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

PROBLEMS WITH LOADING....

Dear visitors and faithful readers:
I'm experiencing some trouble uploading pictures again....but it is a problem with blogger....Sorry for the inconvinience....!!!!And please come back visit!!!!
Hope ya'll have a blessed weekend...!!!!
And if you that are reading don't know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour,I highly recommend you to run to Him for the forgiveness of your sins....
As it is written:
"Repent...."
This is the greatest word a sinner can heed to TODAY...!
Time is running out and all the worldwide events we are witnessing and we talk about in this blog point out to one thing and one thing only:The Return of Jesus for His Church,without spot and blemish or wrinkle.....!!!!
Would you be ready today to face eternity IF there wasn't any more tomorrows for your life....????
Are you saved....???
Are you born again....????
IF you would die tonite....do you have the assurance you would go to heaven....????
Please friend...think about these things that are of the utmost importance for your life!!!
Jesus Loves You and is waiting for you today!!!!!
Tomorrow may be too late.....
John 3:16-17

GOD BLESS YOU

AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH.....

Togolese Hope for More EU Aid Following Elections

European Union officials say they will consider Sunday's election when they determine whether to restore full funding to Togo which would likely mean more than $50 million a year to the small West African nation.Spokesman Claude Bammante is from the ruling Rally of the Togolese People party. He says the party won a majority of seats according to provisional results in the election in which turnout was at least 85 percent.Now with the election over and final results expected in the coming days, Bammante says Togolese are eager to see what the European Union will do about aid.Under the rule of Gnassingbe Eyadema, father of current President Faure Gnassingbe, aid was cut to Togo over human rights violations and political repression. Aid was partially restored in 2004 with a commitment from the government to work toward democracy.In contrast to past elections often marred by boycotts, apparent cheating and violence, Sunday's vote saw no significant violence and good participation of opposition parties.
Analyst Kissy Agyeman of the London-based research group Global Insight says the lack of aid has greatly impaired development in Togo, and she expects a full restoration of funding. But, she says, international bodies will need to make sure the election was not just a show by the Togolese government to win back favor of the EU, but instead represents a true break from authoritarian rule of the past."I think the international community will be very mindful to ensure that this is not just a one-off thing and it is not just a means for Togo to get the funds. So I think there will be robust follow up," she noted.Agyeman says to prevent violence from flaring up the ruling party will need to make efforts to ease the nation's rigidly divided political atmosphere."There should be real follow up of the promises that RPT, the ruling party, has made in terms of ensuring that there is a more inclusive approach and that there will be continued reforms to the political system," she added.Hundreds were killed and thousands displaced by violence surrounding the 2005 presidential election in which President Gnassingbe was elected to power.Opposition parties have complained of fraud in Sunday's poll, but Agyeman says unless significant evidence of cheating is found, their complaints are not likely to affect the outcome of the election or the nation's chances of getting full aid.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-19-voa29.cfm
As in the days of Noah....

Islamic Party in Kurdish Iraq Growing in Popularity

While the two parties that control the Kurdish region of Iraq may endorse democratic values, critics say they practice one-party rule.The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan controls the eastern section, with the city of Suleymaniya as its power base.The Kurdistan Democratic Party controls the rest and is centered in the regional capital, Irbil.Both parties have their own militias, and after a brief civil war in the mid-1990s, have shared power over the region.The most popular alternative to the ruling parties is the Islamic Union of Kurdistan.It has no militia, only a local television station to present its vision of a moderate, Islamic democracy.Hadi Ali is one of its leaders. He says his party is growing in popularity, particularly with young people."We presented something new.The other parties-they were fighting against the regime before. And after the uprising, they started to fight each other and formed a corrupt administration that disappointed many young people,” he says. “Young people found our party as a non-corrupt alternative."Ali says that his party advocates an inclusive democracy in a framework of Islam that would be very similar to western democracies."We want the secular like in the western countries with a separation of religion and the state,” says Ali. “But we are not against religion and here in these countries, when they say secular, they mean they are against religion.David Romano of Rhodes College in Tennesse is a Middle East researcher and recently published a report on the growth of the Islamic movement in the Kurdish region of Iraq. He says the rise of the Islamic Union of Kurdistan should be a concern to the U.S. and other Western countries."I think they do have a marked, more anti-American stance than the secular Kurdish nationalist parties. You just have to remember that the Kurdistan Islamic Union comes from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Iraqi chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood," said the professor.A mosque in the Kurdistan regionThe Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928. Since then, the Egyptian government has banned the Muslim Brotherhood and other political parties based on religion.But its members continue to speak out and have called for a board of Muslim clerics to oversee the government.Still, Romano does not agree that banning opposition groups is good for the long-term future of the region."As long as they play by the democratic rules of the game, as long as they talk the talk and walk the walk of democracy, so to speak, they need to be allowed a chance to compete and win elections; otherwise a turn to radicalism is legitimized,"he said. Romano says suppressing dissent will turn the loyal opposition to extremism and violence.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-19-voa48.cfm
As in the days of Noah....

EU WATCH:The European Union seems unable to decide how to deal with dictators

IF EVER there was a moment for Europe to come up with new policies for dealing with despots, it is now. The muscular American approach to effecting regime change has few takers these days. The club-of-autocrats approach, exemplified by China's see-no-evil relations with Myanmar and Sudan, is ineffective and may be vulnerable to pressures from today's interconnected world (Olympic boycott, anyone?). In theory, the European Union is ready. It is eager to show off the fledgling common foreign policy of a regional power that is big, rich and noisily principled, but also an exponent of “soft power”.Moreover, dealing with rogues is high on Europe's agenda. Next week foreign ministers will meet to debate policies towards Iran, Myanmar and Uzbekistan. Trickiest of all, they will consider how to stop Zimbabwe's pariah-president, Robert Mugabe, hijacking an EU-Africa summit in Portugal in December.It would be nice to report that the EU is rising to the challenge, and crafting a middle way between realpolitik and the idealistic promotion of peace, democracy and prosperity. Alas, Europe seldom works like this. In Myanmar, it lacks leverage; over Iran, commercial interests are blocking France's recent call for tougher sanctions. Often European leaders lack the single-mindedness to confront a ruthless regime, such as gas-rich Uzbekistan, which has contemptuously shrugged off European efforts to discuss the 2005 massacre of opposition protesters in Andijan.The Europeans are in a special pickle over Mr Mugabe. EU-Africa summits have been blocked for seven years by disagreements over whether to invite a man whose destruction of a once-prosperous country has left him with few, if any, defenders in Europe. But now China's expanding presence in Africa, offering billions in cash and loans in exchange for natural resources, has reduced the ban-Mugabe camp to one EU country: Zimbabwe's former colonial master. The British prime minister, Gordon Brown, has pledged to boycott the summit rather than share a table with Mr Mugabe. Faced with threats of a matching African boycott if Mr Mugabe is banned, Portugal, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has suggested that the final guest list be decided by African countries.The summit itself has few clear goals, though the Portuguese talk of drawing up “a completely new basis for dialogue” with Africa, based on principles such as democracy, regional integration and “good governance”, which should at least make Mr Mugabe smile. In Brussels the near-universal call is to hold an Africa summit mainly because there has not been one for a long time. The British stance prompts impatience, even incomprehension.Mr Brown's “posturing” is not helpful, comments one diplomat. Yes, Mr Mugabe is horrible, says another, but there are “any number of rogues” in Africa. Even an official sympathetic to Britain's “principled” stance points to the EU's dwindling leverage in Africa, thanks to that Chinese cash. African recipients of China's largesse can ignore such traditional vehicles for European influence as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, she notes. Yet “Europe has all sorts of interests in being more involved in Africa, like migration and security.”Is the EU, then, to be nothing more than a cynical player of geopolitics, coldly pursuing European interests under cover of its talk of values? At least that would offer the meagre comfort of simplicity. In fact, the EU position is not so coherent. A strong whiff of realpolitik certainly hangs in the air when diplomats in Brussels explain why nothing can be done to punish some despot or other. The explanation follows a wearily familiar format. You know, it is suggested, our existing sanctions are meaningless, they are not “biting”. And yes, this despot is a monster, but is he much worse than others we talk to? Anyway, adding extra sanctions, or pulling out, would be an empty gesture: the Chinese/Indians/Russians are just waiting to take our place.
To read more go to:
http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9947094
As in the days of Noah....

