High school senior discovers ironing deactivates anthrax

High school senior discovers ironing deactivates anthrax - PittsburghLIVE.com:


"Protecting yourself from biological weapons might be as simple as using a hot clothes iron.

Through a project for a statewide science competition, Central Catholic High School senior Marc Roberge discovered truth in the urban legend that ironing can kill anthrax spores in contaminated mail."

Twilight time for partial-birth abortion?

Twilight time for partial-birth

Good editorial from the Washington Times.

"During the last two Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Sen. Arlen Specter asked the nominees about the 'super-duper' precedence of Roe v. Wade. The term earned some justified guffaws, but pro-lifers took the senator's point, which is that Roe has a pretty formidable defense in both the court of law and public opinion. The best tactics for abortion opponents is to limit the expanse of the ruling, not challenge it directly, at least for now.

The Republican-controlled Congress followed this strategy when it overwhelmingly passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. Except among abortion-rights extremists, the practice in which a unborn baby's skull is crushed and brain removed has almost no public support. But all legislative efforts to end this gruesome form of infanticide have foundered in the courts, which typically rule that any ban must include exceptions for the 'health' of the mother. That's what the Supreme Court ruled in 2000 when it struck down a Nebraska ban by a 5-4 vote.

Unfortunately, the 2003 law, which makes an exception for the life of a mother, but not her 'health,' has met a similar fate in three lower courts. It is surprising then that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, Gonzales v. Carhart, since the lower courts were unanimous on the unconstitutionality of the ban. It also may be a sign that the court is preparing to overturn its 2000 ruling.

The dissenting justices in the Nebraska case were Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, William Rehnquist and Anthony Kennedy. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor cast the deciding vote. If Chief Justice John Roberts votes as his predecessor, then the replacement of Justice O'Connor with the more conservative Samuel Alito could tip the balance in favor of upholding the ban. "

Ancient Sun Temple Uncovered in Cairo

BREITBART.COM - Ancient Sun Temple Uncovered in Cairo:

"Archaeologists discovered a pharaonic sun temple with large statues believed to be of King Ramses II under an outdoor marketplace in Cairo, Egypt's antiquities chief said Sunday.

The partially uncovered site is the largest sun temple ever found in the capital's Aim Shams and Matariya districts, where the ancient city of Heliopolis _ the center of pharaonic sun worship _ was located, Zahi Hawass told The Associated Press."

King Ramses II, who ruled Egypt for 66 years from 1270 to 1213 B.C., had erected monuments up and down the Nile with records of his achievements, as well as building temples _ including Abu Simbel, erected near what is now Egypt's southern border.

Numerous temples to Egypt's sun gods _ particularly the chief god Ra _ were built in ancient Heliopolis. But little remains of what was one the ancient Egyptians' most sacred cities, since much of the stone used in the temples was later plundered.

This is interesting and confirms that the Pharaohs did indeed build many cities at the time the Jews were in Egypt. It also shows once again that the Pharaohs were worshiped as sun gods. One of the last plagues was that God blotted out the sun covering the land in darkness.

Bird flu 'could take 142m lives'�

CNN.com - Bird flu 'could take 142m lives'�:

"Bird flu 'could take 142m lives'
Worst case economic cost is $4.4 trillion"

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- As many as 142 million people around the world could die if bird flu turns into a "worst case" influenza pandemic, according to a sobering new study of its possible consequences.

And global economic losses could run to $4.4 trillion -- the equivalent of wiping out the Japanese economy's annual output.

The study, prepared for the Sydney, Australia-based Lowy Institute think tank, says there are "enormous uncertainties" about whether a flu pandemic might happen, and where and when it might happen first.

But it says even a mild pandemic could kill 1.4 million people and cost $330 billion.

Although this is a worst case scenario we could witness half of what is projected. Even a quarter would be devastating to the world’s population and economy. There is no reason to panic at this time. At least we are tracking the Bird Flu and have resources to battle it. We only have to worry if it mutates into an airborne virus that lives in humans.

The Elephant in the Living Room

BreakPoint | The Elephant in the Living Room

Professor David Fergusson, director of the Christchurch Health and Development Study in New Zealand, is firmly pro-choice. But I suspect the good professor might understand if I point out that, lately, he’s been getting a little taste of what it’s like to be pro-life.

