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

SIGN of the TIMES:UK: Birth of 13-year-old dad's child sparks outrage

The birth of a child fathered by a 13-year-old boy has sparked an uproar in Britain.Alfie Patten, who was only 12 when the baby was conceived with his girlfriend, Chantelle Steadman, 15, was first pictured on the front of Friday's tabloid Sun newspaper with his daughter, Maisie Roxanne, after her birth Monday.He told the newspaper that he thought "it would be good to have a baby.""I didn't think about how we would afford it. I don't really get pocket money.My dad sometimes gives me £10. When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried about how people would react. I didn't know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it."Chantelle, meanwhile, said, "I'm tired after the birth. I was nervous after going into labor, but otherwise I was quite excited."She later told the Sun that they wanted to "prove to everyone" that they could give Maisie a "great future" and said both of them planned to stay in school.The Sun reported that police had investigated but said they were not going to prosecute, as it was "not in anyone's interests."Conservative party leader David Cameron told the British Press Association that parenthood should not be something the teenagers should even have been contemplating.Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who runs the Centre for Social Justice think tank, told PA that the birth highlighted another case of "broken Britain" where "anything goes.""It's not being accusative; it's about pointing out the complete collapse in some parts of society of any sense of what's right and wrong."There is no opprobrium any more about behavior, and quite often, children witness behavior that's aggressive, violent, rude and sexual. It's as if no one is saying this is wrong."Prime Minister Gordon Brown said "all of us would want to avoid teenage pregnancies," PA reported.Tony Kerridge, of the sexual health specialist Marie Stopes International, told PA that children needed better education."We have got the social aspect of young girls in the UK seeing having a baby as a route to getting their own place," he said. London's The Times newspaper reported Saturday that in the past decade, more than 40 other boys younger than 14 had fathered children.The UK has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe: 385 girls under the age of 14 became pregnant between 1998 and 2007.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/14/boy.baby.dad.england/index.html
As in the days of Noah...

Venezuela ousts EU politician for insulting Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela-Venezuela on Friday expelled a Spanish member of the European Parliament after he called President Hugo Chavez a dictator and criticized Chavez's handling of a referendum on term limits that the lawmaker had been set to observe.In a statement, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said it had invited Luis Herrero, who represents the right-wing Partido Popular (Popular Party) in the European Parliament, to leave the country to preserve a "peaceful climate" before the Sunday referendum.An opposition party, staunchly against Chavez, had asked Herrero to observe the referendum on a change to the constitution that would allow unlimited terms for elected officials.Venezuela's Globovision television reported that Herrero was escorted to the Maiquetia airport on Friday by what appeared to be members of the national guard."Following his comments, in a sequestering operation, they took him by force from the hotel without even allowing him to take his personal belongings and his passport," opposition member Luis Ignacio Planas told Globovision.About 10 p.m., after a discussion with other European parliamentarians,officials from Venezuela's national intelligence agency went to Herrero's room and asked him to leave,police officials told Globovision.The Spanish Foreign Ministry will express its dissatisfaction with Venezuela's treatment of Herrero in a letter to the Venezuelan foreign minister, said Joaquin Duran, a ministry spokesman.Duran did not say the Foreign Ministry was upset with Herrero's deportation. He said it was dissatisfied with how the expulsion was carried out.During a news conference that aired Thursday on Globovision, Herrero harshly criticized Chavez's handling of the referendum, implying the Venezuelan president was trying to manipulate the polling schedule to his benefit. Herrero called for Venezuelans to "vote freely.""Don't ever let fear obstruct your vote, as a dictator has premeditated," he said.Herrero's father, Fernando Herrero Tejedor, held posts as regional governor and as the secretary-general of the National Movement, the political, social and labor organization of Spanish right-wing dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, who died in 1975.In September, Jose Miguel Vivanco, Human Rights Watch executive director for the Americas, was also expelled for criticizing Chavez's policies.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/14/venezuela.chavez.expelled.dictator/index.html
As in the days of Noah...

British police arrest 9 under Terrorism Act

LONDON, England-Police in northern England have arrested nine men for planning to commit terrorist offenses overseas, police and counter-terrorist officials said Saturday.The men were arrested Friday night under the Terrorism Act on a highway south of the city of Preston, Lancashire police said.What the men were planning was not linked to any imminent domestic threat, said Stefan Jarmolowicz, spokesman for the North West Counter Terrorism Unit. But he added, "we don't arrest people under the Terrorism Act lightly."Only three of the men, aged between 26 and 36, remained in custody Saturday, police said. The others were released without charge.The arrests are part of an ongoing intelligence-led investigation by Lancashire police and the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, which is run by the nearby Greater Manchester Police, officials said.The arrests were based on intelligence from international agencies such as Interpol, Jarmolowicz said.During the next few days, counter-terrorism officers will help Lancashire police conduct searches of homes in the area, Jarmolowicz said. Five houses in the town of Burnley will be searched Saturday, police said."We will endeavor to carry out any searches as quickly as possible to minimize impact on the area concerned," said Chief Superintendent Neil Smith of the Lancashire police."However, inquiries of this nature are complex and may take time to resolve. I would like to thank local residents affected by these searches for their cooperation and ask that they remain patient."
As in the days of Noah....

Australian wildfire victims mourned at church

WHITTLESEA, Australia-Australians mourned the victims of deadly wildfires at Sunday church services across the country, as news emerged of a class action lawsuit against a power company over the cause of one of the blazes.More than 180 people were killed and 1,800 homes destroyed when some 400 blazes tore across Victoria state on Feb. 7 in Australia's worst-ever wildfire disaster.Police have arrested one man on arson charges connected to one fire and suspect foul play in at least one other.A law firm lodged a suit in Victoria's Supreme Court against power supplier SP Ausnet alleging negligence for allowing an overhead power line to fall, starting a wildfire, The Age newspaper reported.SP Ausnet was not immediately available to comment on the report.Residents of towns in the 1,500-square mile (3,900-square kilometer) fire zone gathered at church services Sunday to pray for the dead and seek comfort from each other. The scene was repeated at churches across the country, which has been deeply shocked by the tragedy.At Whittlesea, a town about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of the state capital of Melbourne, about 200 people attended the Whittlesea Christ Church for services led by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Philip Freier, and Governor General Quentin Bryce.Whittlesea has become a center for relief efforts for neighboring towns such as Kinglake, where scores of people died and which was almost completely destroyed.An outpouring of charity has raised more than 90 million Australian dollars ($60 million) in donations to official relief funds.Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin announced Sunday that families whose homes were destroyed would get a $AU10,000 cash payment to start the rebuilding process. The federal and Victoria government have promised millions of dollars more, and say a comprehensive rebuilding strategy would be released later this week.Wildfires are common each Australian summer, when tinder-dry forests ignite in hot and windy conditions and can burn for weeks on end.Government researchers say the causes of up to half the 60,000 fires in Australia each year are suspicious, with non-suspect causes being lightning strikes, power line mishaps and human activity such as sparks from power tools.Victoria Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said Sunday that police were aware of the reported class action suit involving the Kinglake fire. She declined to answer directly when asked if police had removed a section of power line and a power pole as evidence."At this stage we are not able to confirm how it started," Nixon told Nine Network television. "I understand there is some legal action that people are taking, but at this stage we're still investigating its cause."The firm reportedly behind the action, Slidders Lawyers, said on its Web site it was helping landowners and leaseholders get compensation for wildfires that occurred in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009. It invited people affected by the recent disaster to register details with the firm.It offered no other details, and no one at the firm was immediately available to comment.Firefighters, including specialists flown in from the United States, continued to battle about a dozen blazes in Victoria, and a pall of dark smoke hung over a huge area, including Melbourne.Cooler, even wet conditions were allowing firefighters to make good progress in containing the fire, the Country Fire Association said.