BIG BROTHER WATCH:Microsoft seeks RFID support for HealthVault

Sonrai Systems has a legacy of trash. For more than 40 years, the company's trash compactors have helped retailers around the country control and dispose of waste, as well as separate trash, recyclables and hazardous materials. But Sonrai Systems doesn't provide simple compactors—it equips them with sensors to monitor specific conditions, such as how full a compactor is and when service is needed. Now, the firm has added RFID capability so retailers and other companies can track tagged goods at the end of the supply chain. Sonrai Systems, based in Lombard, Ill., worked with the University of Arkansas' RFID Research Center to develop and test an RFID interrogator antenna. The compactor leverages an EPC Gen 2 RFID interrogator integrated with Sonrai's Trash Tracker, a patented monitoring control panel. Interrogator antennas mounted inside the compactor can now read a box's tag the moment it is thrown into a compactor, and each tag read can be used as a final data point indicating goods have been received and put out on the sales floor. The tag reads are passed along to Trash Tracker, which incorporates a programmable logic controller (PLC) program that aggregates them so companies can maintain a record of any RFID-tagged boxes that have been discarded.That data can then be integrated into a back-end inventory system, if needed. Trash Tracker can collect data from a variety of sensors that monitor volume, weight, a compactor's electrical systems and other operations. Logic and rules coded into Trash Tracker generate actions, such as triggering an e-mail alert if waste in the compactor has exceeded the device's capacity. That could indicate a retailer's recycling service provider has not conducted a scheduled pickup, says Anthony Romano, Sonrai Systems' VP of marketing and sales. "We [Romano and Chris Flood, the company's owner and COO] both drove trash trucks, so we know the shortcuts that can be taken. Sometimes the driver will just skip a pickup and plan to get it next time."Trash Tracker communicates the RFID data to a server via a wireless, Ethernet or analog connection, depending on a customer's requirements. This information can also be accessed via a Web-based interface, enabling companies to view the data and the status of any compactor, as well as determine fullness, the most recent service date, the next service date (based on usage) and the current operating effectiveness. A national retailer—which Romano says he is unable to identify, as per the company's request—is currently testing Sonrai's RFID-enabled compactors. The retailer is in the process of implementing RFID to track incoming goods and inventory, and would use the RFID data collected as boxes are discarded as a data point indicating goods have been received into inventory and stocked in its stores.
http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3687/1/1/
As in the days of Noah....

RCC WATCH:Pope Benedict names 23 cardinals, 18 "electors"

VATICAN CITY-Pope Benedict on Wednesday named 23 new Roman Catholic cardinals, including an Iraqi, two Americans and others from around the world in choices he said reflected the universal nature of the 1.1-billion-member Church.Eighteen of the 23 are under 80 years old and thus would be able to enter a conclave to elect Benedict's successor after his death. Five are over 80 and would be barred for reasons of age."Their selection well reflects the universality of the Church," Benedict told pilgrims and tourists during his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square.Cardinals, the red-hatted "princes" of the Church, are the Pope's closest aides. They lead major dioceses around the world, head Vatican departments and advise him on matters affecting everything from faith to finances.The new "cardinal electors", who are under 80 years old, come from Italy, Argentina, the United States, Germany, Poland, Spain, Ireland, France, Senegal, India, Mexico, Brazil and Kenya.The ceremony to install the cardinals, known as a consistory, will be held on Nov. 24 at the Vatican, the Pope said.One of the new cardinals is Emmanuel III Delly, an Iraqi who is Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans.Although he has just turned 80 and would not be able to enter a conclave, the honour given to Delly by raising him to the elite ranks of the Church appeared to be an attempt by the Pope to support the Christian minority in Iraq and the Middle East.
http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-30035320071017?pageNumber=1
As in the days of Noah....

UFO WATCH:Queensland invaded by UFOs

QUEENSLANDERS are leading reporters of unidentified flying objects, with more than 100 of the 128 recorded official sightings around Australia in the past two years coming from the Sunshine State.And according to a Queensland UFO specialist, while many sightings were ruled out as stars, planets, meteors and planes, a "significant number" remained unexplained.UFO Research Queensland's Lee Paqui said the state's hotspots for sightings included the Glass House Mountains, Toowoomba, Warwick, Ipswich and the far north."The most common sightings are the orange balls, and white balls that look like stars but move and display very erratic behaviour, like they'll make right-hand turns," she said.Ms Paqui said many people were still wary of reporting their sightings for fear of public humiliation.The Queensland research centre began operating in 1956 and was originally called the Queensland Flying Saucer Bureau.It receives 1000 hits each day on its website http://www.uforq.asn.au/ and has sightings dating back to 1939.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22619493-421,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD...

"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:he that believeth not God hath made himself a liar;because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
And this is the record,that God hath given to us eternal life,and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life;and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
1 JOHN 5:10-12

PESTILENCE WATCH:Zim: 7 in hospital with anthrax

Harare/Johannesburg - Seven people have been hospitalised in Zimbabwe with potentially lethal anthrax poisoning following an outbreak of the animal-borne disease in a private game park north of the capital, reports said on Saturday.The seven have been admitted to hospital in the northern town of Concession, said the state-controlled Herald newspaper.The outbreak of anthrax-which is normally caught by humans if they eat the meat of infected cattle-occurred at Manzou Game Park in Mazowe, said the paper.There are sporadic outbreaks of anthrax in Zimbabwe.Last December three people died in Goromonzi district east of the capital from anthrax that they were suspected to have caught after either eating or handling infected meat.
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2205671,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

GAY AGENDA WATCH:Dems Advance Bill to Grant Special Workplace Rights to Homosexuals

A bill that would force many religious and conservative groups to grant special rights to homosexuals in the workplace is scheduled for a full House vote next week after the Committee on Education and Labor moved it forward Thursday.By a 27 to 21 vote, Democrats and three Republicans passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would make it illegal for employers to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation.The legislation seeks to add “sexual orientation” to a list of federally protected classes under a 1964 act that prohibits job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.Conservatives are concerned that the bill would strip constitutional rights from faith-based businesses that don’t agree with the lifestyles of homosexuals or bisexuals."When you strive to protect some people, you take away protections of other people," noted Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif). "That is the difficulty, and I think some of us on this side are representing some of those people that feel like as good as your intentions are, you're taking away their rights in their religious beliefs and dealings on a day-to-day basis."Notably, the Committee rejected four amendments offered by Republicans that would have protected the religious freedom of faith-based groups and individuals.“It's an attack on businesses and people of faith," said Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council, in a Chicago Tribune report.“Businesses wouldn't have the freedom to hire whoever they want,” he added.Republicans who voted against advancing the bill argued that equating “sexual orientation” to other federally protected classes doesn’t add up.“Sexual orientation is not the same as race, gender or age, which do not depend on perception at all," said Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind).Souder called the legislation a “possible litigation nightmare,” saying that perceptions are enough to cause lawsuits resulting to a hostile workplace.McKeon had also criticized the ambiguous language in the bill since one’s perception of sexual orientation is subjective.“Under the bill, we would legislate a prohibition against employment discrimination based upon a person’s ‘perceived’ sexual orientation,” he said in opening remarks.“This vague term is not defined anywhere in this bill. It increases employee liability and will needlessly require litigation on the meaning of this term and how it applies to the work place.”Meanwhile, Democrats were divided Thursday over the removal of “gender identity” from the bill, which would have extended special rights to people who identify themselves as transgender.Despite the removal, Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative Christian group, argued in a news release sent out Thursday that transgenders could use the term “perceived” to their advantage and still claim protection under ENDA.“The term ‘perceived’ provides homosexuals and transgenders far broader protection than for African-Americans, Hispanics, women, or people of faith under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” stated the group in the e-mail news release.It’s a “slap in the face to all who fought in the Civil Rights Movement,” added TVC.Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the bill’s sponsor, said he dropped the category “gender identity” because the Democrats didn’t have the votes to pass it.Still, Democratic leaders promised to try and get additional legislation in the future."I believe that the step we are taking today will lay the foundation for passing these additional protections in the future," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, according to The Associated Press.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Ca., who also backed the bill, has agreed to allow an amendment on the floor to include transgender rights, which is expected to fail.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071019/29766.htm
As in the days of Noah...

