"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

JESUS LOVES YOU....!!!!!!!!

If you are not saved,would you consider today to think about the sacrifice Jesus Christ did at the Cross of Calvary,paying for your sins-a debt you couldn't pay- to save your soul?

He is at the door of your heart and is knocking...He has been knocking more than once in the past but you didn't want to think about getting straight with God.Well NOW is the Time...May be you WON"T HAVE A TOMORROW.Is not that I'm desiring your death is that something may happen to you and you will go to eternity,either to Heaven or Hell.

There is no middle station,there is no purgatory,there is no never ending cicle of life,there is no such a thing as making yourself one with the Universe.After death,says the Bible, there are only two ways your soul may go.And if you haven't received the Gift of Eternal Life yet and you die tonite,your soul is going to Hell,for eternity.

Hell is real,is not this earth.Is a place that was not originally thought for people but for satan and his demons.But is the place of eternal damnantion where those that are not saved by the blood of the Lamb(JesusChrist) go.A place of eternal 24/7 torment unthinkable.God doesn't send anybody there.We with our God given free will choose and decide our eternal future.People go to hell out of their own choice of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ,and deciding to remain unrepentful of their sins and deciding to turn their backs on God.

God doesn't force anybody to go to Heaven.He calls people thru the Holy Ghost.Some respond to His wowings,some others not.

It's not enough with being a good person and doing good deeds to enter Heaven.All those things are commendable and will have their reward.But Hell is full of good well intentioned people that never repented of their sins or decided to live a surrendered life for God.

The Lord is knocking at the door of your heart tonite and showing you two ways:a broad way that leads to eternal damnation and a narrow way that leadeth to LIFE ETERNAL.

He Will love you either way,even when you reject Him He still loves you.

The choice is yours.Repent,ask forgiveness for your sins and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to be you Saviour and Lord,and He will give you eternal Life...

If you decide for LIFE would you please let me know...?

If you choose DEATH,I'll continue to pray for you that somewhere along the road you will consider LIFE in JESUS for ever.

God Bless You

As in the days of Noah....

In the age of the Internet, Korean shamans regain popularity

SEOUL: Yang Soon Im says she has been communicating with the spirits of mountains and ancient warriors since she was seven. But it was only 25 years ago, she said, when her son miraculously survived a knife wound, that she felt she had no choice but to become the spirits' full-time channel with the living-a mudang, or shaman."I found her sitting on the roof chanting at 4 a.m.," her husband, Choi Jong Sam, 62, said. "She was puffing away at four packs of cigarettes. She said her mountain gods had saved our son in a sort of bargain. I slapped her face to help her get her wits back."Then her eyes blazed like those of a wild dog about to bite a man."The deal Yang struck with her spirits eventually paid off in other ways. Now 60, she is one of the most sought-after shamans in Seoul - a leading member of a profession that has survived centuries of ridicule and persecution and is now enjoying a seemingly incongruous revival in one of the world's most technologically advanced countries.
Seoul is among the most relentlessly modern cities of Asia, with high-speed Internet and plasma TV sets. But an estimated 300 shamanistic temples nestle in hills less than an hour from the city center, and the clamorous ceremony known as gut (pronounced "goot") is a daily routine. The shamans offer a pig to placate the gods. They dance with toy guns to comfort the spirit of a dead child. They intimidate evil spirits by walking barefoot on knife blades...
To read more go to:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/06/news/shaman.php
PS:In this article is siad that christian missionaries in the past have "demonized" shamans...On the contrary I think the ones dealing with demons(evil spirits)are the shamans.That's the truth.Shamans have always been there,and this "heritage" has perpetuated somehow thru the ages.They need Jesus as much as any other person.One other thing is true,this shaman lady is part of a worldwide revival of the occult,that will preceed the Coming Back of the Lord Jesus Christ.Is not my invention,you can see it everywhere.
As in the days of Noah....

BIG BROTHER WATCH:Court gives Bush win on surveillance

WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court yesterday reversed a district court ruling that President Bush's warrantless surveillance program was illegal,delivering a major victory to the administration in one of the most significant constitutional disputes to arise in the war on terrorism.By a 2-to-1 vote, an appeals court in Cincinnati ruled that a group of plaintiffs, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, had no legal standing to challenge the National Security Agency's surveillance program. Because the decision to dismiss the case was based on that legal technicality, the court did not take a position on the legality of the program.Still, the decision erased the only judicial repudiation of the White House's claim that Bush has the wartime power to bypass a law that forbids the government from eavesdropping on Americans' phone calls and e-mails without a judge's permission. Last August, a federal district judge in Detroit had ruled that the warrantless spying program was illegal and must be shut down.Moreover, yesterday's decision bolstered the administration's position in this and similar cases that any courtroom discussions of the program would jeopardize "state secrets," and so lawsuits challenging the program must be dismissed-an argument that the district judge in Detroit had rejected in her ruling last summer."We are pleased with the Court's decision today, which confirms that plaintiffs in this case cannot seek to expose sensitive details about the classified and important Terrorist Surveillance Program," said Brian Roehrkasse , a Justice Department spokesman.ACLU legal director Steve Shapiro called the ruling "deeply disappointing.""As a result of today's decision, the Bush administration has been left free to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Congress adopted almost 30 years ago to prevent the executive branch from engaging in precisely this kind of unchecked surveillance," he said.
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....

Radiation-Monitoring Stations Set Up at Russian Borders

Washington-The United States, in close cooperation with Russia, is spending billions of dollars to account for and secure Russian nuclear materials to keep the world safe from acts of nuclear terrorism.During the Cold War, it would have been difficult to imagine two nuclear superpowers cooperating on such a sensitive issue.But Russia and the United States have been working together since 1998 to put radiation sensors at key transit points-Russian ports, boarder crossings, international airports and key train and road intersections.During a June trip to Kazakhstan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Rood said trafficking in nuclear materials remains a global problem.“We continue to see nuclear smuggling incidents occur with some regularity,” he said. “While most involved material that would not be useable for a nuclear weapon, some are particularly concerning.”“We live in a dangerous and unpredictable world,” William Tobey, deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, said.“Prevention plays an important role in our nonproliferation strategy.”Tobey, who works for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, said the United States has had “a long track record of successful cooperation” with Russia and former Soviet bloc nations.His agency has worked closely with Russia to account for and secure its nuclear materials.Tobey said these activities are on track, and, in some cases, well ahead of schedule. But the issue remains of what to do about nuclear material that might be undocumented and untracked from the time before those efforts got under way; a legitimate concern given the size of the former Soviet Union’s weapons arsenal.
By the end of 2007, the two nations will have deployed nearly 200 fixed-portal radiation monitors and hand-held wands.The NNSA and Russia’s Federal Custom Service have galvanized the effort.The strategy is to detect what illicit material might be outgoing, but also what might be brought into Russia as a transit point to another destination.
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....