By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090215/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_wildfires
As in the days of Noah...

Trial of Khmer Rouge Leaders Finally Brings Cambodians Hope for Justice

Three decades after the fall of Pol Pot, the first trial of the leaders of his genocidal Khmer Rouge regime is to begin Tuesday before a U.N.-backed tribunal-the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).On Tuesday, a thin, elderly former schoolmaster will stand in the dock in a bland courtroom on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, accused of crimes against humanity committed 30 years ago.Kang Kek Leu, known as Comrade Duch, was the director of the infamous Tuol Sleng prison, the torture and interrogation center in Phnom Penh where thousands of innocent people were sent to die.His trial will be followed by those of Pol Pot's inner circle: Nuom Chea, or "Brother Number Two,"who was in charge of security; Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister and his wife,Ieng Thirith, and Khieu Samphan, the former head of state.The trials will be a watershed for Cambodians, most of whom had lost hope that the men and women who destroyed their lives would ever be brought to justice."I never thought this day would come," Vann Nath, one of only three remaining survivors of Tuol Sleng, told the Times of London. “There has been no hope for so many years."
Click here for more on the story from the Times.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,493044,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

Blackwater Dumping Tarnished Brand Name

The security firm Blackwater says it is dumping its brand name, damaged by missteps in security work in Iraq. Instead, it is going for a disarmingly simple two-letter name, Xe...

NAZI REVIVAL WATCH:Skinheads,Neo-Nazis Draw Protestor Fury at Dresden March...

German anti-immigrant, skinhead and neo-Nazi groups in the eastern city of Dresden staged one of their biggest demonstrations since German reunification in 1990 today, as 6,000 extremists marched through the streets, police said.Groups tied to the National Democratic Party used the 64th anniversary of the 1945 firebombing of Dresden to hold a “mourning march” through the capital of the state of Saxony. Two counter-demonstrations, led by unions and political activists, drew almost 10,000, police spokesman Marko Laske said.Black-clad youths gathered at the city’s main train station, waving black and black-white-and-red German nationalist flags as hundreds of police wearing body armor separated them from angry protesters, many of them screaming “Nazis out!”“There’s nothing in Germany that could compare to the scale of this Nazi march,”said Robert Kusche, an activist with Kulturbuero Sachsen, which organized one of the counter-demonstrations.For 10 years, anti-immigrant and skinhead groups have marked the anniversary of the bombing of Dresden in Allied air raids, which took place Feb. 13-15, 1945, at the end of World War II. Their aims have been bolstered since the NPD entered the Saxony state assembly in 2004.“They’re trying to link the victims of Dresden with the victims of Auschwitz,” Hajo Funke, an expert on neo-Nazis at the Free University in Berlin, said in a phone interview.“They represent a call for reviving the German Reich, anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism.”
NPD in Parliament

Marchers, many with clean-shaven heads or black hoods, carried signs referring to the bombing, one of which read “Dresden is the German Hiroshima.” Several young protestors declined to comment on why they were there.“It’s horrible-I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Frank Samol, a 58-year-old Dresdner, as he watched the march go through the city center. “The right wing is exploiting this event to put on a big show.”One of the marchers, a 55-year-old musician who identified himself only as Gerd, said he traveled from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia to commemorate the 1945 bombing.“What impresses me is that these young people are organizing themselves, that they have ideals,” Gerd said.This year’s event is being organized by a group known as the Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland that is supported by the NPD, which will seek to retain its seats in the state assembly when Saxony’s voters go to the polls in late August.
Electoral Success
Steffen Kailitz, a specialist who studies right-wing groups at the Hannah-Arendt-Institut at the Technical University of Dresden, says the electoral success of the NPD has given the radicals a boost.“Support for the NPD has definitely been helpful for mobilization,” Kailitz said by phone from Dresden.“If you look at the numbers since 2004, they’ve been growing larger.”The commemoration of the Dresden bombing has become a centerpiece for the right-wing scene as extremist groups tried to appropriate the event to portray Germany as a wartime victim, Kailitz said. While such groups have claimed that hundreds of thousands perished in the 1945 bombing, a group of historians commissioned by the city last year concluded that as many as 25,000 died.Police said various extremists groups joined the demonstration, including skinheads, neo-Nazis and “Kamaradschaften”-semi-organized clubs used by otherwise illegal groups.Displaying Nazi symbols and Holocaust denial are prohibited in Germany. Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Verfassungsschutz, has also said online activity is increasing organization among extremist groups.Some 5,000 extremists marched in Dresden for the 60th anniversary of the bombing in 2005, the police said. Last year about 3,300 police were mobilized for security and authorities deployed “a few hundred more” this year. Laske declined to say how many police were involved.“The march is a revival of German far-right megalomania and extreme nationalism,” said Funke.“The far-right’s strength isn’t in parliament but rather in a rightist and neo-Nazi sub- culture that’s been unbroken since the 1990s.”
By Patrick Donahue
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGstsMp983DI&refer=worldwide


As in the days of Noah...

Lovers mark Valentine's Day

HISTORY OF VALENTINE'S DAY

"In this episode of history of the holidays, learn the history of valentine's day...Learn about St. Valentine, cupid, and why the holiday is celebrated on february 14th.Valentine's day brings in about 14 billion dollars annually...."

http://link.history.com/services/link/bcpid6555686001/bclid1672160848/bctid1407959235

PS:You can also watch the other videos,which explain more about all the paraphernalia asociated with Valentine's Day...

As in the days of Noah....

Valentine's Day in Baghdad

Residents of the Iraqi capital Baghdad celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday, a sign of the improving security situation in the war-torn country...