Apollo Moon Documentary Bears Witness for a Creator

LONDON-A film documenting the Apollo moon project using rare footage from NASA contains numerous spiritual references pointing to the existence of God.“In the Shadow of the Moon” (http://intheshadowofthemoon.com/) opened September 7th to positive reviews, including a “Critic’s Choice” designation by the L.A. Times and an award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.“It’s a film about the experience of going to the moon told by the people who went – in their own words,” says David Sington, who directed the film. One of Sington’s associates got acquainted with Dave Scott, commander of Apollo 15 and the first man to drive on the moon. “They wanted to organize a reunion of moonwalkers,” Sington says.“That grew into an idea of doing a reunion on film.”Producer Duncan Copp proposed the idea of a documentary to Sington, who said it took him only 15 milliseconds to decide on the project.With astronaut Scott’s help, the film team managed to assemble crewmembers from every Apollo mission that flew to the moon and interview them directly on camera.The 10 astronauts-now in their seventies-come across as surprisingly reflective and human.Many spoke of the profound impression they gained from walking on the lunar surface and gazing back at a marble-sized planet Earth.Director David SingtonIn addition to the interviews, producers Duncan Copp and Chris Riley spent weeks at NASA’s film library in Houston pouring through cans of film-many of which had not be opened for 30 years.They uncovered a veritable treasure trove, which the filmmakers re-mastered to produce a film of striking visual clarity.Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, the 10th man to walk on the moon, makes an explicit declaration of his faith in Jesus Christ on camera.His spiritual revelation came after his retirement from the space program in the mid-seventies.Mounting pressures in business and his personal life caused Duke to grapple with life’s ultimate questions.In 1978, after he attended a Bible Study about Middle East prophecy, Duke realized Jesus “really is the Son of God.”Astronauts Edgar Mitchell and Gene Cernan described profound spiritual experiences, but not within a specific Christian context.Cernan discovered the universe seemed to have purpose behind it, that there must be a Creator who stands above the religions of mankind.“Edgar Mitchell’s experience profoundly changed and shaped his whole life,”notes director Sington.“He had a moment of epiphany-suddenly grasping who he is in relation to the universe.This was accompanied by a sense of ecstasy, almost like people who have had visions of the Virgin Mary.”“He’s striving to understand his spiritual epiphany in scientific terms,” Sington adds.“He’s dedicated his life to understanding human sub consciousness and to finding the ‘Great Mind’ of the universe.”Unfortunately, the man who had the closest encounter with Jesus Christ on the moon does not appear in the film. “Sadly enough, the person who had the most profound spiritual experience was Jim Irwin, who died,” says Sington.“He really had a ‘road to Damascus’ experience on the moon.”Irwin died in 1991 from a heart attack.In Irwin’s book, “To Rule the Night,”he described his view of Earth from the moon, which looked like “a beautiful, fragile Christmas tree ornament hanging against the blackness of space.”The beauty of the mountains of the moon moved Irwin, and he said he felt the presence of God during his moonwalk.“The moon has a powerful force; it seems to affect the feelings and the behavior of everybody.I cannot imagine a holier place,” he wrote.Some would consider the trip to the moon as one of man’s greatest accomplishments, but Irwin had a different perspective. Afterward, he frequently said, “I believe Jesus Christ walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon.”Irwin retired from NASA in 1972 and founded High Flight, a Christian ministry. He traveled frequently and spoke to groups about the ways his experiences in space increased his awareness of the presence of God.“My view is that all of them were profoundly affected by the experience of leaving the Earth and seeing the Earth in its true context,” Sington says. “The photographs they took were a revelation to everybody that helped shape the way we think of ourselves on the Earth,” he notes.Some might consider the awareness gained by the men who walked on the moon as the ultimate mountaintop experience.“They had the experience firsthand, which is a different order of experience.”Many of the astronauts saw the universe as fundamentally sterile, a seemingly endless dead expanse.By contrast, Earth appeared to be a very special oasis-almost Edenic, and yet fragile.For some, this increased their environmental awareness, as well as a sense of gratitude about living on planet Earth.“They feel life in a slightly stronger way than the rest of us,” Sington observes.Apollo 11 astronaut Mike Collins, the most affable of the astronauts to appear on camera, described a moment of exaltation in his orbiter as he realized he was alive in a place where there was no other life.One of director Sington’s disappointments was his inability to persuade Neil Armstrong to abandon his notoriously reclusive nature and appear in the film.“I think I understand why he doesn’t want to talk about being on the moon,” Sington says.“He sees himself as a messenger, not the message, a representative of all of us.He takes that very seriously.”Sington came away from the film more inclined to accept a spiritual dimension to life. It also made him a bit more optimistic about the future, based on the Apollo project’s demonstration that human societies-particularly democracies-are capable of large-scale collective efforts apart from waging war.“In some sense perceiving reality is spirituality,” Sington concludes.“Religion and Christianity says we’re missing what’s really important,” he says.“When you see things as they really are you get a more profound spiritual sense.”“In the Shadow of the Moon” is rated PG for mild language, brief violent images, and incidental smoking.
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07100141.htm
As in the days of Noah....

Muslim Letter Spurs Little Christian Action

Last week’s unprecedented Muslim letter calling for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity may have been historical, but has thus far failed to inspire any major Christian action.Top Christian leaders across denominational lines – from the Anglican Communion’s Archbishop Rowan Williams to the Roman Catholic Church’s Pope Benedict XVI to the World Council of Churches’ the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia – were quick to welcome the letter signed by some 140 Muslim leaders.However, after the initial attention and response, not much was otherwise heard from the Christian representatives.The World Council of Churches, which represents some 590 million Christians, has no public action planned for the time being, its communications officer told The Christian Post Wednesday. “Our colleagues in interreligious relations will continue working in Muslim-Christian dialogue and relations as it has been the case in the past with the only difference that the insights of the letter, which deserves further study and consideration, will be dealt with within that framework,” said WCC media relations officer Juan Michel.Meanwhile, the U.K.-based Evangelical Alliance said it intends to follow up on a preliminary meeting it had with the Muslim Council of Britain six months ago.The Evangelical Alliance’s general director, Joel Edwards, and its executive director of public affairs, David Muir, also plan to hold meetings with other faith groups.“A key part of how I see our role developing is to build very strong and meaningful relationships with other faiths, particularly with Muslims, in the months and years ahead,” Edwards said.Last week, 138 Muslim clerics, scholars and intellectuals from all the major sects signed a letter calling for peace between Muslims and Christians. The letter entitled, “A Common World Between Us and You,” urged followers of the two faiths to find “common ground” and not simply just for “polite ecumenical dialogue” between certain religious leaders.“If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace,” stated the letter. “With the terrible weaponry of the modern world, with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world’s inhabitants.“Our common future is at stake,” the letter added. “The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake.”Signers represent the Sunni, Shia, Ibadis, Ismailian and Jaafari branches of Islam.In response, the World Evangelical Alliance – which represents some 420 million evangelical Christians worldwide – said it will ask its Religious Liberty Commission and Theological Commission to develop an internal process that will guide the community in responding to the request from the Muslim scholars.“I will also discuss with leaders of various Christian communions about the potential of a collaborative response from the Christian community,” said the Rev. Dr. Geoff Tunniciffe, WEA’s International Director and CEO, to The Christian Post.The Lutheran World Federation also welcomed the Muslim letter and said further study and consideration was necessary.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071019/29761_Muslim_Letter_Spurs_Little_Christian_Action.htm
As in the days of Noah....

