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

Planned Parenthood accepts racist donations

WASHINGTON-Planned Parenthood-an organization that calls itself pro-child, pro-woman and pro-life-has been discovered allegedly accepting racist-motivated donations.A recent investigation by The Advocate student magazine at the University of California at Los Angeles, produced phone recordings of Planned Parenthood affiliates in seven states approving a donor's racist motivation.The magazine had an actor pose as a donor and call the clinics to see how Planned Parenthood employees would respond as he expressed openly racist comments. The actor said he wanted his gift to be used to abort African American babies to "lower the number of black people," according to The Advocate. None of the affiliates expressed reservations about the reason for the contribution, the magazine reported.An Idaho Planned Parenthood staff member agreed on a telephone call that blacks should be implementing more abortions. According to The Advocate, the actor said in a phone call that "the less black kids out there the better." In response, Autumn Kersey, vice president of marketing and development for Planned Parenthood of Idaho, said she understood, according to the magazine. She also commented, LifeNews.com reported, "This is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited, and want to make sure I don't leave anything out."Another phone recording caught an Ohio Planned Parenthood worker saying "we'll accept the money for whatever reason" in response to the actor's racist-motivated donation, The Advocate reported.Outraged by the phone recordings, some UCLA students have been petitioning the school to cut off connections with Planned Parenthood.Planned Parenthood of Idaho CEO Rebecca Poedy apologized for Kersey's comments initially, saying she made a "serious mistake," according to LifeNews. On Feb. 28, however, Poedy backtracked in remarks to the Boise Weekly, describing The Advocate as "extremist" and charging it had "manipulated a 25-minute conversation."Clenard Childress, founder of BlackGenocide.org, said in a written statement, "No other ethnic group in the United States has been decimated more by abortion than the Afro-American community. The war being waged upon innocent captives in the womb is led by Planned Parenthood."Black women were 4.8 times as likely as non-Hispanic white women to have abortions in 2005, according to a January report by the Guttmacher Institute. African Americans made up 12.3 percent of the United States population, according to the 2000 census, but black women had 36.3 percent of the abortions that same year, the Centers for Disease Control reported.The Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the country's No. 1 abortion provider. More than 260,000 babies were aborted in its clinics in 2005, a 15 percent increase from 2002.The report of receiving racist-motivated donors is not the only thing about Planned Parenthood that has brought recent protests.Alveda King, niece of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., denounced Planned Parenthood's use of her uncle's words and images on its website."Planned Parenthood is no stranger to deception," King said in a written release. "I know firsthand because prior to my abortion, a Planned Parenthood doctor told me my baby was just a 'blob of tissue.' Now, Planned Parenthood lies by trying to imply that my uncle would somehow endorse the organization today. He most certainly would not."King said her uncle accepted an award from Planned Parenthood in 1966 before the organization began publicly advocating abortion and before abortion itself was legal nationwide. If he had known the true agenda, her uncle would not have associated with the organization, she said.Planned Parenthood's TeenWire website "encourages kids to play sexual games or explore bisexuality and it gives teens advice on how to avoid telling their parents about a possible abortion," LifeNews reported Feb. 28.Some content on the website is so graphic that certain Internet filters are preventing access to it, according to LifeNews.The opening next fall of a 78,000-square-foot facility by the University of Houston also has prompted some protests. The Houston clinic will have an entire floor dedicated to late-term pregnancies,according to LifeSiteNews.com.Planned Parenthood likes to locate near universities to make it easier for young women to use their abortion services, a Houston Coalition for Life spokeswoman told LifeSite.This new facility exceeds by far the 22,000-square-foot clinic opened in Aurora, Ill., last year and the 50,000-square-foot facility being built in Denver.Planned Parenthood receives nearly a third of its money in government grants and contracts that added up to $305.3 million in 2006. "With over $300 million in taxpayer funds, the organization has the U.S. government to thank for helping to promote these messages," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said.Pro-life members of Congress have been fighting for the federal government to stop funding the organization.On Feb. 27, Virginia made some progress in that direction. Members of the Virginia Senate voted to cut off state funding of Planned Parenthood because of the number of abortions its performs each year.Pro-choice Virginia senators opposed the ruling. Sen. Janet Howell claimed the amendment would lead to women dying from illegal abortions.However, the legislation passed by the narrowest of margins. Senators tied 20-20, and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, broke the tie in favor of the measure, according to The Washington Post.

As in the days of Noah....

SEDUCING SPIRITS AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,and doctrines of devils..."
1 Timothy 4:1

Rahul Gandhi starts India drive

Senior Indian Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi(picture left) has set off from the eastern state of Orissa on a nationwide tour to boost his party's profile.Mr Gandhi is seen as the heir to the Congress Party leadership and a possible future prime minister.He started his journey from the poor tribal district of Noapara.The campaign - nicknamed the "discovery of India" - is aimed at winning hearts and minds and promoting Mr Gandhi as a future leader of the country.Son of Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi and former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi is the youngest member of India's Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty.Three generations of his family have served as Indian prime minister.His great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was independent India's first prime minister,and his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi were both prime ministers. Reviving the party
Mr Gandhi kicked off his "discovery of India" tour from Seenapali village and will cover 13 districts over the next four days.Senior Congress officials say he will meet party workers, youth, tribals and farmers.Enthusiastic party leaders hope Mr Gandhi's tour will re-energise party workers.
Analysts say Mr Gandhi's visit to Orissa is significant as the state assembly elections are due within a year.Mr Gandhi's father,Rajiv Gandhi, also visited the area 23 years ago and announced some development schemes.Tribal members in the region have been loyal Congress Party supporters but in the past few years, the charm has begun to fade and the party has not fared well in the elections.
New image
Mr Gandhi was named as a general secretary in the party last September, giving rise to speculation that the Congress is preparing for early elections.The party has been under tremendous pressure in recent weeks from its left-wing allies who have been threatening to end their support unless the government shelves a controversial nuclear deal with the United States. With talk of mid-term polls gaining momentum, some analysts say the party is keen to project a new youthful image.Rahul Gandhi played a major role in Congress' campaigning in elections in India's biggest state, Uttar Pradesh, last year. But the party failed to reverse its declining fortunes there.He was elected to the lower house of parliament from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the last general elections in 2004.At present, he heads the youth and students' wing of the party. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7282698.stm
As in the days of Noah....

Giant telescope opens both eyes

The world's most powerful optical telescope has opened both of its eyes.Astronomers at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona have released the first images taken using its two giant 8m diameter mirrors.The detailed pictures show a spiral galaxy located 102 million light-years away from the Milky Way.LBT has been 20 years in the making but promises to allow astronomers to probe the Universe further back in time and in more detail than ever before."The amount of time and work that was put into this project to reach the point where we are today is immense," said LBT Director Richard Green. "To see the telescope operational with both mirrors is a great feeling."The $120m (£60m) telescope uses two mirrors in tandem to maximise the amount of light it gathers, which allows astronomers to look deep into the Universe.Using two 8.4 m (27ft) mirrors will give LBT the equivalent light-gathering capacity of a single 11.8m (39ft) instrument and the resolution of a 22.8m (75ft) telescope.
Impressive detail
The resolution is 10 times greater than the space-based Hubble telescope, which has a 2.4m (8ft) mirror."The images that this telescope will produce will be like none seen before," said Professor Peter Strittmatter of the University of Arizona.The first pictures are false-colour images of the spiral galaxy NGC 2770. The pictures show what is a flat disc of stars and glowing gas. The images - which take advantage of the telescope's ability to view the same point in space with multiple wavelengths of light - emphasise different features of the galaxy.Combining ultraviolet and green light shows up clumpy regions of newly formed hot stars in the spiral arms, whilst a combination of red wavelengths highlights older, cooler stars.The images were taken on 11 and 12 January but have only just now been released.The LBT is located on Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona. It achieved "first light" with one mirror on 12 October 2005 when it imaged a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7282385.stm
As in the days of Noah.....

