CHOSEN: End Times Newsletter – Issue 111
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 http://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!'"