Evangelicals Have Nothing to Fear from Islam, Says European Leader

EVIA, Greece-The head of the European Evangelical Alliance reassured delegates at the alliance’s annual assembly in Greece this week that Christians have nothing to fear from Islam in Europe.In a powerful address on day two of the assembly, EAA General Secretary Gordon Showell-Rogers reminded Christians that Muslims in Europe still make up only a very small percentage of Europe’s population – around 4.5 percent – and that while migration has brought in Muslims, it has also brought in large numbers of Christians to the continent.Rather than being intimidated by Islam’s growth in Europe, Showell-Rogers encouraged delegates to see the evangelistic potential.“Evangelicals have nothing at all to fear from any form of Islam. Christ is greater than even the greatest of world religions,” he stated. “Instead of being afraid and ‘demonizing’ people, we should see the presence of Muslim communities in Europe as a great evangelistic opportunity.”He went on to reaffirm the power of Jesus Christ to change Europe as well as the mandate of the European Evangelical Alliance to bring the Good News to those who still live without Christ.“We need to help one another to rediscover our confidence in the radical and transforming power of the Good News of Jesus. God’s eternal plans for the universe revolve around Jesus. He is not always popular, but He is the only hope for individuals and for society and for the planet.”Showell-Rogers concluded his address with a reminder of the absolute victory of Christ.“He is alive,” he exclaimed.“The fact is He has conquered sin and death. The fact is He is one day returning and in the meantime He is building His Church. And His Kingdom is near and even among us … as we proclaim and live out the Good News of God in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, in the early 21st century.”The EEA head’s address followed the call to evangelicals earlier on at the assembly from EEA Associate Dr. Derek Copley to keep their passion for the gospel.“We have to get churches back into the habit of witnessing Jesus Christ,” he stressed.“Some evangelical alliances have lost their passion for reaching people without Christ. Others have simply been diverted,” he added.“I want to see us be not simply an influence in Europe. I want to see the gospel re-gain ground in Europe.”More than one hundred EEA members gathered on the Greek island of Evia this week to share successes and to assess current challenges in European mission around the theme of “Increasing our influence in Europe.”The EEA assembly opened Tuesday night with an emotional appeal from the Evangelical Alliance in Turkey for prayers after the horrific murder of three Bible publishing workers in April.On Thursday, the assembly was scheduled to discuss the EEA’s Strategic Plan for 2008, which sets out a strategy for strengthening the church in Europe’s effectiveness as salt and light in society in the coming years.The EEA Assembly Closing Celebration was scheduled to take place on the evening of Friday, October 19.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071020/29776.htm
As in the days of Noah....

Churches Hope for Gospelization of Korea:Koreans Hyped Up as Busan Franklin Graham Festival Opens

Churches in Busan, South Korea, have invited evangelist Franklin Graham to their metropolitan city in hopes of reviving a country that had once witnessed one of the greatest Christian movements in East Asia.It's the centennial year of the great Pyongyang Revival, which had sparked a wave of audible prayers of repentance and rapidly grew Christianity from what is now the capital of North Korea to across the Korean peninsula.Pyongyang had earned the title "Jerusalem of the East" as it became the center of Christian activity up until the Korean War.A century later, the Korean population is fervently praying for another revival today and Graham is in the country aiming to unite the citizens of Busan to God, he said at a press conference before kicking off a large-scale evangelistic festival on Thursday at Busan Asiad Stadium.Busan is the second largest city in Korea and Christians make up less than 10 percent of its population, according to Sang Gyoo Lee, professor of church history at Kosin University in Busan. The entire South Korean population is nearly 30 percent Christian."Buddhist influence and coastal superstitions may have slowed the spread of the Gospel in Busan," Lee explained, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “And because Busan is geographically close to Japan, Japanese indigenous religions have also penetrated the minds of many people.”When the Rev. Pildo Joung, senior pastor of Soo Young Ro Presbyterian Church in Busan, began ministering in Busan over three decades ago, he said the city was filled with Buddhism and superstition."I thought if Busan becomes gospelized, then the entire country can be gospelized," said Joung (by translation), who hopes Korea's 10 million Christians become ignited and spread revival across the country through the Busan Franklin Graham Festival this week.Around 1,500 churches in Busan have united in an attempt to revive congregations and strengthen the Christian community. Their goal is to draw 500,000 people to the Franklin Graham Festival and lead 50,000 to Christ.The first time Graham crusades hit South Korea was in 1973 when renowned evangelist Billy Graham, Franklin's father, preached to millions in the country. It was reportedly the largest evangelistic crusade Graham experienced in over 50 years of his ministry. The final day alone drew over a million Koreans to the Yoido Plaza in Seoul and over 100,000 decisions for Christ were recorded.According to Lee, who attended the past Graham crusade as a university student, the impact of the event was visible in the church."Faction-torn churches set aside their differences to work together to reach their nation. At the time of the crusade, the Korean Protestant population was 3 million. By 1975, the membership of the Korean church increased to 4 million and then to 7.6 million by 1980. In the late 1970s, six new churches were planted every day, and 600,000 new church members were reported every year," he stated.Today, South Korea has the world's second largest missionary movement after the United States with over 16,000 missionaries deployed around the world to countries such as China and to their brethren in North Korea with whom they hope to reunify the peninsula.
Just as revival was sparked 100 years ago in Pyongyang through the confession of sins, Franklin Graham said people must repent and return to God.“I believe God will bless the Korean people,” he said.And Korean churches are anticipating a great work of God."We are full of expectation and hope about how God will do His work in this generation in Busan and in Korea," said Lee.The Busan Franklin Graham Festival is being held on Oct. 18-21. In August, Graham broke records in Ecuador, attracting a crowd of over 185,000 people to the Festival of Hope.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071019/29768.htm
As in the days of Noah....

KNOWLEDGE SHALL INCREASE:Israeli Scientists En Route to Personalized MS Medicine

Scientists from the Technion in Haifa, Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, and Teva Pharmaceuticals, continuing the success of the Israeli anti-MS drug Copaxone, may have found the way to personalize it according to one's genes.Copaxone is widely considered the most effective treatment in preventing or reducing relapses in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The drug molecule was the fruit of research by Weizmann Institute's Prof. Michael Sela, who later became the institute's president, and his colleagues Prof. Ruth Arnon and Dr. Dvora Teitelbaum. Israel's top drug company, Teva, developed Copaxone for the treatment of the disease, and produces and markets it in over 40 countries worldwide. Copaxone was the first original Israeli drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).MS is an autoimmune disease causing impaired vision and movement disorders, in which the body’s immune system attacks proteins in the fatty layer surrounding nerve fibers.These attacks prevent the conductance of electrical signals through the nerve fibers. Prof. Sela used synthetic molecules designed by his teacher and future President of Israel, Prof. Ephraim Katzir, to curb the attacks.Medical treatments in general rely on trial-and-error methods to determine the correct dosage, often leading to errors and complications along the way.Scientists from Teva performed tests at Weizmann Institute, using Israel's only genome-variation scanning equipment, to determine specific genetic markers and their link with the patient's response to Copaxone.Prof. Doron Lancet of Weizmann's Department of Molecular Genetics says, “We analyzed the DNA sequences in 27 candidate genes from each patient participating in the trial, and we identified two genes with a high potential for determining the response to Copaxone. In the future, it may be possible to use this method to scan the genome of MS sufferers, to predict the response levels in advance, and to optimize the dosage and treatment protocol to suit each patient personally.”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123974
As in the days of Noah...

THE GRACE OF GOD....