FRANKESTEIN SCIENCE WATCH:Japan 'cross-breeding cows with whales'

AN official scientific review of Japan's bizarre experiments with test-tube minke babies and attempts at cross-breeding cows with whales has exploded the claim whale slaughter is "research".Scientists have analysed the 43 research papers produced by Japan after 18 years of killing whales and concluded they are useless, strange and esoteric. Some of the experiments involved injecting dead minke sperm into cow eggs, others attempt to produce test-tube whale babies and thawing frozen whale sperm to see if it remained fertile. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research also injected cow and pig egg cells with minke cells as part of its whaling program. Australian delegates to this weekend's London meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will argue the "scientific research" loophole in the worldwide ban on commercial whaling that allows Japan to hunt the sea giants should be closed. The head of Australia's scientific delegation to the IWC, Dr Nick Gales, said the research not only lacked credibility - it was downright strange. "(The research involves) really bizarre and very strange experiments with sheep and pigs and eggs. It's totally esoteric, very strange research," he said from London. Dr Gales also said the number of papers the lethal "research" produced - a mere 43 over 18 years - was incredibly small for a government-funded organisation. "It was an incredibly low publication rate," he said. More than half of the papers were dedicated to establishing whale mortality rates, but failed to do so. "The amount of variability on these estimates means that the mortality rate remains unknown," Dr Gales said. The findings of Australia's review show research objectives for the second phase of Japan's scientific whaling program, known as JARPA II, were unachievable, he said. "They haven't changed any of the methodologies, Dr Gales said. Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the scrutiny of Japan's research proved its whale hunt was about money. "I challenge anyone to look at this sort of research and say it's necessary, to say it requires killing over 7000 whales," he said. "This is why we say what is happening is not science, it's not necessary - it's commercial whaling." Scientists originally analysed the first stage of Japan's whaling research in 2005 and published their findings in the renowned science journal Nature. The scientists have updated this in the past two years since Japan released more papers on the subject. This will be part of Australia's argument at this year's main IWC meeting in Chile, that killing whales is not generating any useful science. Japan has slaughtered more than 7000 whales during its 18-year "research" program.

As in the days of Noah....

DECEPTION WATCH:The World's "Most Dangerous" Spiritual Guru:Oprah Begins 10-Week Online New Age Class

This past Monday Oprah Winfrey, considered by many to be the world's most influential woman, [[[began a ten-week long online course on the best-selling book, "A New Earth," by New Age guru, Eckhart Tolle. "A New Earth" has already sold some 3.5 million copies worldwide, thanks largely to the publicity given to it by Oprah. According to Oprah, 500,000 people from across the world signed on to the first segment of the online course, to spend an hour and a half listening to Ekhart and Oprah talking about chapter 1 of the book, and taking calls from participants.In recent years Oprah has been inviting an increasing number of representatives of new age spirituality onto her talk shows, including figures such as Marianne Williamson, Barbara DeAngelis, LaVar Burton, Richard Carlson, Betty Eadie, and many others. Oprah has strongly endorsed many of their works, and has included some of them in her "Book Club" list. Since the beginning of this year Oprah has offered daily classes on her XM radio station on the book "A Course in Miracles." "A Course in Miracles" (or ACIM for short) was written by another major player in the New Age movement, Helen Schucman, who claims that the book was dictated to her by an interior voice, which she identifies with Jesus Christ. In that course, the listener is taught that there is no sin, is told not to make the "mistake" of "clinging to the old rugged cross," and that the name of "Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol."Oprah, who is a self-labeled "Christian", was recently named the "most dangerous woman in the world" by Bill Keller, considered by some to be the world's leading Internet evangelist. He accused Oprah of peddling the equivalent of "spiritual crack." Keller has been warning the subscribers of his Daily Devotional for years about Oprah and how she uses her TV program to promote every New Age philosophy in the world, including the wildly popular book and DVD last year, "The Secret," which teaches readers or viewers that simply by desiring them strongly enough, one may obtain wealth, health and happiness.However, rarely has Oprah shown more enthusiasm for a New Age guru than for the so-called Eckhart Tolle, who takes his first name from the well-known 13th century Catholic Rhineland mystic, Meister Eckhart. Tolle is the author of several books including "The Power of Now," and, most recently, "A New Earth."Much like many other New Age systems, Eckhart's "spirituality" is a vague, ethereal blend of spiritual theories and ideas, gleaned from all of the world's major religions. Eckhart promises the attainment of "inner peace" and a higher state of consciousness by utilizing methods of meditation that plunge one into the "now." He also says that mankind is in a moment of crisis, in which the race must either achieve the next stage in its evolution by attaining "higher consciousness", or destroy itself and the planet.The title of his newest book, "A New Earth," is taken from Chapter 21 from the Book of Revelations, in which the Biblical visionary says that he "saw a new heaven and a new earth." Throughout his newest book Eckhart sprinkles quotations from Scripture, and he frequently speaks about Christ and Scripture in his talks.The core of Eckhart's teaching is a religious relativism, in which he eschews all rigid doctrine or exclusive claims to truth as dangerous and manifestations of "egoiic consciousness." "The moment you say 'only my belief' or 'our belief' is true, and you deny other people's beliefs, then you've adopted an ideology," Eckhart told the participants in Monday's online class. "And then religion becomes a closed door."Eckhart explains away conscience and feelings of guilt as but the consequence of years of conditioning. He told one caller, who confessed that she still feels guilt when she decides against going to church on Sunday, that she must recognize that "the voice" which tells her to go to church is simply the result of social conditioning.]]]{{{{{{{{{{One caller into the show told Oprah that she was a Catholic, and was having trouble seeing how Eckhart's teachings could be reconciled with her Catholicism. Oprah responded that the caller must simply realize that Christianity is but one of many ways to achieve the "higher consciousness," and that the belief that one must follow a set of doctrines is a consequence of "egoiic consciousness." While Christianity is a valid way to achieve high states of spirituality, it must not be considered a unique way, or a "correct way"."Jesus," said Oprah, "came to show us Christ-consciousness…Jesus came to show us the way of the heart…Jesus came to say, 'Look I'm going to live in the body, in the human body and I'm going to show you how it's done.' These are some principles and some laws that you can use to live by to know that way"She concluded, "I don't believe that Jesus came to start Christianity.""What Jesus said is much deeper than what you, how the church interprets it. There's a depth to it. And it reflects your own depth when you read it. So there's no conflict between this teaching, which is purely spiritual, and any religion."Oprah also indicated that there are many names that one might give to that which she calls "God", including "energy," "consciousness" and "life." Oprah also contrasted what she called the "old" spirituality vs. the "new" spirituality, as espoused by Eckhart. "The old way is the hierarchy has the authority. Church authorities tell you how to worship in church and how to behave outside of church. The new spirituality is that you are your own best authority as you work to know and love yourself, you discover how to live a more spiritual life."}}}}}}}}}}Despite Oprah and Eckhart's reduction of Christianity to but one "way" amongst many other equally legitimate ways to God, and their calling Christ a "revolutionary" who has been misunderstood by the Church, and who simply came to manifest "Christ-consciousness", a quick search through the internet reveals that many Christians are following Oprah in attempting to fuse together the teachings of Eckhart, and the doctrines of the historical Christian church.One writer on the message board on Oprah's website wrote a message with the subject line, "Scared I'm replacing my religion, which I love." "I just started the book" she wrote, "and I love the idea of the book but I guess the question I keep repeating in my head is will this be replacing my religion? How do the two work together. Can someone please help ease my mind that I'm not turning on the lord."Many of the respondents to the questioner confessed that they too had similar misgivings about the book, but "upon reflection", realized that Tolle draws from numerous Christian sources, and that he and Oprah were giving them a "deeper understanding" of their faith.[[[However,Keller, and a number of other Christian pastors have begun to actively warn Christians that Oprah and Eckhart's teachings are by no means compatible with Christianity. "Oprah is now trying to be the spiritual guru to this nation," said Keller in an appearance on Fox. "Sadly, she is being used as a tool of Satan to lead millions of souls to hell with her false teachings."Another pastor, James A. Smith Sr., writing in the Florida Baptist Witness, criticized Oprah's "spirituality" for its emphasis on the power of the individual to define truth and reality, and to totally control one's own life. "What this fails to acknowledge is that man dos not define reality; man does not determine what truth is," wrote Smith. "The source of truth for our decisions and power is the one true God of all reality and He has communicated plenary propositional truths to us in the Bible and remarkably, uniquely in His incarnation in Jesus Christ."Oprah, as with other New Agers, is not in pursuit and in communion with God."WorldNetDaily columnist Chuck Norris, wrote about Oprah and The New Earth, "The reason Tolle's psychology and spirituality is marketed so easy is that it is an eclectic mix of conventional and unconventional wisdom, and Western and Eastern beliefs, presented in a tolerant, non-threatening, and non-sectarian way. In other words, it's 'Religion Light,' in which one can be spiritual with 'little down and no credit.'"Norris recommended that his readers simply sit down and read a Bible, rather than "A New Earth.""One could easily save the purchase price of 'A New Earth' and subsequently avoid misleading remarks by reading a Bible, which gives a much more thorough and accurate picture of life's purpose and methods for overcoming its obstacles," said Norris.]]]AMEN TO THAT.....!!!!!
By John Jalsevac


As in the days of Noah....