Arkansas Pastors Divided Over Packing Heat in Church

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Arkansas pastors may soon have to worry about more than their flocks' spiritual battles. After a number of shootings in churches nationwide, should congregants be allowed to bring concealed weapons into their sanctuaries?Under current Arkansas law, holders of concealed weapons permits can take their guns anywhere they want except bars and houses of worship. A bill in the state Senate would let churches decide for themselves whether weapons should be allowed."I believe it would disturb the sanctity and tranquility of church" said Pastor John Phillips, a bill opponent who was shot twice in the back as he finished a service 23 years ago. If a church opts out, "Do you want ushers to stop you at the door and frisk you?"The bill's supporters say the issue isn't gun rights but a constitutionally protected right for churches to set their own rules. Opponents say worshippers should be allowed to pray without worrying whether the person next to them is armed.Nathan Petty, a pastor at Beech Grove Baptist Church in Fordyce, has presented to legislators a petition from 40 preachers who support the bill."It's not about gun rights, it's about church rights," Petty said. "Is it right for the state to make that decision for the church?"Phillips said there could have been carnage at his Ward Chapel Church in Little Rock if someone else had been armed when he was attacked by a parishioner's relative for a still-unknown reason."People are not going to react the way they think they're going to react in the heat of the moment. It was utter chaos when I was shot," said Phillips, who still carries one of the bullets in his body.The bill, by Republican Rep. Beverly Pyle, passed the House on Wednesday and is pending before a Senate committee.Grant Exton, the executive director of the Arkansas Concealed Carry Association, said allowing concealed weapons would not make churches more likely to have volatile situations-but adds that that is not his point."It's a problem of (the government) telling churches what to do in an area of moral issue, where that should be none of their business," Exton said. Of 48 states that allow concealed carry, 42 let churches make the decision, Exton said."We have the government in an area that it shouldn't be," he said.If the current law is not changed, it is subject to a challenge on constitutional grounds, said John DiPippa, the interim dean at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law.A law prohibiting guns from places of worship is similar to a law requiring that churches permit guns, because the government is forcing a decision on a religious institution based on moral grounds, he said. "On the religious argument, you could make the same claim in both directions."Religious leaders have a responsibility to protect their congregations both spiritually and physically, said Mark DeYmaz, a pastor at Mosaic Church in Little Rock. He opposes allowing guns in churches but said each religious establishment must decide for itself."A good shepherd would not allow a wolf near his flock," said DeYmaz, whose church is located in one of the city's tougher areas.After a man in Colorado went on a shooting spree at two religious facilities in 2007, DeYmaz' community established "the Mosaic Watchmen," a group of ushers trained in security measures but designed to uphold the church's image as a sacred place-not an armed church."We're there to be a light in the community, and we don't like the image that would give us," DeYmaz said.
By AP
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,493010,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

Kidnapped American Makes Video Plea for Help

Kidnappers threatened on Friday to kill an American employee of the United Nations within 72 hours and issued a grainy video of the blindfolded captive saying he was "sick and in trouble."

Missouri House Calls on Obama to Respect State Abortion Laws

The Missouri House is urging President Barack Obama and Congress to oppose any federal efforts to pre-empt state abortion laws, The Associated Press reported.Obama has promised to sign a measure called the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would eliminate virtually every federal, state and local measure that limits or restricts abortion."There’s no reason to doubt Obama's promise; his pro-abortion voting record and policy positions pave the way for him to sign such legislation into law," said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst at Focus on the Family Action. The Missouri House has approved a nonbinding resolution opposing FOCA. A copy is to be sent to Obama, congressional leaders and Missouri's 11 members in Congress.
TAKE ACTION

TV Stations Cancel Paid Ad about Homosexual Agenda

TV stations in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Columbus, Ohio, have canceled a paid program from the American Family Association (AFA) titled “Speechless: Silencing Christians,”calling the content controversial.AFA Chairman Don Wildmon said WSYX Channel 6 in Columbus rejected the program because it “did not represent positive Christianity.” Diane Kniowski, station manager for WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, could not be reached for comment.“The program is about silencing Christians,” Wildmon said. “And these two stations, without knowing it, made our point precisely."The hour-long program looks at the cultural influence of the homosexual agenda and how it has affected the family. It can be seen online.
TAKE ACTION
Call or e-mail WSYX-TV and ask the station to air the program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Focus on the Family's Love Won Out ministry offers the Gospel hope that unwanted same-sex attractions can be overcome. The Love Won Out team will travel to Grand Rapids for a June conference.
By Steve Jordahl
As in the days of Noah...

Saudi king dismisses 2 powerful religious figures

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia-In an apparent bid to reform the religious establishment, Saudi King Abdullah on Saturday dismissed the head of the feared religious police and a hard-line cleric who issued an edict last year saying it was permissible to kill owners of satellite TV stations that show "immoral" content.Abdullah also appointed the first female deputy Cabinet minister, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The changes were part of a surprise reshuffle in the Cabinet, the judiciary and the military.The dismissals were seen as an attempt by the king to reform the religious establishment, which has come under persistent criticism especially because of the performance of the religious police and the judiciary.The shake-up, the first major one since Abdullah came to power in August 2005, is significant because it dilutes the influence the hard-liners have had for decades on the religious establishment. The king, who has repeatedly spoken about the need for reform, has brought in a new group of officials and scholars who are younger and more in tune with the diversity of cultural Islam than their predecessors."They bring not only new blood, but also new ideas," said Jamal Khashoggi, editor of Al-Watan newspaper."They are more moderate and many are also close to the reform agenda of the king, having worked closely with him.""The people now in charge are not being ordered to implement reform," he added."They believe in reform."The Saudi Press Agency said Abdullah has ordered the re-establishment of the Grand Ulama Commission-a religious scholars body-with 21 members from all branches of Sunni Islam. This is a major shift for the kingdom because it will give more moderate Sunni schools representation in a body that has always been governed by the strict Hanbali sect. No minority Shiites, however, have been appointed to the commission.Abdul-Aziz bin Humain will replace Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith as head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which runs the religious police, according to the agency.Bin Humain, who is believed to be more moderate than al-Ghaith, will head a body whose members have been criticized by Saudis for their harsh behavior. The religious police patrol public places to make sure women are covered and not wearing makeup, the sexes don't mingle, shops close five times a day for prayers and men go to the mosque and worship...
Associated Press writers Maamoun Youssef in Cairo and Abdullah al-Shihri in Riyadh contributed to this report.
By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...