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
Teaching us that,denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,we should live soberly,righteously,and godly,in this present world.
Looking for that blessed hope,and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself for us,that he might redeeem us from all iniquity,and purify unto himself a peculiar people,zealous of good works.
These things speak,and exhort,and rebuke with all authority>let no man despise thee."
Titus 2:11-15

IDF Kills Terrorists, Hamas Kills Gazans

Two Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed in Gaza Saturday. PA sources claim IDF naval forces killed them.Conflicting PA claims said that one of the men was an “innocent fisherman” and that “both were lifeguards.”Earlier Saturday, IDF soldiers spotted three terrorists approaching the security fence in northern Gaza. Troops opened fore, wounding two terrorists in Beit Lahiyah. At least one of the men was from Fatah’s Al-Aksa Brigades terrorist group, under the authority of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas.Dozens of mortar shells were fired by Gaza terrorists over the weekend. Three crossed over the Gaza security fence. No injuries were reported.Internecine Clashes Leave Two Dead, Dozens WoundedAt least two PA Arab were killed and 21 wounded in fighting between Hamas and and a Fatah-loyal Gaza clan over the weekend.One of the dead was a 13-year-old who was caught in the crossfire, according to local reports. His father was also wounded Arrests in Judea and SamariaIDF forces arrested six wanted terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria overnight Friday. An ammunition cache was discovered in one of the wanted men’s homes.A hand gun was found on a PA Arab crossing the Ras Attiya checkpoint, southeast of Kalkilya. At the Beit Ibba checkpoint, west of Shechem, a man was arrested with two knives.PA Arab hurled rocks at Israeli vehicles traveling near the communities of Barkan and Karmei Tzur. No injuries were reported, but damage was caused to one of the vehicles. IDF forces arrested one of the rock-throwers.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123979
As in the days of Noah....

Divided Korea Paralyzes Families Torn Apart Long Ago

SEOUL,South Korea-In 1997, 22 years after Choi Wook-il’s fishing boat was seized by North Korea, members of Mr. Choi’s family in South Korea received their first word from him. The letter, relayed through China, was addressed to Mr. Choi’s brother because Mr. Choi assumed that his wife had long since remarried. He asked his brother to look after her and their four children.Then he added: “I see birds flying freely in the blue sky. I see fish swimming freely in the blue sea. Why can’t people travel freely?”When she read this, Mr. Choi’s wife, who had not remarried, knew at last not only that he was alive, but also that he wanted to escape. It took nearly a decade, with several failed rescue missions, but she finally succeeded in helping him escape late last year.Still, there are few unreservedly happy endings to stories of families caught up in the Korean divide: Mr. Choi’s reunion with his wife, Yang Jong-ja, and their children meant abandoning a second family he had formed in the North.Thousands of South Korean families are still waiting to hear from loved ones taken to North Korea as prisoners during the Korean War more than half a century ago or kidnapped in the decades that followed.About 500 South Korean soldiers captured during the war are thought to be alive in the North, with 480 civilians, mostly fishermen, who were kidnapped in the years since, according to the South Korean government. It is unclear how many of the estimated 80,000 civilians who were taken to North Korea during the war may still be alive.Only a few dozen have returned. Many of them, like Mr. Choi, now 67, made their way home in perilous smuggling operations.The fate of the abducted South Koreans remains an emotional issue. Since the groundbreaking meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun’s predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, and Kim Jong-il in 2000, South Korea has repatriated 63 convicted North Korean spies, increased aid to the North and expanded trade relations.But the South Korean government has been reluctant to challenge North Korea’s denials that it had abducted any South Koreans, even though Kim Jong-il admitted in 2002 that North Korea had kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens, and released 5 of them. The North says it takes the matter seriously but seeks a nonconfrontational resolution.“When President Kim came to Pyongyang, I had high expectations of seeing my family again,” said Mr. Choi, now 67, before Mr. Roh and Mr. Kim held their first meeting in North Korea in early October. “But it didn’t happen. This time, I hope President Roh will remember there are still people like me in the North.”Mr. Roh said he raised the issue with Mr. Kim, but they were unable to reach an agreement.On Aug. 18, 1975, Mr. Choi’s trawler was headed to Jumunjin, on South Korea’s northeastern coast, when it was intercepted by a North Korean gunboat.A South Korean search party returned after five days, without finding the boat or the 33 crew members. They were believed to have been lost at sea.As is usual in such cases, the North Koreans would not allow the boat’s crew members to leave, or tell their families they were alive. After a year of ideological indoctrination, Mr. Choi was assigned to a collective farm.“The difficult part was that I had once lived in a free country,” he said. “In the North, you cannot move freely. You have to attend a self-criticism session every 10 days. You have to plant your rice strictly according to party guidelines. No flexibility is allowed.”In 1979, his hopes of going home diminishing, Mr. Choi married a North Korean widow with two daughters. They had a son, now 28, and a daughter, 26.In Jumunjin, occasional visits by the police inquiring about her husband led Ms. Yang to suspect that he was alive, though fortune tellers told her he was dead.“I was just busy scratching out a living,” she said. “I tried my hand at every menial job: pulling coal carts, laying bricks, peddling dried fish and vegetables.“Then the letter arrived.”In 1997, North Korea was gripped by a famine that left as many as two million people dead. The government eased border controls, allowing people to seek food in China. Mr. Choi saw a chance to contact his family.When his North Korean wife secured a permit to visit relatives in China, he gave her the letter to send to his brother. Shortly after receiving the letter, Mr. Choi’s brother died.“Whether he knew it or not,” Ms. Yang said of her husband, “I was now his only hope.”Ms. Yang turned to an advocate for divided families, Choi Sung-yong, the son of a fisherman thought to have been abducted.In 2000, Choi Sung-yong began using his North Korean contacts, who communicated by cellphone, to find out whether Choi Wook-il wanted to escape.

As in the days of Noah....

Syria Shuts Main Exit From War For Iraqis

DAMASCUS-Long the only welcoming country in the region for Iraqi refugees, Syria has closed its borders to all but a small group of Iraqis and imposed new visa rules that will legally require the 1.5 million Iraqis currently in Syria to return to Iraq.The change quietly went into effect on Oct. 1. Syrian officials have often threatened to stem the flow of refugees over the past eight months, but until now have backed down after pleas from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.For more than a year, 2,000 to 4,000 Iraqis have fled into Syria every day, according to United Nations officials. On the last four days that the border remained open, the officials said, 25,000 Iraqis crossed into Syria.“The door is now closed to Iraqis in every direction,” said Sybella Wilkes, a spokeswoman here for the United Nations refugee agency.It is unclear whether Syria will enforce the rules for the Iraqis already in the country. United Nations officials believe Syria is likely to continue its practice of not deporting citizens of other Arab countries whose immigration status is illegal.Syria announced the new rules this summer and said they would take effect on Sept. 1. But it postponed their implementation and continued to accept refugees until Oct. 1. Under the old visa rules, Iraqis entered Syria without restriction and were allowed to remain for three months. Damascus has avoided any announcement about the policy since it took effect, leaving refugees and United Nations officials in a haze of uncertainty.Under the new rules, Iraqis must apply for visas at the Syrian Embassy in Baghdad. Only academics, merchants with commercial interests requiring travel to Syria, and taxi and truck drivers qualify for visas.The immediate effect has been to cut the flood of refugees to a trickle, no more than a hundred people a day, according to the United Nations. Over the long term, it means that Iraqi refugees who overstay their three-month visas to Syria may have to make the dangerous trip back to Baghdad and apply to return under the new visa requirement, which disqualifies all but a handful.Syrian officials have said they were responding to a longstanding request from the Iraqi government to close their border, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, following government policy. They said the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, told Syrian leaders on a state visit in August that the constant flow of refugees undermined the Iraqi government’s effort to bring greater security to the country.That account was corroborated by diplomats based in Damascus and by United Nations officials. Attempts to reach officials in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry and prime minister’s office were unsuccessful on Saturday.Jordan is the only other neighbor of Iraq to take in a substantial number of refugees, housing an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 Iraqis. But Jordan limited admission to Iraqis more than a year ago.The visa changes come as the Syrian government has tightened its control over its Iraqi refugee population. Kadhim Aydan, 42, originally from the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, moved his wife and 13-year-old daughter to comparative safety in the Iraqi city of Iskandariya. He occasionally earns money in Syria writing articles for Arabic newspapers. Now, he said, it will be impossible to bring his family to join him because he cannot get them visas, and he is afraid he will not be readmitted to Syria if he goes to visit them.
“The situation here is degrading, and getting worse all the time for Iraqis,” Mr. Aydan said as he played backgammon in a teahouse in Sayeda Zeinab.Saif Jassem, 25, fled to Syria last November, after he was fired from his job in Baghdad. His gratitude is tempered by the fear that he will be forced to return to the war that claimed his father’s life.He described life for the Iraqis in Syria as “tragic,” adding, “We need a solution for the entire Iraqi community.”