NUCLEAR ATTACK WATCH:Radioactive Devices Missing in Canada

TORONTO-The Canadian government agency tracking radioactive devices that could be used by terrorists gave four different answers in the past two weeks when asked how many are missing until finally settling Friday on 32.The confusion has raised questions about how closely the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is keeping tabs on items that experts say could be used to make a dirty bomb.The commission initially said it knew of just one wayward device in the last few years, but after being challenged, the number climbed days later to 27 since 2002.The commission said this week that 40 gauges, medical tools and other radioactive devices lost in the last five years are still missing, but it revised the figure Friday to 32.Commission spokesman Max London says the number has fluctuated because officials followed up with the companies that reported losing them and found that some have been retrieved."I received a revised report of what's confirmed is still missing and my count is 32. They've been taking a real hard look at the list," said London, who added that most of the devices were stolen from a vehicle or stolen along with the car, truck or trailer. "We see no pattern that thefts are targeting the gauges."Some 3,200 Canadian license holders, from engineering firms to blood banks, use tens of thousands of sealed radioactive devices in their work.Of the 32 devices they say are still missing, the commission classified 10 as posing a medium safety risk at the time they were lost. The others were considered low risk.The Canadian Press news agency first challenged the commission's initial responses after compiling its own database of more than six dozen items-from measuring gauges to electron-capture detectors - that have been lost or stolen, according to the commission's library of incident reports. Those documents were obtained under Canada's Access to Information Act.The varying figures emerged as anti-terrorism experts and emergency responders warned that even low-level nuclear materials found in gauges, dials and other equipment could be turned into a crude radiological device or dirty bomb.Rami Jammal, head of nuclear substance regulation for the safety commission, acknowledged it has been a challenge to keep tabs on the gauges, irradiators and other equipment containing potentially harmful materials."Unfortunately the world has changed," he said. "You are as strong as your weakest link."Wesley Wark, a security expert at the University of Toronto, said the commission's inability to monitor its own inventory is alarming and unprofessional."The fact that these devices are going missing in these quantities just underscores what I think people in the business know: We haven't yet arrived at a way to fully lock down this material," Wark said.The commission offered to recheck its numbers when it was pointed out that Inspec-Sol, a Montreal engineering firm, confirmed it lost six gauges to thieves between 2004 and 2006.The gauges are used when inspecting soil or other materials for radioactivity.Just one device used to measure soil density was recovered, said Inspec-Sol Vice President Francois Cote.The company was penalized with more visits from federal inspectors and an undisclosed increase in the price for renewing its nuclear permit.Four of the five thefts involved employee vehicles stolen with gauges locked in trunks, Cote said. Workers have been repeatedly urged to return such equipment to storage sites at the end of the day instead of keeping them in their cars.In October, police in Thetford Mines, Quebec, blocked roads in and out of town trying to find a car stolen from the parking lot of a pharmacy while an Inspec-Sol worker was inside the store. A radioactive soil-moisture gauge was locked in the trunk.Police warned the public against tampering with the potential hazard. It was never found.In another case, an employee's car was located, but not the missing gauge.Cote says Inspec-Sol has spent thousands of dollars to notify the public about missing devices, offer rewards and step up security and training."But even if you improve, a car can still be stolen," Cote said.A radioactive darkroom truck stolen in April 2002 from the driveway of a Canspec Group employee in Kitchener, Ontario, is still missing.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-na/2007/jul/06/070604239.html
As in the days of Noah....

Crop Circle Puzzles Switzerland Residents

Switzerland residents were puzzled this weekend by the discovery of a fresh crop circle, according to Swiss news Web site 24heures.ch.The circle, roughly 66 yards wide, was discovered by a Swiss army pilot in the northwestern town of Payerne, in a corn field just outside of the military base there.
Click here to read the Swiss news report.
After making the discovery, the pilot, Francois Blanchoud, reportedly asked his father, Pierre-a specialist in unexplained phenomena-to take a flight with him to look it over.And Pierre reportedly said the crop circle is "authentic."
“The work is huge," he told the Web site."It is not humanly possible."The owner of the field said he will harvest the corn in 10 days, but the circle will remain because he will not collect the flattened corn.
As in the days of Noah...

PA officials smuggled $52 million in U.S. aid

JERUSALEM-Mahmoud Dahlan, a strongman of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, and one of Dahlan's top associates pocketed $52 million in foreign aid-mostly assistance monies from the U.S. meant to bolster Fatah against Hamas, sources in the PA Finance Ministry told WND today.Dahlan used part of the American aid to invest in construction efforts in Dubai, the PA sources said.The information comes as the U.S. is poised to send millions more in financial aid to bolster Abbas' militias in the West Bank against Hamas there.Sources in Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad's office told WND upon recently checking the accounts in which about $60 million in U.S. aid was deposited, Fayyad was shocked to learn only $7 million remained.The sources said a Finance Ministry investigation determined Dahlan smuggled $27 million and Dahlan's no. 2, Rashid Abu Shabak, former chief of the Palestinian Security Services, smuggled $25 million into their own accounts. Dahlan and Shabak were two of only a handful of Fatah officials who had access to the PA accounts in which American aid was stored. Both officials fled the Gaza Strip prior to Hamas takeover of the territory and all U.S.-backed Fatah security compounds there last month.According to the Finance Ministry sources speaking to WND, there is evidence Dahlan used some of the smuggled aid to invest in construction efforts in Dubai and also for the construction of a building there for his own personal use.The officials said the vast majority of aid smuggled by Dahlan and Shabak came from the U.S. They said about $2 million was provided by Saudi Arabia.The report of smuggled U.S. aid comes as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced in recent weeks the U.S. will resume "full assistance to the Palestinian government," lifting an economic and political embargo against the Palestinian government enacted after Hamas came to power in March 2006.
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....

Pope Benedict pushes through Latin Mass revival move

POPE Benedict, in a decree issued yesterday, authorised wider use of the old Latin Mass and told the world's 1.1 billion Catholics that his nod to traditionalists was nothing to be afraid of.In a letter to bishops, the German-born Pontiff rejected criticism within the Church that his long-awaited move could split Catholics and roll back the clock on reforms introduced in the 1960s, and which are opposed by many traditionalists.The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) replaced Latin with local languages in the liturgy, reached out to other religions and struck texts-which may now stage a comeback-that Jews found particularly offensive.
“This fear is unfounded,” the Pope said in the letter.“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.”Catholics around the world will have the Pope's blessing to request their local priest to celebrate Mass in Latin - and even get baptised or married according to the old Latin rite.If the priest refuses, they can appeal to their bishop who, the Pope said, “is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes”. If still unsuccessful, they can go all the way to the Vatican.
Previously, local bishops had the power to authorise or deny use of the Latin mass.The Pope said his intention was to reconcile with traditionalists, some of whom were so angered by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council that they broke from the Church, causing the first schism of modern times.The traditionalists' major flag-bearer is the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), founded by the late French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and which claims about one million members.“It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church,” the Pope said. “Looking back over the past, to the divisions ... not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation or unity.”
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....

NASA looking in wrong places for alien life

EXTRATERRESTRIAL life may well be so weird we would not immediately recognise it, space experts said yesterday.Scientists looking for alien life should be seeking the unfamiliar as well as the familiar, they said.NASA's current approach to "follow the water" is logical assuming alien life is comparable to that on Earth-based on water, carbon and DNA-but the "life as we know it" approach could easily miss something exotic, the US National Academy of Sciences panel advised. "The purpose of this whole report was to be able to look for life on other planets and moons with an open mind ... and not maybe miss some other life form because we are looking for some obvious life form," said John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle, who chaired the committee.The US space agency commissioned the report from the National Research Council.
The panel of biochemists, planetary scientists, geneticists and other experts considered all possible ways life can arise and exist.Recent discoveries of extremophiles-organisms living in conditions of heat, cold and dark and using chemicals once thought incompatible with life-have changed ideas of where life can survive.Prof Baross said lab experiments also showed water did not necessarily have to be the basis for life. It might be possible for a living organism to use methane, ethane, ammonia or even more bizarre chemicals."We had some discussion about how weird to make this because there are so many concepts out here."There are so many theories about what life is and what could be a living system."NASA and other groups are looking hard for extraterrestrial life. Telescopes search for spectral signatures from other planets that might suggest water is on the surface. Robots on Mars are seeking evidence of water, past or present.
"We wanted to actually think outside of that box a little bit and at least try to articulate some of the other possibilities besides water-carbon life."They suggested NASA should return to some of the more promising places in our own solar system to look for evidence of life, such as Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus, and even steamy Venus.
As in the days of Noah...