ZIM WATCH:Mugabe woos voters with tractors

Harare - Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe handed out tractors and fuel on Saturday as he courted votes ahead of elections this month, and a leading opponent urged the veteran president to end decades of misrule and retire.Mugabe handed out the farm equipment to blacks given land seized from whites, a reform his critics say has helped plunge Zimbabwe into economic crisis, and predicted an overwhelming victory that would confound Britain and other critics. The 84-year-old Mugabe is seeking to extend his 28-year hold on power in presidential, parliamentary and local council polls set for March 29, and has blamed the West for Zimbabwe's economic crisis.At a ceremony in the capital Harare, Mugabe provided farm equipment worth millions of dollars to thousands of new black farmers, machinery for women and youths to establish small businesses and buses to try to ease public transport problems.He also gave traditional chiefs at the same ceremony thousands of litres of fuel, also in short supply."When the government embarked on the land reform programme, the dark forces of imperialism sought to strangle our agro-based economy through the spiteful closure of financial loans and grants to us," he told thousands at the equipment distribution."This hate programme by Britain and her fellow racists imposed unjustified sanctions on Zimbabwe in futile attempts to frighten us off our land. But we shall never retreat, never, never," he said in what has become a ritual attack on Zimbabwe's former colonial master.
Pension time
Mugabe faces a tough challenge from rebel former finance minister, Simba Makoni, and long time opposition rival Morgan Tsvangirai, who narrowly lost the disputed 2002 election to Mugabe."It's time Mugabe went for a retirement package...Mugabe should be ashamed to be seeking re-election after almost 30 years of misrule," Tsvangirai told a cheering crowd in a packed stadium in the southern city of Bulawayo.Tsvangirai said his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would speed up economic development in the region and compensate victims of a military crackdown on a five-year Matabeleland insurgency in the 1980s that left thousands dead.The region has long been an opposition stronghold."We're going to set up a Matabeleland Reparations Fund to respond to those who were unfortunate to lose their dear ones, to make sure they are able to restore their lives again and be part of this society," Tsvangirai said.The opposition leader, who says his government would make constitutional reforms a top priority, also promised greater autonomy for the country's provinces, but said this would not take the form of a federal administration.

As in the days of Noah....

Burma rejects UN referendum plan

Burma's military government has rejected a UN proposal to send independent observers to May's referendum on a new constitution.State television said monitors would impinge on Burma's sovereignty.The proposal was made by visiting UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari in a meeting with officials responsible for the vote.Mr Gambari also met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is under house arrest but was allowed to leave for the talks in a state guest house.The May referendum is part of a road map for the restoration of democracy.It was announced by Burma's military rulers following an international outcry over the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests by Buddhist monks last year.
Elections
The process is due to lead to democratic elections in 2010, though opposition groups have cast doubt on whether the government will stick to its pledges.Pro-democracy activists say the proposals will leave the military largely in power. A quarter of seats in parliament would be reserved for the armed forces.Earlier, Ms Suu Kyi, who leads the opposition National League for Democracy, was seen leaving her home in a convoy of official vehicles for the meeting with Mr Gambari.As yet, there's been no word on the outcome of their talks. Mr Gambari, who has made three visits to Burma since the September protests, last met her in November.Mr Gambari's mediation mission was prompted by international concern at the crackdown and demands for democracy to be restored.
'Confrontational attitude'
On Friday, he met government officials who repeated that the head of the military government, Than Shwe, would only be willing to meet Ms Suu Kyi if she stopped calling for sanctions against Burma and dropped her "confrontational attitude".Information Minister Kyaw Hsan also expressed disappointment with Mr Gambari's efforts to rally support in neighbouring countries for reform in Burma.The NLD won elections in 1990, but the government refused to recognise the result. Ms Suu Kyi has been in detention for 12 of the last 18 years.

As in the days of Noah....

Space truck set for maiden voyage

Europe is set to launch the biggest, most sophisticated spacecraft in its history.The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is an unmanned ship that can carry up to 7.6 tonnes of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).Its other primary role is to push the orbiting outpost higher into the sky to keep it from falling back to Earth.The ATV will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana at 0403 GMT on Sunday.Its mission will be a huge statement of capability.The maiden voyage will announce that Europe now has some important new technical competencies to rival the very best in the space exploration business.Alan Thirkettle, Esa's space station programme managerThe most notable is the ATV's automatic rendezvous and docking technology - the ship can find its own way to the station and attach itself without any human intervention."The ATV is how we contribute to the operations costs of the space station - by taking up several tonnes of logistics," says Alan Thirkettle, the European Space Agency's (Esa) ISS programme manager."It's also very important as a development. ATV is a marriage of human spacecraft and satellites. It's a very complicated spacecraft; and European industry has had the opportunity to develop new technologies and new techniques as a result of ATV," he told BBC News.The vehicle has been dubbed "Jules Verne" for Sunday's flight and will weigh some 20 tonnes at launch. Its booster, the Ariane 5, has had to be specially strengthened for the task. The rocket will put the vehicle - the size of a double-decker bus - into a 260km-high (160 miles) orbit, underneath and behind the space station. The ATV will then raise its height and edge closer and closer to the platform over a series of orbits.For the Ariane 5, the mission also marks an important milestone - that of the heaviest single payload it has ever attempted to put in orbit.The 775-tonne Ariane 5-ES vehicle was rolled to the pad on FridayThe rocket is more used to lofting telecommunications satellites into equatorial orbits that go out to 35,000km above the Earth. For this flight, it will have to take a highly inclined trajectory out over the Atlantic to put the ATV on the correct low-altitude path to the ISS.Ariane's upper-stage will also have to reignite twice - once to circularise the orbit before ejecting the ship; and a second burn to take itself safely out of the sky and into the Pacific Ocean.The ATV will essentially then be parked in space. It must wait until Space Shuttle Endeavour has completed its forthcoming mission to the ISS before moving in to make a docking, probably on 3 April.The ship's own computers will be in charge as an advanced form of GPS and, in the latter stages, optical sensors guide it into position on the end of the Russian Zvezda module.Mission controllers in Toulouse, France, will keep a watching brief but will not intervene unless they see a problem arising.Likewise, on the station itself, the astronauts will view the approach but will have no role other than in an emergency. If they do sense danger they can order the ATV to reverse by pushing a large red button on a panel positioned in the Zvezda module. The ATV will stay at the station for six months. At intervals of 10 to 45 days, the vehicle's thrusters will be used to boost the platform's altitude. Over time, the ISS crew gradually deplete its stock of food, fuel, water, air and equipment."And that's when we also act as a dustbin," explains John Ellwood, Esa's ATV project chief."All the stuff that the crew has used during the six months that we are attached, they will put in ATV and then we will dump this in a very controlled re-entry into a completely unpopulated area of the Pacific."Europe has high hopes for the ATV and its technology. Although astronauts will not launch to the ISS in the ship, the vehicle is human-rated - they can go inside its pressurised vessel without wearing spacesuits.The ATV is a starting point, therefore, if Europe wants to develop its own independent, crew transportation system.At the moment, no Esa astronaut can get into orbit without the US space shuttle or the Russian Soyuz vehicle.At their meeting in The Hague in November, Europe's space ministers will be asked to build on the knowledge gained on ATV by approving a research programme that would investigate further technologies which could be used in a possible future human-launch system.

