America's special grace

It may be outrageous, but it is not far-fetched, to speak of a special grace for America, because hundreds of millions of people around the world look toward such a special grace, in the precise sense of the word.

No one is more keenly aware that all will not be saved than the fragile peoples of the Global South. Christianity, it might be argued, is garnering in a greater proportion of the world's population than at any time since late antiquity precisely because conditions in so many parts of the world resemble late antiquity. China alone is subject to the greatest migrations in human history, adding to its cities 10 or 15 million people each year. The Great Extinction of the peoples makes short work of the hope that all shall be saved, for those who cling to blood, soil, ethnicity and hearth-gods will perish.

Germany plans to give vote to babies

Dozens of German politicians have tabled a new law to extend voting rights to babies, toddlers, children and teenagers.

The bill, which has won the cross-party backing of some heavyweight German politicians, would wipe away decades of "exclusion" and "discrimination" against minors, according to its supporters.

Murder rate increasing amid epidemic of knife and gun crime

The murder rate has risen in England and Wales in the past year, crime figures are expected to show next week.

Amid rising concerns over an epidemic of knife and gun crime - there were six fatal stabbings in one day this week - some forces have reported a doubling in killings.

On Thursday, there were four stabbings in London, one in West Bromwich in the West Midlands and a sixth in Tarleton in Lancashire.

***

Zimbabwe Christian Leaders Say Situation Deteriorating

The heads of Christian bodies in Zimbabwe voiced their “deep concern” this week over the country’s continuous downward spiral following the disputed national elections.

Church leaders of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches lamented that the political, security, economic and human rights situation are all deteriorating.

“People are being abducted, tortured, humiliated by being asked to repeat slogans of the political party they are alleged not to support, ordered to attend mass meetings where they are told they voted for the ‘wrong’ candidate and should never repeat it in the run-off election for President, and, in some cases, people are murdered,” the church leaders said in a statement.

Norwegian Police Arrest Missionaries for Spreading Gospel At National Parade

OSLO, May 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Norwegian police arrested two Christian missionaries for spreading the Gospel to crowds alongside an Oslo parade celebrating the birthday of Norway's constitution last week.

US evangelist Larry Keefer from Tampa, Florida, and Norwegian evangelist, Petar Keseljevic had come to the May 17 national event in Oslo, where Norwegians celebrate the 1814 ratification of Norway's constitution with flag-waving, parades, and a public appearance of Norway's reigning monarch, King Harald V. Police arrested the Christian missionaries as they were conversing with several members of the crowd beyond the parade lines.

***


Fannie Plan a `Disaster' to Rogers; Goldman Says Sell

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury Department's plan to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is an ``unmitigated disaster'' and the largest U.S. mortgage lenders are ``basically insolvent,'' according to investor Jim Rogers.

Taxpayers will be saddled with debt if Congress approves U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's request for the authority to buy unlimited stakes in and lend to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Rogers said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Rogers is betting that Fannie Mae shares will keep tumbling.

Who's Next? List of Troubled Banks Worries Wall Street, DC

Banks in Colorado, Maryland, Georgia and California top privately-prepared lists of troubled banks being circulated on Wall Street and in Washington.

The IndyMac fallout

As hundreds of customers lined up at IndyMac bank branches Monday, investors and customers took stock of the health of other banks -- and they showed their concern.

IndyMac became the seventh bank to fail since the credit crisis began last summer, and the second-largest bank to fail in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s 75-year history when it was seized Friday. On Monday, stocks in nearly all the nation's banks and thrifts were clobbered as the market bet that there will be more failures.

***


Goldwasser, Regev to be laid to rest after 2 uncertain years

Following two years of uncertainty and a day after a long and multi-staged prisoner swap at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser will finally be laid to rest in military cemeteries on Thursday.

Scientist to Congress: U.S. risks 'catastrophe' in nuke EMP attack

WASHINGTON – A top scientist today warned the House Armed Services Committee America remains vulnerable to a "catastrophe" from a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack that could be launched with plausible deniability by hostile rogue nations or terrorists.

William R. Graham, chairman of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack and the former national science adviser to President Reagan, testified before the committee while presenting a sobering new report on "one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences."

Insurer: Weather disasters becoming more frequent

The number of natural disasters has more than doubled since 1980, mostly because of a worsening of weather-driven catastrophes, according to a German insurance company.

In its report [PDF], Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer (that is, an insurance company for insurance companies), said that 400 natural disasters occurred in the first six months of 2008, with 300 of them attributed to extreme weather, such as storms, floods, and heat waves.

This number is in line with a steady increase in the number of natural disasters that the company has tracked since 1980. In the 1980s, the average number of yearly natural disasters was 400. That number increased to 630 in the 1990s and 730 in the past 10 years. The number of geophysical disasters – earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions – increased from the mid-80s to the mid-90s, but has since returned to early-80s levels.

The highest number of recorded natural disasters, 960, was in 2007, the company said.

Are You Ready for the Next Disaster?

Wealthy nations are much better protected from the so-called natural hazards, but by no means have they been spared this year. Consider the U.S. in June: Iowa experienced a deluge of historic proportions, with large-scale crop destruction spiking the cost of food and raising fears of an inflationary spiral. California, where the driest two months of spring on record turned grass and brush into kindling, endured more than 1,000 wildfires and braced for more to come. On the East Coast, more than 30 people perished during the kind of heat wave that usually comes in July or August.

Is there anything we can do to avert such dangers? These days, of course, extreme weather is only one of the many perils we face. Terrorist attacks or technological accidents involving nuclear weapons; pandemic diseases that cannot be cured; comets and asteroids that could wipe out the human race. We live in an age of risk assessment and risk analysis, when doomsday scenarios have become daily anxieties, and planning for improbable but world-changing events has become a focus of disaster policy.

With resources tight, Californians take on wildfires themselves

ELK, California: When he spotted a small fire two weeks ago atop a steep hill outside this blocklong town, Charlie Acker, 57, the president of the local school board and a volunteer firefighter, jumped inside his stubby red 1965 fire truck and, with a skid and a prayer, drove up the severe incline to check out the situation.

Knowing that every other volunteer firefighter in this community of 100 residents was battling a larger blaze nearby, he used his cellphone to call his wife. She roused a crew of young kayakers who cater to tourists in this picturesque old logging town at the edge of the Pacific, some 140 miles, or 225 kilometers, north of San Francisco, and joined Acker on the line.