PESTILENCE WATCH:Hospitals packed in flu scare

HUNDREDS of concerned parents have packed hospital emergency departments across Perth following an influenza warning from health authorities after the deaths of three young children.Their action was prompted by a call from Western Australia's Department of Health urging parents to seek early medical attention for young children showing signs of respiratory illness.
Local GPs were also swamped and complained they had not been given enough warning to prepare for the higher demand on their services.The health department's warning followed the death of three children, all aged under five, in the Perth metropolitan area in recent days.It has been confirmed the three children died from the type A strain of the influenza virus, which can be controlled by vaccination.Director of Communicable Disease Control Paul Van Buynder said there was no need for panic, as it was suspected the three young victims also had a secondary bacterial infection.However, this was yet to be confirmed by the coroner.But Dr Van Buynder said it was still wise for parents to closely monitor their children and to have them vaccinated against flu if possible.“We are saying to parents that if your child is unwell or feverish, have a lower threshold for seeking care,” Dr Van Buynder said.“But certainly there shouldn't be any need to panic over some sort of new killer virus or anything like that.”Family doctors in Perth lamented not being given sufficient notice to bring in extra staff to cope with higher demand over the weekend.“We've been contacted by general practitioners who have said they would have preferred to have been contacted before the health department issued its message through the media,” Professor Geoff Dobb, WA president of the Australian Medical Association (AWA), said.Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) spokeswoman Robyn Lawrence said the hospital had been inundated since the warning was issued.“We have been very busy yesterday after the public announcement,” Dr Lawrence told Ten News.“We saw 237 patients yesterday, which was an increase of 60 per cent compared to the previous Friday.”In NSW, health authorities remained confident there would be no outbreak of severe flu on the east coast.
Director of Communicable Diseases at NSW Health, Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the annual flu season had arrived in NSW but there was no data to suggest anything more serious than usual.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22037493-421,00.html
As in the days of Noah....

Pope restores Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue

Vatican City (ICNS): The Pope has reestablished the autonomy of the Pontifical Council for Inter Religious Dialogue. The present chief of the Vatican Archives and Library Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran will be its new head.The restoration of the Council is being seen as Pope Benedict XVI’s “desire to increase dialogue with other religions, most notably Islam.” The council was previously merged with the Pontifical Council for Culture.“But the Pope appears to have decided that this is not conducive to better dialogue,” observers feel.Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran succeeds Cardinal Paul Poupard, who will remain president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.Born in Bordeaux France, Cardinal Tauran, 64, will assume his new post in September.He was ordained a priest in 1969 and called to Rome in 1973, where he attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and the Pontifical Gregorian University.He entered the Vatican's diplomatic service in 1975 and was assigned to the Dominican Republic, where he remained until 1979, when he was transferred to Lebanon.He remained in Lebanon until 1983 when he was called Rome.In 1988, he was designated undersecretary of what is now the Secretariat of State's Section for Relations with States, a post he held until 1990 when he was appointed secretary of the section.He was ordained a bishop in 1991 and elevated to cardinal in 2003.
As in the days of Noah...

PESTILENCE WATCH:HIV Spreading at Rapid Rate in Indonesia's Papua Province

The Indonesian minister of welfare, Aburizal Bakrie, says the new report shows the incidence of HIV and AIDS is increasing sharply in Papua, one of Indonesia's poorest provinces.He says the report should be taken as a big warning to the government, which needs to make a cohesive effort to handle the spread of the disease.The report, which was funded by the World Bank, the U.S. government, and U.S. nonprofit Family Health International, found nearly half of the residents of Papua had never heard of HIV/AIDS.This is not surprising as Papua province lies on a remote, mountainous island with little infrastructure and few schools and hospitals.Many people do not have access to television or radio, which makes it hard to obtain health care information.The report recommended that more money be spent on education programs and on making condoms readily available to help stop the spread of the disease.The report said the very low level of condom use in Papua was linked to availability. Only about 17 percent of the people in Papua say it is easy to get condoms, which can help protect people from sexually transmitted diseases.Nafsiah Mboi, the chairwoman of Papua Task Force on the National AIDS Commission, says AIDS education programs must be taken to remote communities.She says efforts must be made to educate people on risky behavior along with community-based health awareness programs.The government estimates nearly 200,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, which has a population of around 225 million. According to the latest AIDS report, about 40,000 of those with HIV are in Papua, which has a population of just over two million.
As in the days of Noah....

First gay candidate runs in Japan

TOKYO, Japan.-Japan's first openly lesbian politician hopes running for parliament will raise awareness of gay rights in a society so conservative that many prefer to stay in the closet.
Kanako Otsuji, 32, who is backed by the main opposition Democratic Party, would become the first openly gay national politician of either sex if she wins a seat in parliament's upper house in a poll expected in July.Otsuji, who served as a local legislator in the western city of Osaka for four years until April, said her decision to become a politician was inspired by the pain and isolation of the five years it took her to accept that she was a lesbian."In Japan, you cannot say you are a lesbian," she told a news conference on Wednesday."There are no lesbians among famous TV stars or other celebrities, so I didn't think there were any in this country at all, and this filled me with doubt," she said of the struggle for self-acceptance that began when she was 18."I decided to become a politician to change society, to deliver the message that we aren't ashamed to be what we are."If she becomes a lawmaker, Otsuji said she wants to fight to create laws that promote a more diverse society and prohibit discrimination, including against sexual minorities.Elected to the Osaka legislature in 2003, Otsuji helped change laws to make it easier for same-sex couples to rent public housing. She also fought unsuccessfully last year to keep a Japanese city from amending a rare law that had explicitly banned discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.Otsuji came out as a lesbian in 2005. In her autobiography, "Coming Out: a Journey to Find My True Self," she said: "I thought I could give courage to the most people this way."
Her constituents seemed not to mind, but she decided not to run again in April because a revision of legislative districts had reduced her chances of winning.She was officially recognized as a Democratic candidate last month, a decision that faced opposition from some in the party who feared they would lose conservative votes.Japanese media are taking sexual minority issues more seriously these days, but social acceptance remains limited and gays are still often shown as comic relief."The real issue is whether policy makers will acknowledge the growing diversity in Japanese society-whether Japan will be a nation that affirms differences, or rejects them," Otsuji said.
As in the days of Noah...

PA Children Learn That Death is Preferable to Life

In a bulletin released on Tuesday, Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook of the Palestinian Media Watch organization, report on a Palestinian Authority journalist who wrote about the "death culture" in Gaza. Contrary to the implication of the PA journalist's article, however, the PMW analysts point out that the yearning for death is not limited to Hamas and has been inculcated primarily by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah organization. The PA journalist, Ghassan Zaqtan, wrote in the June 18 edition of the PA's Al-Ayyam newspaper: "We knew that they would do it, especially in Gaza, where a mother brushes her young son's hair at 7:00, so that he will be killed at 7:30, and where the children learn that death is preferable to life! We knew that they would do this, it was clear to us: with language overflowing with the rhetoric of death and the norms of killing, in the religious rulings [fatwas] and in Friday and holiday sermons.""The journalist's critical mistake," Marcus and Crook write, "is that he seems to attribute the death culture only to Hamas, whereas it has been the Fatah leadership and its educational initiatives that still actively teach that death is preferable to life."The PMW directors go on to quote a 2002 PA schoolbook written under Fatah auspices: "O heroes, Allah has promised you victory.... Do not talk yourselves into flight.... Your enemies seek life while you seek death. They seek spoils to fill their empty stomachs while you seek a Garden [Paradise] as wide as are the heavens and the earth. Do not be anxious to meet them [enemies], for death is not bitter in the mouth of the believers. These drops of blood that gush from your bodies will be transformed tomorrow into blazing red meteors that will fall down upon the heads of your enemies." (Reading and Texts Part II, Grade 8 (2002), p. 16) PMW also notes a statement made by the Director of the Palestinian Children's Aid Association, Firial Hillis, on PA television in May 2003, in which she admits that PA schools indoctrinate to love self-immolation in order "to meet... God." Hillis said: "The concept of shahada for him [the child] means belonging to the homeland, from a religious point of view. Sacrifice for his homeland. Achieving shahada in order to reach Paradise and to meet his God. This is the best. We also teach our children to protect the homeland, belonging and to reach shahada."Click to view video on YouTube or PMW website Another tool used by the Fatah-controlled PA media over the years to influence children to see death as an ideal has been music videos. Marcus and Crook note some examples: "In a video broadcast on Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority TV hundreds of times from 2001 to 2004, a young boy leaves a farewell letter to his parents and goes off to seek shahada, describing the death he achieves as 'sweet.' This PA clip is designed to offset a child's natural fear of death by depicting shahada as heroic and tranquil," the PMW directors explain. Click to view video on YouTube or PMW website "From 2000 to 2003," Marcus and Crook continue, "PA TV broadcast a music video depicting the delightful shahid paradise of Muhammad Al-Dura, who died in a crossfire. The child actor is shown flying a kite, frolicking on the beach and even at an amusement park. The clip opens with an invitation to other children from Al-Dura to aspire to death: 'I am waving to you not in parting, but to say "follow me."' This video directing children to follow Al-Dura to paradise as martyrs was suddenly broadcast again in June 2006, after Israeli troops had gathered at the border of the Gaza Strip after the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit." Click to view video on YouTube or PMW website "The result of such virulent PA indoctrination is apparent," Marcus and Crook conclude, "when listening to the interview on PA TV with two 11-year-old Palestinian girls talking about shahada and describing it as a primary ideal and personal goal. They explain that 'all Palestinian children' view shahada as more worthwhile than living, because of its promised grand Afterlife." Click to view video on YouTube or PMW website
(by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz -Israel National News)
As in the days of Noah...