As in the days of Noah.....

THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION TO THEM WHICH ARE IN CHRIST

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,who walk not after the flesh,but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do,in that it was weak through the flesh,God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death;but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

Romans 8:1-8

Cameroon cuts prices after riots

Yaounde - Cameroon's President, Paul Biya, has raised state salaries by 15% and suspended customs duties on basic foodstuffs like fish, rice and cooking oil to ease discontent over high prices which provoked riots last week.In two presidential decrees broadcast on state radio late on Friday, Biya increased the wages of civilian and military personnel from April 1 and raised their family allowances by 20% of the monthly basic salary.The radio also said custom duties on cement would be cut to 10% from 20% until the end of August, to ease an acute shortage of building materials which has led to a doubling in the consumer price for cement in recent months.Biya also urged the government to settle its payment arrears, maintain salary and pension advances, strengthen youth employment programmes and recruit more part-time teachers.In the medium term, he demanded a review of the pricing of fuels, telephone rates and bank charges and he urged the government to press ahead with stalled industrial, mining and agricultural projects."I urge the prime minister to scrupulously carry out with celerity and efficacy the instructions I have just given. I will not tolerate any failure in their execution," Biya said.The measures come in the wake of a February 25-28 taxi drivers strike to protest at fuel price hikes in the central African country that degenerated into rioting in several towns against the high cost of living and Biya's intention to extend his 25 years in power.The government put the death toll from the clashes at 24, although human rights activists put it at over 100, most of these shot dead by the police in the economic capital Douala.The government said 1 671 people were arrested, about 200 of whom have so far been tried and sentenced to serve between six months and three years in prison. Rights organisations denounced the summary trials behind closed doors and heavy jail terms. Meanwhile, union groups criticised Biya's announcements."For us, these are just cosmetic measures and a non-event," said the president of the Cameroon Teachers Trade Union (Cattu) Simon Nkwenti. "What we want is the restoration of salaries to their pre-1993 levels."In 1993, as part of IMF-backed reforms, Cameroon cut wages by 70% and, one year later, the CFA franc currency was devalued by 50%, slashing consumer purchasing power.In the early 1980s, Cameroon was one of sub-Saharan Africa's most successful economies, with annual growth of over 7 percent.But the country was plunged into a prolonged economic crisis in the mid-1980s by a collapse in coffee, cocoa, and oil prices, which exposed the weakness of economic policies.

As in the days of Noah....

Million to march against crime?

Johannesburg - A proposed million person march against crime was gaining momentum, SABC radio news reported on Saturday.Actor and singer Desmond Dube called on all South Africans to join the march scheduled for the middle of April in Johannesburg.Dube said South African's have had enough of crime.The proposal follows the shooting of actor and pub owner Shimmy Mofokeng at his house in Mulbarton on Monday.Many actors and musicians have added their voices to the proposal including former South African cricket boss Ali Bacher, Dube told SABC news."After one article in the Times (newspaper) we had 927 people who had added their names to the proposal by yesterday (Friday)," Dube told the SABC.
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2284596,00.html
As in the days of Noah....

Malaysia wakes to new political landscape

KUALA LUMPUR-[[[[[[Malaysians awoke on Sunday to the biggest sea-change in politics in almost 40 years, with opposition Islamists and reformists winning control of five states and giving the government a humiliating wake-up call.Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's multi-racial National Front coalition won just a simple majority in parliament, and his future as leader is in doubt after he watched a record majority collapse to the weakest level ever.His predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, urged him to quit."He should accept responsibility," said Mahathir who now says he made a mistake in picking Abdullah(picture left) as his successor and that the current deputy premier, Najib Razak, should have taken over.The streets were unusually quiet on Sunday, with many older Malaysians fearful of trouble.The last time the coalition suffered a heavy setback, in 1969, race riots erupted.Barisan has effectively ruled since independence from Britain in 1957.]]]]]]"{{{{{{I am shocked. It feels Malaysia is a whole new country. It feels like it has been reborn," Daniel Sia, a 27-year-old civil engineer, said as he did some Sunday shopping in the capital.Lai Yee Fei, 28, who works at a coffee bar beneath Kuala Lumpur's soaring twin towers, said she was glad that Malaysia now had a strong opposition to press the government."It's good to give some pressure for Barisan Nasional," she said. "If the opposition parties can stand up for us, on behalf of us, I think it's good."}}}}}}Abdullah, who only four years ago led the coalition to a record election victory on a wave of hope for change, faced a bleak political future on Sunday, his aides stunned but not willing to concede that he must step down.
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....

Heavy Snow Buries Parts of Ohio, Indiana

COLUMBUS, Ohio-A heavy winter storm walloped Ohio's capital city with more than 20 inches of snow, while blizzard conditions shut down highways and stranded air travelers across the state and parts of Indiana on Saturday.High winds whipped the snow into 3-foot-tall drifts in some places and cut visibility to less than a quarter mile, the National Weather Service said."It's horrible out there right now,"said 58-year-old Carman Bonfiglio, a FedEx Corp. driver who was stranded at a truck stop in Sunbury, about 20 miles northeast of Columbus."Trucks are just spinning right here. In my days of driving I've never seen anything like it."The storm, which rolled in Friday, dumped 20.4 inches of snow on Columbus, breaking the city's previous record of 15.3 inches set in February 1910, the weather service said.Cincinnati and Cleveland also received about a foot of snow.In Indiana, 14 inches of snow fell in Milan, which is about 60 miles southeast of Indianapolis, said the weather service said.Roads were impassable, prompting the county to declare a local emergency banning all vehicles except for emergency vehicles from the roads, authorities said."The winds are starting to pick up now, so we expect some of them to be pretty treacherous," Ripley County sheriff's Deputy Brian Maynard said of the roads.It was a continuation of the storm that on Friday piled up snow a foot deep in Arkansas and blacked out thousands of homes and businesses from that state to the Great Lakes. Louisville, Ky., and parts of Tennessee got up to a foot, while northern Mississippi got 5 to 7 inches of snow, the weather service said.Secondary roads and bridges were snow-covered and icy in Tennessee and Kentucky on Saturday morning, but much of that had melted by the afternoon when temperatures climbed into the upper 30s.One Ohio traffic death was blamed on the weather Friday, with two in western New York state and one in Tennessee. Two people were killed as tornadoes struck several Florida communities.At Port Columbus International Airport, a plane skidded a few hundred feet off a runway while landing late Friday, but no one was hurt, airport spokeswoman Angie Neal said.Many flights into and out of Ohio were delayed or canceled on Saturday.All flights in and out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport were canceled Saturday,airport spokesman Todd Payne said.Crews struggled all day to clear the runways. "There was really no reason to keep it open," Payne said. "We have 30- mile-an-hour sustained winds."The airport, which has about 250 daily flights on the weekends, was scheduled to reopen at 5 a.m. Sunday, but flight delays were possible, he said.The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team, unable to make its departure flight, postponed its game at No. 13 Connecticut until Sunday.Hundreds of other weekend events were canceled, including Ohio girls high school basketball championship games in Columbus and several Kentucky boys basketball tournament games. The University of Louisville canceled Saturday classes.A warm up was not expected until Tuesday, when the forecast called for temperatures in the lower 40s, the weather service said.
Flooding could be a concern if it warms up too quickly, said Nancy Dragoni, director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency."We're hopeful that there'll be enough time for some of the water to go down in the rivers and creeks and streams so we can absorb the snow when it melts," she said.In New Jersey, a heavy rain storm affected lines at the state lottery's main office in Trenton, delaying the midday drawings for the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games.The storm also shut down lottery machines around the state until service was restored about 4 p.m., agency spokesman Dominick DeMarco said.

As in the days of Noah....