Fergusson and two colleagues, L. John Horwood and Elizabeth Ridder, conducted a study on abortion and mental health. And they didn’t find what they expected to find. Their report states, “Those having an abortion [under age 25] had elevated rates of subsequent mental health problems including depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviours and substance use disorders.” Their report goes on to say, “The findings suggest that abortion in young women may be associated with increased risks of mental health problems.”

South Dakota voted for Abortion Ban

My Way News:

"SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (Reuters) - South Dakota's state senate voted on Wednesday for an abortion ban aimed at giving the conservative-tilting Supreme Court an opening to overturn rulings granting women the right to the procedure.

Only an unlikely veto by Republican Gov. Michael Rounds could prevent the legislation from becoming law, people on both sides of the issue said.

'We hope (Rounds) recognizes this for what it is: a political tool and not about the health and safety of the women of South Dakota,' said Kate Looby of Planned Parenthood, which operates the sole clinic providing abortions in South Dakota."

"If he chooses to sign it, we will be filing a lawsuit in short order to block it," she said after attending the afternoon debate at the state capitol in Pierre.

Proponents have said the law was designed for just such a court challenge.

The timing is right, supporters say, given the recent appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the high court. The two conservatives could pave the way to a decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling said women have a constitutional right to abortion.

The high court said on Tuesday it will rule on whether the federal government can ban some abortion procedures, a case that could reveal whether the court reshaped by President George W. Bush will restrict abortion rights.

Five states have proposed similar bans, but South Dakota's legislature was the first to pass a law, which threatens to punish doctors who perform abortions with a five-year prison term and $5,000 fine.

The new appointee to the Supreme Court does not guarantee overturning Roe vs. Wade. However, even if this attempt fails it is good because it will keep the debate going and give us opportunity to change people’s minds and hearts.

German court convicts man for insulting Islam

German court convicts man for insulting Islam - Yahoo! News:

"DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - A German court on Thursday convicted a businessman of insulting Islam by printing the word 'Koran' on toilet paper and offering it to mosques.

The 61-year-old man, identified only as Manfred van H., was given a one-year jail sentence, suspended for five years, and ordered to complete 300 hours of community service, a district court in the western German town of Luedinghausen ruled."

The conviction comes after a Danish newspaper printed cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad -- sparking violent protests around the world from Muslims who saw the images as sacrilegious and an attack on their beliefs.

Manfred van H. printed out sheets of toilet paper bearing the word "Koran" shortly after a group of Muslims carried out a series of bomb attacks in London in July 2005. He sent the paper to German television stations, magazines and some 15 mosques.

Prosecutors said that in an accompanying letter Manfred van H. called Islam's holy book a "cookbook for terrorists."

He also offered his toilet paper for sale on the Internet at a price of 4 euros ($4.76) per roll, saying the proceeds would go toward a "memorial to all the victims of Islamic terrorism."

The maximum sentence for insulting religious beliefs under the German criminal code is three years in prison.

I do not agree with what this man did but it is scary that a person can be put in prison for insulting religious ideas. This is what the world is coming to. If you say Islam is a false religion you may face jail time.

These hate speech restrictions are being passes in more and more countries. The next step will be to force people to conform to one all encompassing world religion. If you do not comply well then you will not be able to buy or sell anything.

Extremist clerics issue "a new fatwa" approving use of nuclear weapons

MEMRI: Latest News:

"Reformist Iranian Internet Daily: A New Fatwa States That Religious Law Does Not Forbid Use of Nuclear Weapons"

On February 16, 2006, the reformist Internet daily Rooz (www.roozonline.com ) reported that for the first time extremist clerics from Qom had issued what the daily called "a new fatwa," which states that "shari'a does not forbid the use of nuclear weapons."

"The spiritual leaders of the extremist [circles in Iran] have accepted the use of nuclear weapons as lawful in the eyes of shari'a. Mohsen Gharavian, a disciple of [Ayatollah] Mesbah Yazdi [who is Iranian President Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor], has spoken for the first time of using nuclear weapons as a counter-measure. He stated that 'in terms of shari'a, it all depends on the goal.'

President Ahmadinejad is the one who has denied the Holocaust occurred and that Israel should be removed.

'Monster' Cat In China Weighs 33 Pounds

local6.com - News - 'Monster' Cat In China Weighs 33 Pounds:

"A 33-pound cat in Qingdao, China, is being described as a 'feline monster' because of its 31-inch waist and large size, according to a report."

