, gigantic luminous creature, elongated and weightless, heading southeast to El Tunal, some 35 kilometers from the town. It plowed the dark skies, lighting everything around it, visible to everyone.
Texas UFOs: 28 reports in 20 days
November 20, 7:47 PM
UFO Examiner
Roger Marsh
While it's tough reporting on UFOs from all 50 states - picking and choosing which cases to write about - Texas appears to be a hot spot again with 28 witness testaments in 20 days, according to reports from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database. Many of these most recent reports describe sets of orange lights in a straight line. But Texans are also reporting round, orange lights in the sky; a glowing, green object; a light flasing red, white, and blue; a giant triangle with lights at each point that is bigger than a 10-story building; two turquoise-colored orbs; a red, stationary object that blinks on and off; a fast-moving object that blinks on and off; a cigar-shaped object; several reports of one light separating into multiple lights with intelligently-controlled motions; a bright, hovering object that dims and moves intelligently; a glowing, orange ball that expands and contracts; a large, bright orange light; a dark, silent object hovering at just 1,000 feet; a large, glowing, circular object hovering in the sky; and a dark metallic disc-shaped object.
Mysterious Aerial Lights and Beams in Pennsylvania Woods
Earthfiles.com
© 2009 by Linda Moulton Howe
November 25, 2009 Murrysville, Pennsylvania - Alison Kruse, 47, is the owner of a construction site development company in the Murrysville, Pennsylvania, region about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh. Her home is about a quarter mile from old abandoned coal mines that give off radon gas from uranium decay and often the family hears low frequency hums that are sometimes loud enough to vibrate inside their heads. The hums seem to come from underground. Since August 2009, Alison, her daughter and others have seen amber-gold orbs, “like mini-suns,” or white balls of light going in and out of woods near the abandoned coal mines about 700 feet from the Kruse home. The unusual aerial phenomena, including large aerial triangles similar to the Belgium triangular UFOs of the early 1990s, are so frequent that in the 2009 summer, Alison purchased a $323 Clover HDC-501 “military grade” IR vari-focus, Color Day/Night 5mm-50mm security camera to put in various positions on her roof. Alison also purchased a $1400 Sony HDR-VR500 HD digital camcorder attached to a $3,300 ATN NVM14-3A Generation 3 Nightvision scope with a 5X zoom lens.
Unknown Objects Photographed over Florida - 11-13-09
Published: 3:14 AM 11/20/2009
My wife and I were at a restaurant last Friday 13, 2009, and she took some pictures of the sunset at about 5 minute intervals. When uploaded to computer, we found unusual globes and square lights. We are surrounded by military bases around here, so I haven't a clue what they were - they were invisible to naked eye, only spotted them in the pictures. In one picture they are very visible. see below These are the photos I was talking about: We were sitting at local Destin restaurant overlooking the harbor, when the photos were taken last Friday. At the time, nothing out of the ordinary was visible to the naked eye.
Unknown Object Photographed over West Virginia
UFOCasebook
Published: 6:01 PM 11/10/2009
West Virginia
MUFON witness report: I was outside having a smoke and noticed something shiny out of the corner of my eye. When I looked I immediately realized that it was not an airplane. The light from the sun setting was reflecting so brightly it appeared golden in color. I ran in the house and grabbed the camera, I managed to get off one shot. Fortunately it turned out relatively good considering the object was several thousand feet away and traveling about twice the speed of a passenger plane. The object was about twice the size of a passenger airplane also, and it made absolutely no noise as it flew almost right over my house. The object looked very similar to a bird, but did not appear to moving mechanically. It was traveling in an almost straight line away from the Air Force base in Kingwood WV.
Signs Down Below
"But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of religion but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Mephedrone menace: The deadly drug that's cheap, as easy to order as pizza... and totally legal
Daily Mail
By Paul Bracchi
November 28, 2009
The motorbike courier arrived at my home shortly after 8pm. He could have been delivering a pizza. It was certainly just as easy as ordering a margherita. One phone call. A text message to confirm address. Then, 40 or so minutes later, a knock on the door. But, on this occasion, the person standing outside was not from the local takeaway. He was carrying an envelope, and inside was a sachet of white powder called Mephedrone and a fake bank note. You can use the 'bank note' to snort Mephedrone like someone would a line of cocaine. It can also be taken in tablet form like ecstasy. Either way, it produces the same feeling of euphoria. That's the selling point, if you like, of this new party drug. Another is the price. It's dirt cheap. You - or, to be more precise, your children - can buy a gram of Mephedrone for around £7 or even less (one gram equals about five 'doses').
Time to clip the wings of the vultures?
The Independent
November 28, 2009
According to the World Bank it is the second poorest country on the globe – a place where 84 per cent of the population scrapes by on less than $1.25 a day. And yet Liberia was this week told by the High Court to pay $20m it can't afford to two shadowy offshore vulture funds which now have carte blanche to seize what meagre assets the country holds in the UK. This case was brought by the British Virgin Islands-registered Hamsah Investments and the Cayman Islands-registered Wall Capital. They now hold the rights to a $6m loan advanced to the country in 1978 by the US-based Chemical Bank. The money was lent at a time when rich countries and rich banks were falling over themselves to lend to developing nations, with disastrous consequences. The money was transferred before the civil wars which devastated Liberia and since then the debt has passed through a myriad of hands. No one has any clear idea of how much – if any – has been repaid, a situation not helped by the conflicts that raged between 1989 and 2003, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives and reducing real gross domestic product by 40 per cent.
Energy firms 'broke rules designed to protect poor'
The Independent
By Martin Hickman
November 28, 2009
Britain's big energy suppliers have broken rules intended to stop them exploiting millions of poor customers, according to an investigation by an NGO. The National Housing Federation (NHF) says that British Gas, SSE, npower, E.ON and Scottish Power breached new licence conditions designed to stamp out overcharging for six million pre-payment customers. Under rules introduced by the energy regulator Ofgem in September, suppliers can only charge more if it reflects the extra cost of providing the service. Last year, Ofgem set the extra cost of providing pre-payment meters at £88, but the month the new rules came into force, the NHF discovered the firms were charging £100 on average. Scottish Power and British Gas charged pre-pay meter customers £108 and £106 more than those on direct debits, while npower charged £105 more, SSE £102 more, and E.ON £99 more. The average excess charge was the same as that charged in August, the month before the new rules came in. "This means they failed to make any difference," the NHF complained, claiming its findings cast fresh doubt over Ofgem's ability to "tame" the £27bn-a-year energy industry.
China admits it runs illegal black jails to torture citizens who file complaints
Black Listed News
Telegraph
November 27, 2009
A magazine run by the Chinese government has revealed the existence of a network of secret detention centres or "black jails" in Beijing where inmates are often beaten or tortured. Until now, the Communist Party has strenuously denied running black jails, despite a growing number of testimonies and evidence from former inmates. However, a report in Liaowang (Outlook), a magazine which is written for elite government officials and published by the official Xinhua news agency, laid the system bare. The victims of the jails are usually ordinary Chinese who have travelled to Beijing to lodge a complaint, or petition, with the central government that their local officials have ignored. Every day, hundreds of petitioners arrive in Beijing from across China, only to be hunted down by plain-clothes policemen or even private security firms sent by their home province to "retrieve" them.
Global stock markets tumble
Big News Network
November 26, 2009
Stock markets across the world fell sharply Thursday, and continued falling Friday after a Dubai-government entity said it would delay debt repayments. Only U.S. markets are being shielded from the downturn - they are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Dubai World, whose principal company Nakheel developed the inconic palm projects, including the initial Palm Jumeirah, has requested a 6 months standstill period from its creditors, to enable it to restructure. The government-owned entity was due to meet a debt repayment of more next month. Fears were allayed when the Dubai government successfully launched a $20 billion bond offer earlier this year, half of which was taken up by the UAE Central Bank. On Wednesday Dubai raised another $5 billion from two Abu Dhabi banks, theNational Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Al Hilal Bank.
Signs in Humanity
Geneva: Police use tear gas on WTO protest
Associated Press
By Alexander G. Higgins
November 29, 2009
GENEVA — Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday to separate violent demonstrators from a protest of a meeting of top world trade officials, but the hooded "black bloc" activists were able to cause damage before 14 were arrested, spokesmen said. The protesters set fire to at least four cars, broke shop windows and committed other acts of violence Saturday, police spokesman Patrick Puhl said. Police Chief Monica Bonfati said officers arrested four looters in addition to the protesters. No injuries to police or protesters were reported, police said. The clashes occurred during a march by demonstrators protesting a meeting of the World Trade Organization scheduled to start Monday, in which the United States, China and other commercial powers will spearhead a new attempt to find ways to revive world trade and drag the global economy out of recession.
Italian PM, transsexual prostitutes in nativity scene
Big News Network
IANS
November 26, 2009
Rome, Nov 26 (IANS/AKI) Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his estranged wife Veronica Lario, transsexual prostitutes and Pope Benedict XVI are among figurines featured in a mock nativity scene in the southern city of Naples. The nativity scene shows Berlusconi kneeling in front of Lario, while Noemi Letizia - an 18-year-old lingerie model and aspiring actress linked to the premier - is seen behind him. A figurine of Patrizia D'Addario, the prostitute who claims to have slept with Berlusconi in exchange for money and favours, is also featured in the nativity scene. Pope Benedict XVI, is shown in the nativity scene wearing a plaster cast, after he fractured his right wrist in July in a fall during his summer holiday in the Alps. The nativity scene also features the former governor of the Lazio region, Piero Marrazzo, who is at the centre of a scandal involving transsexual prostitutes, blackmail and drugs.
Mankind using Earth's resources faster than replenished
The Independent
Relax News
November 25, 2009
Humanity would need five Earths to produce the resources needed if everyone lived as profligately as Americans, according to a report issued Tuesday. As it is, humanity each year uses resources equivalent to nearly one-and-a-half Earths to meet its needs, said the report by Global Footprint Network, an international think tank. "We are demanding nature's services - using resources and creating CO2 emissions - at a rate 44 percent faster than what nature can regenerate and reabsorb," the document said. "That means it takes the Earth just under 18 months to produce the ecological services humanity needs in one year," it said. And if humankind continues to use natural resources and produce waste at the current rate, "we will require the resources of two planets to meet our demands by the early 2030s," a gluttonous level of ecological spending that may cause major ecosystem collapse, the report said.
Philippines region on alert after massacre
CNN
November 24, 2009
Manila, Philippines (CNN) -- The Philippines government has increased security in the southern region of Maguindanao after gunmen kidnapped and killed at least 22 people, according to military officials and the country's national news agency. Some of the bodies were beheaded, according to Filipino media. The details suggest the daytime abductions were politically motivated, and the military said the gunmen were loyal to the province's incumbent governor. Those killed include a gubernatorial candidate's wife and one of his sisters, according to two of his family members who spoke on local television. The death toll also included at least 12 journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders, a media freedom organization. Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu wanted to run for governor of Maguindanao province in May but had received threats he would be kidnapped if he filed the candidate nomination papers himself. He sent his wife and sisters to file the papers, thinking "that women would have some protection," journalist Maria Ressa told CNN.
American Music Awards become 'modern Sodom'
World Net Daily
November 23, 2009
Editor's Note: This story contains references to very objectionable adult material, which also is included in the video of the Lambert performance. Openly homosexual former "American Idol" performer Adam Lambert shocked the American Music Awards audience last night by shoving dance team members' faces into his crotch, leading others around on dog leashes and delivering a passionate on-stage kiss to his male keyboard player during the ABC broadcast. The performance of his new song, "For Your Entertainment," marks his first public appearance since his "American Idol" competition loss to Christian Kris Allen. According to the London Telegraph, Lambert was unapologetic to anyone who might have been offended, saying, "Maybe I'm not your cup of tea."
Arks of Safe Haven
www.arksofsafehaven.org
"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?" Isaiah 58:7
The mission of Arks of Safe Haven is to connect via an extensive network and online message board forum, those individuals and families who have been affected by recent economic downfalls and are in need with those individuals who are ready, willing and capable of providing assistance to those in need with employment, shelter, work, food, clothing and other necessities.
Coupled with our primary mission of delivering the Kingdom Message of Salvation, the assistance of Arks of Safe Haven is available to all who are in need. Our purposeful intention is to follow in the footsteps of Christ as our example, by providing hope to the hopeless and answering the prayers of those who have been forced to live outside of society.
How You Can Help?
In order to provide for those whose outcry of prayers have reached our heavenly Father's ears, Arks of Safe Haven is seeking out those who are able to provide shelter, whether it be an extra bedroom, empty rental property or a work for room and board agreement. Additionally, we also act as a liaison in connecting those with tangible items to donate to those in need like Food, Water, Clothing, & Other Personal Items. We pray that your heart is motivated to make a contribution, no matter how small. Visit www.arksofsafehaven.org and view the many posts from those in need to see if you're able to help with advice, prayers or goods & services.
rowe1025 - Hello my name is Traci and I am a mother and grandmother in need of Christmas help. I have not heard of any Angel Trees or any programs to get into for help with Christmas so I was hoping you could help me with that. I have a 16 and 18 year old daughters in high school at home that I'm having a tough time providing for right now and I don't want to disappoint them at Christmas since this whole year has been disappointing. My husband was laid off the first of the year with one job cause it closed and then he just lost another cause the place was at sold. I applied for disability but was denied and didn't appeal in time so I have to redo all. Also I have a grown daughter that is married and has one 2 year old daughter and a baby on the way and they are down on their luck right now as well. They are losing their car cause their two months behind. So they are in need of Christmas help as well. We are in Fulton Kentucky.
Trolly -We are struggling family all the time. My husband works and I am having hard time finding a job around his schedule. We go a lot of time without much to eat. I have used the food bank here a couple of times. I just need a direction where I can find some work. I fill out applications every week to no avail. I tried to post that I am willing to clean people's houses for their price but still no luck! If anyone knows of any places, I am always willing to work. I can work 8am-7pm on Sun-Tues, and 8am-10pm Wed-Fri and after 3pm on Saturdays. I cannot change the schedule available except for Saturday. I am willing to work more then. We don't have money to pay anyone to sit with the kids so I have to find something with these hours in my area. We have Christmas in layaway but due to the bills, we won't be able to pay on it and it may get sent back on Sunday. So I really appreciate doing any kind of jobs for anyone in my area even during Thanksgiving! Thanks. Tamara trollins7@yahoo.com Thank you!
Toot - First of all my momma says that god does not give more than you can handle and that poor people are stronger than most. If that is so then why does my momma cry all the time anymore. My dads work has been cut back and mom lost her job. Our water has been shut off and or electric is about to be, mom borrows food for us, cause there is enough money coming in to pay the bills. There is 6 soon to be 7 in the home, none of us complain, because momma makes sure that we are not with out. But I know that are family is hurting and I want to do something to help. We need food so momma does not have to beg and borrow. Us older ones can deal with it but the little ones can not. So please if anyone is listening, help me help my momma. My mothers name is Jody Welch and she has a big heart, she helps anyone and everyone she can. She tells us that you never know when god is knocking at the door for help. So why can't he help her and our family. Please i am not asking so much for my self I am asking for help for the little ones in our home. I am only 16 and I do not know what all to do to help her. Other than pray and have faith that the world will get better. Thank you for your time.
Louis in Dallas, TX. Writes: hello my name is louis
am opening my home to a single guy who needs a place to stay
am located in dallas texas ....for whoever read this form .....
you must be willing to work and become independent in 3 months time frame ...
cleaning is required etc.....i just wanna help the ones that is eager for the help
call me at 214 489 5484 cell phone ....if no answer leave message ...asap...
god bless you and thank you ark safe haven
KMist1024 - I'm a Nana, I lost my daughter a few years ago, and my grandchildren are my life. With that being said, I've been able to give them most of what they needed up until this past year, I'm a nurse but have become disabled with a disease called Lupus, which there is no cure for, but, thats neither here nor there, I'm not able to give them Christmas and dont really know where to turn. I posted an ad on Craigs list asking for help but it was flagged in 15 minutes, but in those 15 minutes someone named Angela (short for angel?) wrote to me and gave me this site as a resource. I've always been the giver in life so its hard for me, but when it comes to the children, I guess your pride goes out the window. Anyway, I'm single, the children are 12 Katie and 14 Patrick. Any help at all would be very appreciated. thank you and god bless
kathy
Signs in Natural Disasters
“You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:6-7
Much less stable ice for polar bears, expert says
Survey by ship finds satellite data about thicker Arctic ice was wrong
Associated Press
Nov 27, 2009
Arctic sea ice conditions are even worse than feared after a survey found that ice detected as older and thicker by satellites is actually thin and fragile, a prominent Canadian researcher reported Friday. University of Manitoba researcher David Barber said experts around the world believed the ice was recovering because satellite images showed it expanding, but the thick, multiyear frozen sheets have been replaced by thin ice that cannot support the weight of a polar bear. "Polar bears are being restricted to a small fringe of where this multiyear sea ice is. As we went further and further north, we saw less and less polar bears because this ice wasn't even strong enough for the polar bears to stand on," said Barber, who returned from an expedition to the Beaufort Sea in September.
Ukraine Dead Approach 400 - D225G Spreads
Recombinomics Commentary 23:30
November 24, 2009
1,679,237 Influenza/ARI 99,661 Hospitalized 397 Dead The above figures from the latest daily update from the Ukraine Ministry of Health support a decline in the rate of increases of cases and deaths, but the total is now almost 400 fatalities (see map). The spread was likely slowed by the country-wide closing of schools along with warmer weather. However, it is likely that the virus will return as temperatures drop and the traditional flu season begins, although it is unclear if seasonal flu will be in circulation in 2010. The receptor binding domain change, D225G, was in four of four sequence from fatal cases, raising concerns that the 2,3 alpha specificity of D225G drove the H1N1 to the lungs and the total destruction. Three patients in Norway were said to also have D225G, and two of the three died while the third had been in serious condition. 25 HA sequences from Norway were deposited at Genbank, but only one had D225G, and it was a mixture. In Brazil both patients with D225G in lung samples had died, and the case in China had been in serious condition. However, the severity of the infection may be related to the ratio of sequences with and without D255G, as well as viral load, because milder cases involving D225G have also been reported in the United States and Hong Kong.
1000 people evacuated after Colombia volcano erupts
(AFP) – Nov 21, 2009
BOGOTA — A thousand people were evacuated and traffic was stopped after the Galeras volcano erupted in southern Colombia without causing casualties, officials said Saturday. The locals were taken to shelters in Pasto, the capital of Narino department on the border with Ecuador, after authorities put the volcano -- the most active in Colombia -- on red alert to signal an imminent or ongoing eruption. Some 9,000 people live in the vicinity of the volcano, which erupted at 8:37 pm Friday (0137 GMT Saturday), will be forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in temporary accommodations if the alert is prolonged, the Colombia Institute of Geology and Mining (Ingeominas) said. Narino Government Secretary Fabio Trujillo, whose office coordinates volcano prevention, evacuation and relief efforts, told local radio that traffic restrictions would be imposed on the highway linking Pashto -- 920 kilometers (570 miles) -- to localities close to Galeras. The eruption caused ashfall in Pashto and surrounding villages, according to local media.
6.8-magnitude quake rattles Tonga
Associated Press
Nov . 24, 2009
NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific island nation of Tonga, sending panicked residents into the streets at night, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Residents in the capital, Nuku'alofa, 120 miles (195 kilometers) southwest of the epicenter, said their homes rattled, and the tremors set off frantic barking of dogs. "There's no indication of damage right now in this area," said Faleo Vico, the duty Weather Office staffer in Nuku'alofa. In the town of Ha'apai, on an island 185 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the capital, resident Lano Fonua said the quake was strong and lasted about 45 seconds. "Many people went out into the streets as the quake was shaking the area quite a bit. It was really going," he said.
SaudiArabia floods leave 77 dead
BBC News
26 November 2009
Floods in Saudi Arabia have killed 77 people and scores could be missing, after the heaviest rainfall in years. None of the casualties had been among the millions attending the Hajj pilgrimage, said a spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry. Heavy rainstorms on Wednesday had hampered the start of the annual Muslim event in the city of Mecca. The flood deaths were in the port city of Jeddah, Rabigh and Mecca, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It quotes officials as saying the deaths had been caused by flooding and collapsed homes. Witnesses said many of the victims were trapped in cars and buses. Twenty-one of the dead were Saudis and the rest were foreign immigrants resident in the country, said Jeddah civil defence chief Abdullah al-Amri, quoted by the Associated Press.
Natural Disaster Update
Source: http://home.att.net/~thehessians/disasterwatch.html
QUAKES -
11/25/09 -
5.1 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
5.3 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.
11/24/09 -
5.4 TONGA
5.8 TONGA
6.8 TONGA
5.0 KOMANDORSKIYE OSTROVA REGION
5.3 KURIL ISLANDS
5.0 GUAM REGION
11/23/09 -
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.6 OFF COAST OF JALISCO, MEXICO
11/22/09 -
5.0 TRINIDAD, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
5.6 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.8 OFF COAST OF LOS LAGOS, CHILE
6.2 FIJI REGION
5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
11/21/09 -
5.0 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
5.1 TONGA
5.0 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
TONGA - A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific island nation of Tonga, sending panicked residents into the streets at night, but there were reports of damage or injuries. Residents in the capital, Nuku'alofa, 120 miles (195 kilometers) southwest of the epicenter, said their homes rattled, and the tremors set off frantic barking of dogs. In the town of Ha'apai, on an island 185 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the capital, the quake was strong and lasted about 45 seconds.
VOLCANOES -
COLUMBIA - authorities again issued a red alert in the area affected by the Galeras volcano, in the southwestern province of Nariño, after a new eruption Friday night that claimed no victims. "The level of volcanic activity at Galeras has changed to the red level,” which means that an eruption is imminent or in progress. For several days an order has been in effect to evacuate the rural area.
TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES / RISING SEA LEVELS -
LIBERIA faces rising flood threat. Liberia, on Africa's west coast, is in desperate need of help as it suffers from the effects of climate change. The country is now facing a major threat - the ocean. The changing climate means the sea level is rising and the rainy season is getting longer. This has led to a rapidly eroding coastline and more instances of flooding. People living in one of the capital Monrovia's seaside shanty towns, New Kru Town, say the effects of this are clear - homes have been swept away and lives have been lost. Over the years the ocean has moved inland. Liberia's government wants to build a series of sea walls in the Atlantic Ocean to protect communities like New Kru Town from rising sea levels. But that will be costly, and the government has very little money. The economy has barely begun to recover from a civil war. The majority of Liberia's population live in coastal cities and what is left of its infrastructure is also near the ocean. The exact rate of coastal erosion is unclear because historical records were destroyed during the civil war. But the government estimates that in one coastal city, Buchanan, the sea has moved 250 metres in almost 40 years. People living in Buchanan tell a different story. They talk in much bigger terms. A lawyer has lived in Buchanan for all of his 85 years. Since he was a boy, he says, "I believe the sea has eroded a mile and a half or two. Buchanan is on the brink of falling into the sea. We are all afraid now and don't know what to do." The government minister describes the amount of money rich countries spend helping poor countries adapt to climate change as "a drop in the bucket." "If aid is not forthcoming, it's going to be a national disaster."
MOZAMBIQUE - While scientists cannot give an exact figure of how much the sea has already risen in Mozambique, the effects are already obvious. "I went to the beach a lot as a child, and I've noticed things are changing. The water is eating the land - little by little it's eating the land." Mozambique has compiled an action plan, and has been offered help from the World Bank, UN agencies and a plethora of other aid agencies. But so far little has been done, and much of what the country would like to do is beyond its budget.
BRAZIL - Broken boats, cars taken by the water, a whole community scared. This was the scenario in Armação Beach South Marsh in the south of the island of Santa Catarina which was hit by a giant wave on Thursday (19), formed from the strong winds that passed through Santa Catarina coast. Known as a "freak wave", the waves reached three meters. "She came and did not break, like a wall. Even the oldest never seen anything like this." With the power of the water, a vehicle was dragged, broke the door of a restaurant and almost broke into the establishment. A fisherman who has lived for 70 years on site confirms that no similar phenomenon was recorded that way in recent years. "It was only one minutes and ready. It was taking everything." At least ten vehicles were swept away by water. Seven boats were damaged - one came to stop on the dunes, 200 meters far from the sea. A number of factors contributed to the formation of the phenomenon. The main one was the wind, which peaked at 90 kilometers per hour in the afternoon of Thursday. Among the causes, in addition to winds, are generally the shape of the seabed, the shoreline (presence of islands, points, bays, etc.) and waves propagating in opposite directions to the ocean current. There is no way to specify the size of the wave, since the region does not have equipment for this purpose.
TROPICAL STORMS -
MADAGASCAR - Two near misses by huge storms rolling in from the Indian Ocean have signalled an early start to Madagascar's cyclone season, prompting the humanitarian community to appeal for "urgent" preparedness funding. Meteorologists forecast that four to five intense cyclones could strike Madagascar during the 2009/10 season. The approaching Tropical Storm Bongani, hot on the heels of Cyclone Anja in mid-November, provided a wake-up call for aid agencies and the partly paralyzed national disaster management authority. Cyclone season usually starts in December and runs through April, hitting some of the poorest regions in the country.
Bongani is now forecast to head south through the Mozambique Channel and parallel the coast of Madagascar over the next 5 days.
Cyclone Nida approaching the Philippines from the east is not likely to make landfall. "As of now, Nida is moving slowly. If it enters the Philippine area of responsibility, it will likely remain at sea and not make landfall." On the other hand, the Japan Meteorological Agency's report indicated Nida is moving north-northwest. It described Nida as "very intense." Nida has maximum wind speeds of 115 knots near the center and gusts of up to 165 knots. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center described Nida as a "super typhoon," and that it is moving "toward the Philippines." Meanwhile, despite the weakening of tropical depression Urduja into a low-pressure area, threats of flash floods and landslides still loom over North Mindanao.
PHILIPPINES - Even as Tropical Depression Urduja [27] moved eastward and continues to threaten eastern Visayas and Mindanao, state weather forecasters are monitoring a new tropical storm that may enter Philippine territory in three days. The new storm, with international code-name "Nida," may affect areas between Visayas and Mindanao once it enters Philippine territory. The incoming storm is far bigger and more powerful than Urduja. Urduja was estimated at 70 km east of Surigao City as of 4 a.m. Wednesday, packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near its center and moving east slowly. Urduja is expected to be 130 km east of Surigao City Thursday morning, and 220 km east of Surigao City or 210 km east southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar Friday morning. By Saturday morning it is expected to be 310 km east southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
The Visayas has been spared by tropical depression Urduja as it veered east towards the Pacific Ocean, the weather bureau said Tuesday. The storm changed its path due to a high pressure area over the South China sea. The storm, with peak winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph), is moving east towards the Pacific Ocean. The storm will not intensify, but it may linger in Philippine waters until Friday. Meanwhile, Nida, is forecast to enter Philippine waters on Sunday. With peak winds of 75 kph, the tropical storm, to be renamed Vinta once it enters Philippine waters, was moving northwest and is likely to affect Northeastern Luzon.
Tropical Storm Nida was upgraded to a typhoon last night. There are no watches in effect for Guam, but Nida is expected to make its closest point of approach approximately 225 miles southwest of the island this evening. A tropical storm warning remains for the outer island of Faraulep in the Federated State of Micronesia. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Fais and Ulithi. Though there is no storm watch or warning for the island, the Weather Service issued a high surf advisory for the island that will last until Friday.
Cyclone Bongani is forecast to strike Madagascar at about 00:00 GMT on 25 November. Bongani was forecast to strike the Seychelles at about 18:00 GMT on 24 November. (map)
Tropical Storm Nida is tracking away from Guam according to the update from the National Weather Service. It is moving West-Northwest at 8 MPH and is expected to turn more Northwest within the next twenty-four hours bringing maximum sustained winds of 60 MPH and is expected to intensify.
Tropical depression Twentyseven is forecast to strike the Philippines as a tropical storm at about 18:00 GMT on 25 November.
PHILIPPINES - A low-pressure area (LPA) east of Mindanao has intensified into an active low-pressure area (ALPA), threatening Eastern Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao if it becomes a cyclone. If it intensifies further into a cyclone, it will be code-named “Urduja". It will not likely affect Metro Manila and Luzon but these areas might still have rains due to the northeast monsoon. In its 5 a.m. bulletin, Pagasa said the ALPA was estimated at 160 km east of Northern Mindanao. The northeast monsoon is still affecting extreme northern Luzon.
HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING / LANDSLIDES / UNUSUAL & OUT-OF-SEASON WEATHER -
BRITAIN - The rain may have finally stopped but Britain was battered by yet more freak weather Monday. As the flood victims of Cumbria began the gruelling task of cleaning up, a tornado tore through a town in the Midlands, destroying buildings, trees and cars.
UNITED KINGDOM - Thousands of people in flood-stricken communities are starting the working week amid widespread disruption. Sixteen bridges and at least 25 roads are closed in Cumbria, where once-short commutes will involve lengthy detours. Five secondary schools and 13 primaries in the county are shut, with many homes and businesses still cut off. About 60 people remain in reception centres. Flood warnings are in force in 22 areas of the UK but forecasters say Monday's showers should not raise river levels. Work continues on a safety review of all 1,800 bridges in Cumbria, where six crossings have already collapsed and Calva Bridge in Workington, which may be about to fall, has been condemned. People across the county have been staying with friends and relatives since more than 1,300 homes were flooded by RECORD DAILY RAINFALL last Thursday and Friday. (photos)
UNITED KINGDOM - The Environment Agency has warned residents in Cumbria more heavy rain could bring further flooding as water levels reach a "big peak" later. Up to 10cm (3.9in) of rain is forecast over high ground and 20 flood warnings remain in place in England and Wales. "The ground is very waterlogged and rivers are already very high so any amount of rain that falls goes very quickly into the rivers." It could take years for the affected areas to recover. The Environmental Secretary said that although the flooding could not be attributed to climate change, more extreme weather could be expected in the future. A record £2.15bn is being invested in river and coastal defences over three years.