The state fire agency, CalFire, had promised to send a helicopter, but just as Acker was waiting its arrival, it was diverted, he said, "to a higher rent district" in another county. When he radioed for more firefighters and an air tanker with fire retardant, he was sent 13 state prison inmates and told he was on his own.

Modest crop gains opening land reserve

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States would grow a bit more corn, wheat and soybeans if it opens the Conservation Reserve to crops, but any relief for soaring food prices would be modest and would not be felt until next year.

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer could act as soon as Friday to allow landowners to convert the idled land to crops. Livestock feeders and grain processors are seeking relief from record-high crop prices, forecast to trim U.S. meat consumption in coming months.

Ethiopia hunger averted, prices high

LONDON (Reuters) - Government and U.N. action has averted an immediate hunger emergency in Ethiopia, but high food prices are still making it hard for parents to feed their children, a major medical charity said.

The cost of teff grain -- used to make the thin, round spongy bread that accompanies most Ethiopian meals -- has more than doubled in the past year, and lentils have quadrupled in price, said International Medical Corps (IMC).

Australia food-bowl drought worsens, rains spare wheat

CANBERRA, July 10 (Reuters) - The prolonged drought in Australia's Murray-Darling river system is worsening and the country's main food bowl may forever be changed by accelerating climate warming, government officials said on Thursday.

Despite good autumn rains, June inflows into the river basin were the lowest in more than a century on record and climate experts are tipping a 60-70 percent chance of below average rain in the next decade, with the year ahead likely to be a "shocker".

Psalm 37

Psalm 37
[A Psalm] of David. 1FRET NOT yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God).
2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.
4Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.
5Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
6And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.
7Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
8Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself--it tends only to evildoing.
9For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth.(A)
10For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found.(B)
11But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.(C)
12The wicked plot against the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright in right standing with God); they gnash at them with their teeth.
13The Lord laughs at [the wicked], for He sees that their own day [of defeat] is coming.
14The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who walk uprightly (blameless in conduct and in conversation).
15The swords [of the wicked] shall enter their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken.
16Better is the little that the [uncompromisingly] righteous have than the abundance [of possessions] of many who are wrong and wicked.(D)
17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the [consistently] righteous.
18The Lord knows the days of the upright and blameless, and their heritage will abide forever.
19They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs [that is consumed in smoke] and as the glory of the pastures. They shall vanish; like smoke shall they consume away.
21The wicked borrow and pay not again [for they may be unable], but the [uncompromisingly] righteous deal kindly and give [for they are able].
22For such as are blessed of God shall [in the end] inherit the earth, but they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off.(E)
23The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].
24Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.
25I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.
26All day long they are merciful and deal graciously; they lend, and their offspring are blessed.
27Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell forever [securely].
28For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off.
29[Then] the [consistently] righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
30The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks with justice.
31The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32The wicked lie in wait for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and seek to put them to death.
33The Lord will not leave them in their hands, or [suffer them to] condemn them when they are judged.
34Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35I have seen a wicked man in great power and spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil,
36Yet he passed away, and behold, he was not; yes, I sought and inquired for him, but he could not be found.
37Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is a happy end for the man of peace.
38As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; in the end the wicked shall be cut off.
39But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.
40And the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they trust and take refuge in Him.

Vacation Bible School this week. Hence, my absence.



Isaiah 29

Ezekiel 38-39

Revelation 6


What do all these passages have in common, besides judgment, you ask?




Villagers in south Lebanon camp outdoors amid quake fears

LEBANON: Not All Earthquakes Are Political



5.2-magnitude quake rattles Pakistan
Magnitude 4.4 - OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

Magnitude 5.0 - ASCENSION ISLAND REGION
2008 July 11 09:28:19 UTC

Magnitude 4.3 - WESTERN IRAN
2008 July 12 22:19:29 UTC

Magnitude 4.4 - OWEN FRACTURE ZONE REGION
2008 July 13 06:53:26 UTC

Magnitude 5.0 - POTOSI, BOLIVIA
2008 July 13 17:33:49 UTC

Magnitude 6.2 - TAIWAN REGION
2008 July 13 14:58:32 UTC
Strong quake hits off Taiwan

Magnitude 4.3 - NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA
2008 July 14 15:55:57 UTC

Magnitude 5.5 - SIMEULUE, INDONESIA
2008 July 14 04:44:55 UTC

Magnitude 6.4 - DODECANESE ISLANDS, GREECE
2008 July 15 03:26:36 UTC
Strong quake strikes Greek island, 1 killed
Earthquake near Greek island felt in Israel

Magnitude 4.9 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
2008 July 15 09:26:22 UTC
China's Sichuan hit by new earthquake

Magnitude 5.7 - SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
2008 July 15 05:07:11 UTC

Magnitude 4.2 - OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
2008 July 15 04:29:04 UTC

Magnitude 5.0 - DODECANESE ISLANDS, GREECE
2008 July 15 23:52:40 UTC

Magnitude 4.9 - NORTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
2008 July 16 10:36:50 UTC

Magnitude 4.6 - NORTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
2008 July 16 13:42:17 UTC

Magnitude 4.5 - GANSU, CHINA
2008 July 16 15:07:16 UTC

Magnitude 5.1 - SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
2008 July 16 22:58:19 UTC

Magnitude 4.7 - AZORES ISLANDS REGION
2008 July 17 01:11:30 UTC

Magnitude 4.6 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
2008 July 17 16:40:42 UTC

Magnitude 4.4 - OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
2008 July 17 13:32:19 UTC
Magnitude 5.5 - OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
2008 July 17 22:36:19 UTC
Magnitude 5.7 - OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
2008 July 17 22:51:56 UTC
Back-to-back quakes reported off Oregon coast

Ash from recent volcano eruption may reach Kodiak

Bertha!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25600629/

MIAMI - Hurricane Bertha has weakened back to a Category 1 storm as it heads toward Bermuda, but it could gain strength in the next 24 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Thursday.

Looks like it's not going to be much of a threat. The worrisome thing is that it formed so close to Africa this early in the season. That's usually where the nasties form in August or September.



Calif. wildfire turns residents into refugees
'You almost feel like somebody is out to get you,' one woman says

OROVILLE, Calif. - A wildfire raging in the Sierra Nevada foothills turned residents into refugees as firefighters worked overnight to keep flames from destroying more homes. Farther south, the National Guard troops deployed with bulldozers to a fire near Santa Barbara — the first military ground troops used in California against a fire in 30 years.

In Northern California, thousands spent another night away from home after fire officials ordered evacuations Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of wind-whipped flames bearing down on the town of Paradise for the second time in just a few weeks.