Suspected US missile strike kills 27 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD-Dozens of followers of Pakistan's top Taliban commander were in a compound when a suspected U.S. missile attack hit Saturday, killing 27 militants in an al-Qaida stronghold near the Afghan border, officials said.The strike appeared to be the deadliest yet by the American drone aircraft that prowl the frontier, and defied Pakistani warnings that the tactic is fueling extremism in the nuclear-armed Islamic nation.In an interview unrelated to the attack, President Asif Ali Zardari said the Taliban had expanded their presence to a "huge amount" of Pakistan and were even eyeing a takeover of the state."We're fighting for the survival of Pakistan. We're not fighting for the survival of anybody else," Zardari said, according to a transcript of his remarks that CBS television said it would air Sunday.Many Pakistanis believe the country is fighting Islamist militants, who have enjoyed state support in the past, only at Washington's behest.Remotely piloted U.S. aircraft are believed to have launched more than 30 attacks over the past year, and American officials say al-Qaida's leadership and ability to support the insurgency in Afghanistan has been significantly weakened. But Pakistani officials say the vast majority of the victims are civilians.After Saturday's strike, Taliban fighters surrounded the flattened compound in the village of Shrawangai Nazarkhel and carried away the dead and wounded in several vehicles. The village is in South Waziristan, part of the tribally governed area along the Afghan frontier considered the likely redoubt of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.The victims included about 15 ethnic Uzbek militants and several Afghans, said Pakistani intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The seniority of the militants was unclear.Two of the officials said dozens of followers of Pakistan's top Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, were staying in the housing compound when it was hit. There was no indication that Mehsud was present.Pakistan's former government and the CIA have named Mehsud as the prime suspect behind the December 2007 killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Pakistani officials accuse him of harboring foreign fighters, including Central Asians linked to al-Qaida, and of training suicide bombers.The accounts of Saturday's strike could not be verified independently. The tribally governed region is unsafe for reporters. The U.S. Embassy had no comment, while Pakistan's army spokesman was unavailable.The new U.S. administration has brushed off Pakistani criticism that the missile strikes fuel extremist and anti-American sentiment and undercuts the government's own counterinsurgency strategy."The government is doing everything possible to stop it and I hope that America listens to the voice of the people of Pakistan," Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said Saturday.
Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Abdul Sattar in Quetta contributed to this report.
By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...

US envoy meets Afghan president amid tensions

KABUL-President Barack Obama's new envoy to Afghanistan met with President Hamid Karzai on Saturday amid a downturn in U.S.-Afghan relations.Karzai says he still has not spoken with Obama almost a month after his inauguration, a sign the Afghan president no longer enjoys the favored status he had under former President George W. Bush."There is tension between us and the U.S. government on issues of civilian casualties, arrests of Afghans, nightly raids on homes and the casualties they cause," Karzai told al-Jazeera television in an interview Friday. Obama has said the U.S. will increase its attention on Afghanistan under his tenure as the U.S. transitions out of Iraq.But the administration is still debating how to stem the Taliban tide and tackle the endemic corruption in Karzai's government more than seven years after the 2001 invasion.Taliban militants have increased attacks and swept up wide areas of countryside over the last three years. The U.S. is contemplating sending up to 30,000 more American forces to back up the 33,000 already in Afghanistan.Richard Holbrooke, Obama's new envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, met with Karzai at the heavily guarded presidential palace in central Kabul on Saturday.Neither Holbrooke nor Karzai made any public statements.Holbrooke earlier met with Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta, whose spokesman said Holbrooke reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the anti-terrorism fight, reconstruction projects and the training of Afghan forces. Holbrooke has met with Afghan officials, international military leaders and U.N. diplomats during a fact-finding trip that began Thursday.Holbrooke has made no public comments during the Afghan leg of his trip. He previously visited Pakistan and also is to stop in India.Karzai in recent weeks has publicly pressed the U.S. to use Afghan troops on nighttime raids in order to prevent civilian casualties. Karzai's public criticism of the raids and the civilian deaths caused by U.S. troops has added to recent tensions in the U.S.-Afghan relationship.The U.S. military and Afghan Defense Ministry announced Thursday that Afghan officials and troops would take greater part in U.S. missions, particularly night raids."There will be better coordination to minimize risk of civilian casualties and ensure Afghans search Afghan homes and conduct arrest operations," a joint U.S.-Afghan statement said.It wasn't yet clear how soon Afghans would be placed on those missions. U.S. Special Operations Forces conduct targeted night raids against known militant leaders, but the operations have resulted in many Afghan civilian deaths, an issue that has increasingly angered Karzai....
By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...

Children killed in Afghan firefight

Five children were among "a number" of civilians killed in a firefight between insurgents and Australian troops in Afghanistan's Oruzgan Province, Australia's Defense Ministry said in a news release issued Friday.The firefight took place early Thursday, when members of a Special Operations Task Group were conducting clearance operations in the province, the ministry said."During the conduct of this operation, the soldiers were fired upon by Taliban insurgents," it said. "The SOTG engaged the insurgents, returning fire in accordance with their rules of engagement."While no troops were injured, "a number of people have been killed and wounded during this incident," the ministry said. "Current reporting indicates that those killed include a suspected insurgent and, sadly, local nationals."The civilian casualties included "five children killed, and two children and two adults injured," it said.There was no immediate reaction to the report from Afghan officials.The Australian Defense Force is investigating the incident, the ministry said. The injured were treated on site and taken to medical facilities.The Australian military is "obviously concerned about any loss of life," the statement said.Australian soldiers were continuing operations in southern Afghanistan, the ministry said.
As in the days of Noah...

Guns Traded for Roses on Valentine's Day in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C.-Police in South Carolina want residents to have a rose for their sweeties on Valentine's Day.All they have to do is turn in a gun.Authorities are running the "Guns for Roses" program Saturday at Bethesda Church of God and the M.H.Newton Family Life Enrichment Center in Sumter, S.C., and Friendship Baptist Church in Columbia.Anyone turning in a gun gets a free rose and a Best Buy gift card. A handgun gets a $100 gift card, while a rifle or shotgun gets a $50 gift card.Police say the guns need to be unloaded and stored in a bag in the trunk of the car. An officer will meet people in the parking lot, take the gun and give out a voucher to be redeemed inside the church.
Click here for more on this story from FOX affiliate WACH-TV in Columbia.
By AP

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,493009,00.html
PS:People are already sheepily moving around and doing what they are told to do by the government without a second thought....The most disturbing thing is that they are using "CHURCHES" to do their craft....Watch out and make sure you attend a "true church" not a fake one...
We are surely living in evil days....
As in the days of Noah....

State Department Prepares for Onslaught of Applications for Credit Card-Sized Passports

PHOENIX-The government has introduced passport cards designed to speed border crossings by U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and the State Department is preparing to handle an onslaught of up to 30 million applications as the deadline nears when Americans won't be able enter the country from Mexico or Canada without a passport.The government approved the wallet-size cards as a cheap and convenient alternative to passport books. They may be used only by citizens returning to the United States through land or seaports from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Air travelers must carry full passports.The cards emit a radio signal picked up by Customs and Border Protection officers at checkpoints.The signal provides inspectors with a file number linked to passport data on each cardholder.The cards are handy for frequent border crossers, and cost just $45 for a first-time adult applicant, rather than the $100 fee for a passport book. The cards cost $20 for adults who already have a regular passport. Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant secretary of State for passport services, said the cards contain information identical to what is found in a standard passport, and are just as secure.About 850,000 cards have been issued nationally.Once the new system is in place, Sprague predicted, lines at Arizona border checkpoints may be shorter because inspectors can verify passport cards more rapidly than birth certificates and other documentation now accepted.The State Department said Americans won't be allowed to enter the country from Mexico or Canada without a passport after June 1. Those who are turned away will have to seek emergency documents through a U.S. consular office, a process that may take 24 hours or more."It concerns me to a point," Sprague said during an Arizona tour this week. "But I know what we are capable of doing. We have built in so many mechanisms to anticipate the surge in demand."Sprague expressed confidence that most Americans were aware of the new law, which affects U.S. citizens re-entering the country from border nations and the Caribbean.She doesn't believe huge numbers of citizens will find themselves stranded at U.S. borders, nor does she anticipate increased logjams at checkpoints.The State Department issued a record 18.5 million passports in 2007.Despite the looming deadline, Sprague said the 2009 fiscal year is on track for only 12 million applications.
By AP
As in the days of Noah....