England's WETTEST DAY ON RECORD claimed the life of a "heroic" policeman and left thousands of others counting the cost of flooded homes and businesses. The extreme rainfall that swamped northern England with devastating floods, sweeping away bridges, making hundreds homeless, was the heaviest ever recorded in Britain in a 24-hour period. More than a foot of rain – 12.3in – fell onto the Lake District in 24 hours, breaking the previous record set in a summer thunderstorm in July 1955, when 11in were recorded in Martinstown, Dorset. The unparalleled volume of water, running off already saturated ground, turned the Derwent into an unstoppable torrent which devastated the towns in its path, Cockermouth and Workington – collapsing a stone bridge on Workington's outskirts. The downpour was caused by a wet, warm air system blown across the Atlantic, which sat over Cumbria for 24 hours and brought the equivalent of NEARLY TWO MONTHS' RAIN IN A SINGLE DAY. It was probably a "ONE-IN-A-1000-YEARS EVENT".
SINGAPORE - Thursday's deluge which submerged parts of Bukit Timah was a 'FREAK' event that OCCURS ONCE IN 50 YEARS. 'What happened was VERY UNUSUAL. The intensity was tremendous.' Shortly after 1pm the skies opened and in the next two hours, almost 110mm of rain fell - almost half the average monthly rainfall for November. When a diversion canal from the main Bukit Timah canal burst its banks, flood waters rose knee-high, partially submerging ground-floor buildings and cars and causing untold damage. The current north-east monsoon season is usually the wettest time of the year, with almost 48 per cent of the year's rainfall occurring between November and January.
NEW ZEALAND - An “ODDBALL” El Nino pattern in the Pacific will deliver extreme weather to Mid Canterbury this summer, says Blue Skies Weather. But whether that will be drought or too much rain is impossible to tell at this stage, due to the El Nino’s behaviour making it difficult to tell which way it will swing. “This would have to be ONE OF THE LEAST PREDICTABLE EL NINO WEATHER PATTERNS I HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST 25 YEARS, it really is an oddball one." The El Nino’s variables of wind flows, ocean currents, movement of weather patterns are not tying in with each other in the way they would in a typical El Nino. If the El Nino dominated over summer it would ward off westerly weather patterns and this would cause wetter and cooler weather than usual, whereas if it peaked and then tailed off it would cause drier and hotter weather, possibly leading to drought in Canterbury. For the next six weeks they expect the El Nino to weaken slightly, causing predominantly fine and drier than normal weather, but after that it is hard to tell. The phenomenon behind the strange El Nino may be the same one causing extreme weather in other parts of the world, such as floods in England and bushfires in Australia, but it is not climate change as most understand it. It is instead “a very quiet sun” with lessened radiomagnetic output. Some research suggest it is the LOWEST OUTPUT FOR AT LEAST 100 YEARS, and the longer this goes on for the more extreme the earth’s weather could become. “We may be in a period when climate is altering naturally around the world possibly due to solar influence." The effects had been seen in Mid Canterbury in the past 12 months, with several weather events making the news. August was the HOTTEST ON RECORD, October the COLDEST FOR DECADES, while other months have featured hail and wind.
BRAZIL - Last week will go down in history for the country with severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, flooding and a freak wave that was originally reported as a tsunami. Over 500,000 lost power and 5 were killed. The rain and strong winds that hit the Rio Grande do Sul on Thursday reached the south coast and the region of Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. At least 15 municipalities were affected. The winds reached 103 km / h. In the port of Itajai, three people suffered serious injuries after being thrown overboard with the fall of a crane, and were hospitalized. There are also records of a person slightly injured in Florianopolis, where 175 buildings were hit by the storm. In Florianópolis, South Marsh, a boat capsized, but people have been rescued. In Florianópolis, the wind knocked part of the coverage of the stadium Heriberto Hülse, the Criciúma Sports Club. The structure fell into the street and part of it was leaning on power cables.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
More than 100 icebergs were spotted drifting towards New Zealand's main South Island. The icebergs, some of which are 200m (650ft) in size, are believed to have broken from an Antarctic ice floe. Many scientists believe these segments will break up long before reaching the New Zealand coastline. A warning has been issued to ships in the southern Pacific Ocean. Satellite photography spotted just one cluster of icebergs but there may be more around. The closest iceberg - about 30m high (98ft) - was 160 miles (257.5km) south east of New Zealand's Stewart Island. A number of scientists say they believe the icebergs originally broke away from the Ross Sea Ice Shelf in 2000 and have been drifting and slowly breaking apart since then. In 2006, a number of icebergs from the same broken shelf came within 16 miles (25km) of the coastline. Before that, the last sighting was in 1931. Since the icebergs were moving at a speed of just 16 miles (25km) a day, not many of them are expected to reach New Zealand's coastline. Scientists are now investigating the conditions which have allowed the icebergs to travel in such a large form for so long.
Icebergs head from Antarctica for New Zealand - Ships in the south Pacific Ocean have been alerted that groups of icebergs believed to have split off Antarctic ice shelves are drifting north toward New Zealand. The alert comes three years after cold weather and favorable ocean currents saw dozens of icebergs float close to New Zealand's southern shores for the first time in 75 years. One iceberg was spotted Monday, 57 miles (92 kilometers) northeast of Macquarie Island and heading north - about 500 miles (800 kilometers) south of New Zealand. The iceberg was up to 500 feet (150 meters) long and 80-90 feet (25-30 meters) high. Four icebergs were spotted last week off Auckland Islands, 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of New Zealand and heading slowly toward the country. Australian scientists reported another mass of 20 icebergs drifting north past Macquarie Island two weeks ago. Satellite images showed the group of icebergs, spread over a sea area of 600 by 440 miles (1,000 kilometers by 700 kilometers), moving on ocean currents away from Antarctica. It is RARE for whole icebergs to drift so far north before melting, but a cold snap around southern New Zealand and favorable ocean currents have again combined to push the towering visitors to the region intact.
CANADA - RECORD-BREAKING EARLY SEASON SNOW hits Whistler. Crazy snowfalls have helped Whistler-Blackcomb DESTROY THE PREVIOUS SNOWFALL RECORD FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. The world-renowned ski resort and co-host for this winter’s Olympics has had a record 418cm (165in) of November snowfall as of last Thursday. The snowfall record dates back to 1979, and the previous record, set in 2006, was 416cm (164in). With a week left in the month, the previous November record should be further ‘blown out of the snow’ with another 23cm (9in) in the last 48 hours and forecasts calling for another 35-50cm (13-19 inches) to fall this week. “This is an UNPRECEDENTED start to the season...Whistler-Blackcomb is well known for the copious amount of snow it receives on an annual basis. The fact that we’re only 87cm (34 inches) from reaching the half way point of our annual average snowfall, shows how incredible the start of this season really is.” The annual average snowfall at Whistler-Blackcomb is just over 10 metres or 33 feet. “We have already received one third of our average annual snowfall for the entire season and it’s only four days into the season, it’s unbelievable!”
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE-
Northern Michigan will remain snow-free for at least another week. This is a huge contrast compared to 2008 when the Gaylord area saw more than 27 inches before Thanksgiving, and 4 additional inches before the month ended. “This is QUITE RARE actually. We typically average 22 to 23 inches of snow for the month of November. The interesting fact is this doesn’t mean we’ll be short on snow for the winter. Even in 2001 we had well in excess of 100 inches after having only an inch of snow on the ground before Thanksgiving.”
CALIFORNIA - A wind-driven wildfire broke out south of Los Angeles Tuesday night as late season Santa Ana winds blasted down burning slopes toward homes.
Climate is a major driver of conflict across Africa, researchers say, with future warming likely to increase civil wars by 50% in 20 years.
Climate cash is 'unaccounted for' - Large sums promised to developing countries to help them tackle climate change cannot be accounted for, a BBC investigation has found. Rich countries pledged $410m (£247m) a year in a 2001 declaration - but it is now unclear whether the money was paid. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has accused industrialised countries of failing to keep their promise. The EU says the money was paid out in bilateral deals, but admits it cannot provide data to prove it. The money was pledged in the 2001 Bonn Declaration, signed by 20 industrialised nations - the 15 countries that then made up the European Union, plus Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. They said they would pay $410m per year until 2008 - a total of $1.6bn. But only $260m has ever been paid into two UN funds earmarked for the purpose, the BBC World Service investigation has found. Poor countries may not sign up to a new agreement unless they trust rich countries to keep their promises, and are satisfied with the mechanisms put in place to handle the flow of funds.
East Antarctica 'is losing ice' [maybe] - The East Antarctic ice sheet has been losing mass for the last three years, according to an analysis of data from a gravity-measuring satellite mission. The scientists involved say they are "surprised" by the finding, because the giant East Antarctic sheet, unlike the west, has been thought to be stable. Other scientists say ice loss could not yet be pinned on climate change, and uncertainties in the data are large. The smaller West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are losing mass. These two bodies of ice contain enough water to raise sea levels by about six to seven metres (20ft) each if they melted completely. Melting the East Antarctic sheet would raise sea levels by much more - about 50-60m. But scientists have generally discounted the possibility of it happening because the region is so cold. Measurements suggest there was no net ice loss between 2002 and 2006. But since then, East Antarctica has been losing 57 billion tonnes (Gt) per year. West Antarctica is losing 132Gt per year, and Greenland is losing 273Gt. Measuring Antarctic ice loss is a tricky issue because the continent itself is rising and deforming. It is not clear what physical processes could be driving any loss of mass here, although it is not simply melting due to high air temperatures, because temperatures are well below zero. (maps & photo)
Warming's impacts - Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated - beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then. As the world has talked for a dozen years about what to do next, new ship passages opened through the once frozen summer sea ice of the Arctic. In Greenland and Antarctica, ice sheets have lost trillions of tons of ice. Mountain glaciers in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa are shrinking faster than before. The world's oceans have risen by about an inch and a half. Droughts and wildfires have turned more severe worldwide, from the U.S. West to Australia to the Sahel desert of North Africa. Species now in trouble because of changing climate include, not just the polar bear, but also fragile butterflies, colorful frogs and entire stands of North American pine forests. Temperatures over the past 12 years are 0.4 of a degree warmer than the dozen years leading up to 1997. Even the gloomiest climate models back in the 1990s didn't forecast results quite this bad so fast. "The latest science is telling us we are in more trouble than we thought." "The message on the science is that we know a lot more than we did in 1997 and it's all negative. Things are much worse than the models predicted."
SPACE WEATHER-
SOUTH AFRICA - 11/21/09 - Investigations are underway after an apparent meteor was spotted over Gauteng over the weekend. People saw the bright light between 10:30pm and 11pm on Saturday night, heading towards the north of Pretoria. There were also reports of the meteor being spotted as far as Botswana. Witnesses said it was a spectacular sight. “There was a very bright explosion, where the sky lit up as if it were day time. All of a sudden we saw this blue light then a huge ball of fire." The Johannesburg Planeterium’ said there was no doubt the object was a meteor. Astronomers and scientists are still trying to find out where the meteor landed.
AUSTRALIA - 11/19/09 - Experts say a fire ball that streaked across the sky above south-east Queensland last Thursday night was a "chip off the old block of some asteroid". The meteor was spotted by people from the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and across Brisbane around 9.45pm. Witnesses said the meteor was a green glow travelling from south-east to north-west, leaving a visible trail for 10 to 15 minutes.
WESTERN U.S. - 11/18/09 - A meteor that burned up in a brilliant flash before remnants struck the ground in northern Nevada early Wednesday morning lit up Western skies for hundreds of miles. The meteor was probably about the size of an oven and traveled through the sky at about 80,000 m.p.h. The fireball was visible from several Intermountain West states. People from Utah to Yavapai County saw a green-hued meteor streaming toward Earth. The meteor came into the atmosphere at 12:07 am. A Verde Valley resident saw an "incredibly large greenish fireball, trailing green flames, and giving the entire northern sky a greenish hue...In fact, the interior of my car was green, it was so bright."
KANSAS - 11/14/09 - A biophysicist has confirmed that a black rock that fell into a backyard in Liberal was a meteorite. A 10-year-old found the 2-inch-diameter black rock Saturday after hearing what he thought was an explosion. It likely came from the atmosphere around the sun and fell as far as 100 million miles. The meteorite weighed 47 grams.
HEALTH THREATS -
Study revisits issue of lab origin for H1N1 - After examining publicly available genetic sequences, virologist Adrian Gibbs and colleagues suggest in a study that the pandemic H1N1 virus may have been the product of a lab. In May the World Health Organization (WHO) examined Gibbs's assertions and said natural means were more likely. Gibbs said that, while genes from different flu strains may have mixed naturally to form novel H1N1, human involvement is "by far the simplest explanation." (pdf file)
Doctor had repeat H1N1 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a West Virginia pediatrician contracted novel H1N1 flu twice, in August and in October. Local labs had confirmed that she had pandemic flu both times she was sick. Now more exacting tests from the CDC on both samples have confirmed the results. A state health official called this occurrence "VERY, VERY, VERY RARE."
Japan reports flu-related brain swelling - Japan has identified 132 influenza patients who have developed encephalopathy, or brain swelling caused by an immune overreaction. This is triple the expected annual number. Patients ranged in age from 1 to 67, but most were under 15, with 7-year-olds most commonly affected. Three patients died. A senior health official said that flu patients who have slow responses or say "strange things" should see a doctor immediately.
107 patients who were critically ill with pandemic H1N1 flu have been treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Research at the University of Michigan is under way to assess the best candidates for the treatment. ECMO allows blood to bypass damaged lungs to allow healing.
The weekly number of deaths due to the pandemic virus in Europe has nearly doubled every 2 weeks over the past 6 weeks and reached 169 last week, with a cumulative total of 670. Most of the deaths have occurred in Western Europe, but fatalities are increasing in central and Eastern Europe. "Very high intensity" flu activity was reported in Italy, Norway, and Sweden, with high intensity in nine other countries.
Two Harvard researchers write that U.S. adults with medical conditions other than pregnancy deserve better access to H1N1 vaccine. High-risk adults were left off the list of top-priority groups to be targeted in a vaccine shortage, but some have a higher risk of death than pregnant women and a far higher risk than healthy children under age 4. Even as vaccine supplies improve, high-risk adults will face competition from healthy people younger than 24.
Signs of a peak in pandemic flu activity continue in several Northern Hemisphere locations, though transmission is still intensifying in Canada and northern and southern Europe. Sharp increases were noted in Kazakhstan and Israel; Colombia and Peru also reported increases. More than 99% of subtyped influenza A viruses in Europe are the pandemic strain, and a decreasing number of seasonal viruses are being detected in China and Southeast Asia.
GlaxoSmithKline has withdrawn a 170,000-dose lot of H1N1 vaccine distributed in Canada because of an unusual number of allergic reactions. Health officials reported six anaphylactic reactions to doses from the lot, versus an expected rate of only one or two. The reactions were brief and all the patients recovered.
Clusters of resistant H1N1 cases reported in UK, US.
Asthma "appears to be a significant risk factor for severe disease" in children with H1N1 flu.
CDC connects H1N1, severe bacterial infections - Federal health officials on Wednesday linked the H1N1 flu epidemic to a sharp rise in the number of severe bacterial infections. The national trend was "worrisome" but not unexpected. "In previous pandemics, there has been an increase in pneumococcal infections in younger people." . The illnesses are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, a microbe often carried in the nose and throat. While often benign, the bacterium can cause bloodstream infections, fatal pneumonia and meningitis. The clearest sign of the marked rise is coming from the Denver area, which usually records about 20 cases of "invasive pneumococcal disease" each October. This year, it has had 58. In an analysis of about 75 fatal H1N1 cases earlier this year, autopsies showed that about one-third had bacterial pneumonia. CDC is investigating 10 proved or suspected cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome among people who have gotten the vaccine, which is no more than would normally be expected in that number of people.
Influenza activity at US colleges continued to significantly decline last week, with all but seven states reporting decreases. New cases dropped 37% from the previous week. The report for the week ending Nov 20 said the attack rate was 13.4 cases per 10,000 students, but with no deaths. The pandemic vaccine uptake is low, with only 4% vaccinated just before the Thanksgiving break.
China, Hong Kong report virus mutation - A Chinese official said that this summer China detected the pandemic H1N1 virus mutation which has been seen in Norway and other countries. The mutated virus didn't seem to be more virulent and wasn't linked to any deaths. Hong Kong officials said they detected the mutation in July in a toddler who has recovered.
Chinese expert warns of possible H1N1-H5N1 mix A Chinese respiratory disease expert said the country must be alert to any H1N1 mutation, because the far deadlier H5N1 avian flu is endemic in China. "China . . . is different from other countries. nside China, H5N1 has been existing for some time, so if there is really a reassortment between H1N1 and H5N1, it will be a disaster."
First H1N1 wave hit 1 in 6 UK children - Serology studies by the United Kingdom's Health Protection Agency reveal that about 15% of children in England became infected with H1N1 flu during the pandemic's first wave in spring and summer. That proportion rose in certain areas of the country, with 25% of children under 15 infected in London and the West Midlands, and 21% of those age 15 to 24. About one third of children tested in a boarding school who showed no symptoms had actually been infected.
RECALLS & ALERTS -
-Timco Worldwide Inc. is recalling a limited number of its Large Seedless Watermelons because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
-Five Crowns Marketing, Brawley, California is recalling cantaloupes packed under the Majesty label because of a potential health risk due to possible contamination of Salmonella.
-Service Smoked Fish Corp. of Brooklyn, NY, is recalling some Brooklyn's BEST brand SMOKED NOVA SALMON because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
Signs in False Shepherds & False Religion
"For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also." 2 Timothy 3:6-9
Peopleworship Highway Goddess for safe journey in Chennai
ANI
Big News Network
22nd November, 2009
Chennai, Nov. 22 : People have strong belief in Iraniamman Amma, commonly known as the highway goddess in Chennai. They offer puja at Goddess Iraniamman temple, situated near Tambaram, for a safe journey. According to locals, breaking of the coconut and crushing of the lime under the vehicle's tyre evades the accidents from happening. On Fridays, hundreds of vehicles block the highway to get the puja done for their vehicle in order to have a safe journey ahead. "Since the past twenty five years I am coming here as a tourist guide, when ever I used to come here and perform puja, I felt happy and better. Accident will not happen. Today also I am going to some place that's why I have come here to worship Iraniamman. I have belief that is why I coming here and worshiping Amma," said Gajapathy, a tourist guide.
Atheist Student Groups Flower on College Campuses
By ERIC GORSKI
ABC.com
AMES, Iowa
November 21, 2009
The sign sits propped on a wooden chair, inviting all comers: "Ask an Atheist." Whenever a student gets within a few feet, Anastasia Bodnar waves and smiles, trying to make a good first impression before eyes drift down to a word many Americans rank down there with "socialist." Bodnar is the happy face of atheism at Iowa State University. Once a week at this booth at a campus community center, the PhD student who spends most of her time researching the nutritional traits of corn takes questions and occasional abuse while trying to raise the profile of religious skepticism. "A lot of people on campus either don't know we exist or are afraid of us or hate us," says Bodnar, president of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society. "People assume we're rabble-rousing, when we're one of the gentlest groups on campus."
Was Jesus taught by the Druids of Glastonbury? New film claims it is possible he came to England
By Fiona Macrae
The Daily Mail
26th November 2009
As a book of record the New Testament doesn't do too well on the early life of Jesus Christ. The large holes may explain why so many outlandish theories have been able to build up about what the Son of God got up to as a boy. But among those myths most perpetuated is that he visited Britain - an idea immortalised in the opening lines of William Blake's Jerusalem. Now a film has sought to add flesh to the fable by claiming it's perfectly plausible the Messiah made an educational trip to Glastonbury.
Nepal's bloodbath fair claims three Indian infants
IANS
25th November, 2009
At least three Indian infants died due to cold in Nepal's most controversial religious fair, where thousands of animals and birds are being slaughtered by Indians and Nepalis, mostly in the hope of getting a son or wish fulfilment. Nisha Kumari Shah, the one-year-old daughter of Prem Shah who went to attend the Gadhimai Fair in Nepal's Bara district, died Tuesday after failing to receive adequate treatment at the 'health camps' put up at the fair to treat the millions of Hindu devotees who have been swarming to witness the killing of thousands of birds and animals for two days from Tuesday. A four-month-old baby girl, whose parent was identified as Rajesh Prasad, also died due to the cold in the plains as well as a two-month-old boy who could not be identified immediately. All three families came from Narkatiaganj in India's Bihar state, from where the majority of the pilgrims are, Nepali daily Kantipur reported Wednesday.
Americans More Likely to Credit Obama for Verse on Justice than Bible
By Joshua A. Goldberg
Christian Post Reporter
Nov. 24 2009
A Bible verse about caring for the poor and the oppressed was wrongly attributed by a majority of U.S. adults to celebrities, politicians and other prominent figures including President Obama, Oprah, Bono and Angelina Jolie. Only 13 percent of Americans surveyed by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Bible Society was able to correctly credit the Bible as the source of Proverbs 31:8-9, the Contemporary English Version of which states: “You must defend those who are helpless and have no hope. Be fair and give justice to the poor and homeless.” Fifty-four percent, meanwhile, credited the passage to other sources, with President Obama cited as the most likely author by Americans (16 percent). Behind Obama, the Dalai Lama was cited as the most likely author by survey participants (nine percent), followed by Martin Luther King Jr. (eight percent), Oprah Winfrey (four percent), and U2 frontman Bono (three percent). "The survey illustrates the reason we created ‘The Poverty and Justice Bible,’” commented R. Lamar Vest, president of American Bible Society, “to highlight God's concern for the poor, marginalized and oppressed."
Faith under Fire
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
“You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endured to the end will be delivered.” Matthew 10:22
Family group declares victory in 'Christmas' battle
By Drew Zahn
WorldNetDaily
November 24, 2009
The American Family Association has tentatively declared a victory in its battle to keep Christmas in American culture, suspending its boycott of Gap, Inc., after the clothing retailer announced an upcoming pro-Christmas commercial campaign. "We firmly believe that Gap is responding to an enormous amount of pressure from the AFA network," said Bryan Fischer, the AFA's director of issues analysis, in a statement. "It looks like Gap has finally decided that a recession is a bad time to take a principled stand on secularism and alienate a huge percentage of their customer base. We're happy that they're apparently keeping Christ and Christmas in the Christmas season."
10 North Naples Middle students suspended for taking part in “kick a Jew day”
By KATHERINE ALBERS
Naplesnews.com
November 23, 2009
NAPLES — Ten North Naples Middle School students were suspended last week after district officials said they participated in “kick a Jew day.” District Spokesman Joe Landon said a student told the dean of students at dismissal on Thursday that she was kicked because it was “kick a Jew day.” The following morning Principal Margaret Jackson addressed the entire student body on the morning news regarding the incident, reviewing the code of student conduct, explaining why what happened was wrong, the need to respect one another and possible consequences, Landon said. Jackson asked that anyone with information on the incident come to the office and speak with her or the assistant principal as they investigated the incident.
Chinese Christian Leaders Jailed for Trying to Stop Church Demolition
New Tang Dynasty Television
2009-11-27
Five leaders of a Christian church group of about 60,000 believers were sentenced to three to seven years in prison on Wednesday, November 25, in Northern China. The Christian leaders--including Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, and two women, Yang Rongli and Zhang Huamei--were arrested in mid September for trying to stop their congregation buildings from being torn down. According to a Chinese rights group, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, the Deputy County Chief of Fushan County led 400 police and unidentified men to attack the Christians on September 13th at 3:00 a.m. Some were beaten unconscious and had to be taken to the hospital. The Christian leaders were charged with “illegally occupying land” and “assembling to disrupt public order.” The sentence was given at a court in Linfen City, Shanxi Province. The defendants were not allowed to respond to the charges.
LINFEN-FUSHAN HOUSE CHURCH CHRISTIAN SENTENCED TO 7-YEARS IN PRISON
The Cypress Times
Published 11/28/2009
SHANXI--The trial of Linfen house church leaders in Shanxi province was held from 9:00 AM to about 10:00 PM on November 25 (Beijing time), lasting over 12 hours. Pastors Yang Rongli, Wang Xiaoguang, Yang Xuan, Cui Jiaxing, and Zhang Huamei have been been held in detention since their unwarranted arrests on Friday, September 25, 2009, when they attempted to travel to Beijing an lodge a formal complaint about the destruction of their church to the Central governing authorities. Their trial was held in the No. 12 Trial Room at People's Court of Raodu District, Linfen City, Shanxi province. The verdicts were severe and were announced immediately following the trial. Two criminal charges were used-- the crime of "illegally occupying farming land" and "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses." Sister Yang Rongli received 7 years severe sentence for both charges; Pastor Wang 3 yrs for the first charge, brother Yang Xuan, 3 and a half years, and Cui Jiaxing earned 4 and a half years for the first charge; Sister Zhang Huamei was found guilty of the second charge, and sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Pakistan Militants Bomb CD Shop For Selling 'Jesus Film'
By Worthy News Special Correspondent Jawad Mazhar, reporting from Pakistan
Christian Persecution Magazine
Posted on: 2009-11-23
UPPER DIR, PAKISTAN (Worthy News)-- A man selling compact discs in Pakistan's war-torn North West Frontier Province remained in critical condition Monday, November 23, after suspected Islamic militants blew up his CD shop because its collection included a film about Jesus and other Christian movies. "Thirteen neighboring shops were also partially damaged," during the bomb blast in Saleem Commercial Plaza in the Kas town area of Upper Dir District, said the still bed-ridden shop owner Muhammad Taos Khan in an interview with Worthy News and its partner agency BosNewsLife. Khan, 41, said a child had given him a threatening letter some 30 minutes before the explosion on November 11
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
By Regina
Walking in the footsteps of Christ, or, The Narrow Path and following The Way…can often mean making changes in your life. Changes in your own thoughts, words and actions, and even those you choose to have in your life.
Oftentimes, there is an innate fear of change that obscures or debilitates one’s ability to accept and/or institute change into one’s life. Here are three statements that represent some of the thoughts that go along with a fear of change include:
“If I change I will encounter new situations I am not prepared for that will make feel uncomfortable, anxious, or inadequate.”
“The unknown is filled with uncertainty and where I am now is certain and more comfortable.”
“Change requires effort and is inherently painful.”
So in regards to making the changes necessary in your life so that you might truly make an honest and real effort to walk in Christ’s footsteps each and every day, let’s look at the above statements and perhaps alleviate some of the fears.
Will walking in Christ’s footsteps and adhering to The Way mean you will encounter new situations that might make you feel uncomfortable, anxious, or inadequate? It could. But the great news is that Father gives us advice on how to properly handle all things both old and new, which can be found in the Scriptures. The biggest change is that you will come to find that you always have Yahweh to go to in times of trouble, and in return, will receive the support and strength to face any situation. And, while you may have experienced discomfort for a short time when you have faith, it will soon be replaced with an amazing feeling of comfort, assurance and love that only Father can provide.
Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Job 29:12 For I rescued the poor man who cried out for help, and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.
Psalm 18:18 They confronted me in the day of my distress, but the LORD was my support.
Philippians 2:1-2 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.
Will walking in Christ’s footsteps, mean feeling discomfort? Yes, it could but then again there are many things in life that cause discomfort. Coming to know and understand the Truth involves some discomfort in that the Truth reveals both the good and the bad of everything, including ourselves. When you develop fear of the LORD, no longer will you look in the mirror and see a good person, but a sinner and a good-for-nothing slave (Luke 17:10 In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, 'We are good-for-nothing slaves; we've only done our duty.' ") and this can be life changing. You begin to see yourself for who you really all and what we all are, and developing a sense of humility can be a painful journey. But the trade-off is like taking off soiled clothes and putting on fresh, clean white ones.
Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the LORD is wisdom's instruction, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 18:12 Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but before honor comes humility.
Proverbs 22:4 The result of humility is fear of the LORD, along with wealth, honor, and life.
You might even encounter various situations, in which you might be persuaded to veer off the path, or friends who might want to convince you to do things you used to do but that are not in alignment with The Way. It could introduce some discomfort in handling them righteously and objectively. You might even find that you have to part ways with the people who seek to snare you or lead you off the path. But again, Father is always with you and over time you will find that having made the right choices have actually enhanced your life. In addition to that, if you maintain your integrity you will be able to rest easily in the knowledge that not only will Father stand beside you, but you have also acted as an example for others who might be searching for Father’s light.
Job 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil."
1 Kings 3:6 And Solomon replied, "You have shown great and faithful love to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.
Psalm 41:12 You supported me because of my integrity and set me in Your presence forever.
“The unknown is filled with uncertainty and where I am now is certain and more comfortable.” People are often afraid of things that affect their existence in a negative way. The most important thing is to understand that life is constructed of ups and downs, and no one can be in a permanent ascending trend -- this is simply impossible. The truth is that there is uncertainty in each day, each moment that we are alive and there is no avoiding it and the truth is that you cannot move forward if you’re standing still. You make no progress in anything, including your spiritual development, nor do you serve Father and Christ in any way if you remain afraid of change and if you’re afraid of change and your fear of the LORD hasn’t trumped your fear of change...something is probably amiss.
“Change requires effort and is inherently painful.” Everything good in life requires effort, but it is not all inherently painful – much of it brings many unexpected and pleasant surprises and a sense of accomplishment as well as happiness. So what can be done if you’re confused or frightened of change? Often it takes looking at the worst case scenario in order to induce change. So what would the worst case scenario be in refusing to accept Truth and/or make the efforts necessary to walk in Christ’s footsteps? Well, because our Creator is a God of love who is also capable of wrath, it could mean the loss of your eternal life.
So what we’ve determined is that in order to institute the change necessary in our lives to become true followers of Christ, we might also experience some discomfort, anxiousness, feelings of inadequacy, uncertainty as well as actually have to make an effort at instituting this change. However, what is also certain is that we will experience Yahweh’s love, comfort, guidance and support. We will also gain knowledge, understanding, wisdom, strength and be able to hold on to the hope of the promise of eternal life. Now it’s up to you, to determine for yourself if change is necessary in your life – and then move forward, but not in fear but out of the love you yourself feel for Yahweh and Her son Christ Jesus our Savior, who are with us always.
Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.