CULTURE of DEATH:Doctors back 'easier' abortions

Doctors have called for a relaxation of the rules to allow women quicker access to abortions in early pregnancy.The British Medical Association conference backed a motion calling for abortions to be approved by just one doctor, rather than the current two.The call only covers terminations in the first trimester, effectively the first three months of pregnancy.
However, the Department of Health said there were no plans to modify the current legislation. The vote at the conference in Torquay-passed by 67% to 33%-effectively means doctors want abortion to be carried out on an "informed consent" basis-assuming that one doctor explaining the pros and cons is enough.This would make it as easy to obtain as other treatments.However, BMA representatives rejected proposals to allow nurses and midwives to carry out terminations. The 1967 Abortion Act currently requires women to satisfy two doctors that carrying on with the pregnancy represents a risk to their health.But doctors said advances in medicine meant it was now riskier to carry on with a pregnancy than to have a first trimester termination, so all women met the criteria.Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris, also a member of the BMA, proposed the changes to the conference.He said: "Why on earth should women seeking termination-often distressed and anxious-be faced with irrational barriers?"Abortions before the nine-week mark can be done using drugs, rather than surgically...
To read more go to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6242382.stm
PS:This is sickening....
As in the days of Noah...

Church Leader: Emerging Church Dangers Go Far Beyond 'Style Issues'

John MacArthur says most Christians are not aware of the dangers posed by the "emergent church" movement. The Christian author and pastor says the underlying theology of the movement goes against scripture.In his new book The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an age of Deception, MacArthur says the battle for truth, according to God's Word, is a battle that must be fought by Bible-believing Christians. MacArthur says while the emergent church talks of reaching people by appealing to the culture, emergent church leaders do not have a high regard for the unchanging truth of God's Word.However, MacArthur says most Christians are not aware of the problems associated with that. "Most Christians would see the emerging church the way they see a lot of other movements that have come along-as a change in style," he says, adding, "I think that's the small subtlety of it. The style is basically an accommodation for the culture-sometimes at its very own level, its worst level."MacArthur says the root problem of the emergent church is far beyond style issues, because it actually rejects truth, doctrine, and theology-all of which, he says, are important. "If you have no doctrinal commitment, you're left with a kind of indescribable 'spirituality'-that's the buzzword; and that's mysticism," says the pastor. "That's essentially paganism; and they're beginning, of course, to read the mystics.
They're following a flow of sort of historical, quasi-Christian mysticism."MacArthur says Christians must rightly interpret and proclaim God's Word to a lost and dying world-and must beware of methods of the emerging church, whose leaders, he says, question biblical truth.
Source:Onenews.com
As in the days of Noah...

Israel braces for July war with up to five enemies

JERUSALEM-Israel is preparing for an imminent war with Iran, Syria and/or their non-state clients. Israeli military intelligence has projected that a major attack could come from any of five adversaries in the Middle East. Officials said such a strike could spark a war as early as July 2007.On Sunday, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that the Jewish state faces five adversaries in what could result in an imminent confrontation. Yadlin cited Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas and Al Qaida. "Each of these adversaries is capable of sparking a war in the summer," Yadlin was quoted as saying.[On Monday, Al Qaida's No. 2 Ayman Zawahiri endorsed the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported. The Al Qaida statement came after Zawahiri repeatedly criticized Hamas for tolerating Palestinian Authority cooperation with the United States.]Yadlin said Hamas could be planning a major attack to divert attention away from efforts by the Palestinian Authority to isolate the Gaza Strip. He said Syria might be promoting such an attack. Officials said Iran has direct influence over Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas. He said Al Qaida has increasingly come under Iranian influence and was being used by Iran and Syria in such countries as Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. Already, military intelligence has assessed that Hamas acquired more than 50 missiles with a range of 22 kilometers. Officials said this would allow Palestinian missile strikes on any part of Ashkelon, the largest city in southeastern Israel and which contains strategic sites. Hamas has also deployed at least 20 SA-7 anti-aircraft systems, officials said. They said the missiles threaten Israeli combat helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that conduct missions over the Gaza Strip. On Monday, Palestinian gunners continued missile fire into Israel. Hours earlier, the Israel Air Force struck an Islamic Jihad squad said to have been driving toward the northern Gaza Strip to launch missiles toward Israel. One Jihad operative was killed and two others were injured. Israeli military intelligence has assessed that Hamas was being quietly supported by neighboring Egypt. Officials said that despite Egypt's announced ban, Cairo has continued to allow Hamas leaders to enter the Sinai Peninsula from the Gaza Strip. Over the weekend, officials said, a Hamas delegation led by former PA Interior Minister Said Siyyam entered Sinai. They said the 15-member delegation was escorted by Egyptian security forces to Cairo for a flight to Damascus, where they were scheduled to meet Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Masha'al. On Monday, Egypt was scheduled to host a regional summit meant to support PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Israel, Jordan and Abbas were expected to attend the meeting in the Sinai resort town of Sharm e-Sheik.
As in the days of Noah...

Next Year Could You Just Get Him a Tie?

Today is President Bush's 61st birthday and while I would like to wish him a very happy birthday I might also suggest he look to exchange the "gift" his wife gave him a few days ago.In an interview with CNN this week, First Lady Laura Bush stated that condoms were "absolutely essential" and off camera reportedly told the interviewer that she had no problem if the Democratic Congress waives a key pro-abstinence legislative requirement.The requirement, which FRC strongly supports, says that 1/3 of monies set aside for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) must go to the successful abstinence-until-marriage programs in Africa. The First Lady's purported comments contrast sharply with her previous statement in support of the Administration's promotion of abstinence in fighting AIDS in Africa. "Abstinence is absolutely 100 percent effective in eradicating a sexually transmitted disease," the First Lady told a reporter this past January, "In a country or a part of the world where one in three people have a sexually transmitted deadly disease, you have to talk about abstinence."Condom distribution does little to combat the spread of many STD's and condom distribution programs are more designed to line the pockets of International Planned Parenthood than to prevent disease.If the First Lady wants to ensure that more people in Africa can celebrate happy birthdays alongside her husband, she should support the President's proven abstinence program.
(Tony Perkins-Washington UPDATE;FRC)
As in the days of Noah...