As in the days of Noah....

One World, Taking Risks Together

HUGE financial losses in the United States spark fears in Europe. A credit crisis ensues. Soon the fear spreads to Wall Street, where the biggest banks fight off rumors of insolvency amid a broader economic panic, and Washington is forced to step in. The market swoons. If this sounds familiar, it should. Except we’re not talking about the subprime mortgage crisis, or the deal brokered by the Treasury Department last week with three American banking giants to cough up $75 billion for a fund aimed at stabilizing the global credit market, or Friday’s 366-point drop in the stock market. In fact, it’s a brief history of the Panic of 1907, which culminated exactly 100 years ago today.Back then, losses stemming from the San Francisco earthquake the year before hammered British insurers and eventually forced government officials on this side of the Atlantic and none other than J. P. Morgan himself to come to the rescue. On the night of Oct. 21, 1907, the legendary tycoon summoned the country’s leading financiers to his Murray Hill mansion to help finance a bailout.“This is where the trouble stops,” Mr. Morgan famously declared. He succeeded. By early 1908, the panic had passed.Today, it’s J. P. Morgan again — the firm, not the man — along with Citigroup and Bank of America that are trying to fix things, with prodding from Henry M. Paulson Jr., the secretary of the Treasury, and, as the former head of Goldman Sachs, something of a latter-day tycoon.Given the historical echo — as well as the 20th anniversary of the crash of Oct. 19, 1987 — it’s appropriate that the plan to ease the credit crunch is high on the agenda this weekend as the finance ministers of the Group of 7 leading industrial countries confer in Washington.But this time around, it may take much longer to repair the damage and restore confidence than it did a century ago. It’s not only that the sums are larger now: even adjusting for a century of inflation, losses from the San Francisco earthquake totaled only about $18 billion in today’s dollars, according to Marc Weidenmier, an associate professor of economics at Claremont McKenna College, compared with the likely loss of hundreds of billions dollars related to subprime mortgages.It’s also that the breadth and complexity of today’s global markets create risks so great that no group of business leaders — or even a single country — can control them.
To read more go to:

As in the days of Noah....

Astronomers: Monster Black Hole Can't Be Explained

A stellar black hole much more massive than theory predicts is possible has astronomers puzzled.Stellar black holes form when stars with masses around 20 times that of the sun collapse under the weight of their own gravity at the ends of their lives.Most stellar black holes weigh in at around 10 solar masses when the smoke blows away, and computer models of star evolution have difficulty producing black holes more massive than that.The newly weighed black hole is 16 solar masses. It orbits a companion star in the spiral galaxy Messier 33, located 2.7 million light-years from Earth. Together they make up the system known as M33 X-7."We're having trouble using standard theories to explain this system because it is so massive," study team member Jerome Orosz of the University of California, San Diego, told SPACE.com.
The black hole in M33 X-7 is also the most distant stellar black hole ever observed.The findings, detailed in the Oct. 17 issue of the journal Nature, could help improve formation models of "binary" systems containing a black hole and a star.It could also help explain one of the brightest star explosions ever observed.
Black hole eclipse
Black holes can't be seen, because all matter and light that enters them is trapped. So black holes are detected by noting their gravitational effects on nearby stars or on material that swirls around them.The companion star of the M33 X-7 pair passes directly in front of the black hole, as seen from Earth, once every three days, completely eclipsing its X-ray emissions.It is the only known binary system in which this occurs, and it was this unusual arrangement that allowed astronomers to calculate the pair's masses very precisely.The tight orbits of the black hole and star suggests the system underwent a violent stage of star evolution called the common-envelope phase, in which a dying star swells so much it sucks its companion inside its gas envelope.This results in either a merger between the two stars or the formation of a tight binary in which one star is stripped of its outer layers.The team thinks the latter scenario happened in the case of M33 X-7, and that the stripped star exploded as a supernova before imploding to form a black hole.However, something unusual must have happened to M33 X-7 during this phase to create such a massive black hole."The black hole must have lost a large amount of mass for the two objects to be so close," Tomasz Bulik, an astronomer at the University of Warsaw in Poland, writes in a related Nature article. "But on the other hand, it must have retained enough mass to form such a heavy black hole."The team estimates the black hole's progenitor must have shed gas at a rate about 10 times less than models predicted before it exploded."[M33 X-7] might thus provide both the upper and lower limits on the amount of mass loss and orbital tightening that can occur in the common envelope," added Bulik, who was not involved in the study.
Twin black holes
If other massive stars also lose very little material during their last stages, it could explain the incredible luminosity of 2006gy, one of the brightest supernovas ever observed, the researchers say.One day, the lone star in M33 X-7 will also disappear, notes study team member Jeffrey McClintock of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass."This is a huge star that is partnered with a huge black hole," McClintock says. "Eventually, the companion will also go supernova, and then we'll have a pair of black holes."While 16 solar masses is hefty for a stellar black hole, it is miniscule compared with the black holes thought to lie in the heart of many large galaxies, including our own.Such "supermassive" black holes have masses millions to billions times that of our sun, but they are thought to form by mechanisms different from the stellar variety.

As in the days of Noah....

Baby boy found alive after twister tosses crib 40 feet

A Michigan couple was thanking their lucky stars after finding that their 1-year-old baby survived a tornado that demolished their home.The family was asleep early Friday morning when the storm hit. As the twister ripped through the house, reducing it to rubble, the baby’s crib was thrown 40 feet away from the home, the Flint Journal reported.By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, a neighbor had found the baby in the overturned crib under a pile of debris about 40 feet from the home after hearing a faint whimper."Sometimes miracles happen," Millington Township firefighter Dan Detgen told The Flint Journal.
Click on the URL below to watch the video:

As in the days of Noah....

NAZI REVIVAL WATCH:Teen indicted for drawing swastikas on Torah books, setting sukkah ablaze

The Haifa District Attorney's Office on Thursday indicted 19-year-old Tomer Ben-Simon setting fire to a synagogue's sukkah over the holiday and scribbled swastikas, the number "666", which is identified with satanic worship, and "religious Jews are neo-Nazis" on torah books.He also wrote the phrases "Heil Hitler," "Heinrich Himmler" and slogans in German on the books. Ben-Simon was also accused of etching swastikas on the hood of cars that were parked in his neighborhood.In two other incidents the teen allegedly assaulted a 40-year-old woman and a 77-year-old woman. The attacks were apparently motivated by racism.Haifa Police investigators found songs with Nazi themes saved on Ben-Simon's computer. The teen was sent for psychiatric evaluation and was found fit to stand trial.The District Attorney's Office has requested that Ben-Simon be held in custody until the end of the legal proceedings against him.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0%2C7340%2CL-3461535%2C00.html
As in the days of Noah...

HELP,LORD....!!!!