Sick from Salmonella: Tomatoes May Not Be Culprit
Food Safety Inspectors Broaden Investigation Into What's Causing Illnesses

Federal officials first announced the salmonella illnesses months ago, centering their investigation on certain types of raw tomatoes. Since then, food safety inspectors have traveled to tomato farms in Mexico and Florida as the number of sick people continued to rise.

But instead of homing in on what caused the illnesses over the past few months, inspectors now say that they aren't so sure that tomatoes are the culprit.

Salmonella infects over 1,000; peppers now eyed

WASHINGTON - More than 1,000 people now have become ill from salmonella initially linked to raw tomatoes, a sobering milestone Wednesday that makes this the worst foodborne outbreak in at least a decade. Adding to the confusion, the government is warning certain people to avoid types of hot peppers, too.

Gordon Brown urges end to deadlock as food prices rise again

World leaders today sent out a desperate last-ditch plea to their negotiators to end the deadlock in the long-stalled trade talks and do a deal later this month that would bring down the price of food.

On the day British shoppers were told that the cost of food is rising at the fastest rate for 18 months, Gordon Brown said that the nation's households would benefit by an average of £200 a month from cheaper food bills if the Americans, the European Union, Latin America and South Africa could settle their differences at a meeting in Geneva on July 21.

Food and fuel crises pushing world into 'danger zone', says World Bank

As the head of the World Bank warns world leaders that the planet is entering the "danger zone" with millions thrown into extreme poverty by the twin food and fuel crises, a leaked report from his organisation shows that biofuels have pushed up global food prices by 75 percent - a much bigger role in the disaster than previously thought.

In a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, ahead of next week's G8 summit, and copied to other G8 leaders, World Bank president Robert Zoellick has called on them to act immediately to address the "man-made catastrophe" of soaring food and oil prices.

"What we are witnessing is not a natural disaster - a silent tsunami or a perfect storm. It is a man-made catastrophe and as such must be fixed by people," he said in the letter.

There has been an 82 percent rise in food commodity prices since 2006, with the crisis worsening since April, Mr Zoellick warned.

Biofuels 'caused food price spike'

Biofuels have caused world food prices to go up by 75%, it has been reported. The Guardian said it has seen the figure in a confidential World Bank report which contradicts US government claims that using plants to produce fuel contributes less than 3% to food prices.

Government asks stores to stockpile food to overcome hauliers strike

Ministers are in talks with supermarkets about emergency food reserves in case
fuel protests lead to shortages at shops.

The government wants to ensure retailers and suppliers can continue to sell basics such as meat, bread and milk if hauliers bring the country to a halt.

They have asked supermarkets to make contingency plans “in case the infrastructure of the country breaks down”.

Among those who have taken part are farmers, dairies, bakeries and supermarkets.

This is not some third world banana republic; it's the UK.

If it can happen there, it can happen here.



Fuel oil and kerosene prices fueling worry about winter

PLATTSBURGH -- Soaring heating-oil and kerosene prices have some people shivering with worry well before winter's arrival.

Dave Curry of Peru said he purchased 500 gallons of heating oil from Church Oil at $2.59 a gallon in August 2007. When the company put the last of that oil in his tank in April, he was charged $3.90 a gallon for the last 10.2 gallons used to fill his tank.

Curry said that if heating oil rises to $5 a gallon, as appears likely, it will cost him $2,500 to heat his house next winter, as opposed to $1,300 last winter.

"I don't think people are going to be able to heat their homes. I feel sorry for young families with a mortgage and young mouths to feed."

The unpredicted side effect of the gas crisis-- rising sales of arctic sleeping bags! Well, if I lived up north, I'd be buying them.


New West Nile virus strain may worsen epidemic

The virus infected an estimated 175,000 people last year, the U.S. Centers for disease Control and Prevention reported in its weekly report on death and disease on Thursday.

The mosquito-borne virus caused an estimated 35,000 cases of fever, was reported to have killed 117 people and caused serious disease such as encephalitis and meningitis in 1,227 people in 2007, the CDC reported.

A second team of researchers said a new strain of the virus that has completely overtaken the original strain is particularly well suited to hotter weather -- which in turn means West Nile outbreaks may worsen in the north. It also means that North America may suffer more from West Nile virus than other parts of the world, said Lyle Petersen, who helps lead West Nile surveillance at the CDC.

Want some torture with your peanuts?

Just when you thought you’ve heard it all...A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser®. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers (video also shown below).

This bracelet would:
• Take the place of an airline boarding pass
• Contain personal information about the traveler
• Be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage
• Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes

The Electronic ID Bracelet, as it’s referred to, would be worn by every traveler “until they disembark the flight at their destination.” Yes, you read that correctly. Every airline passenger would be tracked by a government-funded GPS, containing personal, private and confidential information, and would shock the customer worse than an electronic dog collar if the passenger got out of line.

Yeah, no way THAT could be abused.


A Tax by Any Other Name

For those of you curious as to what type of tax menu Barack Obama might put forth should he become occupant No. 44 of the White House, I present to you the Global Poverty Act.

If you’ve never heard of it, or, if only in passing, you’re not alone. It’s an astounding piece of legislation he has rammed through that, inexplicably, has sidestepped the main spotlight of public scrutiny.

Obama has put his imprimatur on what basically is — but yet not identified as such — a global tax in an attempt to curb worldwide poverty. To be sure, a noble cause — until you read the fine print, which is as subtle as a two-by-four through a casement window.

In essence, the bill — which incidentally passed the House in December by a voice vote — would demand that the president develop "and implement" a policy to "cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief" and other programs.How about through a t-a-x?

Russia Warns of Military Response If U.S.-Czech Missile Defense Agreement Approved

MOSCOW — Russia will be forced to make a military response if the U.S.-Czech missile defense agreement is ratified, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The statement came hours after U.S. and Czech officials reached an initial agreement on deploying elements of a missile defense system in the Eastern European country.

Russia says the system would severely undermine European security balances by weakening Russia's missile capacity.

Release warns of persecution threat against British Muslim converts

A growing number of Christians in Britain from a Muslim background are facing
harassment and persecution, warns Release International.

They include ‘Yasmin’, whose ex-husband planned to kill her. She’s been attacked in the street, driven from her home and was taken under police protection.

Yasmin became a Christian after receiving a vision of Jesus during the difficult birth of her son. She tried to keep her faith a secret from her family, but eventually told her mother.

"When my mother found out I had become a Christian she went to the local mosque and told them that I had gone crazy," Yasmin told Release International, which serves the persecuted church in 30 nations.