ENDLESS SCORCHER:Heat wave fuels Western wildfires

RENO, Nev.-As a heat wave made parched terrain even drier, wildfires dotted the West on Saturday, forcing authorities to evacuate homes and close highways and wilderness areas.
Hundreds of people in Winnemucca were ordered to leave their homes Saturday night because of an 8,000-acre wildfire, one of more than a dozen blazes that charred a combined 55 square miles in northern Nevada.A 100-mile stretch of Interstate 15 in central Utah was closed when a 160,000-acre wildfire jumped the highway, and other fires burned in California, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.The fire near Winnemucca, a town of 8,000 about 170 miles east of Reno, threatened up to eight blocks of homes and an electrical substation, said U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman Jamie Thompson."It's right up to the south edge of town," he said. "The fire definitely poses a danger to parts of the town. It's certainly got everyone's attention."The largest of the Nevada fires burned 36 square miles, or 23,000 acres, along the Idaho border, said Mike Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It was 10 percent contained Saturday, officials said. A firefighter was treated at and released from a hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho, with burns.Another fire blackened 11 square miles, or 7,000 acres, about five miles southwest of Carlin.It burned two mobile homes and several smaller structures, and shut down a section of Interstate 80 for six hours overnight, fire information officer Tracie Winfrey said. On Saturday morning, the fire was 40 percent contained.Yet another Nevada fire that was started by lightning Saturday threatened structures and led to the evacuation of campers about 30 miles south of Elko, officials said.The Utah fire, about 120 miles south of Salt Lake City, also forced the evacuations of Cove Fort and the Blundell Geo Thermal Power Plant, where it was threatening railroad lines, bridges and several homes, Color County Fire Information Officer LaCee Bartholomew said.Interst 70 was also closed in Richfield, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Steve Winward said.The fire, which has burned about 250 square miles, was triggered by lightning Friday afternoon and was pushed north and west Saturday by high winds, Bartholomew said. Fire crews had help from air tankers, but the heavy smoke was increasing the risk to those on the ground, she said.In California, more than 400 firefighters battled a blaze that has consumed 17,000 acres of the 2 million-acre Inyo National Forest east of Yosemite National Park, forest spokeswoman Nancy Upham said Saturday. Firefighters were searching for and evacuating hikers and backpackers on and near the popular trail to Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states.At least 200 people from the small town of Independence were evacuated, officials said, and a section of Highway 395, which runs along the eastern spine of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, was closed.
Campgrounds and a lodge had been evacuated, Upham said.In Southern California, a wildfire charred 6,300 acres of wilderness in the Los Padres National Forest, threatening campgrounds and ranches and the historic Manzana schoolhouse, a century-old wooden building.The fires have been fueled by an oppressive heat wave that has been felt throughout the region for days but has now eased a bit in places. Still, forecasters predicted little relief in the days ahead for a region where many cities have baked in triple-digit temperatures.In Idaho, residents of the Wood River Valley and Boise were warned they could see electrical failures in the middle of the heat wave. A wildfire damaged dozens of power poles on Friday and caused one to fall on a substation and destroy a transformer, said Jeff Beaman, a spokesman for Idaho Power.The damage could cause rotating outages, and residents were asked to reduce their power usage so the utility could meet demand, Beaman said.In Montana, it was even too hot to fish.Yellowstone National Park and state fisheries managers asked anglers starting Saturday not to fish on some Montana rivers between noon and 6 p.m. because of drought and scorching weather.Water temperatures in some lower-elevation rivers have reached 73 degrees in recent days, conditions that can stress and even kill fish, the National Park Service said Friday.Park officials hoped the voluntary restrictions would prevent mandatory closures later in the season.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070708/ap_on_re_us/wildfires
As in the days of Noah...

GAY AGENDA WATCH:School apologises to gay pupil

New Jersey-A New Jersey school district said it regretted ordering a picture of a male student kissing his boyfriend blacked out from all copies of a high school yearbook and said it apologised to the student.Andre Jackson, the student, said on Monday that he was disappointed that the Newark schools superintendent had not delivered the apology face-to-face and in public.Because of that, he said he did not accept it as sincere."I would accept an apology-a public apology," said Jackson, 18.
Jackson said he learned of the apology through the media.The district issued a statement on Monday saying it regretted the decision and that it would issue an unredacted version of the yearbook to any student of East Side High School who wants one."The decision was based, in part, on misinformation that Mr Jackson was not one of our students and our review simply focused on the suggestive nature of the photograph," the district said."Superintendent Marion A Bolden personally apologises to Mr Jackson and regrets any embarrassment and unwanted attention the matter has brought to him."District spokesperson Valerie Merritt said Bolden would meet with Jackson on Tuesday. But Steven Goldstein, chairperson of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, said Jackson had not heard from the district by 22:00 on Monday (02:00 GMT on Tuesday)."They don't have a meeting set up, it's not true," Goldstein said. "The school district hasn't contacted him. Whether they reach out to him on Tuesday remains to be seen."...
To read more go to:
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2136486,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

MORE LEWDNESS ON TV:Meet Lauren Jones: Bikini model, 'Anchorwoman'

What do you get when you drop the former Miss New York, also known as "America's sexiest bikini model," into a struggling TV newscast in the unrated market of Tyler, Texas?You get Fox's next reality series-"Anchorwoman."
Lauren Jones, whose career credits also include serving as a "World Wrestling Diva,"a soap star and one of Bob Barker's beauties on "The Price Is Right," is playing a new role right now – anchorwoman on KYTX-TV, a local CBS affiliate in Tyler.But it's not a real job or a permanent journalism position. It's part of a Fox Entertainment gimmick-laying the groundwork for the reality series debuting nationally Aug. 21. However, to make it even more interesting-and confusing-this is no joke to Jones. She says she has always wanted to be a broadcaster, her role models being Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric.
She may also be the only person working at KYTV who has a "consultant," Carole Propp. Propp contacted WND yesterday trying to line up an interview with columnist Pat Buchanan for her final show of the season on the Fox Network.Are you still following this?Needless to say, Jones' time at KYTV has initiated new debates about the credibility of journalism, especially broadcast news, as well and the blurring lines between news and entertainment in TV.So what is she going to interview Buchanan about?Not illegal immigration. Not the death of the West. Not the war in Iraq. She wants to interview the commentator about what he thinks of Fox's stunt-as well as his "general thoughts on the news of the day." ....
To read more go to:
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56373
PS:DO WE REALLY NEED MORE OF THIS ON TV?EVEN IF THIS IS A TEST???Truly a SIGN of the TIMES...!!!!
As in the days of Noah...

Wilderness almost non-existent

San Francisco - Humans have domesticated the planet to such a degree that few untouched spots remain, researchers report in a review article published in the journal Science. Earth is so tamed that conservationism should shift focus from protecting nature from humans to better understanding and managing a domesticated world, the authors said."There is no such thing as nature untainted by people," writes Peter Kareiva, chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, a US-based non-profit group.
"Facing this reality should change the scientific focus of environmental science.''As of 1995, only 17% of the world's land area remained truly wild-with no human populations, crops, road access or night-time light detectable by satellite, the authors reported.Half of the world's surface area is used for crops or grazing; more than half of all forests have been lost to land conversion; the largest land mammals on several continents have been eliminated; shipping lanes crisscross the oceans, according to the paper.
To read more go to:
http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2138462,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

SIGN of the TIMES:Indian babies laid to rest in filthy river

NEW DELHI, India-Within sight of Delhi's gleaming new metro train, Nawal Kishore slips the body of a baby into the waters of the Yamuna, one of the world's filthiest rivers.It's just another day at work for the 40-year-old man, who has been disposing of the bodies of three or four children, rich and poor, in the polluted waters of the Yamuna or in the equally dirty river bank every day for the past decade.Most Hindus cremate their dead, but crematoria across India usually turn away the corpses of babies and children under 3, citing a tradition which says they should either be buried or submerged in "holy" rivers.But last month, a court in the Indian capital New Delhi ordered authorities to stop the practice and told crematoria not to turn away corpses-apparently to little effect."I don't know how many babies I have put there, maybe thousands," said Kishore, pointing to the dirt-blackened, still waters of the Yamuna, which flows through east Delhi, soaking up the city's sewage and effluents, most of it untreated."I have heard about the court order ... but people are still coming," he said.Hindu scholars say there is nothing in the scriptures to oppose the cremation of babies, yet most parents still cling to a tradition which has grown up over centuries.The Indian capital, a city of 14 million, most of them Hindu, is getting a makeover as it prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010, with new flyovers being built, roads widened, and metro rail services extended to new areas.But the lack of a dignified burial ground for children underlines the shortage of civic amenities, activists say.The small patch of land by the river, covered with disheveled weeds and human and animal feces, is popularly known as "Bachchewala Ghat" or "child burial ground".Before Kishore, his father and grandfather did the same job."It's been our ancestral job," he said. "Our religion says that babies cannot be cremated. They have to be put in the river or buried. People come here from all over Delhi."
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...