6 arrested for protesting Valentine's Day in India

An activist from the women's wing of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party vandalizes a Valentine’s Day hoarding in Hyderabad, India, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009. Several ultra Hindu nationalist parties have vowed to disrupt Valentine's Day celebrations in India citing it as an unnecessary western import corrupting Indian culture. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Supporters of Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena party burn Valentine's Day cards in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009. Several ultra Hindu nationalist parties have vowed to disrupt Valentine's Day celebrations in India citing it as an unnecessary western import corrupting Indian culture. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
LUCKNOW,India-Police arrested six members of a hard-line Hindu group on Saturday for attacking and cutting the hair of three couples on Valentine's Day near the Taj Mahal - India's white-marble monument to love.Meanwhile, members of another group vandalized a shop selling Valentine's cards and raided a restaurant looking for romantic couples in the Indian portion of Kashmir.Public displays of love are frowned upon by the older generation in India. Kissing, holding hands and cuddling are all social taboos, though the influx of Western culture has made it a more common practice among younger couples.The protesters used scissors to cut the hair of overtly romantic young couples in a park in the northern Indian city of Agra, said superintendent of police V.P. Ashok."The six belonging to Shiv Sena group were arrested for causing a breach of the peace," he told The Associated Press.Agra is the site of the Taj Mahal, a monument built by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 in memory of his favorite wife.The protests by groups like Shiv Sena-which says it is defending traditional Indian values from Western promiscuity-have become an annual event on Valentine's Day.Authorities tightened security this year in major Indian cities in an attempt to prevent attacks.India's economic surge in recent years has brought with it the trappings of Western culture, including McDonald's, MTV and Valentine's Day. Shops stock cards and chocolates, vendors sell red roses and restaurants offer romantic specials.In Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, a half dozen burqa-clad members of the radical Islamic women's group Dukhtaran-e-Millat tore up Valentine's Day cards in a gift shop, shop owner Shaukat Ahmed said.The protesters also entered a restaurant looking for couples celebrating their love but didn't find any.The organization has tried to enforce a strict Islamic dress code in the Himalayan region.Ahmed said the protesters described the cards as "un-Islamic.""They left after I told them that I won't sell these cards in the future," he told AP.In the southern state of Karnataka, police preventatively detained 140 members of the right-wing Hindu group Sri Ram Sene on Friday, The Indian Express newspaper reported.The detentions came weeks after some group members attacked young couples in a pub in the city of Mangalore in the state.Authorities also canceled classes at Lucknow University on Saturday to prevent attacks. Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.Madhu Chandra, a well-known New Delhi-based human rights activist, strongly defended the civil liberties of couples."It's the right of every Indian citizen to express our love in the manner acceptable, or in the Indian way, or in the English way, or in the Islamic way," he said.
By BISWAJEET BANERJEE
PS:What a bunch of fanatical hypocrites....!!!!"Western Promiscuity"...?What about their own promiscuity....?What about sensuality in Bollywood movies...?What about a high rate of HIV linked to prostitution and promiscuity in India...?Yep surely now a guy from Utah wrote the kama sutra and another one from Alabama has been directing Indian movies for ever,right...?
This is ridiculous...IT's all the west....!Yep it's the evil west....Those cards they were burning show people with more clothes than the girls in Bollywood movies that they export everywhere....That--BTW-- I wouldnt let my children watch.
Sad part is that this bunch is the same one that goes around attacking, cutting, chopping,killing christians and burning their homes IF they don't CONVERT TO HINDUISM or ISLAM....
Let poor St Valentine rest from all his works...drop the machete and go home...Do something to improve things in your own community and country,something better than burning cards that talk about love...Give me a break....
As in the days of Noah...

WORLD TO STAY IN SLUMP

Group of Seven finance chiefs vowed to tackle a “severe” economic downturn that will persist for most of 2009 without spelling out new steps to do so.The G-7’s finance ministers and central bankers said in a statement released after talks in Rome today that they were working to restore confidence in markets and revive the world economy.They predicted the full effect of individual rescue packages will “build over time.” “We reaffirm our commitment to act together using the full range of policy tools to support growth and employment and strengthen the financial sector,” the statement said. “The stabilization of the global economy and financial markets remains our highest priority.”The policy makers met after reports yesterday showed Germany’s economy contracted the most in 22 years in the fourth quarter and U.S. consumer confidence neared its lowest since 1981. With the worst global slump since World War II battering state finances, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said he expects more countries to need emergency aid.That’s putting governments and central banks under greater pressure to end the malaise and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today urged actions that are “forceful and sustained for a period that matches the likely duration of the crisis.”
At a Loss
The authorities are still at a loss on the best course of action 18 months after the credit crisis broke out. That’s left them pursuing a disjointed approach as the global economy deteriorates further and companies from Microsoft Corp. to Nissan Motor Co. cut jobs.U.S. stocks fell the most this week since November, extending the Dow Jones Industrial Average index’s decline since the start of the year to 11 percent.“The statement ticks all the right boxes, but as expected does not go beyond generic statements of principle and commitments that we have heard before,” said Marco Annunziata, chief economist at Unicredit MIB in London. “The commitment to act in a coordinated way flies in the face of the rather uncoordinated approach that followed similar commitments last October.”Geithner, a former Treasury undersecretary in the Clinton administration, returned to the G-7 stage after a week in which investors complained his $2 trillion plan to revive lending lacked detail. His colleagues today urged him to push ahead.“On paper it looks great and the principles are certainly very good,” said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. “The essential thing is now to implement it.”
By Simon Kennedy and Sandrine Rastello
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTKC4gmSOdIc&refer=worldwide
As in the days of Noah...

Is FEMA & DHS preparing for mass graves and martial law near Chicago?