"She went to get some holy water to heal me of my madness. A campaign was set up against me; people would come and bang on the door every ten minutes during the night."

More on the "Jesus vision" phenomena in a later post.


Large meteor crosses Israeli skies

A large meteor crossed Israel's skies on Tuesday evening, and was seen by many residents, mainly in the center of the country, Army Radio reported.

According to citizens' reports, the object was seen at approximately 8:15 p.m., as it crossed the sky from east to west horizontally. Some witnesses said they saw two shiny objects in the sky, and others reported that they heard a shrieking sound.

A Petah Tikva resident told Army Radio that he saw a beam of light, which crossed the sky in the direction of the sea. "It looked like a comet, with a long white tail, but much shinier and moving much faster," he said.

Sounds awfully fishy to me...


Iran Launches Nine Test Missiles, Says More Are Ready
U.S. Plays Down Military Showdown

Iran test-fired nine missiles yesterday -- including at least one capable of striking Israel -- and asserted that thousands more are "ready for launch," but Bush administration officials played down the possibility of military action against the Islamic republic and belittled Tehran's claims of progress on its nuclear program.

I wish I weren't thinking what I'm thinking.



Saving Iraq’s Christians
Asking, “Who is my Neighbor?”

A church of martyrs on the cusp of annihilation. That’s the grim reality that Iraq’s beleaguered and vanishing Christian community faces. And it’s no secret, especially after two pillars of establishment journalism — the New York Times and CBS’s 60 Minutes — produced truly shocking accounts of savage persecution right before the Fourth of July.

Britain okays human-pig embryo

A license to create human-pig embryos has been granted in Great Britain. An American professor says the moral and ethical implications of that decision have not been thought out.

There are moral ethics involved, says Dr. Mark Mostert of Regent University. He believes that, in this case, technology has "outstripped our thinking," and contends that the creation of human-animal embryos presents the potential for doing a great deal of harm. "...[W]e've not thought through on a moral and ethical level what this means for the future," he maintains. Plus, he points out that embryo research has not produced results.

UN says 7 Darfur peacekeepers killed in ambush

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — United Nations officials say seven peacekeepers from a joint U.N.-African Union force have been killed and 22 wounded in an attack in Sudan's Darfur region.

Five Rwandan soldiers and two police officers, one from Ghana, the other from Uganda, were killed, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office said Wednesday. At least seven of the wounded were in serious condition.
...
The attackers, a group of about 200 riding horses and driving SUVs mounted with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons, exchanged gunfire for more than two hours with the peacekeeping force that included 61 Rwandan soldiers.

Horses?


Obama Anti-Smear Website Names Alleged Smearers

Who is Behind these Lies?" the campaign asks, then listing a group of names -- David Bossie, Bob Perry, Floyd Brown, Craig Shirley, Bruce Hawkins, and James Lacy -- and organizations that the Obama campaign calls "Smears Inc.," tying them to previous political attacks such as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and the Willie Horton ad.

Interestingly, the Obama campaign fails to connect any of the "Smears" it disproves to any of these charter members of Smears Inc.

Obama opens door to altering his Iraq policy
Democrat says coming trip could change his troop withdrawal plan

FARGO, N.D. - Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

A dustup over war policy — one of the main issues separating the Illinois senator from his Republican opponent, John McCain — overshadowed Obama’s town-hall meeting here with veterans to talk about patriotism and his plans to care for them. Republicans pounced on the chance to characterize Obama as altering one of the core policies that drove his candidacy “for the sake of political expedience.” He denied equally forcefully that he was shifting positions.

Barack Obama may campaign at a NASCAR event

As Barack Obama continues his focus on states that usually vote Republican in presidential elections, word comes that he may campaign at a NASCAR event. Why? Well, to paraphrase a supposed Willie Sutton line that he robbed banks because that's where the money is, if Obama needs white working-class voters in the fall, there are few better places to find them than at a NASCAR event.

Obama's Satyagraha: Or, Did Obama Swallow the Mahatma?

As a political descendant of the civil rights movement and MLK, Obama seems to have swallowed up the Mahatma in whole. Obama like the Mahatma believes in:
· Power of the people to transform society at the grassroots level;
· Social equality and economic empowerment for the poor;
· Unity among different races, creeds and religions;
· Use of non-violence or soft-power to break bread even with your enemies.

Why is any of this important now? Like the Mahatma, Obama is becoming a global symbol of the 'hopes and dreams' of millions around the world. Those who look up to the American ideals, consume American media, and dream American dreams are tuned into this historic election. While Gandhi marked the end of the colonial era, Obama with his multicultural background and upbringing represents the age of globalization. Obama is in an unprecedented historical position to not only be the first African American president, but the first 'global president' of America. Obama's images on T-shirts, magazine covers, and TV screens around the world may be a harbinger of the next American century, if the American people are willing and able to lead it.

Magnitude 5.7 - KURIL ISLANDS
2008 July 06 01:00:09 UTC

Magnitude 5.0 - BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
2008 July 06 17:05:20 UTC

Magnitude 5.4 - PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
2008 July 06 12:01:31 UTC
Magnitude 5.4 quake rocks parts of Luzon, Metro Manila

Magnitude 5.1 - PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
2008 July 06 12:46:55 UTC
Magnitude-5.1 aftershock hits Luzon - USGS

Magnitude 5.0 - ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
2008 July 07 09:58:52 UTC
Quake in Andaman Islands

Magnitude 5.2 - ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
2008 July 07 22:43:50 UTC
Andreanof n Aleutian islands, Alaska struck by 5.2 magnitude quake

Magnitude 5.0 - MYANMAR-INDIA BORDER REGION
2008 July 07 02:50:36 UTC
5.1 quake rattles Bangladesh

Magnitude 5.2 - SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
2008 July 07 21:39:26 UTC
Quake 5.2 magnitude hits South Sandwish Islands yesterday

Magnitude 2.1 - ONTARIO-QUEBEC BORDER REGION, CANADA
2008 July 08 01:43:52 UTC

Magnitude 5.2 - KYRGYZSTAN
2008 July 08 16:08:34 UTC

Magnitude 6.2 - SOUTHERN PERU
2008 July 08 09:13:07 UTC
Magnitude 6 quake startles southern Peru

Magnitude 6.0 - RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
2008 July 08 07:42:11 UTC
Earthquake hit southern Japan

Magnitude 4.5 - EASTER ISLAND REGION
2008 July 08 06:45:12 UTC

Magnitude 3.5 - NEVADA
2008 July 08 17:50:54 UTC

Magnitude 5.0 - NORTHWEST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
2008 July 09 12:29:40 UTC

Magnitude 5.7 - LOYALTY ISLANDS
2008 July 09 08:24:19 UTC

Matthew 3:1-11

1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "[a]
4John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11"I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Just gotta get some stuff out of my system.