Author Unknown
There's work to do, deadlines to meet,
you've got no time to spare,
But as you hurry and scurry,
always say a prayer.
In the midst of family chaos,
"quality time" is rare.
Do your best; let God do the rest:
Always say a prayer.
It may seem like your worries are
more than you can bear.
Slow down and take a breather-
always say a prayer.
God knows how stressful life is;
He wants to ease our cares,
and He'll respond ASAP-
Always say a prayer!
Concerning Brutality
One of the aspects of the Way that has been shared is to avoid belligerence. At first, this may seem like a simple concept, in the practice of staying away from having a war-like attitude, in trying to stop from being violent or staying away from an attitude of seeking to fight. Yet, trying to avoid this attitude may become increasingly difficult in the times to come.
2 Timothy 3:2-3 -- For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good,
Reasons for the difficulty of staying away from such an attitude may include various outside influences, not just directly, but even indirectly.
Proverbs 20:1 -- Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler, and whoever staggers because of them is not wise.
Proverbs 1:11 -- If they say—"Come with us!
Let's set an ambush and kill someone.
Let's attack some innocent person just for fun!
Much of what can be seen on the news, television, or even spoken about in regular conversation can be very extreme in the violence that may be shared. In order to combat this, so as to avoid the influence of having incorrect attitudes, one would follow in Christ's footsteps in the Wisdom Father provides generously if one should only ask.
James 1:5-6 -- Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
In this, also living as foreigners in a foreign land, not being a part of the world, or practicing in its desires that are not spiritual, but sensual.
Ephesians 4:22 -- you took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires;
Proverbs 22:24-25 -- Don't make friends with an angry man, and don't be a companion of a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
There may be other conflicts within oneself, as well, that may keep oneself from avoiding what is evil. Hunger for food may even be a driving factor in what may cause oneself to become angry, hateful, and belligerent. However, in the humbling circumstances Father is allowing to come to be able to refine those whom She is showing love, one may remember the following to further learn and grow.
James 4:1-3 -- What is the source of the wars and the fights among you? Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don't receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.
Deuteronomy 8:3 -- He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Psalm 141:5 -- Let the righteous one strike me— it is [an act of] faithful love; let him rebuke me— it is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. Even now my prayer is against the evil acts of the wicked.
So, in weakness that Father provides, it would not be wise to strike out at the one who lovingly disciplines them, but to be obedient and prepared for anything Father has for oneself at any time or place.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 -- But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me. So because of Christ, I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophes, in persecutions, and in pressures. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
“For the LORD gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6
Cherubic Commander: This has a literal meaning:
Deuteronomy 28 "Blessings for Obedience
1 "Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. 2 All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the LORD your God:"
If each of you are faithful in obedience to Father, and are carefully following Her commands you've been given in this age, you each will be raised above every nation that exists on this planet. To be raised far above the coming destruction means your Salvation.
"All these blessings will come and overtake you," It is a blessing to be salvaged. It is a blessing to be taken to Mount Zion. It is a blessing to be within the safety of Father's heavenly family. Those blessings will literally come to you and overtake you regardless of where you might be on the day of the Rapture.
Deuteronomy 28 Curses for Disobedience
15 "But if you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.
18 Your descendants will be cursed,
and your soil's produce,
the young of your herds,
and the newborn of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in
and cursed when you go out.
20 The LORD will send against you curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do [e] until you are destroyed and quickly perish, because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning Me. 21 The LORD will make pestilence cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought, blight, and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish. 23 The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron. 24 The LORD will turn the rain of your land into falling dust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed. 25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land, and no one will scare them away.
27 "The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and mental confusion, 29 so that at noon you will grope as a blind man gropes in the dark. You will not be successful in anything you do. You will only be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will help [you]. 30 You will become engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will help you. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people, while your eyes grow weary looking for them every day. But you will be powerless to do anything. 33 A people you don't know will eat your soil's produce and everything you have labored for. You will only be oppressed and crushed continually. 34 You will be driven mad by what you see. 35 The LORD will afflict you on your knees and thighs with painful and incurable boils from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
36 "The LORD will bring you and your king that you have appointed to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone. 37 You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.
38 "You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant and cultivate vineyards but not drink the wine or gather [the grapes], because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olives trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with oil, because your olives will drop off. 41 You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner. 42 Whirring insects will take possession of all your trees and your land's produce. 43 The foreign resident among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you, but you won't lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.
45 "All these curses will come, pursue, and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commands and statutes He gave you. 46 These curses will be a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you didn't serve the LORD your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though [you had] an abundance of everything, 48 you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke (J) on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you don't understand, 50 a ruthless nation, showing no respect for the old and not sparing the young. 51 They will eat the offspring of your livestock and your soil's produce until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, oil, young of your herds, or newborn of your flocks until they cause you to perish. 52 They will besiege you within all your gates until your high and fortified walls, that you trust in, come down throughout your land. They will besiege you within all your gates throughout the land the LORD your God has given you.
53 "You will eat your children, the flesh of your sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you. 54 The most sensitive and refined man among you will look grudgingly [k] at his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children, 55 refusing to share with any of them his children's flesh that he will eat because he has nothing left during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you in all your towns. 56 The most sensitive and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her refinement and sensitivity, will begrudge the husband she embraces, her son, and her daughter, 57 the afterbirth that comes out from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything [else] during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you within your gates.
58 "If you are not careful to obey all the words of this law, which are written in this scroll, by fearing this glorious and awesome name— Yahweh, your God— 59 He will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses. 60 He will afflict you again with all the diseases of Egypt, which you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The LORD will also inflict you with every sickness and plague not recorded in the book of this law, until you are destroyed. 62 Though you were as numerous as the stars of the sky, you will be left with only a few people, because you did not obey the LORD your God. 63 Just as the LORD was glad to cause you to prosper and to multiply you, so He will also be glad to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be deported from the land you are entering to possess. 64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit. 66 Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be in dread night and day, never certain of survival. 67 In the morning you will say, 'If only it were evening!' and in the evening you will say, 'If only it were morning!'—because of the dread you will have in your heart and because of what you will see. 68 The LORD will take you back in ships to Egypt by a route that I said you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy [you]."
Matthew 5:33" [ Tell the Truth ] "Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord."
Deuteronomy 10:20 "You are to fear the LORD your God and worship Him. Remain faithful to Him and take oaths in His name."
Deuteronomy 6:13 "Fear the LORD your God, worship Him, and take [your] oaths in His name."
1 Corinthians 10:21 "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord's table and the table of demons."
1 Timothy 4:1 "[ Demonic Influence ] Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,"
James 2:19 "You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder."
1 Timothy 1:16 "But I received mercy because of this, so that in me, the worst [of them], Christ Jesus might demonstrate the utmost patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life."
Romans 3:25 "God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed."
Ephesians 1:20 "[ God's Power in Christ ] He demonstrated [this power] in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens —"
Father demonstrated Her power in Michael who became Christ Jesus by raising him from the dead and seating him at Her right hand in Mount Zion.
“He rescues and delivers, He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:27
EPPING: Family baffled by red UFOs
10:20am Tuesday 17th November 2009
By Daniel Binns »
A FAMILY has appealed to the people of Epping to help solve the mystery of a strange series of red objects seen flying over the town. The three shapes, all with a red outer layer and a flaming yellow middle, were seen drifting silently in a line at a constant speed over the town centre on Saturday November 7 at around 8.30pm. Witnesses say the objects were travelling too fast to be Chinese lanterns and were too close together to be planes. Youngster Piers Barford, 11, saw the shapes with his parents in Broadoaks, Epping. He said: "At first I thought they were fireworks but they did not explode and there was no noise. "Then I thought they were planes, but why would three planes be on fire and closer than normal planes would fly, and be heading the same way and evenly spread out?"
White Pine Lights: UFO Sightings in Eastern Nevada
Folks in eastern Nevada are seeing strange things in the night sky.
Posted: 4:25 PM Nov 17, 2009
Reporter: Ed Pearce
ELY, NV - Ely sits in one of the most isolated corners of the state. The nearest communities of any size are hours away in any direction. If you live out here, chances are you drive a lot and you work outside. Away from civilization's light pollution, the night sky is as full of stars as the landscape below is empty. You take note of any thing out of the ordinary. And lately people here have been seeing some strange things in the eastern Nevada sky. Highway 93 runs north and south between through Steptoe Valley. Sixty miles north of Ely is Lages Junction. A pair of street lights and the occasional car or truck are the only interuptions to the darkness and silence. Late the night of October 2nd, Shawn and Heather Morrison and their son, Travis were driving back from Wells..... "And I saw it out of the corner of my eye and I thought it was a shooting star," says Heather Morrison. "But it wasn't moving," adds her husband.
SYDENHAM: Mum and daughter's alien fear over UFO sighting
This Is Local London
8:10am Monday 16th November 2009
By Mark Chandler
A mother and daughter had the fright of their lives when they saw two strange orange lights in the sky. Nurse Sue Hentschel was driving her teenage daughter Jessica to a dance class when they witnessed a terrifying vision in the sky. Their car was stuck in heavy Sydenham traffic on November 2 at around 6.10pm when they saw two mysterious lights. Mrs Hentschel, of Stembridge Road, Anerley, said: “We saw these two lights which were orange coming towards us. “My daughter looked up and said ‘Mum, what’s that?’ “I didn’t know. I just said ‘What the hell is that? What is it?’” She says they stared dumbfounded for several minutes as the lights hovered over Hazeldene School. Mrs Hentschel stuck her head out the window to make sure it was not a reflection she was witnessing.
UFO Reported in Southern Tracy Skies
UFOCaseBook
Published: 11:07 AM 11/12/2009
by TP staff
A slowly moving band of deep blue lights seen in the cloudless southern Tracy sky Monday night had a few people wondering Tuesday morning what the heck it was they saw. Larry Gustafson, 49, said his neighbor Ervin Floyd banged on his door at about 7 p.m. in the Morehead Park trailer court on Chrisman Road near 11th Street and urged him to check out the unusual sight. He said he ran outside, looked up, spotted the lights in the night sky and then ran back inside to grab binoculars. By the time he was back outside, the lights had disappeared. Gustafson said the lights hung in the sky about 5 minutes. Sometimes they moved, he said, and at other times, only one light shone. “It was really strange looking,” the landscape maintenance worker said. Floyd, 36, said his kids got a little hysterical when they looked out of their bedroom window and spotted the lights. “It looked like an LED light, like off a cop car,” Floyd said. The plumber said the lights appeared to hover high in the sky, then “went from west to east, then back to the west and back to the east, then flew out west toward the Bay Area and disappeared.”
UFO's? Man Says He's Got Recorded Proof
Updated: Friday, 20 Nov 2009, 10:57 AM EST
Published : Thursday, 19 Nov 2009, 9:40 PM EST
MyFox Houston Report
HOUSTON - Chris Hardman won't be insulted if you don't believe him. After all, not even his fiancee believes in UFOs. But Hardman swears he has videotaped dozens of extraterrestrial spacecraft over the past year, both here in Houston and in Austin. "Most of them are triangular in shape or kind of a teardrop," Hardman says. He posts his videos on his YouTube channel where you can now view 51 clips, including last Saturdays close encounter with what he describes as an alien flying machine that approached within a few hundred feet. "They're totally silent but this is the one time I could actually hear one, it got so close. It made kind of a humming sound."
"But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of religion but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Colombian military 'on maximum alert'
Black Listed News
Herald Sun
November 22, 2009
COLOMBIA warned overnight that its forces were on "maximum alert'' and were prepared to defend against any attack, amid rising tensions with neighbouring Venezuela. Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva issued the warning after a meeting of the country's national security council in Arauca, a city on the eastern border with Venezuela. He said President Alvaro Uribe and the military forces of Colombia were intent on remaining calm "because they know there are provocative forces on the border that must be avoided at all cost.'' But this "does not mean that we are not prepared or are not on maximum alert to prevent any aggression against Colombia, against Colombians or against our territory.'' Mr Uribe's national security council met for five hours in Arauca with military and police commanders in the border area a day after Bogota charged that Venezuelan troops had blown up two footbridges across the border in northeastern Colombia.
Special report: Silicon Sweatshops
Global Post
by Jonathan Adams and Kathleen E. McLaughlin
November 17, 2009
[Editor’s note: Silicon Sweatshops is a five-part investigation of the supply chains that produce many of the world’s most popular technology products, from Apple iPhones, to Nokia cell phones, Dell keyboards and more. The series examines the scope of the problem, including its effects on workers from the Philippines, Taiwan and China. It also looks at a novel factory program that may be a blueprint for solving this perennial industry problem.] TAIPEI, Taiwan — Hourly wages below a dollar. Firings with no notice. Indifferent bosses. Labor brokers that leech away months of a worker's hard-earned wages. A corporate shell game that leaves no one responsible. Such conditions are widespread at the contract factories cranking out some of the most popular gadgets on the holiday season’s gift lists, according to labor rights activists and workers interviewed by GlobalPost. Whether it's your cherished iPhone, Nokia cell phone or Dell keyboard, it was likely made and assembled in Asia by workers who have few rights, and often toil under sweatshop-like conditions, activists say.
US public debt cracks $US12 trillion cracks
The West Australian
November 18, 2009
The US public debt topped $US12 trillion ($A12.8 trillion) for the first time in history, Treasury officials disclosed overnight, moving past a key barrier that raised hackles in Congress. Treasury data showed Monday's outstanding debt at $US12.031 trillion ($A12.83 trillion), up from $US11.999 trillion ($A12.8 trillion) on Friday. The ballooning debt reflects the massive deficit spending by the government in an effort to revive an ailing economy over more than one year. The public debt topped $US10 trillion ($A10.67 trillion) in September 2008. The debt is quickly approaching the statutory limit of $US12.104 trillion ($A12.91 trillion), meaning Congress would have to raise the ceiling to prevent a shutdown of government operations. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the debt figures represented unwelcome news and that the $US787 billion ($A839.56 billion) stimulus plan passed earlier this year failed to keep unemployment from topping 10 per cent. "This should serve as an urgent warning that the government can't keep spending money it doesn't have," he said.
Schools let students seek secret abortions
World Net Daily
by Chelsea Schilling
November 18, 2009
SACRAMENTO – A 12-year-old girl is prohibited from bringing aspirin to California public schools without a note from her mother or father – but in many California districts she may sign herself out of classes, leave her junior-high campus without parental permission, secretly have an abortion and return to school before the end of the day – and her own family may be none the wiser. Parents and educators across the state have been in heated debate over school policies allowing children to be excused during class time without parental notification for "confidential medical services" such as abortions, birth control, and drug and mental health services. California's San Juan Unified School District sought to change its own policy from one that prohibits students from being absent without parental knowledge except during medical emergencies to guidelines that would allow a student to leave for a "confidential medical appointment."
Jobs reports 'riddled with inaccuracies'
USA Today
By Matt Kelley
November 20, 2009
WASHINGTON — The reports on jobs created or saved by the $787 billion stimulus package are "riddled with inaccuracies and contradictions," the federal watchdog overseeing the spending acknowledged Thursday. Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, told a House oversight committee that the board is taking steps to correct the errors and prevent mistakes in future reports, which are filed by the recipients of stimulus money and posted on the board's website. The board is working on creating software with "internal logic checks" to automatically reject reports that are clearly wrong, Devaney said. In late October, the administration reported that the first recipients of stimulus grants, contracts or loans created or saved more than 640,000 jobs. Recipients of tax breaks and aid such as unemployment insurance are not required to report, so the job numbers cover only about $47 billion of the $173 billion spent by Sept. 30. USA TODAY was among those that found examples of errors in that data, such as a Texas housing authority mistakenly reporting 450 jobs created by a $26,000 roofing project that actually employed six people.
Egypt-Algeria World Cup anger turns violent in Cairo
BBC
November 20, 2009
Riot police in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, quelled a violent demonstration near the Algerian embassy in the early hours of Friday. Egyptian protesters reportedly hurled firebombs at police protecting the embassy and overturned a police van. Egypt's interior ministry said 35 people were injured. The clashes stem from Egypt's defeat by Algeria in a World Cup qualifying match on Wednesday, securing Algeria the last African place for next year's finals. On Friday Alaa Mubarak, the son of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak, made a rare public statement calling for a "tough stance" to be taken against Algeria. "When you insult my dignity... I will beat you on the head," the businessman, who had attended the game in Khartoum, told a TV news programme.
More than half Americans fear rise of Muslim extremism
Big News Network
IANS
November 20, 2009
More than half of Americans fear the rise of Islamic extremism, says a survey taken after the shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas earlier this month. In the worst-ever shooting at any US army base, Major Nidal Malik Hassan, an army psychiatrist, allegedly mowed down 12 fellow soldiers and a civilian when he fired on his comrades to protest his upcoming posting to the war zone. The shooting by the Muslim soldier occurred just two months after two Muslims were arrested for bomb-making plot, raising fears of a backlash against the community in the US. There are estimated to be more than five million Muslims in the US. According to the survey by the independent Pew Research Center done after the November 5 shooting, 52 percent Americans think that Islamic extremism is rising in the US.
Revealed... the 515 chemicals women put on their bodies every day
Daily Mail
by Maureen Rice
November 21, 2009
Women and beauty products - it's a love affair that's been going on for centuries. And no wonder. There's nothing like a new lipstick or favourite perfume to make us look and feel good. Or so we thought... In fact, according to a new report, most of our favourite cosmetics are cocktails of industrially produced and potentially dangerous chemicals that could damage our health and, in some cases, rather than delivering on their potent 'anti-ageing' promise, are causing us to age faster. Research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found that the average woman's daily grooming and make-up routine means she 'hosts' a staggering 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body every single day. Many of those are also used in products such as household cleaners, and have been linked to a number of health problems from allergies and skin sensitivity to more serious hormonal disturbances, fertility problems and even cancer.
Early Data Suggest Suicides Are Rising
Wall Street Journal
by Sara Murray and Betsy McKay
November 23, 2009
Early signs suggest the number of suicides in the U.S. crept up during the worst recession in decades, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of states that account for about 40% of the U.S. population. Available data, still incomplete, suggest that this recession, like past ones, coincided with an uptick in suicides. The data from 19 states find an increase in suicides in the recessionary year of 2008 from 2007. Those states historically account for about half of annual suicides in the U.S. Calls to suicide hotlines are rising. And suicides in the workplace and the military -- a small sliver all of self-inflicted deaths -- were up in 2008. Official data on suicides in the U.S. lag, and a 2008 national tally isn't yet available. In 2007, there were 33,185 suicides, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with an average of about 32,800 in the previous three years. A Journal survey of the 33 largest states by population found 19 have data for 2008. In all, those 19 reported a total of 15,335 suicides in 2008, up about 2.3% from the previous year.
Husband was 'killed on wife's orders to settle debts'
The Independent
by Kunal Dutta
November 21, 2009
A debt-ridden woman and her son masterminded the contract killing of her husband in a calculated move motivated by a "combination of greed and loathing", a court heard yesterday. Nigel Bacon, 50, was found in his remote bungalow in Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire in November last year. He had been stabbed repeatedly and died in hospital. He had six wounds, including a fatal blow that severed his jugular vein in what jurors were told was a "planned, determined and cold-blooded killing". Mr Bacon's widow, Susan Bacon, 55, his son Michael, 21, his father-in-law Sean Woodcock, 42, and Peter Jacques, 29, all deny murder. Nottingham Crown court was told Mrs Bacon and her son hatched the plot and "decided he had to be killed". They recruited Peter Jacques, an associate of Woodcock, to commit the murder. Mr Bacon, a gamekeeper who owned his own company, is believed to have amassed more than £200,000 in savings. Mrs Bacon, the court heard, had debts of more than £60,000.
www.arksofsafehaven.org
"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?" Isaiah 58:7
The mission of Arks of Safe Haven is to connect via an extensive network and online message board forum, those individuals and families who have been affected by recent economic downfalls and are in need with those individuals who are ready, willing and capable of providing assistance to those in need with employment, shelter, work, food, clothing and other necessities.
Coupled with our primary mission of delivering the Kingdom Message of Salvation, the assistance of Arks of Safe Haven is available to all who are in need. Our purposeful intention is to follow in the footsteps of Christ as our example, by providing hope to the hopeless and answering the prayers of those who have been forced to live outside of society.
How You Can Help?
In order to provide for those whose outcry of prayers have reached our heavenly Father's ears, Arks of Safe Haven is seeking out those who are able to provide shelter, whether it be an extra bedroom, empty rental property or a work for room and board agreement. Additionally, we also act as a liaison in connecting those with tangible items to donate to those in need like Food, Water, Clothing, & Other Personal Items. We pray that your heart is motivated to make a contribution, no matter how small. Visit www.arksofsafehaven.org and view the many posts from those in need to see if you're able to help with advice, prayers or goods & services.
“You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:6-7
Over 20 million people need food aid in east Africa: U.N
Nov 10, 2009
Reuters.com
By Silvia Aloisi
ROME (Reuters) - Drought and war in eastern Africa have left more than 20 million people in desperate need of emergency food aid, the United Nations said on Tuesday. "The situation is very worrying due to expected crop and pasture failures from poor rains in several areas, the increase in conflicts, trade disruptions and continuing high food prices," the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. In its latest report on food and crop prospects (www.fao.org), FAO said delayed rains and dry spells often followed by floods had hurt crops and pastures in Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda. In Somalia and Sudan, poor weather has worsened a food emergency due to civil wars, with 3.6 million and 5.9 million people in need of food aid, respectively. In the case of Somalia, that is about 50 percent of the total population.
Swine flu has killed 540 kids, sickened 22 million Americans
11/13/2009
By Steve Sternberg, USA TODAY
Swine flu has swept through about 22 million Americans from April to October, killing an estimated 3,900 people, including 540 children, health officials said Thursday. The analysis represents the government's latest effort to assess a viral outbreak that in just six months has flooded emergency rooms and intensive-care beds in at least 48 states that have reported widespread flu cases. With flu season just beginning, an estimated 98,000 people have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "We've been tracking influenza for decades," says Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "What we are seeing in 2009 is unprecedented." What the numbers don't reveal is what will happen next, because no one knows yet when the flu season will hit its peak or how many waves of cases to expect, says Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
MILLION HIT BY 'PLAGUE WORSE THAN SWINE FLU'
November 15,2009
By Greg Miskiw
Daily Express
A DEADLY plague could sweep across Europe, doctors fear, after an outbreak of a virus in Ukraine plunged the country and its neighbours into a state of panic. A cocktail of three flu viruses are reported to have mutated into a single pneumonic plague, which it is believed may be far more dangerous than swine flu. The death toll has reached 189 and more than 1 million people have been infected, most of them in the nine regions of Western Ukraine. President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko has called in the World Health Organisation and a team of nine specialists are carrying out tests in Kiev and Lviv to identify the virus. Samples have been sent to London for analysis. resident Yushchenko said: “People are dying. The epidemic is killing doctors. This is absolutely inconceivable in the 21st Century.”
World on course for catastrophic 6° rise, reveal scientists
Fast-rising carbon emissions mean that worst-case predictions for climate change are coming true
By Steve Connor and Michael McCarthy
18 November 2009
The Independent
The world is now firmly on course for the worst-case scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6C by the end of the century, leading scientists said yesterday. Such a rise – which would be much higher nearer the poles – would have cataclysmic and irreversible consequences for the Earth, making large parts of the planet uninhabitable and threatening the basis of human civilisation. We are headed for it, the scientists said, because the carbon dioxide emissions from industry, transport and deforestation which are responsible for warming the atmosphere have increased dramatically since 2002, in a way which no one anticipated, and are now running at treble the annual rate of the 1990s. This means that the most extreme scenario envisaged in the last report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in 2007, is now the one for which society is set, according to the 31 researchers from seven countries involved in the Global Carbon Project.
Powerful earthquake strikes sleeping Fiji Islands
By Staten Island Advance
November 09, 2009
siLive.com
A powerful earthquake has struck the Fiji Islands. The magnitude 7.2 quake, capable of generating huge tsunamis and great damage, struck the South Pacific island chain just before 11 p.m., (5:44 a.m. EST) catching most residents while they slept. The quake occurred deep under the Earth's crust, about 60 miles north of the capital of Suva.. There were no immediate reports of damage or whether a tsunami alert was issued. Such alerts are oftentimes declared locally. The Fiji Islands are in a seismically active area and less powerful earthquakes are relatively common.
Source: http://home.att.net/~thehessians/disasterwatch.html
QUAKES -
11/19/09 -
5.0 NEAR N COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA
5.5 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
5.0 PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS REGION
11/18/09 -
5.6 SOUTH OF JAVA, INDONESIA
5.4 BOUVET ISLAND REGION
11/17/09 -
5.6 QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS REGION
6.6 QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS REGION
5.3 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
11/16/09 -
5.1 VANUATU
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
11/15/09 -
5.0 SOUTH OF PANAMA
5.1 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
5.1 TAIWAN REGION
5.0 REYKJANES RIDGE
5.1 REYKJANES RIDGE
5.0 TAJIKISTAN
11/14/09 -
5.4 CARLSBERG RIDGE
6.1 JUJUY, ARGENTINA
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.4 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.5 LAKE TANGANYIKA REGION
5.3 LAKE TANGANYIKA REGION
11/13/09 -
5.0 COSTA RICA
5.2 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.3 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.3 PAGAN REG., N. MARIANA ISLANDS
5.8 SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA
6.5 OFFSHORE TARAPACA, CHILE
RUSSIA has grown even larger recently thanks to an earthquake and a volcanic eruption in its seismically active far eastern regions. Russia gained 4.5 square kilometers (2.8 square miles) from a 2007 quake on Sakhalin Island and from lava flows this summer on uninhabited Matua Island, both of which lie north of Japan. "As a result of the earthquake, part of the sea floor was lifted and became dry ground. The area of the new territory is nearly three square kilometers." Another 1.5 square kilometers appeared on Matua Island after a huge eruption by the Sarychev Peak volcano that began in June.
VOLCANOES -
PHILIPPINES - After spewing ash at least thrice last Wednesday, Mayon Volcano emitted a crater glow that grew more intense and was visible as far as 15 kilometers away Saturday night. Mayon’s surface remains inflated despite the series of ash or phreatic explosions. “This means that magmatic pressure inside the volcano is sustained. But all these activities are still within alert level 2.” At least eight tremors were recorded in the past 24 hours, while the volcano’s sulfur dioxide emission was measured at 514 tons, above the normal volume of 500 tons per day. At least 700 families have been evacuated and provided relief aid. Residents within a radius of six to seven kilometers from Mayon’s crater have been readied for evacuation should the situation worsen.
RUSSIA - A lava flow has started to come down the slope of Eurasia's highest volcano, the Klyuchevskoy, on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East. The Klyuchevskoy, which lies 220 miles north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world and reaches an altitude of 15,584 feet. It erupts about every 2 years. "A small flow of lava has started trickling down the south-eastern slope of the Klyuchevskoy after magma has filled its crater to the brink." The volcano continued to throw red-hot rocks to a height of 200 meters (over 650 feet). The Klyuchevskoy started a new active cycle with an eruption on February 15, 2007. The current eruption started in August after several months of relevant inactivity. Unlike many others, it started slow, but its intensity is rapidly growing. Seismological stations near the Klyuchevskoy register hundreds of small tremors in the area every day. The volcano is dangerous only to tourists at this point, although lava flows and high-altitude ash emissions could soon threaten air traffic in the region. There are more than 150 volcanoes on Kamchatka, 29 of them active.
MYSTERY BOOMS / SKYQUAKES -
MISSISSIPPI - 11/17/09 & 11/18/09 - Sonic boom’s source still a mystery. The boom that rattled windows in Pascagoula and Moss Point, swamped police phone lines and brought entire neighborhoods of people out of their homes to see what was happening was almost as much a mystery Wednesday as it was Tuesday night when it happened. There were four booms on Tuesday. One at 8 p.m. rattled the east side of Jackson County all the way up to the rural northern regions. Then there was a series of three booms about 9 p.m., felt and heard in parts of Ocean Springs and Gautier to the west and in central Jackson County, as well as Pascagoula and Moss Point in the east. Then on Wednesday evening at about 8 p.m. at least one boom was felt in Ocean Springs, Vancleave and Pascagoula. “You could hear the walls rattle it was so loud." A Moss Point resident said it moved pictures on her wall and caused her dogs to bark; a student at Trent Lott Academy in Pascagoula said his whole neighborhood came out of their houses and looked toward the Chevron Refinery. Another said the boom set off a neighbor’s home security alarm. Keesler Air Force base told city police around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday the boom was caused by military jets on a training exercise in the Gulf, but that the jets were not from Keesler. On Wednesday security at the base reconfirmed the jets had contacted the tower Tuesday night and were told there was a training exercise. But what jets, and whose jets were flying at supersonic speeds over the Gulf at night? Keesler didn’t know. Pensacola Naval Air Station’s Air Operations on the base said they weren’t flying anything fast enough to cause a sonic boom at present. As it turns out, Eglin is the base that controls military training ranges - airspace over the Gulf of Mexico used for military maneuvers in this part of the Gulf. Eglin’s public relations office looked at the schedule for Tuesday night and said, “In our air space at those times all we had in the area were A-10s, and they’re not fast enough to break the sound barrier.” The A-10s were firing guns, but did not discharge any heavy explosives during the maneuver.
TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES / RISING SEA LEVELS -
OREGON - A High Surf Advisory and High Wind Warnings are in effect, and will remain so until 10:00 a.m. today for the entire Oregon coastline and the Coast Range. A series of waves from a strong Pacific system will generate large seas and high winds along the Oregon Coast. During the storm, seas will climb to 23-27 feet, with periods around 11 seconds. Seas have already reached 23 feet off the mouth of the Columbia River, and would peak closer to the value of 27 feet last night, during the strongest winds. These large seas will create dangerous beach conditions, with waves pummeling the surf zone which will only be exacerbated by the prominence of the enhanced Lunar Tidal Cycle. Due to the magnitude of the high tides, waves will travel much further up the beach than usual, creating a dangerous situation in which extreme caution must be exercised. There is also a High Surf Advisory beginning at 4:00 p.m. Monday through 4 a.m. Wednesday for the South Central Oregon Coast. A heavy swell will bring high surf to the Southern Oregon Coast with breaker heights expected to build to around 25 feet, persisting through today and slowly subsiding tonight. The most hazardous conditions will occur today, as the predominant wave direction veers from Southwest early in the morning to West by late morning. A High Wind Warning is in effect until 10:00 a.m. for the South Washington and North Oregon coasts. A prolonged period of strong south winds are expected, with winds of 35 to 45 mph, and gusts up to 70 mph. Numerous gusts to 65 mph have already been clocked on Monday. On the open beaches, sustained winds of 50 to 60 mph with gusts up to 90 mph are likely. The winds will then decease early this morning, once a strong cold front moves onshore, and the very strong offshore low moves into British Columbia.