ISLAMIC CRAZE WATCH:Radio host Michael Savage's suit against Islamic group in court

A federal judge said Friday that she was leaning toward tossing out conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage's copyright theft lawsuit against an Islamic lobbying group who used portions of the popular program to solicit donations and call for an advertising boycott of "The Savage Nation."U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said she would likely let Savage's attorney submit a revised lawsuit in attempt to keep the case alive, but she found the other side's arguments "persuasive."Savage sued the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, after it posted on its Web site a 4-minute clip of Savage's two-hour show on Oct. 29 in which the talk show host called the Quran a "book of hate."CAIR placed the clip next to an area to make donations and its call to boycott "The Savage Nation" show heard by as many as 8 million listeners a day. The Washington D.C.-based group said it and allied organizations have convinced more than a dozen companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., GEICO insurance company and Sprint Nextel Corp., to withhold advertising from the show.Savage's attorney Daniel Horowitz argued Friday that CAIR's use of the clip "was taken for purely commercial purposes and to damage" the show."This property is Michael Savage's and they have to justify why they are taking it," Horowitz said.But the judge said she found "persuasive" CAIR's arguments that free speech protections allowed the organization to use the clip to criticize and comment on Savage's views even if the content is used for fundraising purposes.CAIR's attorney Thomas Burke argued that a federal appeals court validated that position in 1986 when it said the Moral Majority could use Hustler Magazine's unflattering parody of the religious group's founder Rev. Jerry Falwell to raise money for a legal fund."Michael Savage is just unwilling to accept criticism going the other way," Burke said outside court. "This lawsuit is about punishing CAIR for criticizing him."
PS:This is all about trying to silence conservative talk shows and also about freedom of speech...If CAIR achieves shutting Savage down,then the rest of the conservative radio shows are gonna follow.We've got to get involved...We are being invaded by a flood of wickedness that is asfixiating sometimes....and slowly radical islam is gaining ground among us....Today this....tomorrow what is next...???Sharia'a Law....????
As in the days of Noah....

Singapore Takes on a World Mission

Singapore is a small country with some of the fastest growing Christian communities in Asia.Now the island nation is making waves for world evangelism.Sandwiched between Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore was once counted as a Third World country.But since it's independence in 1965, Singapore has risen to become a rich and thriving Asian metropolis.It not only has the busiest port of trade, best airport with the world's number one airline, but also the world's fourth-highest per capita income at $23,000. Singapore is also a major financial and high-tech hub.Joseph Prince, senior pastor of New Creation Church, one of the largest churches there in the country, says there's a reason why his nation is so blessed."In terms of a small country, with no natural resources, it is amazing that God has prospered our country, for this purpose: so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can go forth from this tiny island," he said.And today church leaders and mission groups are taking advantage of Singapore's strategic location to reach major countries like China, India and Indonesia with the Gospel."We are positioned to be major sea-routes, air route, where within a seven-hour flight; we can actually reach to most of the populated cities and nations around us," Rev. Stanley Ow of Singapore Centre for Evangelism & Mission said.His group plays a vital role in encouraging churches on the island to get more involved with mission work. As a result, a large majority of churches have active missions programs."And that's exciting because we are not only talking about individuals or groups, but we are actually taking nations for Jesus," he said.It's all part of what Christians there say is Singapore's calling to be a spiritual hub and stepping stone into Asia."We've had wonderful prophesies from different ministers, genuine ministers of God that have said in times past that Singapore is going to be an Antioch of Asia and it has come to pass. When they said that we didn't have mega-churches, we didn't have many missions work," Pastor Prince added.Singapore maybe a small country, home to some four million people. But today, the tiny island has some two thousand short-term and long-term missionaries scattered around the world.And not only are churches sending out missionaries from the shores of Singapore, they're also giving generously to the work of world evangelism.Pastor Prince has set aside 10 percent of his annual church budget for missions."Last year we gave about 4 million US dollars for the mission work...And we are not the only ones," he proclaimed.And while Singapore serves as a strategic base for missions in the region, it also boasts one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in Asia. Christians makeup some 17 percent of the population here. The rest are mix of Buddists, Muslims and Taoists.One of those congregations is Pastor Prince's, New Creation Church. Every Sunday, some 16,000 people pack into the Rock Auditorium in the heart of Singapore's business district.Founded in 1983, New Creation Church has witnessed explosive growth in recent years. Prince says that as Asia's economies have grown, so too has the demand for faith."I was at a point in my life where I had pretty much everything I could ask for," said Ken, a member of New Creation Church. "I had my own house, I had a job ready for me, I had money, doing things I'd love but I still felt empty. So in the end, once you have everything, it doesn't mean that you have everything."So much of life here in Singapore is built around wealth, and the five C's of career, cash, credit cards, condo, car, and country club."People are crying out for grace. The world is full of religion and what we have is the grace of God to offer to people," said Pastor Prince.Prince and others also realize that the world is coming to Singapore. The nation has a diverse mix of cultures."We have as many as 400,000 mainland Chinese among us, 80,000 Indonesians, 80,000 Filipinos," explained Rev. Ow. "The latest I heard is that there are thousands upon thousands of Mongolians are here, Russians are coming here. So this is basically a place where the Lord is bringing them right into our doorstep."[[[[Today, the trends show that in Asian countries like Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and mainland China, Christianity is growing so fast that experts predict this region will be home to the largest Christian population in the world.]]]]"There is a time and season for Asia," concluded Pastor Prince.
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/326584.aspx
As in the days of Noah....

BIG BROTHER WATCH:New camera identifies age and gender

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH...

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth;It is expedient for you that I go away:for if I go not away,the Comforter will not come unto you;but if I depart,I will send him unto you.
And when he is come,he will reprove the world of sin,and of righteousness,and of judgment:
Of sin,because they believe not on me;
Of righteousness,because I go to my Father,and ye see me no more;
Of judgment,because the prince of this world is judged.
I have yet many things to say unto you,but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he,the Spirit of truth,is come,he will guide you into all truth:for he shall not speak of himself;but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me:for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you....

...These things I have spoken unto you,that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer;I have overcome the world..."
John 16:7-14;33

Iranian cleric urges high turnout to beat foes

TEHRAN-A hardline senior cleric urged Iranians on Friday to turn out in force for a parliamentary election next week and frustrate the United States and its allies who he said wanted a low turnout.[[[Ahmad Khatami,(picture left) a member of the Experts Assembly]]](sigh....) with the power to appoint or dismiss Iran's supreme leader, called on people to disappoint Iran's "enemies" by ensuring a high turnout in the March 14 poll."Our enemies, especially America, have been trying to discourage Iranian voters," Khatami told worshippers at Friday prayers at Tehran University."They hastily issued a third (U.N.) resolution against Iran to influence the turnout," Khatami said in comments broadcast live on state radio. "But your votes next week will disappoint our enemies and especially America."The U.N. Security Council voted on Monday to introduce a third sanctions resolution against Iran over its refusal to halt nuclear work that major world powers fear is aimed at making bombs but which Tehran says is designed to generate electricity.Iran has dismissed the impact of two previous rounds of sanctions, saying it has a cushion of crude revenues thanks to windfall earnings as the world's fourth largest oil producer.As the election draw near, Iran has mounted a media campaign to urge a high turnout, which would show the popularity of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who won power in 2005 by promising to share oil wealth more fairly.Ahmadinejad has repeatedly been criticized, even by some of his allies, for his handling of the economy and also his anti-western rhetoric.
Khatami refrained from endorsing any political group competing for the 290-seat assembly, but called on people to vote for anti-western candidates.
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....