25 I know that my Redeemer [c] lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. [d]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet [e] in [f] my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

28 "If you say, 'How we will hound him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him, [g] '
29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,
and then you will know that there is judgment. [h] "

--Job 19:25-29

Will the World End in 2012?
Thousands Worldwide Prepare for the Apocalypse, Expected in 2012

Two years ago, Patrick Geryl, then 51, quit his job as a laboratory worker for a French oil company. He'd saved up just enough money to last him until December 2012. After that, he thought, he wouldn't need it anyway.
...
That's because Geryl believes the world as we know it will end in 2012. He points to the ancient Mayan cyclical calendars, the longest of which last renewed itself approximately 5,125 years ago and is set to end again, supposedly with catastrophic consequences, in 2012. He speaks of the ancient Egyptians, who, he claims, saw 2012 as a year of great change too. And he points to science: NASA predicts a sharp increase in the number of sunspots and sun flares for 2012, he said, sure to cause electrical failures and satellite disruptions.

All this adds up, Geryl said, to unprecedented catastrophe. First, a polar reversal will cause the north to become the south and the sun to rise in the west. Shattering earthquakes, massive tidal waves and simultaneous volcanic eruptions will follow. Nuclear reactors will melt, buildings will crumble, and a cloud of volcanic dust will block out the sun for 40 years. Only the prepared will survive, Geryl said, and not even all of them.

These may sound like the ravings of a madman, or perhaps the head of a small apocalyptic sect. But Geryl is not the only one who believes in the apocalypse. Thousands of people worldwide seem to be preparing, in one way or another, for the end of days in 2012. Survival groups exist in Europe, Canada and the United States. A simple Google search for "2012" and "the end of the world" brings up nearly
300,000 hits. And the video-sharing Web site YouTube hosts more than 65,000
clips informing and warning viewers about their fate in 2012.

***

I have said before and I will say again that no man will know the hour. Jesus told us this.

However, he also gave the disciples this parable in Luke 21:

"Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32"I tell you the truth, this generation[b] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 34"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

It is clear that we are entering the labor pains. We can't be sleeping; we must stay alert and vigilant.

1 Thessalonians 5

2 Thessalonians 2

Revelation 22

Frankly, it would not surprise me if we were in the midst of the Tribulation by 2012.

***

Third Temple preparations begin with priestly garb

On Monday, the Temple Institute started preparing to build a Third Temple on
Jerusalem's Mount Moriah, the site of the Dome of the Rock and the Aksa mosque,
by inaugurating a workshop that manufactures priestly garments.
...
Priestly garments have not been worn since the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome in 70 CE and cannot be functional until a Third Temple is constructed.

Kohanim, priests directly descended from Moses's brother Aaron, are recognized by the Institute as such if their paternal grandfather observed the tradition. Today, they have special religious responsibilities; in days of yore they performed the most significant duties within the Temple.

Approximately one-third of the commandments in the Torah cannot be accomplished without a temple, including the obligations of the Kohanim.

But a Third Temple seems a flighty dream with nightmarish political implications to many, as both a shrine, the Dome of the Rock, and the Aksa mosque, Islam's third holiest structure, currently stand on the Temple Mount.

Antichrist will set up the 'abomination that causes desolation' at the midpoint of the seven year treaty with Israel. That can't happen unless there's a temple for it to stand in. The question is, how does the Dome of the Rock fit into this? Some believe that it is the abomination. I tend to think not. It is my suspiscion that God Himself will take care of it--perhaps it will be destroyed in an earthquake. Or, since He has a sense of humor, it might even be collateral damage in a muslim attack on the Holy City. Bwahaha! Still that is conjecture on my part. We shall see how that plays out.

***
Magnitude 5.8 - TRINIDAD REGION, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO2008 July 03 06:34:55 UTC

Magnitude 5.0 - LAPTEV SEA2008 July 04 04:55:05 UTC

Magnitude 5.1 - NORTHEASTERN IRAN2008 July 03 23:10:03 UTC
Tremor hits Kadekan in northeast Iran for 2nd time in 2 days

Magnitude 2.0 - EASTERN TENNESSEE2008 July 05 05:14:57 UTC

Magnitude 2.7 - ARKANSAS2008 July 05 06:58:02 UTC

Magnitude 4.8 - EASTERN XIZANG-INDIA BORDER REGION2008 July 04 21:35:27 UTC
Magnitude 4.6 - XINJIANG-XIZANG BORDER REGION2008 July 05 01:39:27 UTC
Magnitude 4.7 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA2008 July 05 07:00:45 UTC
Three quakes hit, but no casualties reported

Magnitude 7.7 - SEA OF OKHOTSK2008 July 05 02:12:04 UTC
Magnitude 5.0 - SEA OF OKHOTSK2008 July 05 02:30:55 UTC
Major quake hits region of Okhotsk Sea

Magnitude 5.1 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN2008 July 05 07:49:03 UTC
Moderate earthquake jolts Japan

Magnitude 5.1 - RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA2008 July 05 12:56:15 UTC


Chile's Llaima Volcano Erupts

The Llaima volcano in southern Chile has erupted for the first time in months, forcing the evacuation of about a dozen people from nearby areas. Authorities, however, say populated areas are not immediately threatened.

Hundreds of thousands lose power in storms
Detroit, other parts of Michigan, are hit hard; Ohio also sees heavy rain

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Severe thunderstorms swept across parts of Michigan, flooding streets and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of residents. Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. said about 162,000 of its customers had no electricity as of Thursday morning, and service in some rural and hard-hit areas was not expected to be restored until Saturday.

California Wildfires Strain State's Resources
Wildfires strain California's resources as focus shifts to blaze near Santa Barbara

A wildfire threatening hundreds of homes in Southern California spread slowly through scenic canyonlands Saturday, straining resources as crews struggled to contain hundreds of other blazes around the state.

"The firefighters are stretched thin, they are exhausted," and some have gone days without sleep, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited a command post in Santa Barbara County.

A slew of wildfires, most ignited by lightning two weeks ago, has burned more than 800 square miles of land throughout California. The blazes have destroyed at least 67 homes and other buildings and contributed to the death of a firefighter who suffered a heart attack while digging fire lines.

Crews Tackle Flurry Of Small Fires Around Colo.