TROPICAL STORMS -
The 2009-2010 cyclone season has started in the Indian Ocean, with the appearance of the first cyclone called "Anja" on Wednesday. The designated names for the hurricanes that will form within the cyclone basin of the Indian Ocean during 2010 are Anja, Bongani, Cleo, David, Edzani, Gelane, Hubert, Imani, Joel, Kanja, Lunda, Mohono, Nigel, Olympe, Pamela, Quentin, Rahim, Savana, Themba, Uyapo, Viviane, Walter, Xangy, Yemurai and Zanele.
Tuesday morning, Cyclone Anja was a powerful Category 4 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Wind shear then gave Anja a strong "punch in the gut" as the storm has weakened to a Category 1 cyclone. At 1500 UTC (10 a.m. ET) on November 17, Anja's maximum sustained winds were sustained at 75 knots (86 mph). The storm seems to be spreading out as it is weakening, as tropical storm force winds extended out to 115 miles from the center (earlier Tuesday, they only extended 75 miles out from the center). Anja is predicted to continue weakening and move harmlessly toward the southeast over the open waters of the south Indian Ocean.
Anja is the first tropical cyclone of the southern Hemisphere cyclone season. After forming as a tropical storm over the Southern Indian Ocean on November 14, Anja strengthened to a cyclone one day later. By November 16, Anja was a Category 3 cyclone, with maximum sustained winds of 105 knots (195 kilometers per hour), and gusts up to 130 knots (240 kilometers per hour). (nice satellite photo)
FIJI - With eleven cyclones predicted to form in the Pacific region, the DISMAC office said people must not be complacent and be prepared for anything. The Acting Directorsaid in the past, people have been caught off guard and the consequence of being complacent has been disastrous. They are also closely monitoring the UNUSUAL WEATHER the country has been getting for the past few months.
INDIA - Days after the cyclone Phyan ravaged the Goan coastline claiming 68 lives, Goa now stands on the brink of facing another cyclone building up south east of Kerala. A system is building up in the Arabian Sea. “A clear picture could come out in the next 48 hours."
U.S. - Widespread flooding reported along the coast in the Mid-Atlantic region. Wind and waves from the powerful northeaster that pummeled the Mid-Atlantic coast last week ate away as much as a quarter of Ocean City's dune line. High tides and as much as eight inches of rain flooded streams and closed roads in Southern Maryland and the state's Lower Eastern Shore. "This is probably the worst since Isabel [in 2003], but three feet lower than Isabel." Intensified by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida, the big coastal storm lingered, pounding the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas to New Jersey. Flooding closed streets and bridges along the coast. Three motorists died in weather-related crashes in Virginia. The powerful storm began moving out to sea Friday after raking the East Coast for three days.
HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING / LANDSLIDES / UNUSUAL & OUT-OF-SEASON WEATHER -
SOUTH AFRICA - heavy rains, biting cold and strong winds battered the coastline. Roofs were blown off houses, and homes were washed away in parts of the province. A motorist was killed when a car was swept into a river in Port Shepstone. The SA Weather Service Wednesday issued a warning of rainfall exceeding 50mm in KwaZulu-Natal. It is UNUSUAL, but not unheard of, for KwaZulu-Natal to be hit by heavy rain at this time of year, and for there to be snowfall on the Drakensberg.
Flooding warnings for parts of UK - People in north-west England and south-west Scotland face a high risk of their homes being damaged by flooding, the Environment Agency is warning. There are 25 flood warnings in place across the UK, but Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway are at greatest risk today. North Wales has already been hit by heavy rain and has had some flooding. The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings, with up to 250mm of rain (9.8in) possible on higher ground. An Environment Agency spokesman also warned of a possible tidal surge today in the northern Irish Sea which could increase the flood risk along the west coast from Aberystwyth northwards. The winds will gust up to 70mph (112km/h) in some areas, but the extremely wet weather is the main concern.
CANARY ISLANDS - Tuesday, heavy rain in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria flooded residential areas. Tenerife was also badly effected by the extreme weather. Some schools on the island have closed. The authorities are calling it the WORST RAIN IN 40 YEARS. In some places 100 litres of rain has fallen per square metre, causing traffic chaos. Cars have even been washed off the roads by the flooding.
Storm batters southern England, bringing floods and 100mph winds - Gale-force winds of up to 100mph battered Britain yesterday as one of the worst storms of the year swept across the country. Wales, southern and eastern England bore the brunt of the weather. Winds reaching speeds of 70mph were recorded in parts of London and the home counties, strong enough to cause property damage and bring down trees and branches. "This is pretty severe...It's quite RARE for the winds to be that strong inland; it certainly doesn't happen very often. The storm developed off the west coast and was fed by the still warm autumn sea temperatures." Heavy rain led to coastal flooding in the south of the country.
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE-
AUSTRALIA - this month's heatwave was caused by a strong high pressure system over the Tasman Sea blocking cold fronts to the southeast. "Instead of getting good bursts of cool southerly air over the inland, it's received virtually no cool air from the south and it has just got hotter and hotter. The Spring time is characterised by rapidly moving fronts across the Southern Ocean and it's QUITE RARE to get a significant blocking event such as what we've had. You're more likely to get it in January or February or even early Autumn." A combination of unseasonally high temperatures, strong winds, bushfire smoke and thunderstorms caused flight delays around the country. A cold change swept through Melbourne today, bringing high winds. Gusts of up to 100km/h were recorded at Essendon Airport.
A grass fire is burning at Port Augusta where the fire danger rating is 154, which is 54 points above the newly-introduced "catastrophic level".
Average global temperatures are on course to rise by up to 6C without urgent action to curb CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions rose by a quarter in the last decade, according to research. Emissions rose by 29% between 2000 and 2008.
AUSTRALIA - South Australia is bracing for catastrophic bushfire conditions ahead of more extreme heat tomorrow. Temperatures throughout the state are predicted to reach the low 40s in some areas, with Adelaide forecast to have a top of 39C. Similar conditions will follow on Thursday, with Adelaide's maximum expected to reach 41C. The forecast prompted authorities to issue a bushfire warning of "CATASTROPHIC" conditions in the Flinders and north-western pastoral districts - the FIRST TIME THE TERM HAS BEEN USED. New bushfire advice systems have been adopted for this summer, with "catastrophic" rated above "extreme" and "severe". The catastrophic category rates the risk as similar to those conditions prevalent on Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires last year. In such conditions, the Country Fire Service says, any fire is highly likely to be fast moving and uncontrollable, with residents' safest option being to leave their properties early. They said they HAD NEVER SEEN FUEL LOADS AS HIGH IN NOVEMBER BEFORE, and are especially concerned about bushfires in regional SA in the next two days. Last week Adelaide sweltered through eight days of temperatures in the high 30s, giving the city its first November heatwave on record.
The Great Barrier Reef has only a 50 per cent chance of survival if global CO2 emissions are not reduced at least 25 per cent by 2020, a coalition of Australia's top reef and climate scientists said today.
VENEZUELA's President says he will join a team of Cuban scientists on flights to "bomb clouds" to create rain amid a severe drought that has aroused public anger due to water and electricity rationing. The Cubans have arrived in Venezuela and were preparing to fly specially equipped aircraft above the Orinoco river. "I'm going in a plane; any cloud that crosses me, I'll zap it so that it rains." Venezuela produces much of its electricity from hydroelectric projects, including the giant El Guri dam close to the Orinoco.
AUSTRALIA - Little relief from the scorching heatwave. A blistering week is ahead as a heatwave hits most parts of New South Wales today, with temperatures climbing above 40C and the Rural Fire Service declaring a total fire ban across much of the state. Melbourne has sweltered through its HOTTEST START TO THE MONTH EVER, with an average maximum temperature of 29.5C - a whopping 7.5C above the average. Another string of hot days on the horizon means beating the current record average maximum temperature of 27.85C in 1982 is now looking likely. "We are NOT JUST BREAKING RECORDS, WE ARE SMASHING THEM." Melbourne has already had six days above 30C and another three are forecast for the next week. The hot weather has created havoc with crops -- in the Wimmera up to $30 million worth of lentils was wiped out in just a couple of days. "It literally cooked them."
U.S. is Heating Up - The United States has experienced TWICE AS MANY RECORD-BREAKING HIGH TEMPERATURES as it has record-breaking low temperatures in the past decade. In the continental U.S., 291,237 RECORD HIGHS were set between 2000 and September 2009. Only 142,420 RECORD LOWS were set over the same span. If there wasn't a heating trend, there would be roughly the same number of record highs as there have been record lows. But the U.S. has experienced relatively mild winters and intense heat waves.
INDIA - an UNUSUALLY WARM November is being blamed on Cyclone Phyan. The last couple of days have been the hottest that November has seen in the last two years, leaving those out on the streets sweating and bothered. Maximum and minimum temperatures across the state have been five to six degrees Celsius above normal this November, leading to a increase in viral fever cases. “Phyan not only increased normal temperatures but also brought a cloud cover over the region from the South-West, which is UNUSUAL for this time of the year." The maximum and minimum temperatures of Ranchi on November 9 were 29.4 degree Celsius and 17.8 degree Celsius respectively. On the 14th it reached 30.5 degree Celsius and 20.0 degree Celsius. Similarly, the maximum and minimum temperature in Jamshedpur on the 14th was 34.7 degree Celsius and 22.9 degree Celsius respectively. “This is an ABNORMAL SITUATION. Both the maximum and minimum are 6-7 degree Celsius above normal.” Some weather scientists, however, attributed the phenomenon to global warming. “Since 2008, there has been a shift in Jharkhand’s weather pattern, proving that the state has been affected by global warming." The unusual weather has brought forth health issues across the region. “We are many viral fever cases, which during this season is not normal.”
A large iceberg was spotted off an island about halfway between Antarctica and Australia on Thursday, a RARE sight in waters so far north. The iceberg, about 160 feet high and 1,640 feet long, is probably part of one of several larger icebergs that broke off Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf between 2000 and 2002.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
NEPAL - The lingering after-effect of Cyclone Phyan, which lashed off the western coast in India last week, is being felt in the Kathmandu Valley. As per the forecast, the FREAK weather - overcast sky coupled with appreciable dip in daytime temperature and intermittent drizzle - will persist over the next few days. The mercury will plunge lower than normal. A meteorologist explained the causes behind the freak weather pattern. “Usually, the onset of winter brings in the domineering Westerly wind, which triggers rainfall. Besides, we’re still reeling under the residual impact of Cyclone Phyan.”
SPACE WEATHER-
WESTERN U.S. - 11/18/09 - something exploded in the atmosphere above the western United States. Witnesses in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho say the fireball "turned night into day" and issued shock waves that "shook the ground" when it exploded just after midnight Mountain Standard Time. The fireball was so bright it actually turned the sky noontime blue. Although the fireball appeared during the Leonid meteor shower, it was not a Leonid. Infrasound recordings of the blast suggest a small asteroid hitting Earth's atmosphere and exploding with an energy of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT. Experts liken the event to the Park Forest fireball of 2003, which scattered dozens of meteorites across a suburb of Chicago. Meteorites are likely from this fireball as well. Approximately 6 hours after the fireball, people in Utah and Colorado got another surprise. As the sun rose over those states, a twisting electric-blue cloud appeared in the dawn sky: "They were strangely bright relative to the rest of the sky." The cloud strongly resembles artificial noctilucent clouds formed at high altitudes by rocket and shuttle launches. Yet there was no (officially reported) rocket launch at dawn on Nov. 18th. Could the cloud be associated with the fireball? The geographical coincidence is certainly striking. Debris from the fireball should have dissipated by sunrise, but the cloud remains unexplained and a connection to the fireball cannot yet be dismissed.
Newly-discovered asteroid 2009 WJ6 is flying past Earth today only 110,000 miles away - about half the distance to the Moon. The time of closest approach will be 1100 UT.
The electric-blue "mystery cloud" seen twisting over Colorado and Utah at daybreak on Nov. 18th is no longer a mystery. It was asteroid debris. On Oct. 7, 2008, asteroid 2008 TC3 hit the atmosphere and exploded over Sudan, creating a cloud. On Nov. 18, 2009, a similar-sized asteroid hit the atmosphere and exploded over Colorado and Utah in a flash of light that startled onlookers across at least eight states. Hours later, daybreak revealed the "mystery cloud" which looks just like the debris from 2008 TC3. Both clouds resemble icy noctilucent clouds that form naturally around Earth's poles during summer or in the aftermath of rocket launches. Researchers have long suspected that space dust can prompt the formation of noctilucent clouds by acting as nucleation points for high-altitude ice crystals.
HEALTH THREATS -
CDC cites some signs of ebbing US flu activity - Visits to the CDC network of sentinel doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) declined last week for the second week in a row, and the number of states with widespread flu activity dropped from 48 to 46. On the other hand, the percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia and flu both continued to climb. In addition, another 26 pediatric deaths linked to confirmed H1N1 cases were reported, bringing the total since April to 156. The total of 156 is higher than the number for any seasonal flu epidemic of the past 5 years. The proportion of deaths related to pneumonia and flu in the CDC's 122-city mortality reporting system reached 7.7% last week, which was above the epidemic threshold of 6.8% for the week. The percentage has been above the threshold for 6 weeks in a row. However, charts in the FluView report show that the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths related to influenza of all types both dropped last week compared with the week before. The charts indicate something in excess of 3,000 hospitalizations and between 100 and 150 deaths last week. The CDC says that more than 99% of viruses in circulation are the 2009 H1N1. The FluView report says deaths due to confirmed flu from Aug 30 to Nov 7 totaled 877, and there were 22,364 hospitalizations related to confirmed flu in that period. Those numbers include only confirmed flu cases. Yesterday the CDC presented a new estimation method, in part to allow for untested cases. Using that method, officials estimated total US H1N1 deaths since April at 3,900.
Deaths After Swine Flu Shot, China - Chinese health officials reported on Friday the first deaths in people who received the H1N1 vaccine. The Ministry of Health announced that the two people, including one teacher from Hunan province, died hours after receiving their inoculations. A preliminary autopsy revealed that the teacher died of an apparent heart attack while playing basketball, and that the death was "a coincidental medical incident" and not related to the vaccine. No details on the second victim have been released so far. As they conduct an autopsy investigation into the second death, Chinese health officials have pulled all vaccines manufactured in the same batch used to inoculate the teacher. In early September, China became the first country to begin swine flu inoculations. But by the end of October, 54% of Chinese residents reported in a China Daily survey that they would not get the H1N1 vaccine because of concerns about the shot's safety. So far, China reports about 36 deaths and 62,800 H1N1 cases - compared with U.S. government estimates of 4,000 American deaths and 22 million infections. Since September, 12 million Chinese have received the pandemic flu shot. China plans to immunize 65 million citizens, or 5% of the country's population, by the end of the year.
France reports GBS in vaccinated health worker - a young female healthcare worker was diagnosed with mild Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) 6 days after she received a pandemic flu vaccine. Hers is one of very few cases that have been reported in H1N1 vaccine recipients. 1,700 GBS cases are reported in France each year and an October poll showed 17% of French respondents planned to get vaccinated against the pandemic virus.
An analysis by Texas health officials finds that the state's Hispanics are being hit disproportionately hard by H1N1 flu. Hispanics make up 37% of the population but accounted for 52% of the 95 H1N1-rlelated deaths through Oct 17. Several risk factors for severe H1N1 disease, including pregnancy, diabetes, and possibly obesity, are more common among Hispanics.
The flu drug Tamiflu is now contaminating rivers downstream of sewage-treatment facilities in Japan. The source is urinary excretion from people taking Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate). Researchers are quite concerned that birds exposed to these waterborne residues could develop and spread drug-resistant strains of seasonal and avian flu. Making matters worse, previous studies have confirmed that water treatment removes zero percent of this drug. U.S. policy is more conservative than Japan’s when it comes to Tamiflu use.
There is no safety data or precedent for receiving 3-4 flu shots in one season. The current recommendations by doctors and health officials are UNPRECEDENTED, and highly experimental. Some people, including children under the age of 10, are urged to get as many as four flu shots this year: two shots for seasonal flu and one or two more for swine flu, depending on a few different factors. Never before have this many flu shots been given in a single season.
Crisis just beginning? - In the Ukraine, a strain of the flu has infected 1.4 million people. The death toll is at 315 people as of November 16. The World Bank Database gives the estimated population for the Ukraine as a little over 46 million. While the percentages do not appear high, the reported symptoms and contagion patterns of this flu are of concern to some doctors. "We don't believe it's H1N1 swine flu. Neither do we know what kind of pneumonia it is." Doctors are likening this strain of the flu to the Spanish flu, which included internal hemorrhage and edema in the lungs. Samples of the Ukraine flu virus were provided to a British lab, for testing to conclusively subtype the virus. Learning whether the virus is a mutated form of the H1N1 swine flu, or an entirely new type of flu virus, will help health officials and members of the public take necessary measures for protection from this deadly disease.
With 6.6 million doses of H1N1 vaccine given so far, Canada has seen only 36 serious adverse reactions. One person died of an anaphylactic reaction, but it was not yet certain if the vaccine caused it. Serious events have also included fevers and convulsions. 20% of Canada's 31 million people have been vaccinated, the highest proportion of any country. Diverse public health programs in Canada, such as support groups and food inspections, are being postponed or suspended as officials redirect staff to H1N1 vaccination efforts, a plan that has been in the works for months. Health authorities in several provinces have postponed non-flu vaccination programs.
Santa workers and volunteers are seeking ways to prevent novel H1N1 infection during the holiday season. One trade group urged its members to use hand sanitizer and take vitamins and the public to keep sick children home. The president of another group asked state lawmaker to consider prioritizing Santa for H1N1 vaccine, given that many are exposed to sick children and are obese, which has been identified as a high-risk condition.
The World Health Organization says that preliminary tests reveal no significant changes in pandemic H1N1 viruses taken from patients in Ukraine. Genetic sequencing done in Britain and the US on 34 samples shows that the virus is similar to the one used to make novel H1N1 vaccine, reconfirming the vaccine's efficacy.
US Department of Agriculture researchers report that the pandemic H1N1 virus does not easily infect poultry or spread among them. The researchers inoculated chickens, turkeys, ducks, and quail with the virus. Most of the birds showed no sign of infection; some quail were infected but did not pass the virus to other quail. Two turkey flocks in Chile were infected earlier this year, but those may have been isolated events.
Even as drug makers promise to support Washington's health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation's drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years.
CHINA has promised severe punishment for officials caught concealing deaths from H1N1 flu after a medical expert said suspect cases may have been held back by local governments and that he did not believe the national H1N1 death toll of 53. The Health Ministry said China had adopted a new H1N1 accounting method earlier this month. If a person was confirmed with H1N1 and then died, the case should be reported as death from H1N1, whether or not there was another condition. The H1N1 flu strain affects the respiratory tract. Patients who become severely ill or die typically suffer from pneumonia, either brought on directly by the virus or due to secondary bacterial infections. A ministry official said it would no longer issue cumulative tolls, only new cases and deaths. That will make it difficult to determine the actual extent of H1N1 deaths in China, which based on previous figures had been statistically much lower than in other countries.
H1N1 cases in China have risen sharply, despite aggressive quarantine measures, the World Health Organization's top official in China said. He said the 70,000 cases and 53 deaths cited by the government are only "minimum numbers." But China's health minister said the control measures helped buy time to develop a vaccine, which is now being given to 1.5 million people a day in an effort to cover 90 million - 7% of the population - by the end of the year.
Spike in cases prompts Hungary to declare epidemic - Hungarian officials declared a flu epidemic yesterday after illness reports rose more than 30% in a week, putting cases above the country's epidemic threshold. The number of flu hospitalizations rose to 172. Hungary launched a pandemic vaccine campaign in October using its own vaccine, which is based on a mock-up produced for the H5N1 virus.
Thai official says second wave starting - The second round of the H1N1 epidemic has begun in Thailand. 30% of 200 students tested in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima were infected. An estimated 8.4 million Thais were infected in the first wave of the outbreak, and the death toll reached 185 yesterday. The government bought 2 million doses of vaccine from France and is considering buying 800,000 more.
Analysis reveals two genetic clusters of H1N1 viruses - German researchers report that a genetic analysis of 300 pandemic H1N1 viruses isolated earlier this year shows that "two closely related but distinct clusters" circulated in most countries simultaneously. Differences were found in the genes for the two surface proteins and four internal proteins. None of the differences involved parts of the genome responsible for known biological functions, and the importance of the findings remains to be determined.
RECALLS & ALERTS -
The Procter & Gamble Company is voluntarily recalling three lots of its Vicks Sinex nasal spray in three countries: the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company is taking this precautionary step after finding the bacteria B. cepacia in a small amount of product made at its plant in Gross Gerau, Germany.
"For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also." 2 Timothy 3:6-9
New Lutheran body to form after gay pastor vote
By PATRICK CONDON - Associated Press Writer
Nov. 18, 2009
NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. -- The split over gay clergy within the country's largest Lutheran denomination has prompted a conservative faction to begin forming a new Lutheran church body separate from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Leaders of Lutheran CORE said Wednesday that a working group would immediately begin drafting a constitution and taking other steps to form the denomination, with hopes to have it off the ground by next August. "There are many people within the ELCA who are very unhappy with what has happened," said the Rev. Paull Spring, chairman of Lutheran CORE and a retired ELCA bishop from State College, Pa.
Wealthy rabbi 'traded cocaine for sexual services'
By Tom Kelly
The Daily Mail
19th November 2009
A wealthy rabbi financed a drug dealing operation in which girls were given cocaine in exchange for sexual services, a court heard yesterday. Baruch Chalomish, 54, turned a city centre flat into a base for a ' commercial cocaine supply operation' after abusing the drug himself, it was claimed. He was arrested along with a friend, Nasir Abbas, also 54, with over £15,000 in cash and 100g of cocaine --some of which had a purity of up to 80 per cent - after police searched the flat in January this year. Police also searched the rabbi's home address in Salford, Greater Manchester, and discovered cash and a further 50g of cocaine scattered around the house in different containers. When questioned by police, Abbas claimed that Chalomish didn't sell the drugs but would allow any young woman who visited the apartment in Shude Hill, Manchester, to take the cocaine in exchange for 'sexual services'.
Jews raise millions to be ready for coming of the Messiah
JASON KOUTSOUKIS
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
November 14, 2009
JERUSALEM: Yehuda Glick is a 44-year-old American-born Jew who spends most of every day preparing for the arrival of the Messiah in Jerusalem. Since he became the executive director of the Temple Institute, Mr Glick's main task has been to supervise the manufacture of the utensils the high priests will need when the day arrives. Crowns and other instruments made of solid gold fill glass cases in the Temple Institute museum in Jerusalem's Old City. Other artefacts include an array of copper urns, trumpets made of silver and garments to be worn by the High Priest, woven from golden thread. Musical instruments, including hand-made harps and lyres, lie ready to be brought to life upon the Messiah's appearance. So, when can we expect this momentous event? ''That is a very good question,'' Mr Glick told the Herald. ''All that we know is that we are now living in the age of miracles and all of those miracles are predicted in the Book as happening on the eve of the end of days. It could well be tomorrow, but it might be another 100 years, or even 400 years.''
Scientology is a criminal organisation rife with beatings, abortion and fraud, claims Australian senator
By Richard Shears
The Daily Mail
18th November 2009
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is to investigate claims that Scientology is a criminal organisation that sanctioned beatings, imprisonments, forced abortions, sexual abuse and fraud. The sensational claims about the church, whose members include many high-profile celebrities, were made by a South Australian senator, Nick Xenophon, who shares a surname with an ancient Greek warrior. But unlike the mercenary of history who fought armies in central Asia in about 400BC, Mr Xenophon has gone into battle with Scientologists after receiving letters from eight former followers who told him of a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality associated with the church. 'These are grave allegations,' said Mr Rudd, adding: 'Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology. I share some of those concerns.'
Atheist author Philip Pullman writes alternative ending for Jesus in Bible
By Tim Walker
The Telegraph
19 Nov 2009
The writer has penned an alternative Bible passage imagining a different fate for Christ, who was executed by the Romans. "He has written what would have happened if Jesus had had a fair trial," a friend told The Daily Telegraph's Mandrake column. "He knows it will be controversial, but he has some serious points to make." Pullman is due to read his "account" of Christ's last days at the Globe theatre on Thursday as part of an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Reprieve, an organisation which campaigns for the rights of prisoners. Books by Pullman, who is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society, have been criticised by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. His critics often cite an interview in which he reportedly said: "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief."
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
“You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endured to the end will be delivered.” Matthew 10:22
Pastors to Holder: Bible still condemns homosexuality
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
November 18, 2009
A former U.S. Navy chaplain who was removed from the service after he exercised his right to pray "in Jesus' name" against the wishes of his chain of command read the biblical condemnation of homosexuality at a rally in front of the U.S. Justice Department to protest the nation's new "hate crimes" law. Two weeks ago, President Obama signed into law the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" after Democrats strategically attached it to a "must-pass" $680 billion defense appropriations bill. The law cracks down on any acts that could be linked to criticism of homosexuality or even the "perception" of homosexuality. In response, pastors and other Christian leaders gathered yesterday to read from the Bible itself at a rally organized with the help of Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Coalition. Former Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt of PrayInJesusName.com read from Romans: "And they that commit such things are worthy of death."
Pastor shot, killed on way home from worship
By Michael Carl
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
November 17, 2009
Two masked members of the al-Shabaab Muslim militia shot and killed a pastor in Somalia as he drove home from a worship service, according to reports. Mogadishu pastor Ali Hussein Weheliye was killed in the attack in October, but reports of the incident didn't come out until this week. Experts at the missions think-tank the Joshua Project estimate Somalia is 99 percent Muslim. International Christian Concern's Jonathan Racho agrees with that statistic and says the overwhelming numbers make it difficult to be a Christian in Somalia. "A vast majority of Somalis are Muslims, but there are hundreds of Christians in Somalia. This pastor was the pastor of an underground church," Racho said. "Christians in Somalia have to go underground and they don't give away their identities because once al-Shabaab knows someone is a Christian, that is a death sentence for that person," he said.
U.S. lawmakers defend 'In God We Trust'
By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
November 16, 2009
Forty-four U.S. legislators have signed on to defend the national motto, "In God We Trust," and the Pledge of Allegiance – which contains the word "God" – from an attempt by an atheist group to have the words erased from the face of the newly built Capitol Visitor Center. Together with the American Center for Law and Justice, three U.S. senators and 41 representatives filed a friend-of-the-court amicus brief in a case brought in July by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation that challenges the words as unconstitutional. The atheist and agnostic organization filed suit in U.S. District Court versus Stephen Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol, alleging the words now engraved on the visitors center violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The FFRF claims that the use of tax dollars to add the engravings lacks a secular purpose and has the primary effect of endorsing a religious viewpoint.
Freedom for imprisoned Christian 'apostates'
By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
After millions of prayers and numerous petitions from around the world, two Iranian women jailed for no other reason than being Christian were released from a Tehran prison today. Maryam Rustampoor, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, were imprisoned for 259 days – since March 5. They were repeatedly told to recant their faith and that they would be executed as "apostates," solely because they are Christians. But now Open Doors USA has confirmed the women have been released from the notorious Evin prison with no bail, a rarity for Christians released from prison in Iran. "I am glad to let you know that Maryam and Marzieh are now set free without bail and they are currently at home," an Open Doors field worker announced. In a statement to Elam Ministries, the women declared, "Words are not enough to express our gratitude to the Lord and to His people who have prayed and worked for our release."
Report Exposes Forced Conversions of Christian Women in Egypt
By Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Nov. 10 2009
A new pioneer report, released Tuesday, sheds light on the often deliberately ignored problem of Christian women in Egypt being abducted, forced into Muslim marriages and coerced into converting to Islam. Released by Christian Solidarity International and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights, “The Disappearance, Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt” report documents dozens of real cases of Christian women who were lured and then violently forced into marriage, often after being raped. Report research was done in Egypt by American anti-trafficking specialist Michele Clark and Egyptian women’s rights activist Nadia Ghaly. Based on research findings, the report contends that the violence against Egypt’s Christian women corresponds to the internationally recognized definitions of human trafficking. “The findings of Ms. Ghaly and Ms. Clark are deeply disturbing, and should challenge human rights activists and institutions, especially those whose mandate includes women’s right and trafficking in persons, to undertake, as a matter of urgency, further research into this form of gender and religious based violence against Coptic women and girls in Egypt,” said CSI CEO Dr. John Eibner, in the preface of the report.
The Minister's Corner
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
Look on the Sunny Side
By: Helen Steiner Rice
Submitted by Regina
There are always two sides -
the good and the bad,
The dark and the light,
the sad and the glad...
But in looking back over
the good and the bad,
We're aware of the number
of good things we've had -
And in counting our blessings,
we find when we're through
We've no reason at all
to complain or be blue...
So thank God for the good things
He has already done,
And be grateful to Him
for the battles you've won -
And know that the same God
who helped you before
Is ready and willing
to help you once more -
Then with faith in your heart,
reach out for God's hand
And accept what He sends,
though you can't understand...
For our Father in heaven
always knows what is best,
And if you trust His wisdom,
your life will be blessed...
For always remember
that, whatever betide you,
You are never alone,
for God is beside you.
As the Thanksgiving holiday nears, let us remember to always count our blessings and to be thankful for all things...even those we don't understand. Trust in Father's wisdom and have complete faith and know that even in times of Tribulation, He is there and has not forgotten us - so let us not forget Him. Take the time to make each day a day of thanksgiving, rather than reserving it for just one day out of the year.