Andean crisis ends

Despite Angry Showdown at Latin American Summit Border Dispute Seems Over With Handshakes

SANTO DOMINGO,Dominican Republic-Heated accusatiosn broke out Friday at a Latin American summit over a border crisis between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, but the crisis appears to be over after the three countries' presidents exchanged handshakes.FOX News' Adam Housley, reporting from the region, said the three leaders declared the standoff over and called for peace at the summit held in the Dominican Republic.Reuters reports that Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said, "And with this ... this incident that has caused so much damage (is) resolved," before shaking hands with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has said his country intends to normalize relations with Colombia.The crisis stemmed from Colombia's military attack last weekend on leftist rebels camped across the border in Ecuador. Venezuela had sided with Ecuador against the U.S.-backed government of Colombia. On Friday, the three presidents joined other leaders in approving a declaration designed to end the confrontation that was triggered by Colombia's military attack on a leftist Colombian rebel camp in Ecuador.The summit's dramatic high point came when Dominican President Leonel Fernandez tried to calm things down by urging Uribe to shake hands with his antagonists. Uribe then marched around the table and shared stiff handshakes with Correa and Chavez.Correa appealed to Uribe to respect their border and never again act unilaterally to send commandos into his territory to attack a rebel camp. If such an act is justified, then no border will be safe,Correa said,drawing perhaps the day's loudest applause. The declaration adopted by the leaders of the 20-nation Rio Group noted that Uribe had apologized for last weekend's raid, which killed a top Colombian rebel leader and others.The declaration, read by Fernandez, also reiterated the commitment of member governments to fight threats to national stability from "irregular or criminal groups."
As in the days of Noah....

Germans Haunted by Nazi Killers Still in Their Midst

ESCHWEILER,Germany-Heinrich Boere's(picture left) first victim was a pharmacist.Two more victims would follow on a single day, one gunned down at point-blank range in his doorway, the other on the road.And although the killing spree happened in 1944, a footnote to the far greater carnage raging across World War II Europe, it still haunts Germany and Holland, leaving a sense of justice denied by dueling court systems despite the continent's long march to unity and harmonized institutions.Boere was part of a Waffen SS death squad of mostly Dutch volunteers tasked with killing fellow countrymen in reprisal for attacks by the anti-Nazi resistance. His is among more than 1,000 cases worldwide which the Nazi-tracking Simon Wiesenthal Center says are still open as of last April 1.Though sentenced to death in the Netherlands in 1949-later commuted to life imprisonment-Boere has managed to escape jail so far.One German court has refused to extradite him because he might have German nationality as well as Dutch.Another won't make him serve his Dutch sentence in a German prison because he was absent from his trial, having fled to Germany.Now,The Associated Press has learned, a German investigator has quietly reopened the case in a last-ditch attempt to bring charges against the 86-year-old Boere and see that he faces justice.Boere volunteered for the SS only months after Holland fell to the German blitzkrieg in 1940. After the war he spent two years in an Allied prison camp where he made the statements later used to convict him, but he escaped to Germany before the Dutch could bring him to trial.Much of what is known about the case comes from the Dutch file on the 1949 trial that convicted Boere.According to Ulrich Maass, the prosecutor now investigating him, the death squad is known to have been responsible for 54 killings. Boere was convicted of three of them, which he detailed, almost gunshot by gunshot, in statements to Dutch police preserved in the court file.The first was in July 1944.According to Boere's statement, he and fellow SS man Jacobus Petrus Besteman set off for the town of Breda, and the local office of the Sicherheitsdienst, the Nazi internal intelligence agency.There they were given a list of names slated for "retaliatory measures."Their target that day was Fritz Hubert Ernst Bicknese, pharmacist.Wearing civilian clothes, Boere and Besteman walked into the pharmacy and asked the man there if he was Bicknese. When he answered "yes," Boere pulled his pistol from his right coat pocket and fired two or three shots into Bicknese's upper body, then Besteman moved in and fired another two or three shots into the fallen man.The next one, in September, followed a similar pattern: Boere and an accomplice named Hendrik Kromhout shot bicycle-shop owner Teun de Groot when he answered the doorbell at his home in the town of Voorschoten. They then continued to the apartment of F.W. Kusters, and forced him into their car. They drove him to another town, stopped on the pretense of having a flat tire and shot him."Kusters fell against the garden door of the Villa Constance and sank to the ground... "Boere told investigators."Blood shot out of Kusters' neck."The SS unit, code-named Silbertanne, or Silver Pine, consisted of 15 men, primarily Dutch, who were mustered to exact reprisals for attacks by the Dutch resistance on collaborators.It's not certain why all of Boere's victims were on the death list. De Groot's son says his father wasn't a member of the armed resistance, but he helped hide fugitives and his bicycle shop was a hangout for anti-Nazi activists.After the war, when the Allied war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg finished its work, it fell to the West German government to prosecute remaining Nazis.But Boere wasn't among them. Today he lives in Eschweiler, outside the German cathedral city of Aachen, in an upscale old-age home with its own barbershop and caged parakeets tweeting in the lobby. Staff say he uses a walker but rarely leaves his room. Telephoned by the reception desk to ask if he would meet with a reporter, he replied curtly: "I don't want to be disturbed."But last year he spoke to the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, saying of his wartime deeds: "It was another time, with different rules."He described ringing de Groot's doorbell and asking him for his papers. "When we knew for sure we had the right person, we shot him dead, at the door," he said. "I didn't feel anything, it was work. Orders were orders, otherwise it would have meant my skin. Later it began to bother me. Now I'm sorry."The Dutch didn't give up, and sought his extradition. But a German court in 1983 refused on the grounds he might have German citizenship, and Germany at the time had no provision to extradite its nationals.A state court in Aachen ruled in 2007 that Boere could legally serve his sentence in Germany, but an appeals court in Cologne overturned the ruling months later, saying the 1949 conviction was invalid because Boere was unable to present a defense.The case continues to stir Dutch public opinion. Last August, opposition lawmakers queried Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin who, in his reply, named "four Dutch war criminals still alive and in Germany who have not served a Dutch prison sentence." One of them was Boere.It was after the Cologne decision that Maass' office, which is responsible for investigating Nazi war crimes for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, took up the case again.Efraim Zuroff, Jerusalem-based director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Boere may not be a senior Nazi, but "he is certainly worthy of prosecution.""The fact that Germany has spared killers like Boere ... is absolutely outrageous," he said.Besteman, Boere's partner in the first killing, is still alive, living in the Netherlands after serving jail time for his wartime crimes, and Maass hopes to be able to call on him if the case goes to trial.But it's a race against time as ex-Nazis die of old age. "We haven't had a lot of success in the past years," Maass conceded. "It's resolving itself biologically."The bike shop owner's son, also named Teun de Groot, doesn't want to leave it to biology. He insists Boere should serve his life sentence, whatever that means nearly 59 years later."For him, life is two years. Ten years is life, five years is life," de Groot told The AP. "He's 86!"De Groot, the oldest of five children, was 11 when his father was killed. The murder, he says, devastated his family. They sold the shop at a fraction of its value, his mother went to pieces, and the three older children were sent to live with relatives and in foster care.He still has the wallet his father fumbled for in his doorway to show his visitors his ID papers. It is torn by a bullet.
As in the days of Noah....

Libyan Strongman Qaddafi Weighs In on American Presidential Race, Citing Democratic Call for 'Change'

Libyan strongman Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi weighed in on America's presidential campaign, specifically commenting on both Democratic rivals' repeated calls for"change." "I've seen that in America, a candidate who wants people to vote for him keeps talking about change,"Qaddafi said earlier this week in a televised address on Libyan TV, an obvious reference to Barack Obama."They all keep saying 'change, change,' "he continued, adding Hillary Clinton to his reference."They want to change America and its current political system.They want to make a change in their lives.They say their system is a failure, that their government is a failure, and that their elections are a failure."Qaddafi offered up Libya as a model for "change," predicting that"the whole world will return to the model of the republic of the masses,to communes,to popular security,to popular defense,to popular capitalism,and to popular socialism."The whole world will return to the Libyan model," he said.
Click here to watch Qaddafi's speech.
As in the days of Noah....