DENVER -- Firefighters along the Front Range and on the West Slope have been dealing with a series of small wildfires fueled in part by Colorado's hot, dry weather.

Berthoud and Loveland firefighters contained a 50-acre wildfire near Carter Lake in Larimer County Friday. Authorities say a spark from a tractor started the blaze.

Evacuation order ends as Billings fire burns

BILLINGS (AP) — People forced from their homes by a wildfire on the edge of Billings have been allowed to return as crews continue fighting the blaze.

An evacuation order imposed Friday ended that night. The Billings Fire Department says the blaze mapped at about 1,100 acres has remained within lines dug on Friday.

Drip, drip... drought

By year's end, Israel's Water Authority warns, all pumping in Lake Kinneret will have to cease. That will mean turning off the taps on a third of the national water supply.

This dire scenario is the inevitable outcome of the fact that four successive years of scant rainfall have depleted Israel's largest above-ground reservoir to such an extent that this week it is expected to drop beneath the "bottom red line."

At this rate, moreover, the Kinneret's water level will, by October, have descended to what experts dub "the black line." At that point - when the Kinneret's surface falls to 215 meters below sea-level - irreversible damage from salination and toxic marine flora sets in.

Local shellfish return to menu
Red tide abates in many areas

Local clams are again being served on paper plates and bathed in butter because an expansive red tide has begun to abate, allowing officials to reopen some of the state's most productive shellfish beds.

The warming water has helped dissipate the bloom of single-celled algae that smothered the coast from central Maine to Cape Cod, infecting Boston Harbor for the first time in 36 years. In the last week, some 500 diggers have been able to return to Essex Bay and other bountiful flats on the North Shore, home to the renowned Ipswich clams. Officials yesterday also reopened beds in Plum Island Sound.

Training area for Olympic sailing event clear from algae invasion

QINGDAO, East China, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Training area for the athletes to compete in the Olympic sailing competition in August is now clear from the algae invasion in the host city of Qingdao.
...
Thousands of soldiers and volunteers are still cleaning the bright green weeds, which was first spotted at the end of May and started to bloom in mid-June. Inflatable barriers have also been placed near the coastline to prevent the algae from encroaching on the shore.

China works to keep cloud of locusts away from Beijing

BEIJING First there was the freak snowstorm in February. Then the Tibetan riots in March.Then in rapid succession the controversial torch relay, Sichuan earthquake, widespread flooding and an algae bloom that’s tarnishing the Olympic sailing venue. Just when it seemed that nothing else could go wrong this year in China, locusts have arrived.Locusts? What is going on here? The litany of near-biblical woes would only seem to lack a famine, a plague and smiting of the first born.

[Famine and plague are going on elsewhere in the world. I could argue that China's one-child policy is a plague on first-born girls.]

Australian state facing drought, locusts

SYDNEY, July 5 (UPI) -- The Australian state of New South Wales is facing both a major drought and a locust invasion that could devastate food supplies, an official says.

Primary Industries Minister Ian MacDonald said recent figures indicate drought conditions exist in 65 percent of the state, marking a 2.3 percent increase from June, The Sydney Morning Herald reported in its Sunday edition.

Macdonald said in addition to the ongoing drought, at least 900 properties in the state have been found to be housing locust eggs.

The minister said those eggs could create a major locust swarm that could threaten regional crops in the spring, the Herald reported.

***

Are we getting the picture yet?

***

'The Archers' brings the idea of a self-sufficient community to the fore

World shortages of petroleum and the belief that supplies will become too scarce are driving some to seek an oil-free lifestyle. As 'The Archers' brings to the fore the idea of a self-sufficient community, Rowena Mason asks whether this new movement is the product of panic or a common-sense solution.

The petrol pumps are dry, the supermarket shelves are bare and family cars sit uselessly in driveways. Faced with a national shortage of oil, the comfortable lifestyles of middle-class people are threatened by an austerity not seen since the post-war rationing of the early 1950s.

This is Britain in 2012, according to 54?year-old Richard Hathway and his wife Karen, who live in a family home in a sleepy Worcestershire village. They are convinced the country is heading for the worst oil crisis it has ever known, so this year they have decided to change their lifestyle for good.

Women Say Economy Factors in Abortions
Forty Percent of Minnesota Women Getting Abortions Cited Financial Concerns

There were 13,843 abortions performed in Minnesota in 2007. Of the women who listed a reason for their abortions, 40 percent cited economic concerns -- that's the largest share since the state started collecting detailed abortion information a decade ago, according to the state's annual abortion report.


Women can list more than one reason for an abortion. The most common reason cited was that a woman did not want children at this time (10,190.) Other reasons included already being a single parent (1,024) and unfulfilled educational goals (886). Ninety-eight women cited rape or incest.

[98 out of 13843 is only 7 tenths of one percent.]

Oil Heads Past $145 for 1st Time; Pump Cost up Too
Oil surges to new highs above $145 a barrel; US pump prices at record near $4.10 a gallon

—Last Independence Day weekend, drivers were paying just $2.95 a gallon for gas, about $1.15 less than today.
—Oil prices are up more than 50 percent since the start of the year. Prices rose by a similar amount in 2007 — but it took almost the entire year for them to make that trip.
—Just this week alone, the price on a barrel of oil jumped 3.6 percent. And that was a shortened week.

Muslims in Britain should be able to live under sharia, says top judge

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his suggestion earlier this year that aspects of sharia should be adopted in Britain. The archbishop's remarks sparked a national debate and led to calls for his resignation.

Risking inflaming that controversy again, Lord Phillips has said that Muslims in Britain should be able to use sharia to decide financial and marital disputes.

About 200 Zimbabweans Seek Refuge at US Embassy in Harare

U.S. officials say about 200 people are seeking refuge outside the American Embassy in Zimbabwe. A State Department spokesman, Bill Strassberger, tells VOA the people came to the embassy after being forced out of the headquarters in
Harare of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. He says embassy staff are contacting humanitarian groups to see what can be done to help them.

Terrorist cell found, bombings averted

POLICE say they have foiled plans for devastating bombings in Indonesia by uncovering an international terrorist cell, arresting 10 men and seizing more than 20 bombs in South Sumatra.

The team was making and stockpiling sophisticated explosives, reportedly for use against Western tourists or targets, police said. It was part of the network of Noordin Top, the mastermind of the Bali bombing.

The first arrest was that of a 35-year-old teacher six days ago, near the town of Palembang, police said.