FROM THE CRADLE TO THE GRAVE
Submitted by Johanna
From the cradle to the grave
I've watched with eyes of love,
And seen each moment of your life
From My home above.
From the cradle to the grave
Not one second have I missed,
Although there was some heartache
That made you wonder if I exist.
From the cradle to the grave
You have never walked alone,
For when the burden was too heavy,
I gave to you my very Own.
From the cradle to the grave
Every thought you had inside
Was broadcast here in Heaven--
You have no place where to hide.
From the cradle to the grave,
From the grave to Heaven's door,
There are promises and blessings
As you love Me more and more.
by Tracey Allen
Inspired Writings
Having a Little, or Having a Lot
Philippians 4:12 -- I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret [of being content]—whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.
There are a lot of secrets in scripture that are provided to ponder on and apply to one's own very life and style. If one ponders on things that are wise, pondering upon Father, there is a possibility for the growth of things that are enormous.
Matthew 6:25 -- "This is why I tell you: Don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?
When a question is posed, and there isn't an answer readily available, it helps to show that there is room to grow, and perhaps something further to grow in. Perhaps, in a way, a way of directing a person towards growth, and in what growth they can grow towards. All in progressive steps. A person that aspires to learn calculus may have to start with the basics if they are not already learned.
2 Timothy 2:4-7 -- To please the recruiter, no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of everyday life. Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to be the first to get a share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
So when a person considers what little or a lot there is, Father may provide great understanding in all that there is. If oneself considers things in terms towards Father, there can be a large growth. Pondering upon these things can also be like working to learn something, and sometimes a lesson may not come to oneself immediately. However, that is also a part of patience and waiting for Father's time.
Proverbs 8:34 -- Anyone who listens to me is happy, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway.
Matthew 10:10 -- Don't take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a walking stick, for the worker is worthy of his food.
And so, considering having a little or a lot, it is important to keep Father's way of seeing this as one's focus, so as to learn further and further Father's Will and intentions concerning all things. Learning to be content with what Father provides is quite a lesson.
Romans 12:2 -- Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Given these things, more can be understood in the sounds guidance provided by Father's own chosen:
Revelation 3:18 -- I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.
“For the LORD gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6
Jeshaiah: Father's War Plan, based on that correlation with the letter Y, even seems to go along with helping to vindicate Her name, because without Father's and Christ's Ransom Sacrifice, there would only be a straight line of destruction for those born into secondary sin. Which could even give much symbolism to every other letter in Her name
Cherubic Commander: Yes, the "Y" is symbolic of the two roads one can take.
Let's look at Father's archenemy. Did Dawn Lucifer who became Satan confer with a second mind in his plot to resemble Father?
Isaiah 14:14 "I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
How did Father view Satan's desire to be like Her?
Isaiah 46:5 "Who will you compare Me or make Me equal to? Who will you measure Me with, so that we should be like each other?"
Yes Satan did confer with Father Herself. Through his empty arguments about free agency Satan convinced his own self that his arguments had merit.
Ephesians 5:6 "[ Light versus Darkness ] Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these things God's wrath is coming on the disobedient."
So you see, a glimpse of what Satan did before his fall is given. He like humans that are dissatisfied - he argued for something that had no merit in Father's eyes. Satan tried to deceive his own Creator by offering his empty arguments over what he felt in his heart was correct. So Dawn Lucifer leaned on his own understanding. The heart is treacherous, and it can act as a second mind in any vessel whether it be flesh and blood or spirit. Dawn Lucifer listened to his heart over his mind that knew better. How do we know he knew better than to commit sin? Because he was overt in his action.s and still is. But the underlying reason Dawn Lucifer became Satan was because of his desire to be like Father. He believed Father to be weak as a female, for Satan had not seen Father's warrior side at that time. And this is why Father says:
Exodus 9:16 "However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth."
This message was dual, and it was also meant for Her archenemy, because Pharaoh represented Satan in Father's eyes. Father wants to show Satan just how powerful She is. He underestimated Her. Her kindness he abused. For his empty arguments that got him on the wrong path, and for his outright sinful deceptions that have cost billions of people the chance for eternal life. Father has kept Satan in existence to reveal who the real God of this existence truly is. May Father cleanse Her name of undue reproach and destroy those that have no place in Her creation. Amen.
Regina: I think this is something all of us have struggled with from time to time... in that if the heart can be treacherous, but we're also to follow our hearts as well as guard them, should we find ourselves in a situation in which our hearts and minds disagree, what then...?
Cherubic Commander: Proverbs 11:3 "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them." Integrity to Father through knowing Her truth acts as a guide on both mind and heart. If your mind becomes perverse, then your heart will become treacherous. For example, a man seeks a woman for sex that belongs to another. He views her in his mind as attractively alluring. In his heart the thoughts are compounded and from there he desires her at any cost. Had his mind been properly trained, then his heart would not have received the feed down from his perversion.
Proverbs 11:6 "The righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires."
Being upright is a safeguard. Otherwise you become trapped by desire. Satan had desire. Hitler had desire. They wanted what was not theirs. They did not dismiss those thoughts, and so they were cultivated deeply into their hearts that required action on their part.
2 Chronicles 6:30 "may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and may You forgive and repay the man according to all his ways, since You know his heart, for You alone know the human heart,"
Be careful what your mind ponders, because it can sift down into your heart. If it is bad things then bad things will become rooted. This is why Father reads the heart over the mind. The mind will lie to its owner, but the heart will reveal what is really in a person's true self. Father sifts the heart for the truth of who that person really is.
"should we find ourselves in a situation in which our hearts and minds disagree, what then...?" If your mind follows the Word, then your heart has an underlying motive just like Satan's. Examine the true motive. The mind will lie to you because of outside influence. But the heart knows the truth deep down inside. Like the person that says to a friend, "Oh yes, I love these cookies." But inside deep down you know you hate the taste of them. Your mind acted appropriately to not hurt your friend's feelings, but inside you felt the truth and spoke it within.
The mind and heart must both be governed by Father's Way. If a dispute arises, then the heart must be examined for its true motive.
If Michael had not been in unity with both mind and heart just before being executed, he would have had to examine his heart. He did not want to die. He did it because of his love for Father and Creation. That's why he spoke about whether or not She could take the cup from him. But in the end, he left the decision in Her hands. He followed through on his promise, and She kept Her's. This revealed that both his mind and heart were in union with Father's Will.
Signs From Above
“He rescues and delivers, He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:27
More Multi-Colored Aerial Lights Above Fryeburg, Maine
Earthfiles
© 2009 by Linda Moulton Howe
November 11, 2009 Fryeburg, Maine - On October 12, 2009, Earthfiles reported an interview with Jonathan Spak, 37-years-old, owner of a restaurant who photographed anomalous, colorful lights over Fryeburg, Maine. Now a month later on November 4, 2009, Jonathan has photographed more anomalous lights that are included in this Earthfiles report. If anyone else might be having repeated sightings of multi-colored, aerial lights that persist in a specific geographical area, please email me at earthfiles@earthfiles.com.
Asteroid passes just 8,700miles from Earth - with only 15 hours warning
By Claire Bates
MailOnline
Last updated at 10:01 AM on 11th November 2009
Although no one noticed at the time, the Earth was almost hit by an asteroid last Friday. The previously undiscovered asteroid came within 8,700miles of Earth but astronomers noticed it only 15 hours before it made its closest approach. Its orbit brought it 30 times nearer than the Moon, which is 250,000 miles away. But before you head for the nuclear bunkers you will be relieved to learn the tumbling rock was only 23ft across. Similar sized objects pass by this close to Earth about twice a year and impact on the planet about once every five years.
Disc-shaped UFO's reported in three states
November 8, 6:12 AMPittsburgh UFO ExaminerRichard Sanner
Rockingham, Virginia - November 7, 2009 - Witness reported a full disc-shaped object with lights moving around it in a counter-clockwise fashion. The witness first saw the object hovering over his neighbor's house at an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet. The object began to move away, and the witness claimed to clearly see the lights as they continued to circle around the outer edge. The object disappeared momentarily before coming back around. It continued to move slowly over the neighborhood before vanishing entirely. The witness then describes that a ball of light suddenly materialized directly above him and zipped off towards the object he had just observed. The entire event lasted for approximately ten minutes.
Justin, Texas - November 7, 2009 - Witness lives near an airport and is accustomed to conventional aircraft landing and take-off patterns, and lighting. Eight lights were coming from the south. The witness stated that if this were a plane it had more lights, and were much larger than what is customary for an aircraft. The witness heard no sound, and could not discern a silhouette of an aircraft behind the lights. The lights then disappeared.
UFOs Reported in Sutton Skies
UFOCasebook
Published: Friday, October 30, 2009, 10:17
The Observer has received several reports of UFOs during October. All witnesses speak of a strange, glowing light traversing the night sky over Sutton. Accounts range from an intangible orb to a clearly defined mass bathed in a 'burnt orange' energy. The latter is said to have a plane's fixed-wing and 'nose' design, but bears no flashing lights while it defies conventional laws of physics. Now the members of the public who have had these close encounters want to satisfy their curiosity, asking: "Do you know what they are?" They are also wondering whether any more residents have experienced similar phenomena. The first unexplained report focuses on Saturday, October 3. The Observer did not publish it to see whether additional calls from the public would independently corroborate the eyewitness account. "We had just come out of a restaurant on Lower Parade and it was about 9.15 pm," said a female resident who asked not to be named. There was a party of six of us and we were waiting for a few moments following a family gathering. My niece suddenly said 'what's that'? and I saw an object flying low over The Mall shopping centre."
Unknown Object Photographed over Missouri
UFOCasebook
Published: 8:29 AM 10/30/2009
Missouri - 06-25-09
Sitting on my couch looking out the window, I saw a point of light rise up from behind a tree and grow lengthwise in size, then stop and become a horizontal white line of shimmering light in the sky. I often see airplanes coming into the airport turning around in that part of the sky, but this light was much wider than the airplane headlights I see. I could only figure it was a large airplane, so I kept looking at it, expecting it to bank out of its turn I figured it was in - I wanted to see what this craft was, it was relatively big! The white line didn't move, but grew in size a bit, 10 to 20 percent. I then looked at the clock to note the time of 8:55 PM. It stayed in that position for about 30 seconds. It then started to move very slowly to the left, its right side seeming to tilt up at a faster rate than it was moving left, but through the area of movement it remained light, "sparkling" away as it tilted to about a 60 degree angle, the light dissipating until two clearly spherical white balls of light remained.
Signs Down Below
"But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of religion but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Toxic munitions 'may be cause' of baby deaths and deformities in Fallujah
The Independent
by David Randall
November 15, 2009
Evidence was growing this weekend that babies born in the Iraqi city of Fallujah – scene in 2004 of one of the few set-piece battles of the invasion – are exhibiting high rates of mortality and birth defects. In September this year, say campaigners, 170 children were born at Fallujah General Hospital, 24 per cent of whom died within seven days. Three-quarters of these exhibited deformities, including "children born with two heads, no heads, a single eye in their foreheads, or missing limbs". The comparable data for August 2002 – before the invasion – records 530 births, of whom six died and only one of whom was deformed. The data – contained in a letter sent by a group of British and Iraqi doctors and campaigners to the United Nations last month – presaged claims made in a report in The Guardian yesterday that there has been a sharp rise in birth defects in the city. The paper quoted Fallujah General's director and senior specialist, Dr Ayman Qais, as saying: "We are seeing a very significant increase in central nervous system anomalies... There is also a very marked increase in the number of cases of brain tumours." Earlier this year Sky News reported a Fallujah grave-digger saying that, of the four or five new-born babies he buries every day, most have deformities.
More Than Ever, You Can Say That on Television
The New York Times
by Edward Wyatt
November 13, 2009
LOS ANGELES — On many nights this fall, it has been possible to tune in to broadcast network television during prime time and hear a character call someone else a “douche.” In just the last several weeks, it has happened on CBS’s “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries,” which are broadcast at 8 p.m., during what used to be known as the family hour. It has been heard this fall on Fox’s new series “The Cleveland Show,” which begins at 8:30, and on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” On NBC, its use has spanned the old and the new, blurted out on the freshman comedy “Community” and the seasoned drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” In total, the word has surfaced at least 76 times already this year on 26 prime-time network series, according to research by the Parents Television Council, which compiled the statistics at the request of The New York Times. That is up from 30 uses on 15 shows in all of 2007 and just six instances on four programs in 2005.
Your Next Body Is Growing In a Lab Right Now
Blacklisted News
Gizmodo
November 15, 2009
At TEDMED, I witnessed video clips showing science I never knew was so advanced. Dr. Anthony Atala has been growing human tissue and organs, in a lab, for nearly two decades. He's even printed kidneys from a cell-stuffed inkjet printer. The footage below is from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, one of the world's largest labs dedicated to regenerative medicine—a field interested in repairing or replacing human tissue so the body can self-heal. This collection is sort of a greatest hits of Dr. Atala's last 20 years of research (no, none of this was done overnight on a whim), though almost none of what you'll see has left the lab for clinical trials. Karen Richardson, Sr. Communications Manager at the lab, walks us through the videos in the gallery below. Watch the clips, then scroll down for our Q&A with mad (but completely sane) scientist Dr. Anthony Atala.
Fat in Japan? You're breaking the law.
Blacklisted News
GlobalPost
November 15, 2009
TOKYO, Japan — In Japan, being thin isn’t just the price you pay for fashion or social acceptance. It’s the law. So before the fat police could throw her in pudgy purgatory, Miki Yabe, 39, a manager at a major transportation corporation, went on a crash diet last month. In the week before her company’s annual health check-up, Yabe ate 21 consecutive meals of vegetable soup and hit the gym for 30 minutes a day of running and swimming. “It’s scary,” said Yabe, who is 5 feet 3 inches and 133 pounds. “I gained 2 kilos [4.5 pounds] this year.” In Japan, already the slimmest industrialized nation, people are fighting fat to ward off dreaded metabolic syndrome and comply with a government-imposed waistline standard. Metabolic syndrome, known here simply as “metabo,” is a combination of health risks, including stomach flab, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, that can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Bank failure toll reaches 123
CNN Money
by Hibah Yousuf
November 13, 2009
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Two Florida banks and one in California failed Friday night, bring the 2009 national tally to 123. Regulators closed Century Bank, Federal Savings Bank in Sarasota, Fla., Orion Bank in Naples, Fla., and Pacific Coast National Bank in San Clemente, Calif. Customers of all the failed banks are protected, however. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which has insured bank deposits since the Great Depression, currently covers customer accounts up to $250,000. Iberiabank in Lafayette, La., will assume both Florida banks' $2.731 billion in deposits, according to the FDIC. Iberiabank also entered into a loss-share agreement with the FDIC on $656 million of Century Bank's $725 million in assets and on $1.9 billion of Orion Bank's $2.7 billion in assets. The 11 branches of Century Bank and 23 branches of Orion Bank will reopen as branches of Iberiabank. Sunwest Bank in Tustin, Calif. will assume Pacific Coast's $134.4 million in assets and $130.9 million in deposits, according to the FDIC. The two branches of Pacific Coast will reopen as branches of Sunwest Bank.
Signs in Humanity
Prison officer jailed for having inmate's baby
The Independent
by Kevin Rawlinson
November 13, 2009
A prison officer who had a baby by an inmate in her charge has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. Kelly-Anne McDade admitted misconduct in a public office after a love-affair with “dangerous offender” Nelson Delgado. “She fell in love with this serving prisoner, who was nearly 10 years her junior,” Richard Germain, defending 31-year-old McDade, told the court. He added that, at some point in the future, the pair hope to set up home and bring up the child together. “There is no doubt it was an inappropriate relationship, but Ms McDade would say ‘You can’t help who you fall in love with’,” Mr Germain said. However, Judge Christopher Tyrer told McDade that “Love is not an excuse.”
Attacks kill 16 in Pakistan as spy agency targeted
The Independent
AP
November 13, 2009
A suicide bomber in a pickup truck attacked the northwestern regional headquarters of the Pakistani spy agency overseeing a campaign against militancy, killing 10 people today. Another suicide assault in the area killed six more. The bombings were the latest in a string of attacks on security forces, civilians and Western targets since the government launched an offensive in mid-October against militants in the border region of South Waziristan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding out. The attack on the Inter-Services Intelligence agency building occurred in the city of Peshawar, which has borne the brunt of the militants' retaliation against the army offensive. A wave of bombings in the last week alone in and around the city has killed more than 50 people.
Russian men sell body to kabab vendor
Big News Network
November 14, 2009
Three homeless Russian men have been charged with murder after they killed a 25-year-old man known to them and sold his body to be used for kababs and meat pies. The men also used parts of the body for food for themselves. The murder took place in Perm, which is located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European section of Russia close to the Ural Mountains, around 1,000 miles east of Moscow. A Russian investigation unit based in Perm said the victim was attacked with a hammer and knife. He was repeatedly stabbed after he was beaten. "After the crime was carried out, the corpse was dismembered and partly used for food, and also sold to a kiosk that sold kababs and meat pies," the Perm investigators said in a statement.
British soldiers sexually abused us, claim Iraqis
The Independent
by Robert Verkaik
November 15, 2009
Disturbing graphic allegations of sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians by British soldiers are among 33 new torture cases being investigated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The fresh claims include allegations that female and male soldiers sexually abused and humiliated detainees in camps in southern Iraq, prompting comparisons with the torture practices employed by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre that came to light in 2004. Lawyers and human rights groups warned yesterday that the British Army may face hundreds of claims of sexual and physical abuse after it was revealed the MoD was investigating the 33 cases. Phil Shiner, the lawyer representing all the former detainees, is asking for a judicial review of the cases and a wider public inquiry. "I have it on good authority that there are hundreds of cases that are going uninvestigated. My guess is that many of them will remain buried."
Up to 16 US soldiers committed suicide last month
Big News Network
November 15, 2009
More U.S. soldiers likely committed suicide last month than were killed in the Fort Hood shootings earlier this month. The U.S. army is investigating sixteen potential suicides among active-duty soldiers in October, about twice the number reported in September, Army officials said. Of the 7 reported in September, three have been confirmed as suicides, and 4 still are under investigation to determine the cause of death. In the nine months from January to October, the Army reported 133 potential active-duty suicides. Of those, ninety deaths have been confirmed as suicides, and the other 43 remain under investigation. For the same period in 2008, there were 115 suicides among active-duty soldiers. “Stigma continues to be one of the most difficult challenges we confront,” said Army Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, director of the Suicide Prevention Task Force. “The more we educate our Army community about the need to get help, the need to get it early, and that full recovery is often possible, the less stigma we’ll see.”
Arks of Safe Haven
www.arksofsafehaven.org
"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?" Isaiah 58:7
The mission of Arks of Safe Haven is to connect via an extensive network and online message board forum, those individuals and families who have been affected by recent economic downfalls and are in need with those individuals who are ready, willing and capable of providing assistance to those in need with employment, shelter, work, food, clothing and other necessities.
Coupled with our primary mission of delivering the Kingdom Message of Salvation, the assistance of Arks of Safe Haven is available to all who are in need. Our purposeful intention is to follow in the footsteps of Christ as our example, by providing hope to the hopeless and answering the prayers of those who have been forced to live outside of society.
How You Can Help?
In order to provide for those whose outcry of prayers have reached our heavenly Father's ears, Arks of Safe Haven is seeking out those who are able to provide shelter, whether it be an extra bedroom, empty rental property or a work for room and board agreement. Additionally, we also act as a liaison in connecting those with tangible items to donate to those in need like Food, Water, Clothing, & Other Personal Items. We pray that your heart is motivated to make a contribution, no matter how small. Visit www.arksofsafehaven.org and view the many posts from those in need to see if you're able to help with advice, prayers or goods & services.
Believer- We are a family of 6; 47, 40, 18, 15, 4 and 4 years of age. We are in a REAL live struggle right now. We need help badly!! We are not asking for hand outs-WE WILL WORK!! Wife runs recovery houses for women, I am on disability and all our children are in school-from pre-k to community college. We recently lost one of our vehicles, which makes it very hard to get 6 people around. We are really struggling!! It is a task every day to find food, gas, etc... We have NEVER been in this position before. It is quite humbling, which can really be a good thing-in the long run-after God brings us to the other side! We attend Church weekly and are Believers. We are in risk of being evicted. We can use any help and we will work for it. God Bless
Signs in Natural Disasters
“You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:6-7
Typhoon Mirinae Kills 123 in Vietnam as Floods Sweep Homes Away
By Van Nguyen
Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Typhoon Mirinae left at least 123 people dead, one missing and 145 people injured in Vietnam, and caused more than 5 trillion dong ($280 million) in damage, the National Committee for Flood and Storm Control said. The typhoon plowed into Vietnam’s southern central coast on Nov. 2, causing floods that swept away nearly 2,400 houses in central and southern Vietnam, the committee said today in a statement.
El Salvador storm toll rises to 136
By Alex Renderos and Ken Ellingwood
November 10, 2009
Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Verapaz, El Salvador, and Mexico City -- The hill-ringed town of Verapaz is now a wasteland of fallen boulders, thigh-deep mud and broken little houses. Rescue workers and desperate residents dug amid the debris Monday for signs of those people still missing a day after severe flooding and landslides left at least 136 dead across El Salvador. Verapaz, a bean- and coffee-growing town of 6,000, was one of the worst-hit spots. Earth and boulders poured down the side of Chichontepec volcano in a thunderous wave, burying some homes and inhabitants. The landslides followed days of rain and a punishing downpour over the weekend that pried the hillside loose.
Mayon sends ash falling on Albay towns, villages
Philippine Daily Inquirer
11/11/2009
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Restive Mayon Volcano blew ash into the air and into towns that are near it early Wednesday, according to volcanologists. Alex Baloloy, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) science research analyst, said the mild explosion was a clear sign that magma was rising in the volcano’s crater. The explosion lasted for about three minutes followed by rumbling sounds. Residents in the towns of Camalig, Guinobatan, Polangui and Oas and Ligao City reported seeing ash falls. Baloloy said materials (believed to be melting rocks) glowing in the volcano’s upper slopes were seen by residents in Barangay Lidong in Sto. Domingo town and in Barangays Tumpa and Anoling in Camalig town. Ash falls were also reported in the villages of Tumpa in Camalig; Travesia, Maipon, Masarawag, Doña Tumasa, Muladbukad Grande and Pequeño in Guinobatan; and Nabonton and Nasisi in Ligao City.
Mont Blanc shrinks by foot-and-a-half
Relax News
8 November 2009
Western Europe's tallest peak, the snow-capped Alpine giant Mont Blanc, has shrunk by 45 centimetres (18 inches) in two years, experts said following an official survey. The new height of Mont Blanc, which lies on the three-way border between France, Italy and Switzerland, is now 4,810.45 metres (15,782.3 feet), just over half that of Nepal's Everest but still the tallest Alpine peak. The volume of snow and ice coating the summit has also dropped by about a tenth, topographer Bernard Dupont told reporters, adding that this could not be linked directly to the effects of climate change. Dupont said climate change indicators could only truly be measured on a scale of 30 years or more and that ice temperatures and precipation levels further down the mountain at around 3,000 metres would be a better guide.
Heavy 6.7 earthquake strikes Indonesia; at least one killed
November 10, 2009
WikiNews
At least one person was killed and several dozen more were injured on Monday, after a heavy earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck near the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia. According to US Geological Survey statistics, the epicentre of the quake was sixteen kilometres from the town of Raba (about 1,300 kilometres from the capital Jakarta) at a depth of eighteen kilometres. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said that it was unlikely that significant waves would be generated by the tremors. Indonesia's health ministry crisis centre head said that 38 people were injured and had to be hospitalised by the tremors. He added that a few buildings were damaged, but everything was "under control".
Natural Disaster Update
Source: http://home.att.net/~thehessians/disasterwatch.html
QUAKES -
11/13/09 -
5.3 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.3 PAGAN REG., N. MARIANA ISLANDS
5.8 SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA
6.5 OFFSHORE TARAPACA, CHILE
11/12/09 -
5.4 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.0 SUNDA STRAIT, INDONESIA
5.8 FIJI REGION
11/11/09 -
5.7 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.0 IONIAN SEA
11/10/09 -
5.9 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
5.0 CROZET ISLANDS REGION [southeast of Africa]
5.0 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
11/9/09 -
5.2 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA
5.3 NEAR N COAST OF NEW GUINEA, PNG.
5.2 FIJI
7.1 FIJI
5.0 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
5.0 SOUTH OF TONGA
5.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.4 PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS REGION
11/8/09 -
6.7 SUMBAWA REGION, INDONESIA
5.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.3 TONGA REGION
5.4 CARLSBERG RIDGE
5.3 VANUATU
5.0 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
INDONESIA - Two people were killed and dozens injured after a strong quake with a magnitude of 6.7 rocked the Indonesian island of Sumbawa.
VOLCANOES -
A study of bubbles trapped in pumice rock suggests it's a lot easier for volcanoes to erupt than we think, say Australian researchers.
BALI - Mt Batur activity on alert. The status of Mt Batur in Kintamani, Bali, has been raised from active-normal to alert due to its increasing activity. "This happens because the volcano that last erupted in 2000 has shown an increasing activity, as seen by the black smoke coming out of the mountain several times." Under a normal condition tremor happens only five times a day but now it reaches 60 times a day and it is felt by people living within a radius of one to two kilometers from the mountain. "From 1804 to 2000 the mountain has erupted 28 times with a lapse of one to 39 years." The mountain's eruption is generally effusive and strombolian with lava and ash or rocks flowing 100 meter around the brim of the crater. Smoke from the mountain could rise up to 300 meter high above the crater. The tremor itself has been recorded increasing to 21 times of vulcanic tremor with a maximum amplitude of 1-12 MM since September. A total of 28 tremors have been recorded in October. On October 8 a total of five deep and 53 shallow vulcanic tremors were recorded. A total of 12 tremors meanwhile were recorded from November 1 to 7.
JAPAN - The volcano island Sakurajima has had about 400 explosive eruptions so far this year, THE MOST IN 24 YEARS. A local observatory warned Friday that activity might pick up. The minor explosive eruptions reached the 400 threshold Thursday nigh. One expert said the recent activity is similar to what happened just before a major eruption in 1946. "It's in the middle of a stage where activity is picking up and the frequency of eruptions is likely to grow next year and thereafter. It's possible an eruption of similar scale to the (1946) event could happen within a few years." In general, lava from an eruption would not pose great danger to residents because it's sticky and its flow speed is "extremely slow." But if a pyroclastic flow follows a river or if big rocks hit residential areas, the damage could be serious.
PHILIPPINES - Mayon Volcano rumbled and spewed ash a kilometer into the air Wednesday morning but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said there is no need to raise the alert level. However, Phivolcs advised communities near the restive volcano in Legazpi City, Albay, to be prepared to evacuate when needed. It was THE FIRST TIME THAT RUMBLING SOUNDS WERE HEARD from Mayon as it spewed ash. “There were two other explosions last Sept. 15 and Oct. 28 but these were not accompanied by rumbling. But the rumbling sound is common for an ABNORMAL volcano." Mayon’s latest activities were more powerful than earlier explosions but these still fall within Alert Level 2. Alert Level 3 is only raised when a volcano shows “an increased tendency towards eruption, with relatively high unrest." Phivolcs said that incandescent rock fragments at the upper slope were observed. “Ash column was not observed due to cloud cover. Field investigation conducted after the event showed ash fall drifted towards the southwest quadrant of the volcano due to the prevailing northeast monsoon." Phivolcs said it also recorded 20 volcanic earthquakes for the past 24 hours. Mt. Mayon which has been on Alert Level 2 status since July this year.
Meanwhile, a tectonic earthquake measuring 4.8 in the Richter scale shook Agusan del Norte early morning Wednesday with no reports of injury or damage as a result of the quake.
TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES / RISING SEA LEVELS -
50,000 dead starfish found on Irish beach - Extreme weather conditions have killed tens of thousands of starfish and left them strewn across a sheltered beach. A carpet of pink and mauve echinoderms, a family of marine animals, appeared Thursday morning, November 5, on Lissadell Beach in north Co Sligo. The adult starfish, measuring between 7cm and 20cm in diameter and estimated to be up to 50,000 in number, stretched along 150 metres of the strand. A marine biologist speculated that they had been lifted up by a storm while feeding on mussel beds off shore. "The most likely explanation is that they were feeding on mussels but it is a little STRANGE that none of them were attached to mussels when they were washed in." If they had died as a result of a so-called 'red tide' or algal bloom, other sealife would have been washed ashore with them. "These were almost all adult size and the typical starfish variety that is found in the North Atlantic but there was nothing else mixed in with them." Surveying the UNUSUAL scene, he placed some in a bucket of seawater to test whether they were alive, but while this prompted a slight response from one or two of the creatures, the vast majority were dead. The phenomenon was most likely caused by recent bad weather. "They turned up almost certainly as a result of an exceptional storm event. A storm hit the seabed where these sub-tidal animals were and lifted them up and washed them ashore." Investigations were continuing into how they came to be washed ashore but initial indications pointed to the stormy weather, which has been a feature in the north-west in recent days. In a similar episode earlier this year, thousands of dead starfish washed ashore on Youghal Beach in Co Cork. Scientists speculated that they, too, had been thrown on to the beach by an underflow, which was probably caused by a storm at sea. (photo)
TROPICAL STORMS -
Tropical Cyclone Phyan underwent rapid weakening while moving north-northeast over land on Thursday and was traced as a low-pressure area over southwest Madhya Pradesh. The Phyan remnant dropped fairly widespread to widespread rainfall over the west coast, madhya Maharashtra and west Madhya Pradesh during the 24 hours ending Thursday morning.
Cyclone Phyan, which crossed the Konkan as well as the Mumbai region of India on Wednesday, was the FIRST CYCLONIC STORM IN THE REGION IN NOVEMBER FOR 43 YEARS. "This kind of storm is not very common in November. The last such storm in November was in 1966." Phyan was the result of a deep depression over the east central Arabian Sea which covered into a storm by Tuesday night and then moved towards Mumbai on Wednesday. "The cyclone will move towards the sea again. Its intensity will weaken in 48 hours and rainfall should lessen over the next two days."