ISLAMIC CRAZE WATCH:Man charged with wife's gruesome death

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.-A shocking and gruesome story of a T.V. station owner's wife, found decapitated at the Bridge's Muslim T.V. network in Orchard Park. In pictures of happier times, 37-year-old Aasiya Zubair and her 44-year-old husband Mo Hassan, who founded Bridges T.V.Thursday evening, police converge on the station's Orchard Park studio and office. "The worst that I've seen, yeah," said Andrew Benz, Orchard Park Police Chief.Orchard Park Police chief Andrew Benz is talking about the crime scene where Assiya Zubair's body was found.Police tell News 4 the only suspect in this case is the victim's husband, who walked into police headquarters in Orchard Park Thursday evening to report his wife was dead.It's being called a brutal murder."She was decapitated,yes," said Benz.Zubair was found in the hallway. The mission of Bridges TV is to foster understanding between cultures and diverse populations. According to police, the couple had trouble getting along.Benz said, "There has been some history. I believe Mrs. Hassan, the victim, had recently filed for divorce and had served the papers on Mr. Hassan."Police say Zubair and her husband were parents to four children. The marital issues came to light recently with police going to the couple's Big Tree Road in Orchard Park last Friday. ApparentlyZubair felt she was in danger."We had been down to their house on Friday, the 6th to serve an order of protection," said Benz.Police say Hassan moved out that day. Bridges T.V. staffers aren't commenting. The website list Hassan as the CEO and his wife was the general manager. It's not clear if she was still working at Bridges. "Simply because you get an order or protection, I don't think you can put your guard down and say I am safe now," Benz said.The Erie County Holding Center is where Hassan is being held on a second degree murder charge.There's no bail at this point.Authorities aren't saying anything about a possible motive.They are trying to contact the victim's family in Pakistan.

By Mylous Hairston
Posted by: Emily Lenihan
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Man_charged_with_wifes_gruesome_death_20090213
As in the days of Noah...

Feinstein:"U.S. drones based in Pakistan"

Reporting from Washington -A senior U.S. lawmaker said Thursday that unmanned CIA Predator aircraft operating in Pakistan are flown from an air base in that country, a revelation likely to embarrass the Pakistani government and complicate its counter-terrorism collaboration with the United States.The disclosure by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, marked the first time a U.S. official had publicly commented on where the Predator aircraft patrolling Pakistan take off and land.At a hearing, Feinstein expressed surprise over Pakistani opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against Islamic extremist targets along Pakistan's northwestern border."As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base," she said.The basing of the pilotless aircraft in Pakistan suggests a much deeper relationship with the United States on counter-terrorism matters than has been publicly acknowledged. Such an arrangement would be at odds with protests lodged by officials in Islamabad, the capital, and could inflame anti-American sentiment in the country.The CIA declined to comment, but former U.S. intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, confirmed that Feinstein's account was accurate. Philip J. LaVelle, a spokesman for Feinstein, said her comment was based solely on previous news reports that Predators were operated from bases near Islamabad."We strongly object to Sen. Feinstein's remarks being characterized as anything other than a reference" to an article that appeared last March in the Washington Post, LaVelle said. Feinstein did not refer to newspaper accounts during the hearing. Many counter-terrorism experts have assumed that the aircraft take off from U.S. military installations in Afghanistan and are remotely piloted from locations in the United States.Experts said the disclosure could create political problems for the government in Islamabad, which is considered relatively weak.The attacks are extremely unpopular in Pakistan, in part because of the high number of civilian casualties inflicted in dozens of strikes.The use of Predators armed with Hellfire antitank missiles has emerged as perhaps the most important tool of the U.S. in its effort to attack Al Qaeda in its sanctuaries along the Pakistani-Afghan border...
By Greg Miller
To read more go to:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-uspakistan13-2009feb13,0,4776260.story?track=rss
PS:I dont know who is worse Pelosi or her...Unbelievable...This shows that money cannot buy brains...
As in the days of Noah...

Faina crew released by pirates

As the crew of the released cargo ship Faina has arrived in Ukraine, scandalous details concerning the alleged information leak have surfaced.The vessel loaded with heavy weaponry was released last week after almost five months of captivity...

Pirate ships detained

Russian heavy missile cruiser Peter the Great has stopped three small pirate ships off the coast of Somalia. Ten pirates all of them Somali citizens - have been detained...

Insufficient Evidence Could Force U.S. Navy to Return Suspected Pirates to Somalia

WASHINGTON-Questions emerged Friday about whether the U.S. Navy can continue to hold a group of suspected pirates captured on the high seas and kept for now in floating jail cells ringed with barbed wire.At issue are nine men, probably Somalis, seized Thursday from a small skiff in the Gulf of Aden. A Navy ship fired warning shots and sailors boarded the skiff and arrested the men after a distress call from an Indian-flagged merchant ship.Although defense officials would not be specific, several acknowledged there may insufficient evidence to hold the men for trial and that some or all might be returned to Somalia.If a case can be brought, it would be among the first under a new arrangement with Kenya to take on prosecution of suspected Somali pirates. Somalia has no effective government or recognized court system, and until now foreign navies have been reluctant to detain suspects because of legal uncertainties over where they would face trial."They obviously had some strong suspicions about these individuals and are right now mulling through the evidence they have to determine whether or not they can be prosecuted," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Friday."If there is insufficient evidence to do so, they'll have to make another determination, and that could well be repatriating them." Morrell said the men would not be allowed to keep weapons including a rocket-propelled grenade launcher seized from their boat.For now the group is being held aboard the Lewis and Clark, a U.S. Navy dry cargo and ammunition ship equipped with bare-bones holding cells. Pentagon video footage showed thin black pallets and pillows spread on the floor, surrounded by coils of barbed wire.The nine suspected pirates are the second of two groups seized by the Navy this week off the pirate-infested coast of Somalia.
By AP
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492784,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

U.S. attemps to ease up on Iran

Medvedev calls on U.S. to negotiate

U.S. links Moscow help on Iran to missile shield

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON-The United States signaled a willingness on Friday to slow plans for a missile defense shield in eastern Europe if Russia agreed to help stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.Plans for the shield have contributed to a deterioration in U.S.-Russian ties over the past few years, but the new administration of President Barack Obama has said it wants to press the "reset button" and build good relations with Moscow."If we are able to work together to dissuade Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, we would be able to moderate the pace of development of missile defenses in Europe," a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters.It was the most explicit statement yet by an administration official linking the missile shield to Russia's willingness to help resolve the international stand-off over Iran's nuclear program.He spoke as Undersecretary of State William Burns held talks in Moscow, the most senior U.S. official to do so since U.S. President Barack Obama took office last month.Burns signaled the United States was ready to look at remodeling its missile defense plans to include Moscow."Washington is open to the possibility of cooperation, both with Russia and NATO partners, in relation to a new configuration for missile defense which would use the resources that each of us have," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. Burns gave no details.In another sign that strained relations may be thawing, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would meet Russia's foreign minister in Geneva next month.The more flexible U.S. position on its missile shield addressed one of Russia's chief complaints against Washington. Moscow viewed the plan to site missiles in Poland and a radar tracking station in the Czech Republic as a threat to its security in its traditional backyard.U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a security conference in Munich, Germany, last week that the United States would press ahead with the missile defense shield, but only if it was proven to work and was cost-effective.
TACKLING IRAN
The Kremlin has been pressing Washington to give ground on the missile shield in exchange for Russia helping supply the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan.But the U.S. official in Washington focused on Iran."The impetus for the deployment of the missile defense systems is the threat from Iran. If it is possible to address that, then that needs to be taken into consideration as you look at the deployment of the system," the U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.The United States has led a drive to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, which the West fears is a cover to develop atomic weapons and Tehran insists is for the peaceful generation of electricity...
By James Kilner and Ross Colvin
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....