We're on an express flight to Babylon, my dears. Hold tight.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Our God is an Awesome God

[Israeli] Health Ministry warns of possible quake

Health Ministry director-general Prof. Avi Yisraeli issued a letter to all hospitals, health funds and Magen David Adom - with copies to the press - on Monday, asking them to ensure that they are prepared for the possibility of an earthquake in the north. However, when contacted by The Jerusalem Post, Yisraeli said there was absolutely no evidence of an imminent earthquake in the north despite reports of some unusual seismic activity of some 500 mini-quakes ranging from 2 to 5 on the Richter Scale in southern Lebanon during the past four months; most of which were not felt anywhere.

"There is no need for panic, or for the public to take any action," Yisraeli said. "The public must continue life as usual; there is no need for them to store water or canned foods. We have no idea if the mini-earthquakes in Lebanon are relevant to Israel, but we wanted to remind medical services in the north to prepare for any eventuality, and they should be doing this constantly in any case," he added.

Israel sits near the convergence of the African plate, the Arabian plate, and the Eurasian plate.



Wildfires Force Firefighters to Pick Their Battles
California's 'extraordinary' number of fires forces firefighters to pick their battles

With hundreds of wildfires raging across remote, rugged parts of California for a second week, fire officials have been forced to strategically choose which to fight and which to leave to burn for weeks or even months.

The number of fires burning in central and Northern California — more than 1,000 according to state fire officials — means authorities can't send firefighters to battle every blaze, Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said Monday.

"It's like eating an elephant — you've got to eat it one bite at a time," he said.

Shadow of war looms as Israel flexes its muscle
Israeli fighter jets flew 1,500 kms across the Mediterranean this month, in a dry run for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Tehran has threatened to treat such a raid as a declaration of war. As the Middle East braces itself for a stand-off of epic proportions, how close is the region to that nightmare scenario?



Israel to go ahead with controversial prisoner swap

Israel is to go ahead with an emotionally charged deal to swap a notorious Lebanese prisoner for the bodies of two soldiers seized as hostages in 2006.

The deal with the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, which was overwhelmingly agreed by 22-3 the Israeli Cabinet today after a six hour debate, has provoked public controversy over whether Israel was giving up too much, or carrying out its highest commitment to its soldiers to do everything possible to bring them home.

Soldiers set to be returned to Israel in 10 days

Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two soldiers whose kidnapping on July 12, 2006, triggered the Second Lebanon War, are expected to be returned to Israel within 10 days as a result of Sunday's cabinet approval of a swap with Hizbullah.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in a dramatic statement to his ministers at the outset of a six-hour discussion on the deal, said the two men are almost certainly dead.

Palestinian goes on rampage in Jerusalem; 3 killed

A Palestinian laborer driving a construction vehicle rammed into packed buses, tossed cars into the air and rolled over pedestrians in a deadly rampage Wednesday that killed three people and wounded dozens in Jerusalem.

The attacker's unusual weapon — a yellow Caterpillar front loader transformed into a deadly assault vehicle — threatened both Israelis' sense of security and Palestinians' fragile status in the city.

Hundreds of panicked people were sent running for cover before the attacker was shot dead by security forces. Three Palestinian militant groups claimed responsibility for the onslaught, the first major attack in Jerusalem in four months.

However, Israeli police said the assailant, a 30-year-old Palestinian from Arab east Jerusalem, apparently acted alone. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the man was working on a railway project in Jerusalem.

Global nuclear stockpiles 'must be reduced to prevent terrorist attacks'

Nuclear stockpiles around the world must be reduced to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists, a coalition of senior British politicians has warned.

The four former British defence and foreign secretaries warn that the more nuclear material in circulation, the more countries who have not had such weapons to date are likely to want to acquire their own.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Lord Owen, Lord Hurd of Westwell and Lord Robertson of Port Ellen do not call on Britain to take immediate action, but say that it should consider what adjustments to make to its stock of 200 warheads in the event of a "major multilateral disarmament".

Their appeal follows similar comments by senior American statesmen, including former National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn, a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who wrote that the world has reached a "nuclear tipping point" and must step back from the brink.

Free Speech Dies at the UN

The war against free speech is advancing rapidly: Associated Press reported Thursday that “Muslim countries have won a battle to prevent Islam from being criticised during debates by the UN Human Rights Council.” Council President Doru-Romulus Costea explained that religious issues can be “very complex, very sensitive and very intense…This council is not prepared to discuss religious matters in depth, consequently we should not do it.” Henceforth only religious scholars would be permitted to broach them.

“While Costea’s ban applies to all religions,” AP explained, “it was prompted by Muslim countries complaining about references to Islam.” The ban came after a heated session on Monday, when the representative of the Association for World Education (AWE), in a joint statement with the International Humanist and Ethical Union, denounced female genital mutilation, the penalty of stoning for adultery and child marriage as sanctioned by Islamic law. Egypt, Pakistan and Iran angrily protested, interrupting the AWE speaker, David Littman, with no less than 16 points of order, and succeeding in getting the Council’s proceedings suspended for over half an hour. In the course of this contentious discussion, the representatives from the Islamic countries made numerous revealing statements – statements that are well worth examining as Islamic nations and organizations call with increasing insistence for restrictions on free speech in the West.

Obama's Callous Indifference

I began to dislike Obama when I discovered that while in the Illinois state legislature in 2002, he voted against the Induced Birth Infant Liability Act. The bill was designed to extend the same medical care to babies who happen to survive an abortion attempt as is enjoyed by all babies born alive.

I couldn't believe anyone would vote against such a bill. In fact, when a similar measure-- the Born Alive Infant Protection Act-- was brought before the U.S. Senate, not one Senator voted against it. Even NARAL Pro-Choice America didn't oppose the bill.

Obama works to mobilize 'Christian left'

As part of his outreach to evangelical voters, the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee will tour the Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio, on Tuesday and give an address on how he plans to builda "real" partnership between faith-based organizations and the White House if he becomes president.

Obama's outreach to evangelical voters has also included private summits with pastors, an effort to reach out to young evangelicals and a fundraiser with the Matthew 25 political action committee. It describes itself as a group of moderate evangelicals, Catholics and Protestants committed to electing the Illinois Democrat president.

Guantánamo Detainee Faces War Crimes Charges in Attack on Destroyer

A Pentagon official announced war crimes charges Monday against a detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, suspected of helping to plan the attack on the Navy
destroyer Cole in 2000 that killed 17 American sailors.

Military prosecutors said they were seeking the death penalty against the detainee, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi who has long been described by American officials as Al Qaeda’s operations chief in the Persian Gulf and the primary planner of the October 2000 attack on the Cole.