IDA - A tropical system can sometimes bring more widespread problems when it dissipates. This is the case with the storm formerly known as Ida. As this circulation interacts with strong Canadian High Pressure to the north, the increased pressure gradient results in strong winds from the east. That enhances the rain and high waves. This is a slow mover, so a prolonged stormy pattern will last into the weekend. Inland winds will be gusty. They should average 20-30 mph but could gust close to 50mph during the height of the storm. Eastern North Carolina is forecasted to receive over 9 inches of rain, which will result in widespread flooding. The beach erosion from strong winds and high waves will be widespread.
Damage from unfolding inland and coastal flooding from Ida will be much worse than the problems caused around the Gulf of Mexico. Damage from the remnants of Ida potentially could reach 100's of millions of dollars in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. The storm also poses a significant threat to human lives. As bad as the inland flooding may be in the Southeast, storm surge flooding along the mid-Atlantic coast may prove to be the worst component and most memorable event of this storm.
Hurricane Ida, the first Atlantic hurricane to target the United States this year, plodded early today toward the Gulf Coast with 105 mph winds, bringing the threat of flooding and storm surges. A hurricane warning extended more than 200 miles of coastline from Pascagoula, Mississippi, east to Indian Pass, Florida. Tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches are in effect across other areas of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, including New Orleans. Louisiana's governor declared a state of emergency. Authorities said Ida could make landfall as early as Tuesday morning, although it was forecast to weaken by then. Ida is on track to make an UNSUALLY LATE landfall for a tropical cyclone upon the Gulf Coast. Up through the time of landfall and for a while thereafter, a range of serious impacts will accompany Ida, both at the coast and at sea. As a hurricane over the open Gulf well into the day today, Ida's high winds will kick up high waves of up to 20 feet. Tides will run higher than normal through Tuesday along most of the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. Excessive rain will threaten flooding in a corridor from southern and eastern Louisiana eastward into Georgia and the Carolinas.
Phyan - The cyclone developing over the Arabian Sea is likely to intensify in the next 48 hours bringing heavy rain to coastal Karnataka. Bangalore and other parts of interior Karnataka will also come within the cyclone’s reach.
Nameless Storm Is Disaster for El Salvador - A devastating storm that struck El Salvador over the weekend was not the hurricane that roared through the region at the same time, and, in fact, the storm did not even merit a name — which meant little after at least 140 people were killed when rivers burst their banks and hillsides collapsed under a siege of relentless rain. Hurricane Ida churned along the Atlantic coast of Central America late last week, first as a tropical storm, and Nicaragua and Honduras took glancing blows while El Salvador was untouched, hurricane experts said. But another weather pattern that forecasters described as a relatively small low-pressure cell struck El Salvador, which was in the midst of its rainy season, from the west. It hovered over the mountainous countryside from Saturday evening until late Sunday, bringing with it enormous quantities of rain and destruction far worse than the disaster-prone country had seen in more than a decade. The storm poured almost as much rain on central El Salvador as Hurricane Mitch did over four days in 1998. “Ida had nothing to do with it." That was no consolation for a nation that found many of its villages and roads covered in a thick layer of mud. At least 1,500 houses have been destroyed and damaged. Even after the skies calmed, reaching some of the devastated regions proved to be a challenge, with rescue workers using helicopters and boats to get to the village of Verapaz, where 16 people were reported dead and another 47 missing after part of the Chichontepec volcano collapsed on top of homes. At the National Hurricane Center, forecasters said they had noticed the storm yet issued no warning about it. “It was a very, very weak area of disturbed weather. We were monitoring it. You could see it in the satellite imagery. But we dropped it because it was so weak and it didn’t have the potential to become a tropical cyclone.” Salvadoran forecasters did put out a warning for Ida and the unnamed storm late last week, advising residents that mudslides and sudden surges along river channels were possible. Still, the intensity of the rains seemed to catch everybody by surprise.
HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING / LANDSLIDES / UNUSUAL & OUT-OF-SEASON WEATHER -
IDA - a huge coastal storm is inundating the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast, most likely causing a historic flooding event, as the remnants of Ida merge with a high pressure system, creating a powerful pressure gradient, which is currently generating tropical storm force winds, causing ferocious waves, dropping buckets of rain and raising water levels, leading to flooding. The very slow storm motion, in and of itself, is going to cause rainfall totals 3x greater than a typical total rainfall for a wet November. Almost 10 inches have already been reported in some places. This system is offering basically the most destructive elements of a hurricane, without it being a hurricane.
BRAZIL - A severe storm has been blamed for widespread power cuts in Brazil which lasted more than five hours. The strong winds, heavy rain and lightning brought down a power line in Brazil, cutting two other lines and ultimately automatically shutting Itaipu dam. In the WORST BLACKOUT IN YEARS to hit Brazil, up to a fifth of the population was left without power on Tuesday. Neighbouring Paraguay was also briefly left in the dark. Initial suspicion had focused on the Itaipu hydroelectric plant, which supplies 20% of Brazil's power, but officials there said the facility was working normally. The outage caused chaos on the streets of major Brazilian cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. At least 10 Brazilian states were partially or totally affected with problems spread over a wide geographical area.
U.S. - The USA just slogged through its WETTEST OCTOBER ON RECORD, the federal government's National Climatic Data Center announced Tuesday. The nationwide precipitation of 4.15 inches was nearly double the long-term average of 2.11 inches. Precipitation was most extreme in the central USA, where three states — Iowa, Arkansas, and Louisiana — saw their wettest October ever. Only three out of the 50 U.S. states had below-average amounts of rain and snow: Florida, Utah, and Arizona. In addition to the damp, October was also extremely cool, measuring the third-coldest since records began in 1895. The average national temperature of 50.8 degrees was 4 degrees below average. Only the Octobers of 1976 and 1925 were cooler. Oklahoma shivered through its COLDEST OCTOBER ON RECORD, while Nebraska and Kansas were the second-chilliest ever. The month was marked by an active weather pattern, which reinforced unseasonably cold air behind a series of cold fronts. Temperatures were below normal in eight of the nation's nine climate regions, and of the nine, five were much below normal. Only the Southeast climate region had near normal temperatures for October. The soggy October helped ease drought conditions across the USA. The National Drought Mitigation Center reported last week that the nation is in its best shape of the decade, in regards to drought. "This is the least amount of the country that's been in drought in the past 10 years." For the year-to-date, many states along the mid- and Lower Mississippi Valley are having their WETTEST YEARS ON RECORD.
AUSTRALIA - Heaviest falls in months hit central Queensland. RECORD-BREAKING RAINFALL has hit the central Queensland coast over the past 24 hours giving some areas the heaviest downpours in seven months. Te Kowai residents, near Mackay, have experienced their wettest November day in five years after collecting 81mm in the 24 hours to 9am. Mackay had its HEAVIEST NOVEMBER RAINFALL IN 59 YEARS after fetching 72mm in the same period. "It is a relatively UNUSUAL weather pattern for this time of year, particularly so during an El Nino year like the present. We would normally see these setups during the autumn months."
Tornado Blasts Oregon Coast - The National Weather Service confirmed this weekend that a tornado tore through the coastal town of Lincoln City, damaging about a dozen homes. The Friday night tornado packed winds that reached 85 mph. The destruction path of the twister was 150 yards long and 80 yards wide. Tornadoes are RARE weather events in Oregon, particularly in Deschutes County. There have been only two official reports of a tornado in the past 50 years in the county, one blasting through in June 1983 and the other in August 1989. In Oregon’s history there have been six deaths caused by tornadoes, all of those coming in the late 1800s. In comparison, 113 people died and 900 were injured during one tornado April 9, 1947 in Woodward, Oklahoma. Harsh winter-style weather is expected throughout Oregon during the next several days, with massive amounts of snowfall dropping in the Cascades and wind and heavy rain blasting the coast.
INDIA - Heavy rain in southern India triggered flash floods and landslides that killed 41 people in the past 24 hours. More than 70 deaths have been recorded across several districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in the last week, where downpours have caused widespread damage to buildings and ruined crops. The hillside district of Nilgiris, about 450km west of the state capital Chennai, is estimated to have received up to 610mm [24 inches] of rain over two days. One village there was destroyed. Rescue efforts were underway to help those trapped in debris, and authorities said most deaths were due to walls collapsing, drowning or electrocution. Schools were closed in several districts and forecasters predicted more rain over the next 24 hours.
EL SALVADOR - Three days of national mourning have begun in El Salvador following the deaths of at least 130 people in floods and landslides. Thousands are living in shelters as a result of the disaster and large parts of the country are without electricity and clean water. The areas around the capital, San Salvador, and the central province of San Vicente were hit hardest. In Verapaz in San Vicente, soldiers and civilians have been searching debris left by a landslide for dozens of missing people. A torrent of mud and boulders from the Chichontepec volcano hit the town on Sunday, wrecking 300 homes and burying cars. The disastrous rains were mainly caused by a low pressure system in the Pacific, which was linked indirectly to Hurricane Ida.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
CHINA - heavy snowfall has led to the deaths of 38 people in road accidents and collapsed buildings. The deaths included four pupils in schools that collapsed. Nineteen people were killed in traffic accidents that also stranded thousands of motorists. The HEAVIEST SNOWFALL FOR DECADES in northern China snarled road traffic across the region and forced delays or the cancellation of hundreds of flights from airports in several cities, including Beijing. The storms were tapering off today with road, rail and air traffic beginning to return to normal.
Officials have said the two storms in Beijing were artificially induced, sparking anger among capital-area residents, but the extent of the weather manipulation efforts remains unclear. In some places this week's snowstorms were the biggest in up to 60 years, leaving up to one million people in need of some form of disaster assistance. Major highways in north China have been shut down, leaving at least 10,000 vehicles and up to 30,000 people stranded on roads in Shanxi alone.
CHINA - Chinese scientists artificially induced the second major snowstorm to wreak havoc in Beijing this season, reigniting debate over the practice of tinkering with Mother Nature. After the earliest snow to hit the capital in 22 years fell on November 1, the capital was again shrouded in white yesterday with more snow expected in the coming three days. Despite a massive effort to clear the capital of snow that involved over 15,000 workers, many roads remained blocked, while highways into Beijing and in neighbouring Hebei and Shanxi provinces were closed. Yesterday, an official had said the storm was "natural''. The Beijing Weather Modification Office had artificially induced both storms by seeding clouds with chemicals, a practice that can increase precipitation by up to 20 per cent. City weather officials have previously said that such methods are aimed at alleviating a drought over much of north China, including Beijing, that has lingered for more than a decade. But residents have griped about the flight delays, traffic snarls, cancelled classes and other inconveniences of a surprise snow storm, saying officials could warn them if they are planning to toy with the clouds. Beyond the day-to-day hassles, experts said the weather manipulation had other undesirable side-effects in the longer term. "No one can tell how much weather manipulation will change the sky. We should not depend too much on artificial measures to get rain or snow, because there are too many uncertainties up in the sky." A Beijing engineer was quoted as saying the more than 5,500 tonnes of erosive snow-melting chloride used on city roads yesterday - nearly half the annual allotment - could "erode steel structures of buildings". In 2005, the snow-melting agent was responsible for killing 10,000 trees in Beijing and decimating 200,000 square metres of grassland.
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE-
The Greenland ice sheet is losing its mass faster than in previous years and making an increasing contribution to sea level rise, a study has confirmed. Melting of the entire sheet would raise sea levels globally by about 7m (20ft). For the period 2000-2008, melting Greenland ice raised sea levels by an average of about 0.46mm per year. Since 2006, that has increased to 0.75mm per year. The new research shows that in Greenland, about half the loss comes from faster flow to the oceans, and the other half from changes on the ice sheet itself - principally surface melting. Another analysis of satellite data, published in September, showed that of 111 fast-moving Greenland glaciers studied, 81 were thinning at twice the rate of the slow-moving ice beside them. "Since 2000, there's clearly been an accelerating loss of mass [from the ice sheet]. But we've had three very warm summers, and that's enhanced the melt considerably." In total, sea levels are rising by about 3mm per year, principally because seawater is expanding as it warms. "It does show that the [ice loss] trend has accelerated, and the reported contribution to sea level rise also shows a significant acceleration - so if you multiply these numbers up it puts us well BEYOND the IPCC estimates for 2100."
AUSTRALIA - Adelaide is bracing for its FIRST NOVEMBER HEATWAVE ON RECORD with high temperatures forecast for the next week. Five days or more with a top temperature above 35 degrees celsius is considered a heatwave. Adelaide's top temperature reached 37 degrees yesterday and was expected to stay above 35 until Friday. Adelaide's weather was being dominated by a large, almost stationary, high pressure system in the Tasman Sea.
SPACE WEATHER-
CANADA - 11/7/09 - People throughout British Columbia were treated to a spectacular light show Saturday after what's believed to be a meteor lit up the sky. "We were shocked … I mean, it wasn't what you'd expect, but it was bright white, with red and green and some blue colours, with a bit of a trail behind it and it was a large fireball. [It was] approximately what the size of the moon would have been if we were looking at the moon." The intense light only lasted for about three seconds. The streak of light was also seen about 500 kilometres northeast of Comox, near Vanderhoof. This type of event is not unusual. "These are happening all the time. We've had some very spectacular fireballs in the Malayasia area just a few weeks ago. Earlier this year, there was a spectacular fireball that actually ended up in meteorites over Sudan, and a few weeks ago we had one over Vancouver, so these sorts of things are happening all the time." Astronomers will use the sightings in the hopes of triangulating the spot where the rock may have landed.
AUSTRALIA - Large holes were blown in the roofs of two Grovedale homes on Saturday afternoon, baffling emergency workers and weather experts. One couple reported hearing a loud bang, while a neighbour also heard the crashing sound about 3.30pm. SES and police said the damage was caused by an unusual weather phenomena called a microburst. But a weather expert dismissed that claim because that weather pattern was only associated with thunderstorms, and none were present on the weekend. The Astronomical Society of Victoria's president predicted a marble-sized piece of space junk or meteorite could have caused the damage and the evidence would be found in the area around the two houses.
ASTEROID NEAR MISS - On Nov. 6th at 2132 UT, asteroid 2009 VA barely missed Earth when it flew just 14,000 km above the planet's surface. If it had hit, the ~6-meter wide space rock would have disintegrated in the atmosphere as a spectacular fireball, causing no significant damage to the ground. 2009 VA was discovered just 15 hours before closest approach.
FOOD / WATER / SUPPLIES-
Food prices remain stubbornly high in the developing world despite a strong cereal harvest this year, and 31 countries need emergency aid, the UN food agency warned overnight. "For the world's poorest people who spend up to 80 per cent of their household budgets on food, the food price crisis is not over yet." Although international food prices have fallen significantly since their peaks a couple of years ago, wheat and maize prices rose in October and rice export prices are still well above pre-crisis levels. Eastern Africa is among the regions facing critical food insecurity, with drought and conflict putting about 20 million people in need of food aid. Investment in agriculture in developing countries should be a "global priority".
HEALTH THREATS -
Swine flu has killed nearly 4,000 people in the US, including 540 children, officials said after devising a new counting method. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new system is based on more precise figures provided by 10 states. The previous estimated death toll from the H1N1 virus in the US was 672. The new estimated death toll for children is four times higher than the previous estimate. Latest figures show about 22 million Americans contracted the virus in six months with some 98,000 hospitalised. "This is just the first six months and I am expecting all of these numbers, unfortunately, to continue to rise." Although still imprecise, the new statistics provide "a bigger picture of what has been going on in the first six months of the pandemic..We will be updating the toll that the pandemic has taken... about every three to four weeks." 41.6 million more doses of swine flu vaccine had been made available on Thursday for distribution around the country. The global death toll from the flu pandemic passed the 6,000 mark last week.
CDC study finds no protective effect of seasonal flu shot - A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no evidence that seasonal flu vaccine was protective against the H1N1 virus. Overall vaccine effectiveness was found to be minus-10% but varied widely by age-group. The results, combined with others, suggest that seasonal flu vaccine neither raises nor lowers the risk of H1N1 infection. Seasonal flu shot may protect against H1N1 Contrary to most other reports, a study of H1N1 flu cases in Mexico suggests that seasonal flu vaccine may have had a protective effect. Risk of infection was 35% lower in those who had received seasonal flu vaccine.
H5N1? - Autopsies of 15 Mexican patients who died of suspected novel H1N1 infections found the virus in 5 of them. Lung tissue was heavier than normal and solid. Four had upper-airway hallmarks seen in seasonal flu cases, but all five had pulmonary damage and interstitial lesions typically seen with H5N1 infections. Two patients showed evidence of other organ involvement seen in lethal H5N1 cases.
The aggressive-and widely protested-quarantine measures China has used to fight the H1N1 virus may have helped slow the disease. Although cases have mounted recently, China has not yet had a major epidemic. The US Embassy said 2,046 Americans had been quarantined in China through October.
New US swine flu death estimates will be just a guess - U.S. health officials are due to release new estimates of deaths from swine flu today, but the numbers will be just that -- a rough estimate. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization stopped trying to count actual cases months ago, once it became clear that H1N1 was a pandemic that would infect millions. There are nowhere near enough diagnostic tests to give to everyone with flu-like symptoms to see if they really have swine flu, and autopsies have shown that some people who have died had H1N1 and no one even knew it. So the death figures will be based on models, calculated by looking intensively at small groups of people, gathering data on overall reports of sickness and death, and reconciling the two. This is also what happens every year with seasonal influenza, which WHO says kills 250,000 to 500,000 people a year globally and which CDC says kills 36,000 Americans in an average year.
Seasonal flu attacks about 20% of the population in an average year but it is the elderly who are the most likely to die. H1N1 is hitting a younger population -- adults in their 20s and 30s and children. The latest counts from CDC showed that 1,000 have died so far, including 129 children. The global count is more than 6,000. It is possible that these younger patients may be more likely to survive their bout of flu, even if they have chronic conditions. In Mexico, where the new flu appears to have spread first last March, young people were the most likely to be infected but elderly were most likely to die. Far fewer than 1 percent of patients that were infants and people aged 39 years and under died. Ten percent of patients over 70 who were treated in clinics died. 4.5 percent of patients aged 50 to 59 died, but just 2.7 percent of those in their 40s and 2 percent of patients in their 30s. Mexicans who had been vaccinated for seasonal influenza had a 35 percent lower risk of getting H1N1, even though the seasonal flu vaccine offers no protection against the new virus. Every day of delay in hospital admission after the fourth day of illness raised the risk of death by almost 20 percent.
Poland will not buy H1N1 vaccine that has not been properly tested or from manufacturers that won't take responsibility for side effects, the Prime Minister said. He said that vaccine producers were pressuring governments to buy but without taking responsibility for possible negative effects. He said expectations are to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on vaccine "while no one wants to guarantee that it has no side effects."
Persistent H1N1 flu transmission continues in North America with an unusually early flu season under way across Europe and central and western Asia. Countries in northern and eastern Europe, as well as eastern Russia, are seeing increasing activity. Mongolia, China, and Japan are reporting surges in cases. Seasonal H3N2 viruses are waning, though some have been detected recently in sub-Saharan Africa.
H1N1 in animals needs monitoring - Pandemic H1N1 virus infections in pigs, turkeys, and other animals underscores the need for close monitoring but have not changed pandemic dynamics, the WHO said. Limited evidence suggests the pig illnesses followed human transmission to pigs, and as human infections increase, the WHO said it expects to receive more reports of animal H1N1 infections. A novel H3N2 virus found recently in Danish minks did not spread to humans but signals a need for increased vigilance.
Flu worries reduce blood donations - Blood-donation centers across the United States are reporting unusually low levels of donations thanks to H1N1 flu. Some school and corporate blood drives have been canceled because of absenteeism, while in other areas regular donors are ill. In addition, donated blood must be discarded under federal rules if donors come down with flu symptoms shortly after donation.
Flu spread spurs China to boost vaccine efforts - China is stepping up its H1N1 vaccination drive after cases increased by about 5,000 and the death toll rose from 16 to 30 over the past 3 days. The health ministry numbered confirmed cases at 59,478 and said 240 people were in critical condition. Calling the increase in cases "alarming," the health ministry spokesman said the government has ordered increased vaccine production and immunizations. As of yesterday, 8.7 million Chinese had been vaccinated.
Pharmaceuticals manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline will donate 50 million doses of H1N1 vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) for distribution to countries that cannot afford to buy it. The agency said that 95 countries are eligible to receive the vaccine and it hopes to procure enough vaccine to cover 10% of their populations.
Fish with potentially harmful levels of mercury were found in 49% of US lakes and reservoirs studied.
Signs in False Shepherds & False Religion
"For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also." 2 Timothy 3:6-9
'Christian' praises Fort Hood shooter as 'hero'
By Joe Kovacs
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
Posted: November 11, 2009
LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. – A Florida man claiming to be the apostle Peter reborn is coming under FBI scrutiny after trying to send a dozen yellow roses to the alleged gunman of the Fort Hood massacre, whom he's calling a "hero." Dan Ross, 61, of Lehigh Acres, is standing by his action which began the day after the carnage in Texas, where 13 people (14 when including an unborn baby) lost their lives when Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire. "That's part of Christianity, is you're supposed to love your enemies and do good to them. And so by my doing that I was immediately labeled a terrorist," Ross told NBC affiliate WBBH-TV in Fort Myers. "The FBI came by and thought I was on drugs. I said, 'In this day and age we have telephones. You could have called me up. You're here just to intimidate me.' We're supposed to be free from fear and we're supposed to have the right – freedom of religion, free from fear, freedom of speech, and here they are." Ross is placing more blame on the bureau's failure to prevent the tragedy than Hasan, a Muslim with connections to extremists supporting terrorism.
The Vatican joins the search for alien life
By Tom Chivers
The Telegraph
10 Nov 2009
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is holding a conference on astrobiology, the study of life beyond Earth, with scientists and religious leaders gathering in Rome this week. For centuries, theologians have argued over what the existence of life elsewhere in the universe would mean for the Church: at least since Giordano Bruno, an Italian monk, was put to death by the Inquisition in 1600 for claiming that other worlds exist. Among other things, extremely alien-looking aliens would be hard to fit with the idea that God “made man in his own image”. Furthermore, Jesus Christ’s role as saviour would be confused: would other worlds have their own, tentacled Christ-figures, or would Earth’s Christ be universal? However, just as the Church eventually made accommodations after Copernicus and Galileo showed that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, and when it belatedly accepted the truth of Darwin's theory of evolution, Catholic leaders say that alien life can be aligned with the Bible’s teachings.
Westhead: India's new Bible wears a bindi
RICK WESTHEAD/TORONTO STAR
Published On Sat Nov 7 2009
MUMBAI, INDIA–When Mary and Joseph discovered a power-hungry king was hunting their son Jesus Christ, they escaped to the safety of Egypt. But before Christianity's first family fled, barefoot Mary slipped into a sari and put a bindi on her forehead, while Joseph tied tight his long loincloth and turban. At least, that's how their flight is illustrated in a Bible produced for Indians. Released in India last year by the Roman Catholic Church, the "New Community Bible" became an immediate sensation – and lightning rod for controversy. Thanks to pictures of Biblical characters in traditional Indian clothing and a commentary that drew references to Bollywood, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible sold out 15,000 hardcover copies within weeks. Yet amid its success, the New Community Bible also became ensnared in controversy. Right-wing Hindu groups accused the Catholic Church of laying the groundwork for illegal conversions, while Protestant Christian groups alleged it misrepresented original texts.
Haggard starting new church at his Springs home
MARK BARNA
THE GAZETTE
November 04, 2009
Former New Life pastor Ted Haggard greeted warmly the more than 110 people who arrived for his Thursday evening prayer gathering at his home in north Colorado Springs. “It’s a Kumbaya moment,” Haggard said. “People here tonight believe in resurrection and me. They understand love.” Several people spoke of grace, forgiveness and redemption to explain why they came. “Christians are to forgive, and I have forgiven Ted,” said the Rev. Alan Hawkins, who drove from Albuquerque to be at the gathering. Tom Pesavento, who attended New Life Church for 18 years before leaving in 2007, said he came because he believes in God’s grace. “God himself forgets sin,” he said. “Man remembers.” Haggard, who resigned as New Life’s senior pastor in November 2006 in the wake of a sex scandal, announced Nov. 4 plans to hold home prayer meetings, which he’s also referred to as church gatherings. His announcement set off a flurry of speculation over his long-range goals, especially since he founded New Life Church 25 years ago in his basement and grew it into a 14,000-member worship center.
Church Leaders Equipped to 'Shine Bright'
By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Nov. 08 2009
SAN DIEGO – Some 1,500 church and ministry leaders converged in San Diego this week to get in on the latest conversations on what's working to bring people to Christ. For InterVarsity Christian Fellowship on the University of California, San Diego campus, altar calls are back. For a group of burned out evangelicals in Costa Mesa, liturgy is bringing them back in tune with God. And for a megachurch in Naperville, Ill., new expressions of church (multi-site) are helping them reach the lost. Those are just some of the ideas that pastors were introduced to during the National Outreach Convention this past week. One of the largest events of its kind, the NOC brings together hundreds of church leaders every year to equip them for more effective outreach through renowned speakers, the latest tools and the opportunity to network with others who are passionately focused on evangelism. Looking to bring some tools and ideas back home and contextualize them in their communities, attendees participated in three days of discussions and breakout sessions. "I think the multi-site is the new seeker church movement," Rick Richardson, associate professor at Wheaton College and associate evangelist with InterVarsity, hypothesized in a discussion group on "The Changing Face of Evangelism" Friday.
Faith under Fire
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
“You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endured to the end will be delivered.” Matthew 10:22
Muslim Extremists Attack Worship Service in Uganda
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 11 (CDN) —
About 40 Muslim extremists with machetes and clubs tried to break into a Sunday worship service outside Uganda’s capital city of Kampala on Nov. 1, leaving a member of the congregation with several injuries and damaging the church building. Eyewitnesses said the extremist mob tried to storm into World Possessor’s Church International in Namasuba at 11 a.m. as the church worshipped. “The church members were taken by a big surprise, as this happened during worship time,” said Pastor Henry Zaake. “It began with an unusual noise coming from outside, and soon I saw the bricks falling away one by one. Immediately I knew that it was an attack from the Muslims who had earlier sent signals of an imminent attack.” The pastor said the disturbance brought the worship service to a standstill. “There was a tug-of-war at the entrance to the church as members tried to thwart the Muslim aggression from making headway inside the church,” he told Compass.
'Gay' blogger calls church-bomb threat a 'joke'
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
November 09, 2009
A homosexual blogger passed off as a "joke" a suggestion by a contributor to his website that there might be church bombings because of Christians' refusal to support the homosexual lifestyle. But several individuals named in the column are taking the threat seriously. "That is what Fort Hood teaches us," said Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, referring to the attack on the Texas Army base by a Muslim officer that killed 13 people and wounded 28. LaBarbera was cited by name in the postings on the "joemygod" website run by homosexual advocate Joe Jervis. "When people are talking about violence to pro-family proponents, you have to take it seriously," LaBarbera said. LaBarbera and Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel, who also is an active supporter of biblical marriage, confirmed to WND they notified authorities of the threats.
Teen fights vaccination for sexually transmitted virus
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
November 12, 2009
A teenager is entitled to an exemption from a federal requirement that she be given a vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease, because she is a Christian and holds the religious conviction that she must abstain from sex until marriage, according to a brief filed in support of her decision. The arguments come in a brief filed in support of Simone Davis in her fight with the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service by the Alliance Defense Fund. "Christians shouldn't be forced to violate their faith in order to gain U.S. citizenship," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. "Requiring a young girl to choose between her beliefs and legal citizenship is a clear violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prevents the government from putting a substantial burden on a person's religious beliefs except under extreme circumstances. "She has met all of the other legal requirements for permanent resident status and has a loving home already in place, but the federal government would apparently prefer to return this girl to abandonment," he said.
Italian crucifix ruling: no such law exists
National Secular Society
November 13, 2009
After the European Court of Human Rights ruled that displaying crucifixes in Italian schools was offensive to other religions and an abuse of the human rights of children who might not share the religious views that the crucifix represents, it was assumed that Italy would have to take those crosses down. But it turns out that it won’t. All it will have to do is pay the fine. The reason is that the European Court doesn’t have the power to order a sovereign state to do anything. All it can do is determine whether a given action constitutes an abuse of human rights and recommend an appropriate remedy. Nobody has to take any notice and, of course, Italy won’t. At the same time, there is no law in Italy that mandates the hanging of crucifixes on classroom walls. We have been informed that it was simply a throw back to fascist times.
A Vote for David Hamilton is a Vote Against Religious Freedom
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 /Christian Newswire/
-- The Senate is expected to vote tomorrow on cloture on the highly controversial nomination of David Hamilton to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A final vote in the Senate is expected after 30 hours of debate. Concerned Women for America (CWA) President Wendy Wright said, "David Hamilton's litany of left-wing activist decisions makes him a dangerous choice to sit on a federal appellate court. Judge Hamilton has earned the opposition against his nomination to a higher court. He has fundraised for ACORN, worked for the ACLU, banned prayers that name Jesus Christ but allowed prayers that name Allah, blocked a parental consent law that had been upheld by the Supreme Court, and has been soft on child predators. Any senator who votes for David Hamilton is voting against religious freedom, parental rights, and the safety of our children."
The Minister's Corner
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
The Vine, Vineyard & Vineyard Keeper
By Regina
Reading the title of this article may invoke visions of lush grape fields in the wine country of Sonoma, or the beautiful surroundings of the Tuscan or Bordeaux countryside. But in relation to the nourishment that I feel inspired to bring you today, we are speaking of Michael The Word Christ Jesus, Creation and Father Yahweh.
Before we can begin to understand creation, we must first understand how it was created. In past nourishment I have shared who our Savior was before he came to earth and was known by the name of Jesus. In the beginning, he was The Word, who is also Michael the Archangel. The "Word" was and is Michael the Anointed Christ Jesus. He was Father Yahweh’s first and ONLY direct creation and through whom all things were created. What this means is that while Father is the energy source of all creation, the world was bi-created all things under the direction and guidance of Yahweh and using Her energy as the source of all things.