UNBELIEVABLE:Robo-toilets proposed to stop 'gay' cruising

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle says his city has a problem with
"homosexual activity" in public restrooms and he has a plan to stop it-robotic toilets that allow occupants to stay inside for only a short time before the door automatically opens."We're trying to provide a family environment where people can take their children who need to use the bathroom without having to worry about a couple of men in there engaged in a sex act," Naugle told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.The $250,000 self-cleaning robo-johns have been installed in San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta and New York. The modular units play music and can be accessed for a fee or for free, depending on each city's policies. Fort Lauderdale police officials said male sex in public restrooms is no longer a problem, but Naugle insists the practice persists and has used recent public meetings and e-mails to constituents to raise the issue.Public restrooms are pickup places for "homosexuals. ...They're engaging in sex, anonymous sex, illegal sex," he said.Naugle said the proposed location for the city's first experimental unit is "the rainbow parking lot" at a local beach considered by some to be the area's "gay beach.""The homosexual newspaper said it's the 'gay parking lot.' That's not me saying that," Naugle told the Sun-Sentinel, "that's what they said. I don't use the word 'gay.' I use the word 'homosexual.' Most of them aren't gay. They're unhappy."
To read more go to:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56562
As in the days of Noah..

Respected Ministries Say OK to Contemplative J.P. Moreland

J. P. Moreland is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot (Biola) School of Theology.He has written numerous books and has spoken at over 200 colleges.He has many academic credentials and honors such as: Outstanding Young Men of America, 1981 and Senior Class Professor of the Year, Biola University, 1992-93. But Moreland has another credential that is not being discussed in evangelical circles-he promotes contemplative spirituality.Last year, in an article titled "Focus on the Family Continues its Dive into Contemplative," Moreland was discussed. On the FOF website, he wrote a four-part article titled "How Spiritual Disciplines Work." (1) Part III of Moreland's article is called Solitude and Silence as Spiritual Disciplines. Moreland writes a disclaimer for the article stating:As we dive into the disciplines of solitude and silence, I need to make a very important qualification. While some of the things in this article may, at first, sound like something you'd hear from a New Age guru, these ideas are, in fact, based on Scriptural principles and practices.Moreland is concerned that his instructions may sound New Age or Eastern. We have noticed that usually when something sounds New Age or Eastern, that's because it is. There is no instance in the Bible where Jesus or the apostle Paul made such a disclaimer, nor did they ever sound that way. In Part II of Moreland's article he says, "A spiritual discipline is a repetitive practice."Moreland favorably references contemplative-promoter Dallas Willard to describe the importance of silence and solitude. He adds: "People are coming to see that repeated bodily practice in the form of spiritual exercises/disciplines is at the heart of spiritual transformation " (Part II). Moreland says, "Catholic retreat centers are usually ideal for solitude retreats," which are bastions for contemplative spirituality.In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland addresses Moreland's instructions on repetitive prayer. Oakland quotes Moreland from his book The Lost Virtue of Happiness where Moreland tells readers to say the "Jesus Prayer" three hundred times a day. His new release, Kingdom Triangle, should be viewed with caution. Dallas Willard wrote the foreword, and in an Amazon book review, the reviewer states:
On page 159, Dr. Moreland encourages the reader to participate in an unbiblical form of meditation which is more akin to the religious practices of Yoga and Eastern mysticism than orthodox Biblical Christianity where he details a 2-step process first alluded to in the Lost Virtue of Happiness book. In step one, he tells the reader to "[f]ocus the center of your attention on your physical heart muscle."(2)Moreland recommends Richard Foster and Henri Nouwen, which makes sense - he co-authored a book with Dallas Willard ten years ago; thus, he has been dancing in contemplative circles for sometime.While it is quite obvious that Moreland is a promoter of contemplative prayer, what isn't so clear is how Christian ministries are viewing Moreland as a trustworthy source. For instance, in the recent Summit Ministries (Dr. David Noebel) student conference, Moreland was a featured speaker. (3) And in an apologetics book on the emerging church, Reclaiming the Center, Moreland was a contributing writer. That book is being recommended by Christian colleges, even ones that have in the past said no to contemplative, such as Corban College in Salem, Oregon. (4)Our concern is that contemplative spirituality will further seep into Christianity through the acceptance of Moreland's spiritual disciplines. The fact that he has spoken at over 200 colleges, shows that his audience is largely the younger generation. Corban College's promotion of his book as well as Summit's student conference are points in fact. Once again, Satan is going after the minds of the youth. But it is tragic when it happens through respected ministries. We pray and hope that Summit Ministries and Corban College will make clear statements to their students that Moreland's repetitive prayer instructions are unbiblical and dangerous.Some people might criticize us for discussing organizations like Summit and Corban in this article. But we are compelled to do so. Ministries that have not gone the contemplative way but have been reticent to strongly stand against it and speak out against it often have succumbed to it. If we truly believe that contemplative spirituality (i.e., mysticism) is the driving force behind a great falling away and world-wide spiritual seduction, then boldness is absolutely required, and to do less could have serious implications. Note: Lighthouse Trails has listed Corban College as a Christian college that does not promote spiritual formation (contemplative). You may view that list by clicking here.
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
As in the days of Noah...

PERSECUTION WATCH:Punjab: “dangerous” to say Jesus is Son of God

Faisalabad-It is dangerous to say that Christ is the Son of God because this declaration “hurts the feelings of many Pakistani Muslims” who “do not want to hear such things, even in Christian Churches”.This warning was delivered by some residents of Punjab to local Christian congregations who “should immediately stop their prayers to the supposed son of God”.It was Charles Hamilton, a Christian from Faisalabad, who told AsiaNews about this: “We believe in Jesus, Son of God. How can we renounce this belief? What’s more, if we bow to this request, not only will we go against our religious values, we will pave the way for more conditions to be imposed on us, which would destroy us.”Anti-Christian violence is on the rise in Pakistan: recently, a mob of about 40 Muslims attacked Christians when they were preparing for an evangelistic meeting organized by the Salvation Army Church.Despite police reassurances, the perpetrators (who injured seven people who had come for the meeting) have not been brought to book for the violence.All the same, there are also positive aspects in the relationship between the two communities.Faizur Rehman, one of the leaders of the Islamic community, apologized for the incidents targeting Christians. In a written document, Rehman said: “There will be no more denominational incidents and we apologise for what happened. Christians should feel secure in their faith.”
As in the days of Noah...

PERSECUTION WATCH:Attack against Protestant church in Samsun

Samsun-Turkey’s Black Sea coast continues to see attacks and threats against local Christians. In the city of Samsun (Atakum district) attackers vandalised a Protestant church this weekend, shattering the windows of the Agape Protestant Church’s and spray-painting its street sign early Sunday morning, the Compass Direct agency reports after talking to Pastor Orhan Picaklar, who is in charge of the local congregation.This attack is not the first of its kind. For the past three years, the congregation has suffered a dozen stoning attacks and weekly e-mail threats.The pastor said a note was left inside the church but that police refused to show him what was written on it, claiming that it “wasn’t important.” Samsun’s police chief later refused to include the note in the official investigation, stating that it had “nothing to do with this case.Regular vandalism, negative media and e-mail threats against the Agape church increased soon after the mayor of the city’s Atakum municipality, Adem Bektas, stated in November 2004 that he would never allow a church to be built there. However, a change in Turkey’s laws allowed the Samsun congregation to register officially as an association in November 2005 but did little to diminish social stigma attached to the church.Like in Trabzon, where Catholic priest Fr Andrea Santoro was killed a year ago, Samsun is a place where several violently nationalist and fanatically religious organisations exist.It is also the home town of the young murderer of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,Here, on July 2, 2006, fidei donum Catholic priest Fr Pierre Brunissen was wounded in a knife attack.Samsum’s Christian community is tiny, mostly foreign workers from former Soviet republics and a few Japanese.
As in the days of Noah....