AL QAEDA'S PLAN B
FAILURES PROMPT NEW IDEAS FOR TERROR FROM THE SHADOWS

NO one should feel safe without submitting to Islam, and those who refuse to submit must pay a high price. The Islam ist movement must aim to turn the world into a series of "wildernesses" where only those under jihadi rule enjoy security.

These are some of the ideas developed by al Qaeda's chief theoretician, Sheik Abu-Bakar Naji, in his new book "Governance in the Wilderness" (Edarat al-Wahsh).
...
All five circles are at an impasse, says Naji. Some accept the status quo while hoping to reform it. Others have tried to set up governments in a world dominated by "infidel" powers, and have been forced to abandon Islamic values. Still others failed because they didn't realize that the only way to win is through total war in which no one feels safe. [emphasis mine--Amanda]

You want hope? Forget Obama. Hope in the Lord:

Psalm 25
Of David.
1[a] To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
18 Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!

Magnitude 5.0 - ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
Quakes of moderate intensity hit Andaman islands in 12 hours

Magnitude 5.5 - WESTERN XIZANG

Magnitude 5.4 - OFFSHORE CHIAPAS, MEXICO

Magnitude 3.9 - CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
4.3-magnitude quakes strikes Mammoth Lakes area

Magnitude 5.4 - OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

Magnitude 6.0 - PRIMOR'YE, RUSSIA

Magnitude 7.0 - EAST OF THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS
Magnitude 5.6 - EAST OF THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS
Strong quake rattles South Sandwich Islands

Magnitude 4.4 - GREECE

Magnitude 5.0 - WEST CHILE RISE

Magnitude 6.2 - SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS

Magnitude 4.3 - NEVADA

One Wild, Wild Day on Wall Street
Stocks Zig, Zag On the First Day of a New Quarter; Very Erratic Trading Today

Shortly before the close, the Dow Jones industrial average, down more than 150 points earlier, rose 17.43, or 0.15 percent, to 11,367.44, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.07, or 0.24 percent, to 1,283.07, and the Nasdaq composite was up 8.91, or 0.39 percent, to 2,301.89.

***

Anglican Church offshoot founded by traditionalists in Jerusalem

A new church representing almost half of the world's 80 million Anglicans has been officially formed, posing a serious challenge to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The organisation created by traditionalists - called the Gafcon movement after the Global Anglican Future Conference which led to its creation - will retain ties with Dr Rowan Williams and will technically remain within the global Anglican Communion.

But it is also likely to lead to orthodox Anglicans severing all links with the main churches in America and Canada, whose liberal leaders are blamed for sparking the current crisis by breaking with the Bible's teaching and by consecrating openly gay clergy and blessing gay "marriages".

The movement's leaders will include at least two Church of England bishops as well as the heads of leading African, South American and Australian churches, and it is said to represent 35 million worshippers worldwide and so spell an end to the "colonial" domination of Canterbury.

Conservative Anglicans form global network

The 300 bishops and archbishops, who attended the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem, the meeting that led to Foca's inception, have denied wanting to split from the Anglican Communion. A formal schism would involve tortuous legal procedures over the ownership of churches and other properties.

However, they revealed plans for a new "primates council" comprising senior bishops and archbishops who had attended the Jerusalem summit.

In a statement they said: "While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury."

Global Anglican Future Conference issues final statement
June 29, 2008
[Episcopal News Service] The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) issued the following statement at the conclusion of its June 22-29 meeting in Jerusalem. More than 1,000 conservative Anglicans, including 280 bishops, participated in GAFCON.

The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which was held in Jerusalem from 22-29 June 2008, is a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received
it. The movement is global: it has mobilised Anglicans from around the world. We are Anglican: 1148 lay and clergy participants, including 291 bishops representing millions of faithful Anglican Christians. We cherish our Anglican heritage and the Anglican Communion and have no intention of departing from it. And we believe that, in God's providence, Anglicanism has a bright future in obedience to our Lord's Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to build up the church on the foundation of biblical truth (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:20).

GAFCON is not just a moment in time, but a movement in the Spirit, and we hereby:

launch the GAFCON movement as a fellowship of confessing Anglicans
publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of the fellowship
encourage GAFCON Primates to form a Council.

Remaking Anglicanism
In Jerusalem, conservatives stage an ecclesiastical coup.

Immediately in advance of the gathering, conservative church leaders issued a pamphlet entitled “The Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In it, they assert that on issues of sexuality the collective decisions by primates, as the leaders of the 38 Anglican provinces are known, have been “ignored” and conservatives “derided” and “demonized” by the U.S. Episcopal Church. “There is no longer any hope, therefore, for a unified communion,” the document proclaims.

GAFCON attendees have been reticent to use the word schism — they prefer “broken.” But this seems a preference without distinction. Most of those at GAFCON are boycotting the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade gathering on doctrinal matters — deemed “an instrument of unity” in Anglican theology — which will be held next month in Canterbury, the ancient seat of the Church of England. One of the pamphlet’s authors, the Oxford theologian Rev. Roger Beckwith, says that the move puts Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury and nominal head of the global communion, “in an impossible position.”

Archbishop of Canterbury hits out at breakaway Anglicans

The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday accused rebel Anglicans who have launched a breakaway faction within the global communion of lacking legitimacy, authority and, by implication, integrity.

Breaking his silence over the threat to the unity of the 77 million-strong communion, Dr Rowan Williams warned leaders of the conservative coalition that "demolishing existing structures" was not the answer to their concerns.

The Church of England faces further upheaval on a second front, with a group of clergy and bishops threatening to defect over the issue of women bishops.

More than 1,300 clergy and 11 bishops have written (pdf) to Williams to say that the prospect of female bishops had left them "thinking very hard about the way ahead"

.

***

It boils down to this: I believe we are going to see this kind of "split/realignment" throughout every denomination, and throughout unaligned Christians as the clock continues to wind down. At first, I think we will see three "groups" arise, spreading across all Christendom.

1) those who hold that the Bible is the inspired, reliable word of God and we should look to it as the source of knowledge of God.
2) those who believe the Bible is somewhat inspired, but fallible, and unreliable, and is one of the best ways to know about God. Are somewhat hesitant about interfaith movements.
3) those who think the Bible may be somewhat inspired, and is a good source of wisdom, but is by no means the only way to know about God. Are the ones pushing for interfaith conferences.

As both God and the Adversary ramp up the spiritual war, the third group will become more and more wrapped up in doctrine opposed to the Bible, and will begin to attack the first group. The second group will be forced off the fence. On Judgment day there will be only sheep and goats.


And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.--Jos 24:15