Hamas Backtracks on Responsibility Claim for Massacre at Jerusalem Seminary

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip-Thousands gathered to mourn eight yeshiva students killed after a Palestinian gunman went on a shooting rampage at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem,as [[[Hamas backtracked on its claim of responsibility for the massacre.]]] Masses of mourners marched in funeral processions after a rabbi recited Hebrew psalms line by line, the crowd repeating them after him in memory of the dead. Israeli officials said the victims were between ages 15 and 19 except one, who was 26. They identified one of the slain as 16-year-old Avraham David Moses, an American citizen whose parents moved to Israel in the 1990s.[[[Shortly after Hamas Radio went on the air with the claim of responsibility, sources told FOX News that a few officials within the militant organization were backing away from the boast. Ibrahim Daher, head of Hamas' al-Aqsa radio, said his station put out an earlier claim of responsibility prematurely.Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, confirmed the group was not taking responsibility for the attack-at least yet."There may be a later announcement...But we don't claim this honor yet," he said.It was not immediately clear whether a militant group had orchestrated the shooting.A Hamas radio presenter earlier had said the group's military wing had "promised a jolting response" to the Israeli offensive, and called on believers to "celebrate this victory against the brutal enemy."]]]Israel slapped a closure on the West Bank and beefed up security and emergency forces around Jerusalem and other areas in the wake of the shooting, the first major attack in Jerusalem in four years and the deadliest in Israel since a homicide bomber killed 11 people in Tel Aviv on April 17, 2006.Israel will push ahead with talks "so as not to punish moderate Palestinians for actions by people who are not just our enemies but theirs as well," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government had yet to make an official announcement.Israeli police on Thursday night took three remaining brothers and their father into custody for questioning. The 25-year-old gunman, who was shot and killed during the attack, was identified as Alaa Abu Dheim of east Jerusalem; his fiance was detained by Israeli police on Friday morning.The family of Abu Dheim said he had carried out the attack on the seminary, a prestigious center of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank. They described him as intensely religious but said he was not a member of a militant group and had planned to get married in the summer.Sources told FOX News he called his sisters on Thursday night just to see how they were doing.Abu Dheim had been transfixed in recent days by the news of bloodshed in Gaza, said his sister, Iman Abu Dheim."He told me he wasn't able to sleep because of the grief," she said.Initial reports had said Abu Dheim had been in prison, but FOX News learned this is not accurate.Abu Dheim reportedly drove a shuttle bus for Arab students, not students from the Jewish religious school that was attacked.His cousin, who was not identified, said there is "no one to help us but God...We don't know what got into his mind. He never spoke about Gaza."Abu Dheim's family set up a mourning tent outside their home and hung green Hamas flags along with one yellow flag of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.Israeli defense officials said the gunman came from Jabel Mukaber in east Jerusalem, where Palestinian residents hold ID cards giving them freedom of movement in Israel, unlike Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter told mourners that Arabs in east Jerusalem who have been involved in militant activity should be expelled to the West Bank.Mark Regev, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman, said that the shooting almost certainly had been organized in the West Bank. He would not confirm that Israel had reached a decision to continue peace talks, but did not deny the other official's statement that negotiations would go on.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attacker walked through the Mercaz Harav yeshiva seminary's main gate and entered the library, where witnesses said some 80 students were gathered.He carried an assault rifle and pistol, and opened fire with both weapons.Students scrambled to flee, jumping out of windows as the gunman fired.Holy books drenched in blood littered the floor.Rosenfeld said at least six empty bullet clips were found on the floor.David Simchon, head of the seminary, said the students had been preparing a celebration for the new month of the Jewish calendar, which includes the holiday of Purim."We were planning to have a Purim party here tonight and instead we had a massacre," he told Channel 2 TV.A seminary graduate who is an army officer and lives nearby rushed into the seminary with his weapon and killed the gunman, Simchon told Israel Radio."He saw the terrorist shooting, and with amazing resourcefulness he went into one of the rooms and managed to kill him," he said.The seminary serves some 400 high school students and young Israeli soldiers, and many of them carry arms.Jewish seminarians gathered outside the library and screamed for revenge, shouting, "Death to Arabs," while in Hamas-controlled Gaza thousands of Palestinians celebrated in the streets.Abu Dheim's family set up a mourning tent outside their home and hung green Hamas flags along with one yellow flag of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Family members said several relatives had already been taken for questioning by Israeli police.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who called the attack an "act of terror and depravity," told Abbas in a phone call Friday that she would do everything in her power to restore calm as soon as possible, said Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an aide to Abbas.
Abbas, who condemned the seminary attack, suspended negotiations this week because of the spike in violence in the Gaza Strip, but later backed down under pressure from U.S. Rice, who was in the region to push the talks forward.

As in the days of Noah....

Scientists Create Artificial Black Hole in Lab

The mysterious properties of black holes can be recreated on a tabletop, scientists now reveal.Solving mysteries concerning black holes could yield key clues toward a "theory of everything" that unites how we conceive of all the natural forces.Black holes rank among the greatest enigmas of the universe.Scientists theorize black holes have gravitational pulls so powerful that nothing, including light, can escape after falling past a border known as the event horizon.Direct experiments with black holes are unlikely, due at the very least to the distance any are from Earth, not to mention how difficult these warps in space and time would be to work with.Instead, researchers are searching for ways to create lab models of event horizons.Now scientists have created an artificial event horizon on a tabletop using fiber optics. The researchers started by firing a stream of intense, brief laser pulses inside an optical fiber. These pulses acted like a current of flowing light.Such intense, brief pulses "make physical effects visible that would also occur for much longer and weaker pulses, but are hard to detect there,"explained researcher Ulf Leonhardt, a theoretical physicist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland."High intensity and short pulses are needed for seeing subtle effects and discriminating them from noise."At the same time, the researchers fired a continuous beam of infrared light down the optical fiber.This beam created waves that got overtaken by the laser flow,resembling how light waves are overcome by the gravitational pull just past an event horizon."The most surprising aspect for me is how simple it actually is to create artificial event horizons,"Leonhardt told LiveScience.He and his colleagues detailed their findings in the March 7 issue of the journal Science.Scientists had proposed other systems to mimic aspects of black holes.All those, however, needed moving parts-specifically, very fragile, ultra-cold blobs of matter-and none of them have yet successfully displayed phenomena resembling event horizons.The artificial event horizons Leonhardt and his colleagues have devised could help researchers explore bizarre aspects of black holes, such as radiation they are supposed to emit.Black holes are not entirely black.Physicist Stephen Hawking discovered that all black holes should instead evaporate at least a bit, leaking energy dubbed "Hawking radiation."Scientists have not yet seen this mysterious energy-Hawking radiation from normal black holes is completely obscured by the cosmic microwave background, radiation left over from the Big Bang that pervades the entire universe.However,Leonhardt suggests that with their new lab model, "we can create artificial event horizons that would generate enough Hawking radiation to be detectable."A greater understanding of Hawking radiation could help unite our currently disparate theories of physics into one "theory of everything" that could conceive of all the natural forces.So far scientists have not successfully united the field of general relativity, which explains how matter and energy behave at large scales and predicts the existence of black holes, with that of quantum mechanics, which helps explain how matter and energy act at atomic and subatomic levels and predicts the existence of Hawking radiation.A better understanding of Hawking radiation could help bridge general relativity with quantum mechanics to understand how these "worlds are connected," Leonhardt explained.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335953,00.html
As in the days of Noah....

YOU ARE NOT OF THE WORLD...

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me."

John 14:16-21

ENVIRO WATCH:Climate change a new factor in global tensions: EU

The risks of climate change have turned from a threat to reality impacting the conflict in Darfur, migration from flood-prone Bangladesh and hopes for stability in the Middle East, according to a new EU report.From Africa to Asia, and from pole to pole,climate change has become "a threat multiplier which exacerbates existing trends, tensions and instability,"warns the seven-page report on "Climate change and international security", to be presented to a European summit in Brussels on March 13-14.Among the listed threats are "reduction of arable land, widespread shortage of water, diminishing food and fish stocks, increased flooding and prolonged droughts."These problems, according to the report drawn up by the offices of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, "are already happening in many parts of the world".Even a temperature rise of two degrees Celsius by 2050 "will pose serious security risks".Change beyond that level "will lead to unprecedented security scenarios, as it is likely to trigger a number of tipping points that could lead to further, accelerated, irreversible and largely unpredictable climate changes," the report warns."The core challenge is that climate change threatens to overburden states and regions which are already fragile and conflict prone," it adds, echoing a warning from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in January.Receding coastlines and the submerging of large areas, including whole island states, means that "more disputes over land and maritime borders and other territorial rights are likely," the report stresses.Africa is adjudged to be particularly vulnerable."Already today climate change is having a major impact on the conflict in and around Darfur,"it states. Throughout the continent reduced rainfall and increasing temperatures are taking their toll, bringing poor harvests.Given these factors, migration both within Africa and towards Europe "is likely to intensify".The UN predicts there will be millions of "environmental migrants" by 2020 which may in turn "increase conflicts in transit and destination areas," says the report.In the Middle East, "existing tensions over access to water are almost certain to intensify in this region leading to further political instability with detrimental implications for Europe's energy security and other interests".The security and environmental risks are joined and exacerbated by the economic risks, the report says.It cited estimates that "a business as usual scenario" in dealing with climate change could cost the world economy up to 20 percent of GDP per year, with "the east coasts of China and India as well as the Caribbean region and Central America would be particurly effected."The report's authors have no miracle cure to put forward.Among its proposals is to build up early warning systems for disasters and intensify research and analysis.
The report stresses the importance of multilateral leadership notably among the major G8 nations and UN bodies.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080307195950.89zwm7fz&show_article=1
As in the days of Noah....