Fifteen Iranian lawmakers call for an end to censorship

Tehran.-Following the increase in pressure on news sources inside Iran, 15 members of the Majlis (parliament) issued a statement calling on the minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance to remove “[a]ll pressures, threats, imitations and bottlenecks created for certain press, and publication, both electronic or otherwise”.In reporting this, Rooz mentioned that the limitations on news agencies, including the ILNA Labor News, initially came in the form of an announcement by the ministry about “authorized news sources”.Today, as the lawmakers point out, “[b]ased on documents and other evidence from the ministry [. . .], certain publications and news agencies have been put under pressure and bottlenecks created for them on fabricated excuses by imposing conditions for their operations, limiting their activities, and threats through written or verbal notices, forcing them to exercise various forms of censorship and withholding the publication of events by depriving them of some services and resources such as the limitations imposed on ILNA news agency.”
Limitations on official news sources began when a short news item appeared in Mehr, a news agency affiliated to the Islamic Propagation Organization (Sazeman-e Tablighat-e Eslami).
The note claimed that “most news reports [.. . .] referenced by human rights organizations that call on action against the Iran [sic], are those that come from the ISNA Student News agency and ILNA Labor News agency, both Iranian news sources.”After that the press deputy at the Ministry of Islamic Guidance announced that it was going clean up the news as well as news agencies.Even before any law was adopted, ILNA journalists were denied access to press conferences by Iranian President Ahmadinejad. Others were laid off, ostensibly to reduce staff costs. Still no one provided any explanation as to why staff reduction applied only to the reporters from the news agency’s political section.In concluding, the letter signed by 15 Majlis members, said: “Since the press and publications are free to express themselves within the confines of the law and no authority has the right to exert any pressure on them or force them into exercising censorship, it is appropriate that measures be taken to remove any such pressures and limitations.”
http://new.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9287
As in the days of Noah...

Settlement allows NJ high school students to acknowledge Day of Truth

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have agreed to dismiss a suit they filed on behalf of a New Jersey high school student who was told he and his Christian club could not promote the annual "Day of Truth."The dismissal came after school officials agreed to create a new student speech policy.Jason Aufiero filed suit in April after being repeatedly blocked by school officials from engaging in Day of Truth activities. After the filing, the Northern Highlands Regional High School Board of Education reversed its decision, agreeing to institute a written policy regarding the free-speech rights of students.Attorneys for Aufiero say he and club members had been blocked since the 2006 Day of Truth from participating in its observance at school, even though promotion of the yearly "Day of Silence"-sponsored locally by the Gay-Straight Alliance Club and nationally by the Gay,Lesbian, Straight Education Network-was allowed.The Board has now agreed to a new student speech policy that Aufiero's attorneys say allows Christian students the same First Amendment rights afforded every other student on campus-and that is why Alliance Defense Fund has dismissed the suit against the school.According to ADF, more than 7,000 students participated in this year's observance of the Day of Truth.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/07/settlement_allows_nj_high_school_students_to_acknowledge_day_of_truth.php
As in the days of Noah....

Religious Freedom under Tight Control

Baku (AsiaNews)Azerbaijan's authorities manage religious affairs by putting tight controls on religious freedom, an approach that includes using a benevolent carrot and a coercive stick. In a population of 8 million people, Muslims represent the majority (83.7%, more than 60% Shiites). Christians are 4.6%, whilst baptised Catholics are about 300 in total.On the one hand, people are free to worship.
Religious groups are allowed to exist and can engage in teaching and proselytising activities. Independent since 1991, this young nation is in fact officially secular but it still recognises a special role for Islam and its ethics in public life. On the other hand, the ruling elite is worried about the rise of political Islam and for this reason it has tried to control religious groups or limit their activities, in some circumstances going as far as banning them altogether.All Muslim religious activities must be registered with the Muslim Council and the State Committee for Religious Affairs.The latter have often censured religious literature and clamped down on groups trying to avoid state supervision. The expulsion of worshipers from the Djuma Mosque in Baku on June 30 seems to be motivated by political considerations than religious ones thus reflecting a desire to keep a lid on political dissent.As for foreign religious groups, Baku's attitude seems to be largely informed by its relations with their respective country of origin. For instance, while geography and religion (Shiism) would encourage closer ties to Iran, Azerbaijan sees itself historically and culturally closer to secular Turkey.This explains why Turkish Islamic groups can more easily operate in the country than those from Iran.The authorities have even encouraged some religious activities."In some cases, the religious renaissance is directly encouraged and protected by the state as a way of channelling towards a new national ideology," said Bayram Balci of the French Institute of Anatolian Studies. Although not very democratic, Azeri religious policy is a complex and measured web that so far has successfully avoided antagonising local Muslims. In so doing it has avoided the rise of a more radical Islam. And this is the opposite of what is happening in Uzbekistan.
http://new.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=1090
As in the days of Noah...

In Urals Orthodox fight abortion giving mothers financial aid

Moscow (AsiaNews/Agencies)The Russian Orthodox clergy in Alapayevsk, a town in the Sverdlovsk region (Urals), has decided to counter the country’s demographic crisis by providing mothers in difficulty with help.Women who reject abortion receive a grant of a thousand rubles (US$ 39, € 29) per month to pay for the delivery and initial child-raising costs.The idea belongs to the rector of a local church, Fr Moisei. And the money used is taken from people’s donations and the church building fund.“From the viewpoint of religion, abortion is a grave crime.We combat this sin by preaching, but that’s not enough.We should better understand the future mother’s problems. All of them have something that drives them to ask for the horrible operation,” the priest said.
The financial aid is offered to all women, irrespective of religion.Doctors are the first who try to dissuade future mothers.Since the campaign began the number of abortions in the town has dropped by 40 per cent.
http://new.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=8851
As in the days of Noah...

END TIMES WEATHER:Utah Setting All-Time Records In Nasty Heat Wave

SALT LAKE CITY A day after breaking a state record for heat, southern Utah roasted again Thursday as temperatures easily topped 100 degrees and forecasters predicted no immediate relief. At 1:30 p.m. MDT, the thermometer showed 111, said Dean Cox, Washington County’s emergency services coordinator. “It’s a scorcher,” he said. “Officially I’d hate to admit that, because we like to promote our nice weather here in St. George. But it’s a dry heat.” As forecast, St. George hit a high of 115 degrees Thursday, National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Smith said. Also Thursday, Brian Head ski resort near Cedar City hit a record 85 degrees, breaking its old record high of 77, set July 5, 2003. A handful of cities hit 100 or above, including Provo and Wendover at 100, Cedar City and Salt Lake City at 101, Delta at 103 and Kanab at 107 degrees, he said. On Wednesday, a 118-degree reading was recorded by an automated weather station in a remote area south of St. George, near the Utah-Arizona border.The record won’t be official until the equipment can be calibrated and checked, which could take several days. “But tentatively, the 118 will go down as the new all-time maximum temperature for Utah,” said Larry Dunn, meteorologist in charge of the weather service’s Salt Lake City office. The previous record was 117 on July 25, 1985 in St. George. The record-setting site recorded a temperature of 117 degrees Thursday, Smith said. The weather service monitors temperatures hourly, with the highs peaking about 4:30 p.m, Dunn said. Summer temperatures across Utah are running 10 to 15 degrees above normal, meteorologist Brandon Smith said. “To be honest, as far as temperatures, for as far out as we can see there’s no relief,” he said. Since the heat wave began July 1, daily records have been set, even at higher elevations that usually stay cool. At Bryce Canyon National Park, elevation 7,590 feet, the temperature soared to 92 degrees Wednesday, breaking the old mark for that date by four degrees. Logan in northern Utah was expected to hit 98 Thursday; Park City, 91 degrees. Officials in St. George and Washington County advised residents and tourists to limit outdoor activities to cooler morning hours and drink plenty of water.
http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_186191351.html
As in the days of Noah...