John 1
Prologue
1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through Him,
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created.
Colossians 1:16 "because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him."
Now, moving on to the meaning of the vine. Michael/Christ is the true vine because he was Father's chosen first born. Yahweh in turn, is the vineyard keeper because it is She that keeps the vineyard in working order and because all life stems from the Her as our Creator. Without Father there would have been no vine to grow creation into the reality we all live within.
The use of the word “stems” in regards to life and Father being the tree of life is very appropriate considering a few of its definitions:
- the stalk that supports a leaf, flower, or fruit.
- the stock or line of descent of a family; ancestry or pedigree.
- the main body of that portion of a tree, shrub, or other plant which is above ground; trunk; stalk.
- to arise or originate
All life in creation, the vineyard, stems (originates) from Father Yahweh, who is the energy source that gives all things life.
John 15 The Vine and the Branches
1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me."
Christ made the point of saying that he is the TRUE vine in the above scripture, because there is yet another vine that exists, which is Satan’s FALSE vine.
There are many who fail to understand why Father permits evil to flourish in Her creation and allow bad things to happen to the children that She loves. The reason is that as the vineyard keeper, Father has permitted Satan's false vine to grow and flourish so that She may prove that sin will not work in Her reality for the benefit of all concerned. The benefit for all of creation is in seeing first hand and learning that Her Way is righteous and that any detour from it does not and will not work.
This is just part of the reasoning in Father’s plans for the upcoming Rapture, and after that, Armageddon. The goal at this point in time, is to do all that we can each day to remain on the vine of truth, so that when the pruning takes place, we will remain in Christ Jesus our Savior and obtain admission into his Kingdom.
What Thanksgiving Should Be
By Johanna
How good and pleasant it is when brothers can live together! – Psalm 133:1
Thanksgiving is about showing love to the world and shouting to the world what Father has giving you. I have several things that I am thankful for. Most of all, I am thankful for My Heavenly Father. He has done so much for me that I really don’t even know where to begin. Second would be His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. If it wouldn’t have been for Christ coming and dying a horrible death for us then I wouldn’t have my chance at eternal life. My three kids and husband would be right under Christ. If not for Father I would have none of them. So Father I just want to take the time now to thank you from the very bottom of my heart for You Son Christ and my little family. My sisters and brothers in Christ are right there with them because without them I wouldn’t know what to do. They really help me when I need a shoulder or counseling of any kind and I can talk to them about EVERYTHING and I know that I will not be judged in any way because Father doesn’t want us to judge anyone.
When we are with our families this thanksgiving make sure that you tell each member of your family how much you care for them and if you have to remind them that they would have nothing without Father giving it to them to have. This year I am going to be sure to do this because I admit that in the past I didn’t always do that and I took everything that Father gave me for granted. I am just so thankful that I understand and have grown spiritually closer to Father so I can thank Him for everything.
They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: “for He is good; His faithful love to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid. – Ezra 3:11
It is wonderful to give our thanks to Father during Thanksgiving but always remember to give Him thanks every day. I love Father and I know He knows this but I still tell Him everyday more than once a day. Not only do I tell Him that, I also make sure I tell my family thank you for what they do for me and that I love them every day.
Why should we be thankful to Father and tell Him about it?
I will praise God’s name with song and exalt Him with thanksgiving. – Psalm 69:30
Because He gave us life and He can take that away from us if we are not pleasing in His eyes. How can He take our lives from us? Well that is really easy to answer. He gave us our life to live here on earth and not only that but He gives us the chance at eternal life as well. How wonderful it will be to live eternally in His Son’s kingdom. The bible which is Father’s word tells us to praise Him and give Him our thanks.
Be Thankful. A psalm of thanksgiving.Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Acknowledge that the LORD is God. He made us, and we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations. – Psalm 100
Inspired Writings
Giving Father Full Glory Even in the Lessons We Learn
This concept that comes to mind is two fold. Maybe even three. First, it is in learning the lessons ahead of time so that they may be applied appropriately when the time comes. This also is a process, for which certain things are learned in their appropriate timing and sequence. On the other hand, there is the lesson learning through the rebuke and discipline a disciple of Christ may learn.
Luke 9:54-55 -- When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?"
But He turned and rebuked them,
This, too, is a process, and with each lesson, there are lessons that should be learned before, and there are lessons to continue to learn thereafter. Just as a person could return to scripture and continually learn more and more, so too can their lessons and rebukes learned in times past.
Proverbs 22:6 -- Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Learning to learn is an important lesson, to itself, and of course, even being able to learn is a gift from Father. Gifts from Father should be utilized, just like Free Will, and wisely so. Otherwise, those gifts may weaken, even due to a concept of slacking in those areas.
Now, another item comes to mind in how difficult different lessons can be to learn. Rebukes can be difficult, but so can regular lessons. Lessons such as those of calculus may not be any bit simple for an individual who is not strong in mathematics, and further, if a mathematically talented person has only begun to learn math, it would be a process to grow towards. In this, as well, glory can be given to Father not only for the difficulty of the lessons, but also in taking the lessons in a way that follows Christ. This includes endurance, as well as love.
Lessons also provide for the time that oneself could even seek others for further guidance upon. This also provides for further practice of Father's gifts, and being able to do so in a way that may provide blessings to Father.
In the time coming towards the Rapture, there is still time to keep working with all of Father's gifts. Multiplying Her gifts would be productive and beneficial, and as noted above, can even be spread to many others. It also shows that oneself is at work, showing obedience to one's Giver of life. This also shows faithfulness, and in faithfulness, oneself works for their master with endurance and courage. Taking the lesson above also about slacking, consider what work one may do outside, and then the following proverb that was mentioned twice in scripture:
Proverbs 22:13 -- The slacker says, "There's a lion outside! I'll be killed in the streets!"
Proverbs 26:13 -- The slacker says, "There's a lion in the road— a lion in the public square!"
Nourishment From The Throne
“For the LORD gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6
Cherubic Commander: What makes the corridor's energy dynamically active is to understand the values of both paired or married energies in union. The energy released when the ion-pair formed is immense. Much like colliding two stars together. Then a decrease of energy occurs as energy is expended in its life cycle. In order to maintain a cycle of life for the corridor so that it does not decay is where the angelic hosts come into play. The corridor is composed of energy that cannot recharge itself on its own. The Sun is a good example. It is a slow burning nuclear process, but it does not recharge from outside its own boundary of life. Yet, Father provided for it to have a long life cycle. However, it will eventually burn itself out. The corridor is not on a long life cycle unless it is fed with external boosts of energy. You could compare it to a battery. The battery will maintain current for duty so long as it is maintained through proper charging. This is what the angelic hosts are doing to keep the corridor dynamically active. By simply feeding the corridor with positive energy, the conversion process is self sustaining. Since both the minus and negative features are already installed within the ionic bond, the positive energy feeds the proper ion-pair molecular side that then cycles to the ion-pair negative side on its own. This self sustains the ongoing process of the ion-paired energy. Another way to consider the process is to look at alternating current with three wires. You have the positive side, and you have the negative or neutral side. The third wire can be considered as the fault ground that serves as the buffer against an overload or stray electricity that needs to escape to a safe dissipation. The angelic hosts are buffered from the effects of the negative side of the ionization that occurs within the life cycle process of the corridor. However flame, with anything that has a life cycle, as pointed out with this planet's own Sun, there must be a feed from somewhere. Whether it be a predetermined inner supply of energy mass that is slowly converted as in the case of a star like your Sun, or any other inanimate celestial body. So what comes into play in the corridor's self sustained life cycle, and how long it might live is that of an external food supply. Alternating current requires that it be fed continuously from a source connected from a main grid of supply. The angelic hosts are unique, because they are self sustained so long as each angel recharges from raw energy which is abundant throughout creation. Mankind has now learned that the dark invisible energy that cannot be detected is more abundant than that that can be detected on instruments. This dark energy is the food supply of spirit life. To understand the process of how we take that raw energy in, you would have to understand that that energy which is expended of its properties is expelled and reclaimed by Father to be made anew in an ongoing process. Like the Sun, if Father did not provide a renewed energy stockpile then eventually we would burn out, just like the Sun. But because we were created in a furnace that gives us the ability to recharge our celestial bodies with renewed energy, we are able to recharge and maintain a varying level of energy. The more converted energy we expend the more raw energy we must recharge to again reach the maximum level of energy that we can ingest. Since each Order of angelic hosts are endowed with varying attributes, the Seraph's for example are able to ingest a higher degree of energy. This gives them the capability of showering white rain or more aptly that of expelling positive energy bursts from their bodies. For them it's like expelling food that is not yet digested. It still has its properties. Whereas spent energy is neither positive nor negative in nature. It has lost all of its properties. This is why previously negative charged demons can be handled once they become spent energy.
So flame, the reason for the dynamic energy of the corridor is caused from the feeding process of the angelic hosts that are working in unison to keep the corridor alive. The levels of energy provided, and the number of angelic hosts that deliver their payloads (because it is done in a rotation process as some LOZ members will be on recharge) determines the boiling point that is reached by the corridor as it cycles. In this arrangement the electrostatic attraction between ions of opposite charge is greater than the electrostatic repulsion between ions of like charge, for the unlike ions are closer together than the like ions. But this excess energy of the electrostatic attraction over that of repulsion yields energy on its own when the ion pairs combine in renewed bursts fed to them. The process continues until a three-dimensional lattice is formed. This is the strand energy. As each ion is surrounded by more ions of opposite charge, the net attractive forces exceed the repulsion forces, and the formation of the three-dimensional lattice results in the liberation of energy. At this time the LOZ infuses the corridor with renewed energy to give the corridor what appears to be a life sustaining cycle.
What people at Moscow have seen, and what has been viewed through worldwide media is real and seen in real time. But what's ahead is a vision that will be seen and presented to the world viewers via media. It will be a vision of the Rapture vessel. It cannot be attacked by demonic or human forces, simply because it will be a vision. When it will occur, will be most likely as the Rapture draws near. It will be huge in size and will make everyone sit up and take notice.
You might ponder this: Nothing notable occurs unless two things are united. When Father was alone within Herself, things remained status quo. But when Father became active and gave birth through Her creation of Her Only Son, She caused something notable to occur. 1) She was no longer alone. 2) She had created someone in Her image that possessed Her attributes. And 3) A union was formed. Father, Michael, and Her Active Force. This formed the triad, but it began with Michael who became the first intelligent creation in existence. Since Father's Active Force is an extension of Her, much like arms and legs of a vessel, it can be ascertained that "one thing" exists. Then at the creation of Michael, two things became united. How Father's Active Force is viewed as the third in the union, is because Father imparted Active Force to Michael, which then formed the union of three.
triad >noun 1 a group or set of three connected people or things. 2 (also Triad) a Chinese secret society involved in organized crime.
-DERIVATIVES triadic >adjective.
-ORIGIN Greek trias, from treis 'three'.
Since Michael became a bi-creator, or better said, creating by use of Father's Active Force, it can also be said that Father is the true Creator of all things. Michael was provided with the raw energy which contained the building blocks necessary to form and shape that which he was taught to create, but he lacked one thing. He could not animate life of any kind without Father's assistance.
Michael created Adam, the first of mankind, but Adam could not procreate as the single male oriented human. Yet, Father's plan was for all humans to be spawned through Adam's flesh. A splitting off of Adam's feminine side had to be within the plan, or Father's purpose could not be fulfilled. But the split that was to occur could not take half of Adam's mind, or then Adam would simply exist in two bodies as a split personality. So Michael again drew off the life pool for the spirit personality of the woman. She would inhabit Adam's second bone and flesh and blood body that was fashioned from his rib. This put the pair of humans in union with each other as one single flesh. Two new things in creation that would also be in Father's family, making the pair in union with Father and Her growing family of creations. When Adam and Eve united in sexual relations, something happened. They procreated the first human children. Father provided for the life pool to be drawn off of automatically in the procreation process. The introduction of Children to creation. This is something neither the two of them had been, because they were created as adults complete with speech and some knowledge of their reason for existence. But they as parents would be responsible for teaching their children all the things that had been given them as a gift at their creation. Unfortunately, they sinned and fell short of completing the Divine Plan laid out for mankind.
It should also be noted that there are levels within the "life pool." Angelic hosts from the higher level. Humans from the next rung down. Then animals, and farther down are insects that are on the lowest rung. This is called "Father's arrangement." Father arranged how all things would work within the reality She created. To know you are in a fabricated reality, just look beyond this planet. The environment you all live within is limited by boundary. Leave that boundary and your vessel will die unless you have access to oxygen, shelter and food. If angelic hosts lack raw energy, they will cease to exist. When Michael existed for a time outside Father - along Her side sharing Her glory, it was still necessary for Father to feed Michael in order to maintain his existence. Therefore, apart from Father, nothing can exist.
Psalm 62:9 "Men are only a vapor; exalted men, an illusion. On a balance scale, they go up; together they [weigh] less than a vapor."
After the human vessel is shed, Psalm 62:9 accurately describes that which is left. All things return to Father. Whether for the prospect of continued life, or as spent vapor that no longer animates life. Father is the depository of all that She owns. In Her complex mind, She can produce new life, or reanimate past life from Her memory. She also has the power to blot out of Her memory those that no longer deserve life in Her reality.
Psalm 31:12 "I am forgotten: gone from memory like a dead person—like broken pottery."
Ecclesiastes 9:5 "For the living know that they will die, but the dead don't know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten." If you deserve no reward, the memory of you will be forgotten. You will not know anything, just as it was before your birth into creation.
Isaiah 26:14 "The dead do not live; departed spirits do not rise up. Indeed, You have visited and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them." Since all spirits return to Yahweh, whether for judgment or service to Father, then "rise up" means to have the prospect of continued life, for it also says "departed spirits" which means they departed to the Life Giver Yahweh, but are dead in Her memory. They are in essence, recycled energy. Much like the human vessels that die off. They return to dust and serve as part of the Earth's makeup from which the vessel's were originally procreated from.
Genesis 1:16 "God made the two great lights—the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night—as well as the stars." Two things that share a common existence. Day and night. Part of the arrangement.
Genesis 7:15 "Two of all flesh that has the breath of life in it entered the ark with Noah." Pairs of animals to renew their offspring after the great flood.
Genesis 7:2 "You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals, and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female,"
"and seven pairs, male and female, of the birds of the sky—in order to keep offspring alive on the face of the whole earth."
Zechariah 11:7 "So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the afflicted of the flock. I took two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock." Christ is the Shepherd. All received the death sentence Father gave mankind. Michael found favor in his Sacrifice to aid the afflicted flock caught up in sin. With Father, he brought that flock intended for slaughter into union with Father's family.
Zechariah 11:14 "Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel." Those that fall away from Father are out of union. Their status as a family member and their prospect for eternal life is annulled.
Hebrews 2:14 "Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, He also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil —" In order to pay the Ransom Sacrifice. Michael could not simply forfeit his life as a spirit. He had to have Adam's blood flowing through the true flesh that was of the original creation. First, he gave up his position in Heaven. Then he was miraculously transferred to the womb of his mother-to-be - Mary, for birth as a human. Unlike Adam who was created as an adult, Jesus was born as a child. This is because he represented those offspring born into sin.
What Michael did, was a partnership formed within Father. Father would do Her part if Michael did his part as laid out in the War Plan to deliver the offspring from secondary sin. The third part, or union that would occur, would be for those that accepted the Sacrifice and proved faithful to Father. Those that do not, they are as the Word states: ""Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood." They remain under the original judgment and any union with Father is annulled.
As with the Ransom Sacrifice. Nothing happened until two minds came together. Father's and Michael's. A plan was conceived, and it required two things to carry it out. Father and Michael.
Signs From Above
“He rescues and delivers, He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:27
Rainbow in the dark: Bright Moon creates stunning arc at night
By Claire Bates
Last updated at 12:31 PM on 06th November 2009
MailOnline
This rare ghostly picture shows a full lunar rainbow arcing over the countryside in Richmond, North Yorkshire. Rainbows appear when sunlight is reflected from raindrops, but in this case the Sun had set hours before. Instead a particularly bright Moon created the impressive bow. Photographer Chris Walker captured the picture as he was driving through a storm around 7pm last Sunday. He said: 'I noticed something odd in the sky as I was driving home. 'A near full Moon was behind me and the wind was blowing a gale and rain was being driven from clouds on the horizon. 'The Moon was so bright that when I arrived home it was obvious that the object in the sky was a rainbow illuminated by moonlight.
UFO plunges Sicilian town into darkness, photos
Michael Cohen m.cohen@allnewsweb.com
AllNewsWeb.com
An extraterrestrial story making news currently in Italy involves a highly credible UFO event that occurred in the locale of Montserrat near the city of Agrigento in the historic ‘Valley of the Temples’ region of Sicily. The event occurred on the night of 26 September of this year. Multiple witnesses saw a UFO move across the sky above their homes in the commune of Montserrat. Witnesses confirmed that as the UFO moved across the sky electricity failed and lights went off within a certain radius of the area directly below the craft! As the UFO moved away from an area the lighting immediately returned. Retired police officer, Gaetano Castellano, who witnessed and managed to get photographs of the out-of-this-world event, noted that due to the surrounding darkness the UFO was very visible. ‘It was silvery grey’. Mr Castellano said that at some point the UFO veered to one side and zoomed off into the sky at a very fast speed. It is known that the Italian Government investigates events involving UFOs. No doubt they will be on to this one.
UFO Appears over Supermarket in China - Photos Taken
Published: 4:26 AM 11/2/2009
China - 11-01-09
Michael Cohen m.cohen@allnewsweb.com
Shoppers in Shijiazhuang City in China’s Hebei Province got a surprise on Sunday that was quite literally ‘out of this world’. As some late-night shoppers were leaving a supermarket, a UFO was seen hovering above the store’s entrance. The UFO remained above the entrance for around one minute before shooting off into the night sky. One witness who was carrying a mobile phone managed to get a number of shots of the craft. The witness, who insists that there were other passersby who also saw the sighting, then posted the UFO photos on a popular science and technology site requesting assistance in identifying the object. While many UFO experts might regard these images as showing a classic saucer-shaped UFO with possible lights or windows around it, in China this type of UFO that involves a row of lights is sometimes also referred to as a ‘flying stick’ UFO. In the Chinese city of Foshan recently another ‘flying stick’ UFO was seen and photographed by a newspaper photographer last month
Noise drives Texas witness outside to see disc-shaped UFO
November 4, 10:29 PMUFO ExaminerRoger Marsh
The UFO Traffic Report for Wednesday, November 4, 2009, includes 7 selected sightings over 6 states, according to witness statements filed in the past 72 hours with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If MUFON investigates and reports back on any of these cases, I will update this page. The following reports and their headlines are unedited and uninvestigated. TX, November 1, 2009, I heard a loud noise - looked outside and saw theUFO hovering. MUFON Case # 20264. A Texas witness heard what was first thought to be a nearby plane, but the sound was so loud the witness stepped outside for a better look. The witness observed a large, dark metallic, disc-shaped object that was black in color.
Bright red UFO hovers near Bay Bridge
November 4, 9:21 PMUFO ExaminerRoger Marsh
Two brothers reported seeing a red glowing object hovering over the San Francisco Bay area on May 7, 2009, according to a statement they made to the UFO Examiner. They were able to take more than two minutes of video of the object. The photography with this story is digital still photos taken from a television screen of the video. They also provided photoshoped images that depict what they saw. The object was first spotted south of the eastern end of the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. The following is the unedited statement they made to the UFO Examiner. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. We encourage the reporting witnesses to file this case with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) at mufon.com. On May 7, 2008 at approximately 10:00 p.m. my brother and I observed a red glowing object over the S.F. Bay. We were able to take 2 and 1/2 minutes of video of it. The object was first located south of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge between S.F. and Oakland. The object remained in the same location for several minutes and didn't blink on and off or change its intensity at all. We were surprised by the object's bright red color and that the object didn't move at all.
Signs Down Below
"But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of religion but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Couple flee to save their unborn baby from social workers after girl, 17, is told she is not clever enough to look after her child
Daily Mail
by Alison Smith Squire
November 7, 2009
A heavily pregnant woman and her fiance have gone on the run after social workers threatened to take away their baby at birth. Kerry Robertson, 17, and Mark McDougall, 25, had been told that she was not bright enough to raise their child and that they would have to give him up. It was another blow for the couple, whose wedding this year was halted just 48 hours before the ceremony in a row over whether Miss Robertson was intelligent enough to marry. Miss Robertson, who is 29 weeks pregnant, has since been told the couple will be allowed only a few hours with their baby - a boy they have already named Ben - before he is taken into care and placed with foster parents. Desperate to keep their family together, the pair fled their home yesterday for a secret safe house.
U.N. fails to act after Iran caught 'red-handed'
World Net Daily
by Aaron Klein
November 8, 2009
It's been five days since Israel seized a cargo ship reportedly carrying enough weapons and munitions for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group to fight Israel for at least one month. And for the past five days, the United Nations has failed to take any action even though Iran was caught red-handed arming a terrorist group in full violation of binding U.N. resolutions. The cargo ship originated in Iran and was headed for Syria. The Israeli army announced it found documentation showing Iran was the point of origin for some containers on the ship, with Syria as the intended destination. Iran regularly attempts to send weapons to Syria, and from there the shipments are smuggled to Hezbollah bases in Lebanon, Israeli security officials said. Israel last week put on full display its find of hundreds of tons of Iranian-supplied arms, including rockets – the largest-ever weapons cache captured by Israeli forces. Israel Radio reported that advanced anti-aircraft platforms were also on board, with Rani Ben-Yehuda, the deputy commander of Israel's navy, confirming the presence of "very advanced weaponry."
Job cuts 'will continue even as the economy starts to recover'
The Independent
by David Prosser
November 9, 2009
Britain's employers plan to continue shedding jobs during the final three months of 2009, confirming the widely held view that unemployment will continue to rise for the foreseeable future even if the UK economy comes out of recession. The outlook for UK employment prospects is now deteriorating more slowly than at any time since recession took hold in the middle of 2008, but it is still deteriorating, according to KPMG's quarterly labour market outlook, which it publishes with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The survey shows a negative balance of minus 3 per cent between the number of employers planning to take on more staff in the final quarter of the year and the number of employers planning to shed jobs. That result is a marked improvement on balances of minus 19 per cent and minus 10 per cent in the second and third quarters of 2009 respectively, but it still suggests joblessness is set to increase yet further during the rest of the year.
Goldman Sachs boss says banks do "God's work"
Reuters
November 8, 2009
LONDON (Reuters) - The chief executive of Goldman Sachs, which has attracted widespread media attention over the size of its staff bonuses, believes banks serve a social purpose and are doing "God's work." In an interview with London's Sunday Times newspaper, Lloyd Blankfein also said he believed big profits and bonuses at banks were a sign that the world economy was recovering. "We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. We have a social purpose," he told the paper. The dominant Wall Street bank posted third-quarter earnings of $3 billion and plans to hand out more than $20 billion in year-end bonuses.
Chavez to Troops: Prepare for War With Colombia
Fox News
AP
November 8, 2009
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez on Sunday ordered Venezuela's military to prepare for a possible armed conflict with Colombia, saying his country's soldiers should be ready if the United States attempts to provoke a war between the South American neighbors. Chavez said Venezuela could end up going to war with Colombia as tensions between them rise, and he warned that if a conflict broke out "it could extend throughout the whole continent." "The best way to avoid war is preparing for it," Chavez told military officers during his weekly television and radio program. Venezuela's socialist leader has also cited a recent deal between Bogota and Washington giving U.S. troops greater access to military bases as a threat to regional stability. There was no immediate reaction from either the Colombian or U.S. government, but in the past they have denied intentions to start a war with Venezuela and said the base deal is needed to fight the war on drugs and insurgents in Colombia, which is a major cocaine producer struggling with a decades-old internal conflict.
Signs in Humanity
Gay rights groups to protest religious parents' meeting
USA Today
by Greg Garrison
November 5, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Several gay rights organizations have announced they plan to protest a Focus on the Family "Love Won Out" conference on homosexuality that will be held Saturday (Nov. 7), at this city's Metropolitan Church of God. "They're telling you to hate your child unless he lives the way you tell him to live," said Johnathan Quinn, president of Central Alabama Pride, one of the protesting organizations. "Their literature tells the parents to abandon their children unless they go this route: forcing them to be straight." Quinn said a peaceful protest is planned on public right of way near the entrance of the church. Equality Alabama, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays of Birmingham, and Covenant Community Church are among those taking part in the protest. The conference teaches that those with same-sex attractions can change, said Melissa Fryrear, director of gender issues for Focus on the Family and one of the speakers. "We're offering a Christian perspective on the many issues surrounding homosexuality," Fryrear said. "The majority attending are moms and dads who have a son or daughter living in homosexuality. We're here to help parents who don't condone their child's behavior but still love them."
No kids allowed -- children increasingly devalued in self-absorbed culture
Assemblies of God News
November 4, 2009
Civil rights attorneys in California recently filed a federal lawsuit against a newspaper publishing company for running more than 60 classified ads for housing that included phrases such as "adults only" and "no kids allowed." While the message that kids aren't welcome may not always be as blatant, some experts say today's culture is an increasingly hostile place for its youngest members. "The larger society is not as congenial toward kids as it once was," says David Popenoe, co-director of The National Marriage Project at New Jersey's Rutgers University and co-author of a recent report, Life Without Children: The Social Retreat From Children and How It Is Changing America. "It's a less child-friendly society."
‘Gossip’ threesome upsets parents’ group
MSNBC
AP
November 4, 2009
NEW YORK - On-air promos for a sexual threesome on an upcoming episode of “Gossip Girl” have spurred the Parents Television Council to ask affiliates of the CW network to pre-empt the show. Airing the teen tryst, which is being teased in an ad as a “3SOME,” is “reckless and irresponsible,” said PTC president Tim Winter in a statement Wednesday. The threesome involves three main characters in the show but they are not identified in the promos. The PTC has urged CW affiliate stations not to air the episode, scheduled for Nov. 9 In a letter to the affiliates, Winter asked: “Will you now be complicit in establishing a precedent and expectation that teenagers should engage in behaviors heretofore associated primarily with adult films?” This is not the first time the PTC has complained about the sexy prep-school soap, which Winter said is “expressly targeted to impressionable teenagers.”
Deadly suicide attack in Pakistan
BBC
November 8, 2009
At least 12 people have been killed and about 35 injured in a suicide bomb attack near the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, police say. The blast ripped through a busy cattle market on the outskirts of the city. The bomber appeared to have targeted a local anti-Taliban mayor, who died in the attack. Islamist militants have unleashed a campaign of attacks in Pakistan in recent weeks in retaliation for an army offensive in South Waziristan. Cars destroyed The Taliban said they carried out the latest attack. It appeared to target the mayor of Adizai, Abdul Malik, who was a vocal opponent of the militants. His home village is close to tribal areas where militants are active. He was seriously injured and later died in hospital.
Financial, Extramarital Affairs Linked To Family In Murder-Suicide
Central Florida News
by Dave D'Marko
November 8, 2009
LAKE MARY -- It was a horrifying discovery by a cleaning crew as they came to the Wood's Heathrow home on a June Monday morning. Cindy Wood was found dead in her bedroom. J.D. Wood was dead in the living room. Their 10-year-old son, Dillon, was dead on the couch, and 12-year-old daughter, Aubrey, was found dead in her pink pajamas in bed. Authorities say all of them were shot in the head. In the months since the suspected triple murder-suicide, Seminole County Sheriff's Office investigators have tried to figure what could have prompted the husband to kill his family and then himself. Investigators say friends of the family told them there was stress because of money trouble, gambling, and an alleged open relationship. According to the report, the Woods had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and had more than $10,000 in debt on their credit card and two mortgages.
Arks of Safe Haven
www.arksofsafehaven.org
"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?" Isaiah 58:7
The mission of Arks of Safe Haven is to connect via an extensive network and online message board forum, those individuals and families who have been affected by recent economic downfalls and are in need with those individuals who are ready, willing and capable of providing assistance to those in need with employment, shelter, work, food, clothing and other necessities.
Coupled with our primary mission of delivering the Kingdom Message of Salvation, the assistance of Arks of Safe Haven is available to all who are in need. Our purposeful intention is to follow in the footsteps of Christ as our example, by providing hope to the hopeless and answering the prayers of those who have been forced to live outside of society.
How You Can Help?
In order to provide for those whose outcry of prayers have reached our heavenly Father's ears, Arks of Safe Haven is seeking out those who are able to provide shelter, whether it be an extra bedroom, empty rental property or a work for room and board agreement. Additionally, we also act as a liaison in connecting those with tangible items to donate to those in need like Food, Water, Clothing, & Other Personal Items. We pray that your heart is motivated to make a contribution, no matter how small. Visit www.arksofsafehaven.org and view the many posts from those in need to see if you're able to help with advice, prayers or goods & services.
Shannanj71 - My name is Shannan. I have two children, James age 7 and Emily age 6. James has been diagnosed with Epilepsy and three brain tumors. I haven't been able to work due to James' extensive medical care. Bills are behind, tags have expired and our lease is up. Our landlord let us go month to month. Now, he informed us he wants to demolish our house to build a commercial property. I was laid off. My unemployment has run out. We need a safe place to live. Our church is small and isn't able to help. Any help would be so appreciated. Gratefully yours, Shannan
Babyfacekathy - I am a grandma raising 2 grandchildren and in need of xmas for them. Also a nice xmas dinner. We have been threw so much this year i want them to smile instead of crying. I hope that special Christmas Angel will find its way to our home. Thank-You and God Bless
ShellyVizcarrondo - My name is shelly vizcarrondo and my husband daniel are currently in need of some help for our bills. We were layed off our job due to it being seasonal and are currently waiting to apply for unemployment my husband will be able to apply soon but because of back child support and when he last applied for unemployment he became overpayed and now owes all of the money that they paid him. I am not able to apply for unemployment untill january because i got benifits in january of this month and you have to wait a year before you can apply again. we need help paying for rent, cable with internet and insurance on our vehicles. I am going to college online and need the internet to complete my studies to further my education to get a better job. My husband is going to college to get his CDL licence so he can also get a better job.