"Help,Lord;for the godly man ceaseth;for the faithful fall from among the children of men....
The wicked walk on every side,when the vilest men are exalted."
PSALM 12:1;8

Rural town may block Muslim site :Local leader draws up legal hurdle that could derail plan for mosque on farm

WALKERSVILLE, Md.-A Muslim group's plan to build a mosque and convention site on a 224-acre farm has met with resistance from many residents of this rural, overwhelmingly Christian town who fear its tranquility and security may be jeopardized. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA insists it will be a friendly neighbor, but its proposal-including an annual national gathering of thousands of Ahmadis-could be blocked by a measure under consideration by the town commissioners.''Muslims are a whole different culture from us,'' said the mayor, Ralph Whitmore, taking a break at his livestock feed store. ''The situation with the Muslims is a touchy worldwide situation, so people are antsy over that.''Two days after Ahmadiyya leaders fielded questions at a public forum in August, town Commissioner Chad Weddle introduced a zoning amendment that would prohibit places of worship, schools and private clubs on land zoned for agriculture-including the farm the Ahmadis have contracted to buy.If the five commissioners approve the measure in a vote expected as early as next week, the Ahmadis could be blocked from building a mosque on the site. Even if the amendment fails, the group still would need a special exception to proceed-their request for one is pending before the town's planning commission.To some, Weddle's amendment smacks of discrimination.''The situation indicates this is an action that is being directed toward one specific faith community and, as such, that makes it highly suspect,'' said Roman P. Storzer, a Washington attorney who has been retained by the land's prospective seller, David Moxley.Muqtedar Khan, a political science professor at the University of Delaware, said the blunt opposition voiced by some Walkersville citizens is reminiscent of the persecution Ahmadis have endured in Pakistan. There, they are forbidden to practice their religion because they believe there was a prophet after Muhammad-Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who died in 1908.''It is quite ironic,'' Khan said, that the Ahmadis-allowed to worship freely in the United States-"are suffering a backlash because of their association with Islam.''But Syed Ahmad, a federal economist who is managing the Walkersville project for the group, said the persecution in Pakistan is far worse.''Here, people are civilized and they get up and they talk and they oppose you,'' Ahmad said, ''but they're not going to kill you.''Ahmad, who emigrated from Pakistan in 1980, says members of his community won't go where they're not wanted. The group's leaders have gone door-to-door to persuade Walkersville residents that Ahmadis are not terrorists.Ahmad acknowledged that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the U.S. campaign against terrorism have made residents wary.
''They hear 'Muslims,' and they don't know anything beyond that,'' he said. ''To me, it's natural until they get a chance to ask questions what our beliefs are-and then they realize these are good people.''Some residents aren't convinced. When the Ahmadis visited Kambra Minor, a clerk at the Walkersville Market, ''I told them, you have to understand-there's a certain connotation to a Muslim group, especially in a blue-collar area like this,'' Minor said.Resident David Sample testified during a hearing last month that he is an intelligence officer whose office at the Pentagon, about 40 miles away, was destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks.''I just stress to the board and the community that we pay attention to what's going on, what the motive is, who the people are,'' he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/religion/610894%2CCST-NWS-rel19.article
As in the days of Noah....

No Backup if Atlanta's Faucets Run Dry

ATLANTA-With the South in the grip of an epic drought and its largest city holding less than a 90-day supply of water, officials are scrambling to deal with the worst-case scenario: What if Atlanta's faucets really do go dry?So far, no real backup exists. And there are no quick fixes among suggested solutions, which include piping water in from rivers in neighboring states, building more regional reservoirs, setting up a statewide recycling system or even desalinating water from the Atlantic Ocean."It's amazing that things have come to this," said Ray Wiedman, owner of an Atlanta landscaper business. "Everybody knew the growth was coming. We haven't had a plan for all the people coming here?"Gov. Sonny Perdue seems to be pinning his hopes on a two-pronged approach: urging water conservation and reducing water flowing out of federally controlled lakes.Perdue's office was preparing Friday to ask a federal judge to force the Army Corps of Engineers to curb the amount of water draining from Georgia reservoirs into Alabama and Florida. And Georgia's environmental protection director is drafting proposals for more water restrictions.But that may not be enough to stave off the water crisis.More than a quarter of the Southeast is covered by an "exceptional" drought—the National Weather Service's worst drought category. Georgia is smack in the middle of the affected area, which extends like a dark cloud over most of Tennessee, Alabama and the northern half of Georgia, as well as parts of North and South Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia.State officials warn that Lake Lanier, a 38,000-acre north Georgia reservoir that supplies more than 3 million residents with water, is already less than three months from depletion. Smaller reservoirs are dropping even lower, forcing local governments to consider rationing.State water managers say there is more water available in the lake's reserves. But tapping into it would require the use of barges, emergency pumps and longer water lines. And some lawmakers fear if the lake is drained that low, it may be impossible to refill.The Corps, which manages the water in the region, stresses there's no reason to think Atlanta will soon run out of water."We're so far away from that, nobody's doing a contingency plan," said Major Daren Payne, the deputy commander of the Corps' Mobile office. "Quite frankly, there's enough water left to last for months. We've got a serious drought, there's no doubt about it, anytime you deplete your entire storage pool and tap into the reserve."
But, he said, any calls to stockpile bottled water would be "very premature."Still, some academics and politicians are proposing contingency plans in case the situation worsens.Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said the region should explore piping in additional sources of water—possibly from the Tennessee or Savannah rivers. She even suggested desalinating sea water from Georgia's Atlantic coast."We need to look beyond our borders," she said.
To read more go to:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8SCGVUG0&show_article=1&catnum=1
As in the days of Noah.....

IAEA examines Syria bombing site photos

UN experts have been provided satellite imagery of the site struck last month by Israeli warplanes and are analyzing it for signs that it might have been a secret nuclear facility, diplomats said Friday.One of the diplomats indicated that the photos came from US intelligence. Another said the images, which have been studied by experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency since being received on Thursday, do not at first examination appear to substantiate reports that the target was a nuclear installation, but emphasized that the images were still being looked at.The diplomats, who were briefed on the agency's receipt of the images, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because their information was confidential. Officials of the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog said they had no comment.The new inquiry holds great importance, as this is the first time an independent body is looking into evidence from the site attacked in Syria in an attempt to identify its essence. Syria denies the existence of a nuclear program in the country and officials in Damascus have previously said Israel attacked an empty structure in September.
'Syria eliminating evidence'
Syria has begun dismantling the remains of a site Israel bombed on September 6, the Washington Post reported Friday, quoting US and foreign officials familiar with the aftermath of the attack.According to the report, the Syrians may be attempting to prevent the location from coming under international scrutiny.The dismantling of the damaged site, which appears to be still underway, could make it difficult for weapons inspectors to determine the precise nature of the facility and how Syria planned to use it, the Washington Post said.Based on overhead photography, the officials told the paper that the site in Syria's eastern desert near the Euphrates River had a "signature" or characteristics of a small but substantial nuclear reactor, one similar in structure to North Korea's facilities.According to the report, the bombed facility is different from the one Syria displayed to journalists last week to back its allegations that Israel had bombed an essentially an empty building, said the officials, who insisted on anonymity because details of the Israeli attack are classified.While US officials express increasing confidence that the Syrian facility was nuclear-related, divisions persist within the government and among weapons experts over the significance of the threat.According to the Washington Post, while expressing concern over the prospect that Syria may have decided to launch a nuclear program in secret, some weapons experts question why neither Israel nor the United States made any effort before the secret attack – or in the six weeks since – to offer evidence to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a move that would trigger an inspection of Syria by the nuclear watchdog.
'Strong message to Iran'
But John R. Bolton, the Bush administration's former ambassador to the United Nations, said Syria's secrecy – including its apparent move to clean up the site after the bombing – suggests that Damascus is pursuing a strategy similar to that of Iran, which the Bush administration believes is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, the report said."The common practice for people with legitimate civilian nuclear power programs is to be transparent, because they have nothing to hide," Bolton said.According to the Washington Post, some experts speculate that Israeli and US officials may have calculated that reporting their intelligence to the IAEA would have produced only limited repercussions, the equivalent of a diplomatic slap on the wrist to Syria, which might have decided to build the facility anyway.Foreign sources familiar with the attack told the paper Israel wanted to send a strong message to Iran about the price of developing a secret nuclear program. Israel is increasingly alarmed about Iran's intentions and frustrated that the international community has not persuaded Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment program.Israel and the US continue to refrain from officially addressing the Israeli airstrike. US President George W. Bush was asked about it several times during press conferences he held at the White House and refused to comment, as did Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who was asked about the attack by American reporters he met during his visit to the US this week.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0%2C7340%2CL-3461758%2C00.html
As in the days of Noah....