Darwin Day 'thumb-in-the-eye to creationists':More than 600 events worldwide mark 200th birthday of father of evolution

An atheist group counts 649 events in 42 countries celebrating the 200th anniversary today of the birth of the father of modern evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin.From an "Evolution Palooza" at the San Francisco Public Library to a book reading in India, the worldwide Darwin Day Celebration-administered by the Institute for Humanist Studies-is "part birthday bash, part thumb-in-the-eye to creationists, part opportunity for publishers rolling out Darwin books like sausages," says USA Today.At least one creationist, best-selling author and TV-host Ray Comfort, plans to return the favor by debating atheists on several national and international radio programs.Comfort will debate David Silverman, national spokesman for the group American Atheists, on the Alan Colmes radio show from 11 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. Eastern Time tonight. On Canadian radio station CFMJ he takes on atheist Scott Campbell from 7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. Eastern Time. Across the Atlantic, the BBC show "Paul Coletti World Update" will feature a debate with Comfort that was recorded earlier this week. Comfort's new title by WND Books, "You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence but You Can't Make Him Think," is scheduled for release today. Comfort is the author of 60 books and the co-host of "The Way of the Master," a weekly television show about personal evangelism with actor Kirk Cameron, star of the hit movie "Fireproof." The official website of the Darwin Day Celebration says the event"provides a new global holiday that transcends separate nationalities and cultures.""Darwin Day can be celebrated in many different ways: civic ceremonies with official proclamations, educational symposia, birthday parties, art shows, book discussions, lobby days, games, protests, and dinner parties," the organization says."In Darwin Day, we are able to recognize the diversity among us, while celebrating our common humanity and the universal understanding we share."A celebration at Charlie's Playhouse studio in Pawtucket,R.I., promised a "fun and festive afternoon for kids and adults"featuring live music,"fun evolution games,door prizes, demonstrations of how we make our Giant Timelines, a champagne/sparkling cider toast, tasty food and yes, a cake with 200 candles."The "Evolutionpalooza!"-sponsored by San Francisco Atheists – invited "fellow primates" last weekend to come for a "great afternoon of fun, food, music, games and evolution" that included special guest Eugenie Scott of the Nation Center for Science Education, a leading activist against the teaching of creation theory and intelligent design in public schools.At the Texas Natural Science Center in Austin, Texas, a Darwin Day celebration featured a sandbox with hidden fossils that children "excavated," the Daily Texan reported."There are people with babies and young children here, and we have activities for them, but the event also focuses on current, relevant research," said Christina Cid, the center's director of education.
Academic freedom
In a counter-offensive to Darwin Day, many students nationwide are using the occasion to declare Feb. 12 "Academic Freedom Day," according to the Idaho Values Alliance.The non-profit group says the event was developed "in response to the growing repression of dissent about Darwinian dogma in science curricula at all levels of education."As an example, the group said, then-University of Idaho president Timothy P. White issued an edict in October 2005 declaring evolution is "the only curriculum that is appropriate to be taught in our bio-physical sciences."
The Idaho group said the declaration essentially muzzled the voice of a leading advocate of intelligent design theory, Scott Minnich, an associate professor of microbiology at the university.
More than 750 Ph.D. scientists have signed a statement declaring their skepticism that random mutation and natural selection can explain the complexity of life and urging that Darwinian theory be carefully examined, the group noted.Students with Intelligent Design & Evolution Awareness clubs at three Idaho schools-Boise State University, Northwest Nazarene University and the College of Idaho-are sponsoring booths on campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today to discuss evolution and encourage the signing of a petition urging academic freedom.As WND reported, in the run-up to Darwin Day the Madison, Wisc.-based Freedom from Religion Foundation posted billboards in at least 15 states with messages such as "Imagine no Religion" and "Praise Darwin-Evolve Beyond Belief."FFRF said it placed a billboard just outside Grand Junction, Colo., because town officials rejected a proposal by a local atheist to proclaim a day honoring Darwin."Charles Darwin gets a bad rap in America, and we want to counter that," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. "It's an intellectual blot on our country that more than 50 percent of Americans reject evolution. The Darwin bicentennial is a chance to celebrate reality, to move our nation forward, to return to the Enlightenment."Last summer, the Western Colorado Atheists challenged Grand Junction's longstanding practice of starting City Council meetings with a prayer, leading city leaders to drop the invocation on the advice of an attorney, the Colorado Independent reported.Gaylor wrote a letter in November demanding county commissioners do the same, according to the Independent, asserting prayers are unnecessary, inappropriate and divisive.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=88666
As in the days of Noah...

Vatican buries the hatchet with Charles Darwin

The Vatican has admitted that Charles Darwin was on the right track when he claimed that Man descended from apes.A leading official declared yesterday that Darwin’s theory of evolution was compatible with Christian faith, and could even be traced to St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. “In fact, what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God,” said Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The Vatican also dealt the final blow to speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might be prepared to endorse the theory of Intelligent Design, whose advocates credit a “higher power” for the complexities of life.Organisers of a papal-backed conference next month marking the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species said that at first it had even been proposed to ban Intelligent Design from the event,as “poor theology and poor science”.Intelligent Design would be discussed at the fringes of the conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University, but merely as a “cultural phenomenon”, rather than a scientific or theological issue, organisers said.The conference is seen as a landmark in relations between faith and science.Three years ago advocates of Intelligent Design seized on the Pope’s reference to an “intelligent project” as proof that he favoured their views.Conceding that the Church had been hostile to Darwin because his theory appeared to conflict with the account of creation in Genesis, Archbishop Ravasi argued yesterday that biological evolution and the Christian view of Creation were complementary.Marc Leclerc, who teaches natural philosophy at the Gregorian University, said that no scholar could “remain indifferent” to the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth tomorrow.There was, however, “no question of celebrating” it.The Vatican would “take the measure of an event, which has left its mark for ever on the history of science and has influenced the way we understand our humanity”. The “time has come for a rigorous and objective valuation” of Darwin by the Church, he said.Professor Leclerc said that too many opponents of Darwin-above all Creationists-had mistakenly claimed that his theories were “totally incompatible with a religious vision of reality”, as did proponents of Intelligent Design.Darwin’s theories had never been formally condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, Monsignor Ravasi insisted.His rehabilitation had begun as long ago as 1950, when Pius XII described evolution as a valid scientific approach to the development of humans.In 1996 John Paul II said that it was “more than a hypothesis”....
By Richard Owen in Rome
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...