Meme439 - Hello, My name is Maria Scoggins. I've recently graduated from college this past may and have been struggling since. I got evicted from my apt in June, hoping and praying things would get better when I moved to Princess Anne, Maryland for a job. When I get there I had to recieve emergency surgery which resulted in me not being able to work. I've been down here for the last 3months trying to find employment anywhere and nothing is working. Recently I've applied for food stamps because I have no money. I'm soo deep in I dont know what to do.Being under stress of everything and not knowing where your next meal is coming from is really taking a toll on me.I've also been trying to sell my things in my storage unit, but nothings selling and I need to pay the bill for that and my cell phone because that is my only means of commuication. I really dont want to lose all my things because thats all that I have. I've been staying with a friend because I have no where else to say, but he is a student so he hasnt been able to really help me. Please help me find some sort of financial help and help finding food....Thanks in advance
Signs in Natural Disasters
“You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:6-7
Drought affects 90 percent of Argentina
Big News Network.com
November 2, 2009
About 90 percent of Argentinian territory is affected by the current drought, although the situation is aggravated in certain provinces by the spread of forest fires, figures released Sunday by officials said. The most serious situation is in the central province of La Pampa and in Buenos Aires and Cordoba in the north-central region, where thousands of families are facing temperatures exceeding 30 degreec Celsiusand are getting along as best they can with the lack of water. Some cities, like the tourist destination of Villa Carlos Paz in Cordoba, decided to ration drinking water, a move that complicates the normal functioning of those areas and affects a number of productive sectors, including agriculture.
1,147 fish species threatened with extinction: IUCN
Relax News
4 November 2009
More than 1,000 freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, reflecting the strain on global water resources, an updated global "Red List" of endangered species showed Tuesday. The list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the most respected inventory of biodiversity covering more than 47,000 of the world's species. Scientists looked at 3,120 freshwater fish this year, 510 more than a year ago. They found that 1,147, or a third, are now threatened with extinction. "Creatures living in freshwater have long been neglected," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of species programme at the IUCN. "This year we have again added a large number of them to the IUCN Red List and are confirming the high levels of threat to many freshwater animals and plants.
Hurricane Ida rips into Nicaragua coast
By FILADELFO ALEMAN (AP)
November 5, 2009
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Hurricane Ida ripped into Nicaragua's Atlantic coast on Thursday, destroying homes, damaging schools and downing bridges before losing steam and becoming a tropical storm. Ida, clocking 75 mph (125 kph) winds, struck land around sunrise in Tasbapauni, about 60 miles northeast of Bluefields, said meteorologist Dennis Feltgen of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. About 80 percent of homes were destroyed in nearby Karawala, a fishing village of about 100 flimsy, wooden shacks near the mouth of the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, said Nicaragua's National Civil Defense director, Mario Perez. Nicaraguan TV station Canal 63 showed images of corrugated metal roofs and electrical lines flying through the air, and coconut palms bent over by the howling winds. "There was major damage in the region's infrastructure, such as fallen bridges, damaged schools and government buildings, and electrical transmission towers and telephone service were knocked out," Perez said.
Earthquake strikes southern Iran
BBC News
4 November 2009
An earthquake has struck southern Iran, with hundreds of people suffering injuries, a state news agency says. There are no reported deaths but about 100 people needed hospital treatment, the Irna news agency said. The 4.9-magnitude quake in Bandar Abbas sent people streaming into open spaces and cut power cables in the city. Iran straddles a major geological fault line, making it prone to tremors. In 2008, seven people were killed in an earthquake in the same region.
Death Toll of Vietnam Floods after Typhoon Mirinae Exceeds 100
Novinite.com
November 6, 2009
107 people have perished in the floods caused by the Maranae typhoon in Vietnam. 11 other people have been declared missing after the tropical storm hit on Monday, and caused the most destructive floods Vietnam had seen for decades. The typhoon Miranae has also killed 2 people in Cambodia and 27 in the Philippines whereas thousands of people are still without shelter.
Natural Disaster Update
Source: http://home.att.net/~thehessians/disasterwatch.html
QUAKES -
11/7/09 -
5.6 WESTERN XIZANG
11/6/09 -
5.0 TONGA
5.3 SALTA, ARGENTINA
5.1 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.1 CARLSBERG RIDGE
11/5/09 -
5.5 PAPUA, INDONESIA
5.5 TAIWAN
5.1 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
5.4 MACQUARIE ISLAND REGION
5.7 TAIWAN
5.1 NEAR THE COAST OF YEMEN
5.5 NEAR THE COAST OF YEMEN
11/4/09 -
5.6 NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
6.0 AZORES ISLANDS REGION
5.2 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
5.2 OFF COAST OF OREGON
5.5 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA - A strong quake with a magnitude of 6.7 and a relatively shallow depth hit the Indonesian island of Sumbawa today, with initial reports saying some buildings were damaged.
Many recent earthquakes may have been the aftershocks of large quakes that occurred hundreds of years ago. Researchers describe a new pattern in the frequency of aftershocks that could explain some major quakes. They found that, away from plate boundaries, echoes of past earthquakes can continue for several hundred years. In the middle of a continent, the earth takes longer to recover. "It's something we had never spotted before...Most big earthquakes happen at [plate] boundaries - like the San Andreas fault. There is a lot of movement there and aftershocks go on for about ten years after a big quake." When the aftershocks have dissipated, scientists monitor regular movement of the earth to gauge the likelihood of a future quake. But small earthquakes also occur where there is none of this regular movement. "So if the ground has not been storing up energy for future earthquakes, these must be aftershocks." This could explain the disastrous earthquake in 2008 in China's Sichuan province. The event shocked many scientists as this was an area where there had been hardly any earthquakes in the past few centuries. But these "aftershock quakes" get smaller over time. "It even looks like we see small earthquakes today in the area along Canada's Saint Lawrence valley where a large earthquake occurred in 1663." They recommend that, instead of just focusing on the regions where small, regular earthquakes happen, scientists should use methods like GPS satellites and computer modelling to look for places where the earth is "storing up energy for a large future earthquake".
Midwest quakes are aftershocks from 1800s - Study suggests that people shouldn’t worry about huge temblors in region. The small earthquakes that sporadically rattle the central United States may actually be aftershocks from a few extremely large quakes that occurred in the region almost 200 years ago, according to the new study. The heart of the seismic activity was near the town of New Madrid, Missouri, close to the Kentucky and Tennessee borders. The town has shaken with numerous earthquakes since, from tiny ones that don't cause much of a stir, to moderate sized ones, such as a 5.2 quake in 2008. "There's no motion across the fault now, so nothing's going on, but yet there are still small earthquakes there." The present-day temblors are getting smaller with time, which is a characteristic of aftershocks. The findings suggest that people may not need to worry so much about the next big quake happening in the New Madrid region anytime soon. "That fault system seems to be shutting down, and if so, we may be looking at maybe thousands of years before we have [large] earthquakes on that particular fault again."
TAIWAN - A magnitude-6 earthquake hit Nantou County at 5:32 p.m. Thursday, causing buildings to sway all over Taiwan. The quake was the biggest to hit Central Taiwan since the 7.3-magnitude quake on September 21, 2009 which killed more than 2,400 people nationwide, but no deaths were reported Thursday. The main quake’s epicenter was located at a relatively short distance of 19.3 kilometer under the surface 10.3 kilometer southeast from the township of Mingchien, where the tremor’s intensity reached seven. The same area was hit by several aftershocks during the rest of the day, the first registering 4.7 about six minutes later. The biggest, measuring 5.7, struck Mingchien at 7:34 p.m. The quakes caused light injuries by falling objects inside buildings and forced the high-speed rail line to suspend traffic in Central and Southern Taiwan. Cracks appeared in houses in Mingchien, with ceilings and walls damaged at a local government building. There were also reports of hundreds of households in the Nantou area losing electricity and phone service.
VOLCANOES -
KENYA - Surface deformation of 4 active volcanoes underscore possibility for human hazard, potential of geothermal resources. "The Kenyan Rift volcanoes are part of a larger Great Rift Valley complex that extends all the way from Mozambique to Djibouti; their presence in East Africa attests to the presence of magma reservoirs within the Earth's crust. Our study detected signs of activity in only four of the 11 volcanoes in the area -- Suswa, Menengai, Longonot and Paka -- all within the borders of Kenya." Small surface displacements, which are not visible to the naked eye, were captured using InSAR, a sophisticated satellite-based radar technique. From 1997 – 2000 they discovered that the volcanoes at Suswa and Menengai subsided 2 – 5 cm, and between 2004 and 2006 the Longonot volcano experienced uplift of ~9 cm. However, the most dramatic uplift unfolded at Paka, which had uplift of ~21 cm during a nine month period in 2006-2007. This pulse of activity was preceded by transient uplift and subsidence at a second source, associated with the magma flow through the complex underground plumbing system. Overall, the events were short in duration and episodic rather than continuous, which means discrete pulses of magma were arriving at the crust, similar to a stop valve that is being turned on and off intermittently. "The fact that these areas are so close to a major metropolitan area pose a challenge in terms of a large volcanic or seismic event." Suswa, Menengai and Longonot are all located in densely populated areas within 100 km of Nairoibi.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Hurricane Ida ripped into Nicaragua's Atlantic coast Thursday, destroying homes, damaging schools and downing bridges before losing steam and and later becoming a tropical depression. Ida, clocking 75-m.p.h. winds, struck land around sunrise in Tasbapauni, about 60 miles northeast of Bluefields. About 80% of homes were destroyed in nearby Karawala, a fishing village of about 100 shacks.
Hurricane Ida has been upgraded to a category two storm, packing top wind speeds of nearly 160km/h.
VIETNAM - The number of people killed by floods in central Vietnam has risen to 107 and the new estimate of damage caused by Mirinae was at least $US120 million.
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE-
ECUADOR - Drought which has hit the Andes region is the WORST IN FOUR DECADES. Ecuador has introduced electricity rationing after the drought led to acute water shortages at the country's main hydro-electric power plant at Paute. There have already been blackouts in the capital, Quito, and the Pacific port city of Guayaqui. Power to residential areas will be cut by between 5% and 10%, but businesses will not be affected. Ecuador depends heavily on hydropower to produce electricity.
ARCTIC - Temperatures were as much as 10 degrees above average during portions of October. Intense low pressure worked to generate strong southerly winds over the Arctic Ocean and Siberia, keeping ice from forming. A study suggests that less summer sea ice cover can lead to a feedback loop: warmer water (less ice) provides more energy for storms; the winds from these storms delay ice formation during the fall, and so the cycle deepens. This pattern retards ice growth but at the same time increases precipitation (snowfall) which accumulates over land areas. This makes for greater cold air reservoirs later in the winter. One might conclude this would lead to more cold air outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada, but the data is far too sketchy and recent to draw that conclusion. For now, the arctic sea ice pack hovers just above the 2006/2007 record lows for various parts of November (2006 was the record low sea ice year for the last two weeks of the month; 2007 for the first two weeks). Ice growth is expected to accelerate now that all of the Arctic Ocean is in continuous darkness for the next two months. Whether the UNUSUAL weather pattern will continue to interfere is unknown.
AFRICA - Temperatures at Kilimanjaro never get above freezing. The ice there has shrunk (although data only goes up to 2007), but the reason is in dispute. When Kilimanjaro first became the poster child of the Global Warming movement a few years ago, we were told that the ice would be gone at 2015. The latest report has pushed it back to 2020... perhaps because the ice is not melting nearly as fast as was expected. The measured ice has leveled off quite a bit in the past decade. 90% of the ice has been lost since first measurements, but what else other than global warming could explain the ice melt? The glacier atop Kilimanjaro is believed to have formed around 11,000 years ago during a wet period in eastern Africa. When the first European climbers reached the summit in 1889, the local climate was already dry,and the ice was already retreating. This is due to sublimation. That is when snow an ice skip melting and goes directly to water vapor gas. Since there has not been enough snow to replenish the supply, then net result is ice loss. Again, not from melting, since the temperature is still below freezing near the peak. The ice topography shows little evidence that melting is anything but a minor force. Based on ice core samples, conditions are returning to where they were 11,000 years ago. Jagged spires and cliffs made of ice up to 120 feet tall are not softened around the edges. "The real explanations are much more complex. Global warming plays a part, but a variety of factors are really involved." Forest reduction in the areas surrounding Kilimanjaro, and not global warming, might be the strongest human influence on glacial recession. "Clearing for agriculture and forest fires - often caused by honey collectors trying to smoke bees out of their hives - have greatly reduced the surrounding forests." The loss of foliage causes less moisture to be pumped into the atmosphere, leading to reduced cloud cover and precipitation and increased solar radiation and glacial evaporation. "So why did the AP just release a story about the disappearing ice caps? Perhaps it was conveniently timed with Al Gore's appearance on Good Morning America. Perhaps it times out with Senator Barbara Boxer's attempt to fast track the newly named Tax and Cap Bill called, "Clean Energy and American Power Act". Regardless, we are all about to be inundated with global warming and climate calamity stories leading up to the Climate Conference in Copenhagen on December 7th." Researchers have found that since 1971, temperatures at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro have been rising faster than global warming alone would account for. Deforestation may have led to changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns that have at least contributed to, if not driven, changes at the summit.
HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING / LANDSLIDES / UNUSUAL & OUT-OF-SEASON WEATHER -
EL SALVADOR - At least 91 people have been killed in El Salvador by flooding following days of heavy rain. Authorities have declared a state of emergency in five regions. The capital San Salvador and central San Vicente province were the hardest-hit regions. San Vicente has almost been completely cut off by landslides and collapsed bridges. The other worst affected areas were La Libertad, La Paz and Cuscatlan. 60 people are still missing, and about 7,000 more are in shelters. Hurricane Ida, which passed to the east of El Salvador three days ago, is not thought to have caused the severe rains. El Salvador's rains were caused by a separate low pressure system.
STRANGE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR -
Bald bears perplex experts - Bears in a zoo in eastern Germany have lost their fur, but international experts cannot work out why. Three spectacled bears in Leipzig Zoo are in various states of baldness, with the worst being hairless all over. The zoo curator said he had discovered that zoos throughout Europe and further afield had encountered the same problem, but no-one knew why. One expert suggested it could be caused by climate and the diet of the bears, whose native habitat is South America. The bears come from the Andean mountains of Ecuador, Peru and northern Bolivia. "I could hardly believe it is a bear although I have been dealing with bears all my life." The bears are suffering from itchiness as well, so animal keepers apply ointments to soothe their skin. "This problem with the spectacled bears is not just in Leipzig. There are other zoos in Europe and overseas having the same problem. And so we've had an international working group of zoo vets looking at this for some time already." Symptoms first appeared in the animals about two years ago. The mountain bears have a seasonal pattern influenced by climate, behaviour and food. "We in zoos are not very good at imitating natural seasonality."
SPACE WEATHER-
NOAA forecasters say there is a chance that a coronal mass ejection (CME) will hit Earth's magnetic field today, and the impact could spark a high-latitude geomagnetic storm. The billon-ton cloud was blown into space by departing sunspot 1029 on Oct. 31st. Normally, CMEs take only two or three days to reach Earth, but during the deep solar minimum of 2008-2009, the CLOUDS HAVE SLOWED TO A VERITABLE CRAWL. Crossing the sun-Earth divide now requires about five days, so an Oct. 31st CME should arrive on Nov. 5th. Because the blast was not squarely Earth-directed, the sluggish CME will deliver at most a glancing blow.
HEALTH THREATS -
CDC says vaccine shortage likely to outlast current H1N1 wave.
The Ukrainian health ministry said today that 86 people have died of respiratory illnesses, five of them from the pandemic virus. A global team is in the country to help assess the outbreak, which has hit western regions hardest.
Pain relievers may blunt vaccine response - Taking pain relievers such as ibuprofen or aspirin to reduce the pain of flu injections appears to blunt immune response. Researchers found the association across a range of vaccine and pain relievers. They say that cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors block optimal production of B lymphocytes, which make antibodies. Czech researchers recently found that acetaminophen weakened infants' response to vaccines.
Iowa cat tests positive for pandemic flu - A 13-year-old Iowa house cat was recently diagnosed as having novel H1N1 after two of its three owners were sick. The cat and its owners have recovered. It is the first pandemic virus isolation in a cat, and it doesn't appear the cat spread the virus.
Wall St firms get swine flu vaccines first - News that US swine flu vaccines, meant to be prioritised for the nation's most vulnerable, are being distributed to Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs has sparked uproar. The New York Department of Health said Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have applied for supplies of the H1N1 vaccine and are eligible because they are large employers with in-house clinics. With H1N1 vaccines often scarce and populist anger already raging at Wall Street for last year's financial meltdown, the news triggered furor overnight. The secretary-treasurer for the largest US health care union, the SEIU, said it was "obscene" that powerful and wealthy private organisations got vaccines when "at-risk Americans are either waiting in line for hours or getting turned away." "It is shocking to think that private firms would be prioritised ahead of hospitals when the vaccine supply cannot meet the demand." "What they (critics) have to realise is that all providers who order H1N1 vaccine - whether it be a hospital or an employee health service - they have to agree that they'll only administer the vaccine to people in at-risk groups." So far, Citigroup has requested 2200 vaccines and received 1200, health department figures show. Goldman Sachs requested 5400 vaccines and has received 200. Morgan Stanley, which requested 1500, has not yet received any. Giant media corporation Time Warner requested 2000 and has so far received 100.
German drug regulators have approved Novartis's cell-culture pandemic H1N1 vaccine, becoming the first country to clear a cell-based version. The vaccine, made in Marburg, Germany, contains 3.75 micrograms of antigen and an MF95 adjuvant. It is approved for those 6 months old and older. Studies found a single dose provoked a good immune response with no unexpected safety or tolerability concerns. Novartis is building a second cell-culture plant in the United States.
Pandemic H1N1 influenza is now worldwide, with more than 199 countries and territories reporting laboratory-confirmed cases. The official toll is now more than 6,000 deaths, but WHO authorities think that is an underestimate, since laboratory testing has been reduced and most countries have stopped counting individual cases. Influenza-like illnesses accounted for 8% of visits to physicians' offices in North America during the most recent week for which data were reported and 40% of respiratory samples tested were positive for influenza. Virtually 100% of those influenza samples were swine flu. Activity has been increasing in Europe and Central and Western Asia, signaling an unusually early start to the winter flu season. Early reports from China had indicated that the H3N2 strain of seasonal flu was circulating along with swine flu, but more recent reports indicate that swine flu now predominates. That does not mean, however, that the seasonal flu will not come back after this wave of pandemic influenza passes. What appears to be an outbreak of swine flu is sweeping an isolated whaling village on a remote Alaska island. Most of the residents of the town are Ingalikmiut Inui.
Ukraine has been suffering an outbreak of swine flu, and officials now say that a January presidential election may have to be postponed until May if it is not brought under control. The WHO and European health authorities have sent in emergency teams to help with the situation, but the outbreak has become a political football, with recriminations being traded by the two main presidential candidates. Some authorities have estimated that as many as 750,000 Ukrainians have been infected with the virus, but only 30 cases have been laboratory-confirmed so far. At least 86 people have died of what appears to be swine flu.
Officials from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention are predicting that, in a worst case, as many as 40,000 Europeans could be killed by the swine-flu virus and a similar number by a succeeding wave of seasonal flu. The ECDC said 389 deaths had so far been linked to the virus in Europe, including 154 in Britain, 73 in Spain, 25 in Italy and 22 in France.
RECALLS & ALERTS:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing a health alert to warn consumers not to use Pig Ears and Beef Hooves pet treats manufactured by Pet Carousel because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The products were distributed nationwide in both bulk and retail packaging for sale in pet food and retail chain stores.
Signs in False Shepherds & False Religion
"For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also." 2 Timothy 3:6-9
Former Scientology members pursued, detained, interrogated and enslaved by Church intelligence officers
Black Listed News
11-3-09
In the latest chapter of an extraordinary exposé of the Church of Scientology, the St Petersburg Times has described the group's strenuous efforts to track down and bring back members who try to leave. Former Scientology members have told the Florida newspaper of being pursued and detained, cut off from family and friends and subjected to months of interrogation, humiliation and manual labour. What is particularly damaging is that these allegations come from former high-ranking Scientology officials who allegedly coordinated the intelligence gathering and supervised the retrieval of staff at the behest of the church's leader, David Miscavige. The latest instalment of the series – What Happened in Vegas – includes detailed allegations of a campaign to gather information on a group of high-level defectors. According to the paper, two couples and a man who left in 1990 to set up a mortgage business in Las Vegas were infiltrated by a mole who would send reports on the group to the church's office of special affairs' (OSA) intelligence unit back in Hollywood.
Allah versus God in Malaysia
Examiner
11-4-09
In today’s culture, the name Allah is used in reference to God by many Christians, Jews and Muslims across the world, however, recent reports are stating that Malaysian Christians are banned from using the name Allah for their God. Over the past few years the ban was extended from verbal use to written use of the word by Christians and especially for use in the Bible. The word Allah is the standard Arabic word for God. It is actually a pre-Islamic name referring to The God and its’ use dates back before the time of Mohammad. Allah was a common name for many male idols or god-like figures and Allat was a common female name used similarly. Today, Allah is used by Muslims in reference to whom they believe is The God of Islam and is also used by Jews and Christians in the same manner. With the name Allah dating back to pre-Islamic centuries, the name holds significance for many religions. CBN News and other News sources are reporting that over 15,000 Bibles that use the name Allah in them have been confiscated by Malaysian authorities so far this year. Malaysian authorities forbid the use of the name Allah by Christians because they fear it will upset or even confuse the Muslim population there.
'Islam does not justify this act of terrorism'
Times Online
11-7-09
Worshippers at one of Britain’s biggest mosques reacted to the Fort Hood shooting yesterday by saying Muslims who serve in the Armed Forces are complicit in killing their “brothers and sisters” in Afghanistan. However, a Muslim ex-soldier who twice served in Afghanistan said that the shooting could not be justified by any mainstream interpretation of Islam. Speaking to The Times after Friday prayers at East London mosque, young Muslim men said the lives of those who follow Islam were of more value than those of non-believers. They gave only their first names, claiming that the authorities might place them under investigation. Mustapha, 26, from South London, said that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were wars against Muslims and he would not consider joining the Army nor encourage fellow Muslims to. “I would not fight against my friends and brothers,” the house-builder said. “The Koran says even if you make allies with non-Muslims and join them to kill Muslims, then you die as a non-believer.” Asked his views on the killings at Fort Hood, he said: “Killing military members is all right. If you are killing people who are fighting against Muslims then that’s okay.”
Four sentenced to death after dismembering albino man in 'witchcraft' murder
Mail Online
11-3-09
Four men have been sentenced to death by hanging, for killing a 54-year-old albino man. Tanzanian television footage showed the men, who killed Lyaku Willy and removed his head and legs, leaving the courtroom in Shinyanga region under heavy police escort. Mr Willy's killing was one of a spate of attacks on the country's estimated 200,000 albinos in the past two years, mostly in the remote northwest of the country near Lake Victoria, where superstition runs deep. Mr Willy, who suffered from learning difficulties, had his throat slit and his torso was dumped in a well by the four men convicted of his murder. Mboje Mawe, Chenyenye Kishiwa, Sayi Gamaya, who is the victim’s brother-in-law, and Sayi Mafizi all denied the charges.
Muslim mother hid bomb manual in her burka and 'considered turning her children into human bombs'
Mail Online
11-3-09
A mother of six tried to smuggle 'a mini encyclopedia of weapons making' into Britain by concealing a small computer memory stick under her burka. Moroccan-born Houria Chahed Chentouf, who was obsessed with the idea of Islamic holy war, had tied the device into her sleeve. But it fell out in front of police when she was stopped at Liverpool's John Lennon airport after she arrived from Holland. The stick contained contained more than 7,000 files that might have been useful to terrorists. Hand-written documents also seized by anti-terrorist officers showed the former tax official was considering whether she and her children should become human bombs. The chilling note indicated that she was prepared to sacrifice her life and that of her children for the sake of her religion. She wrote: 'Myself and my children would seek revenge, we would be bombs for the sake of this religion, may Allah forgive you.'
Faith under Fire
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
“You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endured to the end will be delivered.” Matthew 10:22
Coptic Blogger in Egypt Pressured to Convert in Prison
The Christian Post
11-3-09
ISTANBUL (Compass Direct News) - A Coptic Christian blogger in Egypt entering his second year of prison without charge is being pressured to convert to Islam in exchange for his freedom, his attorneys said. On Oct. 3, 2008, Hani Nazeer, a 28-year-old high school social worker from Qena, Egypt and author of the blog “Karz El Hob” (“Love Cherries”), was arrested by Egypt’s State Security Investigations (SSI) and sent to Burj Al-Arab prison. Although police never charged him with any crime, Nazeer has been detained for more than a year under Egypt’s administrative imprisonment law. Gamel Eid, executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the group representing Nazeer, said Nazeer was arrested unfairly and now is being coerced to abandon his faith. “Hani complains about that, it happened, and it’s true,” said Eid. “But the police do it in a subtle way. They do it by inspiring the inmates to suggest to Nazeer that if he converts to Islam, police will work to get him out of prison.” Nazeer is confined in what is commonly known as the “general population” area of the prison, meaning he is housed with both violent and non-violent felons. Nazeer told his attorneys he is often treated harshly. Despite this, Eid said Nazeer is constant in his faith.
Crucifixes banned from Italian schools
The Independent
11-4-09
The European Court of Human Rights has said that the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and education freedoms, prompting an angry reaction from the Catholic Church and government officials in Rome. The ruling could force a review of the use of religious symbols in government-run schools across Europe. Saying the crucifix could be disturbing to non-Christian or atheist pupils, the court in Strasbourg rejected arguments by Italy's government that it was a national symbol of culture, history, identity, tolerance and secularism. The Italian government immediately said it would appeal, with one minister saying the court should be ashamed and a conservative senator calling the ruling "absurd".
'Hollywood picking on us Christians'
Christianity Today
11-6-09
A week from today, Roland Emmerich's apocalyptic epic 2012 hits the big screen, and the trailer clearly shows such iconic Christian sites as the Sistine Chapel, Saint Peter’s Basilica, and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro (in the poster at left) all come a-tumblin' down when all heck breaks loose on doomsday. What you don't see getting smashed to smithereens are any Islamic holy places -- and that has at least a couple of bloggers mad. Calling director Emmerich a "coward," a blogger for The American Catholic writes, "This is just another example of Hollywood picking on us Christians. 'Us' Christians call this behavior bigotry in the form of Christophobia. More commonly known as anti-Christian or more specifically anti-Catholicism in the case of this film." The blogger goes on to note that Emmerich was concerned about having a fatwa (essentially a Muslim death threat) on his head. Meanwhile, at Big Hollywood, Greg Gutfield writes, "Where are Roland Emmerich’s balls?" He notes that Emmerich had said "he hoped to destroy the Kaaba, an Islamic holy site, but his fellow screenwriter Harald Kloser persuaded him not to" -- again, out of the fear of fatwa. Gutfield writes: "Hollywood screws with Christians because Christians don’t behead people. But tweak Islam, and you could end up like director Theo van Gogh – dead on a street with a flag impaled on your chest. Roland picks the safe target because he’d rather live . . . [This] proves that Roland has the gonads of a shrimp."
Imprisoned Iranian Women Refuse to Deny Their Faith
Christians Unite
11-6-09
SANTA ANA, Calif., (christiansunite.com) -- On August 9 two Christian women appeared before an Iranian judge who asked them to deny their faith and return to Islam. Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, have been held in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran since March 5. They were originally accused of "acting against state security" and "taking part in illegal gatherings," according to Compass Direct News. When both women refused to recant their faith, the judge sent them back to their prison cells "to think about it," according to a source who spoke with family members. "When they said, 'Think about it,' it means you are going back to jail," said the source, according to Compass. "This is something we say in Iran. It means: 'Since you're not sorry, you'll stay in jail for a long time, and maybe you'll change your mind.'" The source said the first goal of judges in such cases is usually to make "apostates" deny their faith through threats or by sending them back to prison for a longer time. The women re-appeared in court on Oct. 7. The anti- state charge was dropped but they still face "apostasy" and "propagation of the Christian faith" charges.
Man fired after saying homosexuality wrong
Accused of 'harassment' even though lesbian approached him
WND
11-2-09
A Massachusetts man has been fired from his sales position at the Logan Airport branch in Boston of Brookstone allegedly for telling a female manager that his Christian faith says homosexuality is wrong. Peter Vadala was fired, and the company says he violated a tolerance policy. But Vadala reports his dismissal came because he expressed his Christian view of homosexuality after a female manager made repeated references, as she approached him four times during work hours, to her plans to marry her lesbian partner. "At the start of the day, she told me she was getting married. I told her 'Congratulations,' and asked, 'Where's he taking you on your honeymoon?'" Vadala said. "She replied that her partner was a 'she,'" he continued, "So I immediately tried to change the subject. "I think she knew I was uncomfortable talking about it," he continued. "But, she brought it up to me three more times during the day. "After the fourth time she told me about her plan to marry her partner, I told her, 'I think homosexuality is bad stuff,'" Vadala said. "That's what I said. I wasn't rude about it and I didn't act disrespectfully to her," he said. "All the woman said to me as she left the store was, 'Human Resources buddy. You keep your opinions to yourself!'"
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
By Regina
“I wanted to comment to you that it would be well if you were more careful not to make your message a message of fear. There is no need to mention the sufferings of the path of the one you call Lucifer, because there is plenty to say instead about the joys of the path of the one you call Christ. Let the message be a message of hope and not of fear.”
– Anonymous
Over the years I’ve received many comments from readers that are similar to this one, who believe that God’s message should be one of hope and not fear. I felt encouraged from within to attempt to impart some knowledge and understanding as to exactly why the messages we deliver in these End Times and during this Tribulation period contain both hope and a warning. It is an example of how the truth can also be a double-edged sword.
Imagine: You’re standing on the side of