No Christmas at Seattle airport:Celebrating 'winter' year after controversial tree removal

After unceremoniously removing all of its Christmas trees in the middle of the night last year, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this season will dispense with any religious symbols and just celebrate "winter."A panel that formed after the Port of Seattle Commission removed the airport's 17 red-ribboned trees, decided the new decorations will feature a grove of birches in Dacron snow, hung with crystals and mirrors to reflect low-energy lights, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.The port drew international attention last year when its five elected commissioners reacted to a lawsuit threat by a rabbi who wanted to erect a menorah alongside the largest of Christmas trees.As WND reported, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky said, contrary to widespread news reports, that he never intended to have the trees removed. The Jewish leader said he was horrified by the decision, which spurred anti-Semitism and angry accusations. The port returned the trees about a week later after Bogomilsky told officials his organization, the Northwest Friends of Chabad-Lubavitch, a Hasidic Orthodox group, was not going to sue.
This year, however, the port is taking no chances. "What I was hoping for was something that was cheerful and evocative of the holiday spirit, and as much to do with nature and evergreen trees as they could," Commissioner Pat Davis told the Seattle paper "We wanted to move forward without something that would get us back into any sort of controversy, and I think it is very creative. I hope the public likes it – it will take a while to get used to."Officials removed Christmas trees installed last Christmas season at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a rabbi asked for a menorah to be displayed (Courtesy Seattle Post-Intelligencer)The $300,000 airport display – now being assembled in a warehouse – will include foam migrating birds above the birch trees, which will be dusted periodically with non-toxic snowfall to the sound of wind chimes. The port said it rejected the menorah last year because it didn't want other religious groups pressing to have their own symbols' included.The port commission this year convened a 12-member holiday decorations advisory committee of religious, academic, legal and business leaders. The panel agreed in July to have decorations that would "reflect the Pacific Northwest environment and our diverse community, and convey universal values, such as peace and harmony."The installation at airport is expected to begin Nov. 9.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58248
PS:The tradition of the "Christmas Tree"it's curiosly not christian at all but pagan....It may shock some of you,especially here in America where the tree is so part of our "christian culture" it seems,that nobody would even dare to say the TRUTH about it....Well the truth is that is not christian as well as the date picked for the celebration of the day of Jesus's birth is not correct...Anyway...Ill elaborate later when I'll especifically will talk about Christmas...but I thought posting this article was interesting,cause almost everybody identify christmas with the tree....
As in the days of Noah...

ENVIRO WATCH:California cities asked to switch off lights

LOS ANGELES-Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara residents are being urged to switch off their lights for one hour on Saturday in the first such organized bid in the United States to promote energy saving.Much of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Los Angeles International Airport will go dark between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., apart from essential safety lighting. Lights in city buildings will be switched off and millions of residents in the three cities are being asked to follow suit.The Lights Out campaign in California follows similar initiatives in Sydney, Australia; London, England; and Paris, France earlier this year. California organizers said they planned a nationwide U.S. event in March 2009.The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said that if all of its 1.4 million customers turned off their lights for an hour, enough energy could be saved to power 2,500 homes for an entire year.Electricity companies are urging people to replace at least one of the lights they switch back on with an energy-saving fluorescent light bulb.California this year proposed what would have been the first U.S. state ban on incandescent light bulbs. But the law was later shelved in favor of another that requires tight energy-efficient standards for new bulbs.
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2033474220071020?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true
As in the days of Noah...

Iran to fire '11,000 rockets in minute' if attacked

Iran warned on Saturday it would fire off 11,000 rockets at enemy bases within the space of a minute if the United States launched military action against the Islamic republic."In the first minute of an invasion by the enemy, 11,000 rockets and cannons would be fired at enemy bases," said a brigadier general in the elite Revolutionary Guards, Mahmoud Chaharbaghi. "This volume and speed of firing would continue,"added Chaharbaghi, who is commander of artillery and missiles of the Guards' ground forces, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.The United States has never ruled out attacking Iran to end its defiance over the controversial Iranian nuclear programme, which the US alleges is aimed at making nuclear weapons but Iran insists is entirely peaceful.Iran has for its part vowed never to initiate an attack but has also warned of a crushing response to any act of aggression against its soil."If a war breaks out in the future, it will not last long because we will rub their noses in the dirt," said Chaharbaghi."Now the enemy should ask themselves how many of their people they are ready to have sacrificed for their stupidity in attacking Iran," he said.Iranian officials have repeatedly warned the military would target the bases of US forces operating in neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan in the event of any attack and already has these sites under close surveillance.Chaharbaghi said that the Guards would soon receive "rockets with a range of 250 kilometres (155 miles)" whereas the current range of its rockets is 150 kilometres (91 miles)."We have identified our targets and with a close surveillance of targets, we can respond to the enemy's stupidity immediately," Chaharbaghi added.He said that the Guards' weapons were spread out throughout the country and so would not be affected by any isolated US strikes against military facilities.The Guards are Iran's elite ideological army and responsible for its most significant weapons such as the longer range Shahab-3 missile which has Israel and US bases in the Middle East within its range.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071020112808.cc3so4b1&show_article=1
As in the days of Noah....

The Case for Israel's Strike on Syria:Air Attack Targeted Nascent Nuclear Facility Built With North Korean 'Expertise'

Israeli officials believed that a target their forces bombed inside Syria last month was a nuclear facility, because they had detailed photographs taken by a possible spy inside the complex, ABC News has learned. The Bush administration has steadfastly refused to say anything about the Israeli raid on Syria, or to confirm what was hit. But ABC News has learned of the apparent mole and other dramatic and secret details about the events leading up to the airstrike, plus the evidence that supported it.A senior U.S. official told ABC News the Israelis first discovered a suspected Syrian nuclear facility early in the summer, and the Mossad-Israel's intelligence agency-managed to either co-opt one of the facility's workers or to insert a spy posing as an employee.As a result, the Israelis obtained many detailed pictures of the facility from the ground. The official said the suspected nuclear facility was approximately 100 miles from the Iraqi border, deep in the desert along the Euphrates River. It was a place, the official said, "where no one would ever go unless you had a reason to go there."But the hardest evidence of all was the photographs.The official described the pictures as showing a big cylindrical structure, with very thick walls all well-reinforced. The photos show rebar hanging out of the cement used to reinforce the structure, which was still under construction. There was also a secondary structure and a pump station, with trucks around it. But there was no fissionable material found because the facility was not yet operating.The official said there was a larger structure just north of a small pump station; a nuclear reactor would need a constant source of water to keep it cool.The official said the facility was a North Korean design in its construction, the technology present and the ability to put it all together.It was North Korean "expertise," said the official, meaning the Syrians must have had "human" help from North Korea.A light water reactor designed by North Koreans could be constructed to specifically produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3752687&page=1
As in the days of Noah....

THOSE WHO MAY ABIDE IN THE LORDS TABERNACLE

"Lord,who shall abide in thy tabernacle?who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly,and worketh righteousness,and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backcbitteth not with his tongue,nor doeth evil to his neighbour,nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned;but he that honoureth them that fear the Lord.He that sweareth to his own hurt,and changeth not.
He that putteth not our his money to usury,nor taketh reward against the innocent.he that doeth these things shall never be moved."
PSALM 15