Pilots complain of "laser" attacks

OTTAWA-At least 33 pilots in Canada, including some flying large commercial airliners, have complained about being flashed in the eyes by bright lights that could be lasers, officials said on Thursday.Canada's transport ministry said it is probing the complaints, which started in 2005, and had handed most of them over to the police. "All we know is that a bright light was shone into the cockpit. We don't know if it is in fact a laser and that's why when these reports happen, an investigation is started,"said ministry spokeswoman Kirsten Goodnough."It is a serious concern because anything that distracts the pilot and affects the safe operation of the aircraft is a problem for us," she said.None of the pilots involved had suffered any eye damage, she added.
As in the days of Noah....

Second Colombian rebel leader killed

CUCUTA, Colombia-As South American officials tried to ease tensions sparked by Colombia's killing of a rebel leader inside Ecuador, the Colombian army announced the death of another top militant Friday. Ivan Rios,(picture left) whose real name was Manuel de Jesus Munoz, was one of six remaining members of the leadership council of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC."The FARC has suffered a new, major blow," Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said, according to The AP.Rios was killed by his own chief of security, who offered items including the rebel leader's severed right hand as proof of his death, the AP quoted Santos as saying. On Saturday, Luis Edgar Devia Silva, known as Raul Reyes, was killed in a raid into Ecuador.He was FARC's second-in-command-and the first member of the leftist rebel group's general secretariat killed by Colombia in the 40 years that it has been fighting to overthrow the Colombian government.Twenty-one other people were also killed in the attack.The raid sparked protests from the left-leaning leaders of Ecuador, Venezuela and Nicaragua, all of whom cut diplomatic ties with Colombia, and Ecuador and Venezuela moved troops to their borders with Colombia.Colombian officials apologized for taking their attack against FARC into Ecuador, but Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa has said that the apology wasn't enough and protested to the Organization of American States this week.On Wednesday, the OAS ordered a commission to investigate Colombia's attack.The commission plans to visit Colombia and Ecuador and "propose formulas for bringing the two nations closer together."The organization also adopted a statement referring to the Colombian attack as "a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ecuador and of principles of international law."Correa, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez joined other Latin American leaders at a scheduled meeting of the Rio Group in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where they hoped to find a way to defuse the crisis.But the early deliberations were contentious, with Correa accusing Uribe of "insolence" and Uribe labeling Correa a communist.Uribe also accused Venezuelan troops of crossing into Colombia and firing shots before returning to their own side of the border.

As in the days of Noah...

Canada condemns Jerusalem attack

Canada Thursday firmly condemned the school shooting in Jerusalem that killed eight people and demanded that Palestinian leaders reject "terrorist tactics" that threaten the peace process.[[["Canada is saddened and concerned by the shootings that took place in a Jerusalem school," Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said in a statement extending his condolences to the victims' families and Israel's government."Canada condemns this terrorist act in the strongest possible terms.It does nothing to advance the Palestinian cause,"he said."Canada calls on all Palestinian leaders to reject such atrocious terrorist tactics, which are contrary to the peace process, "Bernier added.]]]Eight students at the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in predominantly Jewish west Jerusalem were killed and another nine wounded late Thursday when a Palestinian from east Jerusalem entered the building and started shooting, Israeli police said.The attack, Israel's worst in four years, came after more than a week of flaring Israeli-Palestinian violence in and around the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, where more than 130 Palestinians have been killed in eight days.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080307135633.9qf25dcp&show_article=1
As in the days of Noah....

Chinese hackers: No site is safe

ZHOUSHAN, China-They operate from a bare apartment on a Chinese island.They are intelligent 20-somethings who seem harmless.But they are hard-core hackers who claim to have gained access to the world's most sensitive sites, including the Pentagon.In fact,they say they are sometimes paid secretly by the Chinese government-a claim the Beijing government denies."No Web site is one hundred percent safe.There are Web sites with high-level security, but there is always a weakness," says Xiao Chen, the leader of this group. "Xiao Chen" is his online name.Along with his two colleagues, he does not want to reveal his true identity.The three belong to what some Western experts say is a civilian cyber militia in China, launching attacks on government and private Web sites around the world.If there is a profile of a cyber hacker, these three are straight from central casting-young and thin, with skin pale from spending too many long nights in front of a computer.One hacker says he is a former computer operator in the People's Liberation Army; another is a marketing graduate; and Xiao Chen says he is a self-taught programmer."First, you must know about the Web site you want to attack. You must know what program it is written with," says Xiao Chen."There is a saying, 'Know about both yourself and the enemy, and you will be invincible.'"CNN decided to withhold the address of these hackers' Web site, but Xiao Chen says it has been operating for more than three years, with 10,000 registered users. The site offers tools, articles, news and flash tutorials about hacking.Private computer experts in the United States from iDefense Security Intelligence, which provides cybersecurity advice to governments and Fortune 500 companies, say the group's site "appears to be an important site in the broader Chinese hacking community."Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks of on-again, off-again e-mail exchanges. When they finally agreed, CNN was told to meet them on the island of Zhoushan, just south of Shanghai and a major port for China's navy.The apartment has cement floors and almost no furniture. What they do have are three of the latest computers. They are cautious when it comes to naming the Web sites they have hacked.But eventually Xiao Chen claims two of his colleagues-not the ones with him in the room-have hacked into the Pentagon and downloaded information, although he wouldn't specify what was gleaned. CNN has no way to confirm if his claim is true."They would not publicize this," he says of someone who hacks the U.S. Defense Department. "It is very sensitive."This week, the Pentagon said computer networks in the United States, Germany, Britain and France were hit last year by what they call "multiple intrusions," many of them originating from China.At a congressional hearing in Washington last week, administration officials testified that the government's cyber initiative has fallen far short of what is required. Most alarming, the officials said, there has never been a full damage assessment of federal agency networks."We are here today because we must do more," said Robert Jamison, a top official in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "Defending the federal system in its current configuration is a significant challenge."U.S. officials have been cautious not to directly accuse the Chinese military or its government of hacking into its network.But David Sedney, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, says,"The way these intrusions are conducted are certainly consistent with what you would need if you were going to actually carry out cyber warfare."Beijing hit back at that, denying such an allegation and calling on the United States to provide proof. "If they have any evidence, I hope they would provide it. Then, we can cooperate on this issue," Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a regular press briefing this week.But Xiao Chen says after the alleged Pentagon attack, his colleagues were paid by the Chinese government. Again, CNN has no way to independently confirm if that is true.His allegations brought strenuous denials from Beijing."I am telling you honestly, the Chinese government does not do such a thing," Qin said.But if Xiao Chen is telling the truth, it appears his colleagues launched a freelance attack-not initiated by Beijing, but paid for after the fact. "These hacker groups in my opinion are not agents of the Chinese state," says James Mulvenon from the Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis, which works with the U.S. intelligence community."They are sort of useful idiots for the Beijing regime."He adds,"These young hackers are tolerated by the regime provided that they do not conduct attacks inside of China."One of the biggest problems experts say is trying to prove where a cyber attack originates from, and that they say allows hackers like Xiao Chen to operate in a virtual world of deniability.And across China, there could be thousands just like him, all trying to prove themselves against some of the most secure Web sites in the world.

As in the days of Noah....