UK Marks Darwin's 200th Birthday With Pride

More than 600 events are taking place worldwide Thursday to commemorate "Darwin Day," the 200th anniversary of scientist Charles Darwin's birth...

PS:Like the man in the video said--with whom I totally agree BTW--this "theory" is the one that the more it is tested,the more the truth comes back...(paraphrasing here)that IT IS JUST A THEORY and it is not the TRUTH.
Hopefully he enjoys coming from a monkey....Darwinians surely resemble that by their determined passionate stubborness of believing a LIE,instead of mounds of scientific proof that prove this theory wrong,every turn of the way...
One thing is for sure,Darwin has dragged himself and lots of people to hell with his "theory"
As in the days of Noah...

Ministry Leaders: World's Bad News and Good Reveal End is Near

From Christian media leaders and executives to preachers and ministers, the message is clear.
Related.The end is near.“We’re looking at the end of human history,” said Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of renowned evangelist Billy Graham and president of AnGeL Ministries, at the recent convention of the National Religious Broadcasters.“That our generation is the generation that precedes the return of Christ, what a privilege, what a responsibility to share the gospel with the world in this generation. ”Though it’s been said many times before in the past that the end is near, the signs of “the end” are notably clearer for many in this generation than in past ones, whether they’re found in the record number of wars, the world’s environmental calamities, or the increasing number of scandals that lace today’s news-from celebrity assaults and athlete drug use to political corruption and decline in moral values.“The world is crumbling, isn’t it? And it’s unraveling. And I don’t think it’s going to get better,” Graham Lotz told thousands of Christian media professionals during a general session at the recently concluded NRB Convention. “I think superficially, maybe, but it’s not really going to get better, not if what we’re experiencing is the judgment of God, which I believe it is.”Of course, amid the chaos and crises in the world, there have also been advances and developments, many of which have been increasingly utilized by believers for the proclamation of the gospel. However, even in the positive developments, ministry leaders see an end approaching.“We see that maybe for the first time, because of the technology available to us today, we can say, ‘This may be the generation in which we reach the entire world for Christ,’” says NRB president and CEO Dr. Frank Wright, whose association comprises over 1,400 Christian media organizations. Whether it is social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace, more tools are being created and utilized to reach out to people and spread the message of Christ. Last year, over 3 million decisions for Christ were reportedly made through the internet alone, and some 5 million more are projected for 2009. According to the Internet Evangelism Coalition, an umbrella group of online ministries, 1.5 billion people now access the Web for a wide range of activities.“I’ve watched God operate through the years and I’ve seen Him do incredible things and much more incredible things in the last 5-10 years,” says Campus Crusade for Christ International president Steve Douglass, who spent all of his adult career in ministry and personally believes the Great Commission will be fulfilled in the next decade.Aside from the internet, very fruitful ministry methods have been and are being continually developed, scripture translation is expanding rapidly, and believers are praying, planning, and more at one now than they have been in the past centuries, says Douglass.“It’s not going to be ‘business as usual’ for the church anymore,” he told some 300 attendees of the North American Call2All Congress in Dayton, Ohio, last month. “We are experiencing increasing shakings all around the world; this is a prelude to the greatest ingathering into God’s Kingdom we have ever seen.“The time is now,” Douglass exclaimed. “It is imperative we plan and work together to see the Great Commission completed.”
By Eric Young
Christian Post Reporter
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...

Publisher Recalls Encyclopedia for Being 'Too Christian'

Wiley-Blackwell, a major academic publisher, is recalling copies of Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization and scrapping the print run after critics said the entries were "too Christian" and "too anti-Muslim."The publisher was set to release the four-volume encyclopedia this month after it was completed last September.But a small group of critics that included contributors and some members of the editorial board objected to the final version."They determined that the Introduction and many of the entries were 'too Christian, too orthodox,too anti-secular and too anti-Muslim and not politically correct enough for being used in universities," said the encyclopedia’s editor, George Thomas Kurian, sounding angry in an e-mail sent last week to nearly 400 contributors.The charge against the book was led by David Morgan, professor of Religion at Duke University, and Bernard McGinn, professor of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity at The University of Chicago Divinity School, according to Kurian. Blackwell subsequently decided to suspend the publication, recall copies already distributed, and destroy the existing print run. Kurian called the move the "first instance of mass book-burning in the 21st century."The book was intended to be a comprehensive work on the history and legacy of Christianity, looking not only at the religion but at the aspects of society, such as art, literature, architecture, music, politics, and scholarship, it has shaped.Now, the book's publisher and editorial director want to "de-christianize" all 1,450 entries in the encyclopedia to make it politically correct before it can be reprinted, according to Kurian.He also claimed the press is looking to delete words including, "Antichrist," "Enemy," "Beloved Disciple," "Gates of Hell," "Witness," "Virgin Birth," "Resurrection," "Evangelism” and any reference with an "evangelical tone." BC and AD, chronological markers for "Before Christ" and "Anno Domini," will also likely to dropped.Kurian also said the press objected to "historical references to the persecution and massacres of Christians by Muslims, but at the same time wanted references favorable to Islam.""To make the treatment 'more balanced,' they also want the insertion of material denigrating Christianity in some form or fashion. All these I have refused to do," stated the encyclopedia's editor.He added, "This is the most blatant form of censorship in the history of religious publishing."Susan Spilka, corporate communications director of Wiley, said Kurian's allegations were "completely without foundation.""It would make no sense for us to sabotage a project to which we have committed long-term investment and resources, and which we think will be valuable addition to Christian scholarship," she said in a statement.She contended that Wiley had learned that "few if any" contributions had been reviewed by the board as had been required.According to Kurian, however, the work was edited, copy edited, fact checked, proofread and then approved by Blackwell’s editorial team. Printed and bound copies launched at the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature conference, where it received high praise, he said.Kurian has vowed to fight the censorship in court.In his e-mail, he invited contributors to join him in a class-action lawsuit that seeks restitution for the lost income and charges Wiley-Blackwell of breach of contract. The suit seeks to have Blackwell publish the encyclopedia as originally approved and printed, without change and without censorship of its Christian content, tone and character."It will send a strong message to the politically-correct establishment that we will not allow the freedom of Christian expression to be abridged,muzzled, denied or trampled upon," said Kurian, who will also file a similar suit on his behalf.Kurian has edited 60 highly successful reference works, including 27 encyclopedias.They include The World Christian Encyclopedia, Nelson's New Christian Dictionary, The Encyclopedia of the First World, and The Encyclopedia of the Third World.
By Katherine T. Phan
Christian Post Reporter
As in the days of Noah...