CULTURE of DEATH:Mother Alleges Doctor Murdered Her Handicapped Son to Harvest His Organs

SAN LUIS OBISPO, California-A California woman is filing a complaint in the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court against an organ transplant doctor and the Sierra Vista hospital for willfully deceiving her and murdering her physically handicapped son for the purpose of harvesting his organs. Mrs. Navarro is the mother and only surviving family of her son Ruben, who was stricken with Adrenal Leukodystrophy, a rare disorder that left him confined to a wheelchair.The court papers allege that last January, 26-year old Ruben was transferred to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center due to a medical issue. Ms. Navarro went to visit him at the hospital where she was led to believe that Dr. Hootan Roozrokh was Ruben's "treating doctor".According to the complaint,he was actually working for a California organ-harvesting corporation.The complaint also states that Roozrokh told Navarro words to the effect that,"There is nothing that can be done for your son. He is going to die." She was also falsely informed that according to hospital policy, the plug on her son's respirator had to be pulled after 5 days. Greatly distressed and having been led to believe that her son had no chance of survival, Ms. Navarro says she agreed to donate his organs. At no point, however, did she consent to the removal of life-support.The complaint documents describe the following events, saying that Hospital medical staff took Ruben into the operating room where they removed the respirator. He kept breathing, however, and his heart continued to beat. At the direction of his "treating doctor,"Ruben was administered a lethal dose of morphine and Ativan. He continued to live, however, and the doctor said (as quoted by witnesses in the complaint), "Let's give him some more candy."After several doses of morphine, the doctors gave up, wheeled him away and left him to die without life support where he died nine hours later. According to LifeSiteNews.com Medical Advisor Dr. John Shea, the debate about whether to harvest organs usually surrounds a comatose person, a victim of a car-crash for example, who is hovering between life and death. In this case, however, it appears that Ruben was not necessarily going to die.The question of when a person actually dies and when or if it is ethical to remove their organs is highly debated. As Shea explained, people can be brought back to life even fifteen minutes after their heart has stopped beating. Since the notion of cardiac death was developed in 1993, he said, there has been a significant increase in the number of organs harvested. In fact, the number of "non-beating" heart donations-people who may not have actually died-more than doubled between 2003-2007 in the United States.
As in the days of Noah...

EUROPE TELLS BRITAIN: DON'T SAY 'MUSLIMS'

Secret EU guidelines have been drawn up warning governments not to link Islam and terrorism.The politically correct directives are believed to be behind ministers not using words such as "Muslim'' about Britain's terrorism crisis.Yesterday the Daily Express reported how Gordon Brown's ministers had been told to avoid inflammatory language when speaking about the attempted car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow.Neither the Prime Minister in a major interview nor Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in the Commons referred to Muslims or Islam. Last night critics pointed to a classified EU document sent out to all European governments offering "non-offensive' ' phrases to use when discussing terrorism. Banned terms were said to include "jihad'', "Islamic'' or "fundamentalist" .EU officials said the "common lexicon'' aimed to stop the distortion of the Muslim faith and alienation of its followers in Europe.European governments had previously agreed on the need to develop a "non-emotive lexicon'' for use in discussion to avoid "exacerbating division''.Gerard Batten, a UK Independence Party MEP, claimed Ms Smith's statement was "evidence that the Government is now cutting its suit to suit the European Commission's cloth''.He is demanding that the full lexicon be published.But the Home Office insisted: "The Home Secretary uses her own words. She did not draw on any other source.'' Even Labour former Foreign Office Minister Denis MacShane said yesterday that "Islamist'' was an "accurate description' ' of the ideology behind the terror attacks.And Conservative MP Philip Davies said: "Whatever your view on particular words, surely everyone should agree it is completely unacceptable for people in Brussels who have already interfered too much in our lives to start to tell us what words we can and can't use."If we believe in anything in this country we should believe in free speech. If we are allowing the EU to dictate to us on this, most people would find that horrifying.' 'Hugo Robinson, of Open Europe thinktank, said: "Brussels has no place telling national governments how they should deal with the real and immediate threat of terrorism: The EU's so-called non-emotive lexicon won't do anything to stop dangerous extremists targeting Britain.''A Foreign Office source insisted the "common lexicon'' was not an exercise in "political correctness' ' but an attempt to find a "common vocabulary and definitions' ' for statements about terrorism.
(By Alison Little)
As in the days of Noah...

Scottish Bible Society Determined to See Youth Interested in the Word of God

"My great hope is that we will increasingly see teenagers, students, and young adults taking the mission of the society to heart and engaging in the work of getting the Bible and its message out to people across the globe."
(Scotland) Fiona Baker, a new youth development manager for the Scottish Bible Society in Edinburgh, Scotland, is encouraging young people to get interested in the Word of God.Calling it an exciting challenge, she said: "Living with the iPod generation means the Bible is increasingly faced with the 'boring and irrelevant' label. I am thrilled to get stuck into the work of helping young people engage and interact with the Bible and its message."I long to see young people captivated by the goldmine of adventure, poetry, history, gripping narrative and brilliant imagery that makes up the story of God."My great hope is that we will increasingly see teenagers, students, and young adults taking the mission of the society to heart and engaging in the work of getting the Bible and its message out to people across the globe."
As in the days of Noah...

Malaysia 'convert' claims cruelty

A Malaysian woman held for months in an Islamic rehabilitation centre says she was subjected to mental torture for insisting her religion is Hinduism.Revathi Massosai, the name by which she wants to be known, says she was forced to eat beef despite being a Hindu.Miss Massosai was seized by the Islamic authorities in January when she went to court to ask that she be registered as a Hindu rather than a Muslim.The case is one of a number that have raised religious tensions in Malaysia.Miss Massosai was born to Muslim converts and given a Muslim name, but she was raised as a Hindu by her grandmother and has always practised that faith.However, under Malaysia's Islamic law, having Muslim parents makes one a Muslim and, as such, one is not allowed to change one's faith or marry a non-Muslim.But Miss Massosai married a Hindu man in 2004 and the couple have a young daughter. When in January she asked a court to officially designate her a Hindu she was detained and taken to an Islamic rehabilitation centre. Her detention was twice extended to six months, during which time she says religious officials tried to make her pray as a Muslim and wear a headscarf.However, the claim that will particularly shock Hindus is that the camp authorities tried to force her to eat beef.A lawyer representing the Malacca state Islamic department responsible for Miss Revathi's arrest, rejected her allegations and said officials believe that she can still be persuaded to embrace Islam.She is adamant that she will remain a Hindu. In the meantime, Miss Revathi and her daughter have been placed in the custody of her Muslim parents.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6278568.stm
PS:As I told countless times before in this blog,ISLAM IS NOT A RELIGION OF PEACE,and if you that are reading are not a muslim,then you are an ENEMY OF ISLAM,therefore IF you live in a muslim country or a muslim community,you will be subject to persecution.It gets worse if you are a jew(a pig according to Quran)a christian or a hindu or just you.....!!!They tried to solve that problem creating what is called as "Islamic rehabilitation centers"where they take you and they submit you to all sorts of punishment including beating the living daylights out of you,forcing you to recite and pray the Quran and if you are a woman wear a headscarf....that's the smallest thing.If heard from my pakistani christian good friend horrendous things that happened to girls that gotten saved while she lived in Saudi Arabia,including taking them to mental institutions and providing them with electroshocks and other sorts of "treatments",many died in the process....This is the SAD TRUE of ISLAM the so called Religion of PEACE....!Don't be fooled!!!They are not PEACEFUL.I know first hand myself!!!
As in the days of Noah...

Canadian dollar hits top level since '77

NEW YORK -The Canadian dollar climbed to a 30-year high against the U.S. currency Friday, bolstered by higher oil prices, a strong economy and a looming interest-rate increase.Canada's currency advanced as high as 95.53 U.S. cents, pushing past the 95 cents mark for the first time since May 1977. It has risen 10.8 percent so far this year.One of the strongest performers in currency markets Friday, the Canadian dollar rose after Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 35,000 jobs in June, about double what economists had expected.The job spurt left unemployment levels at a three-decade low of 6.1 percent for the fifth consecutive month.The Canadian dollar later retreated to 95.27 U.S. cents.The Bank of Canada is scheduled to make its next interest-rate decision Tuesday. Economists think the latest signs of a booming economy and inflationary pressures will prompt the central bank to increase rates for the first time in more than a year.The 13-nation euro bought $1.3621 in late New York trading, up from $1.3598 late Thursday. The pound, which has been hovering at 26-year highs against the dollar, declined to $2.0106 from $2.0123.The Bank of England on Thursday lifted its key interest rate to 5.75 percent, the fifth such move this year and a widely expected decision, in an attempt to curb inflation.Also Thursday, the European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 4 percent.The Federal Reserve has left its key rate unchanged at 5.25 percent for the past year.Higher interest rates, a weapon against inflation, can bolster a currency by giving better returns on fixed-income investments.
As in the days of Noah...