The 9-year-old cat from the Shandong Province is so heavy it needs the help of its owner to get onto a bed. However, the cat is in surprisingly good health despite its weight, Local 6 News reported.

The cat's owner said it has no interest in eating fish but prefers to eat six pounds of chicken and pork each day.

That is a fat cat. See more pictures Here.

Justices to Weigh Late-Term Abortion Ban

BREITBART.COM - Justices to Weigh Late-Term Abortion Ban:

By GINA HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer

"The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will consider the constitutionality of banning a type of late-term abortion, teeing up a contentious issue for a newly-constituted court already in a state of flux over privacy rights.

The Bush administration has pressed the high court to reinstate the federal law, passed in 2003 but never put in effect because it was struck down by judges in California, Nebraska and New York."

The outcome will likely rest with the two men that President Bush has recently installed on the court. Justices had been split 5-4 in 2000 in striking down a state law, barring what critics call partial birth abortion because it lacked an exception to protect the health of the mother.

But Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was the tie-breaking vote, retired late last month and was replaced by Samuel Alito. Abortion had been a major focus in the fight over Alito's nomination because justices serve for life and he will surely help shape the court on abortion and other issues for the next generation.

The federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act prohibits a certain type of abortion, generally carried out in the second or third trimester, in which a fetus is partially removed from the womb, and the skull is punctured or crushed.

44,000,000 children have been aborted in the United States since it became legal. This evil needs to stop. It might be legal but it is not moral. This procedure is the most hideous of them all. The only difference between a normal birth and Partial-Birth abortion is that the baby is completely delivered except for the child’s head.

A child is born all but its head and then a pair of scissors or other sharp instrument is jammed into the base of their skull to kill them. Often the child’s head is crushed with tongs or if it is too big to do that then they will use a suction tube to remove the child’s brain. Sorry for being so graphic but this is what happens.

Hilarious internet commercials from Brawny

Brawny

These internet commercials are off the beaten path.

Feminists need not check these out.

Russia Warns U.S. Against Striking Iran

BREITBART.COM - Russia Warns U.S. Against Striking Iran:

More posturing from Russia.

"By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW

Russia's top military chief on Thursday warned the United States against launching a military strike against Iran and a top diplomat voiced hope that close cooperation with China could help resolve the Tehran nuclear crisis.

With tension mounting over Iran's nuclear programs, Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the chief of Russia's general staff, warned the United States against attacking Iran.

'A military scenario can't be ruled out,' Baluyevsky was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

He said that while Iran's military potential cannot compare to the United States', 'it is hard to predict how the Muslim world will respond to the use of force against Iran.'

'This may stir the whole world, and it is crucial to prevent anything like that,' Baluyevsky was quoted as saying.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alekseyev, meanwhile, said that cooperation with China could help push Iran toward accepting Moscow's offer to host Iran's uranium enrichment program.

The Russian proposal has become a centerpiece of international efforts to defuse tensions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions."

DNA defies Mormonism

Bedrock of a Faith Is Jolted - Los Angeles Times:

This is a very good article calling attention to the fact that natives in the Americas were not descendants of the Jews as the book of Mormon claims. This is one of many historical inaccuracies in the book of Mormon. Read the article to see more.

"By William Lobdell, Times Staff Writer

From the time he was a child in Peru, the Mormon Church instilled in Jose A. Loayza the conviction that he and millions of other Native Americans were descended from a lost tribe of Israel that reached the New World more than 2,000 years ago.

'We were taught all the blessings of that Hebrew lineage belonged to us and that we were special people,' said Loayza, now a Salt Lake City attorney. 'It not only made me feel special, but it gave me a sense of transcendental identity, an identity with God.'"

A few years ago, Loayza said, his faith was shaken and his identity stripped away by DNA evidence showing that the ancestors of American natives came from Asia, not the Middle East.

According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an angel named Moroni led Joseph Smith in 1827 to a divine set of golden plates buried in a hillside near his New York home.

God provided the 22-year-old Smith with a pair of glasses and seer stones that allowed him to translate the "Reformed Egyptian" writings on the golden plates into the "Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ."

Mormons believe these scriptures restored the church to God's original vision and left the rest of Christianity in a state of apostasy.

The book's narrative focuses on a tribe of Jews who sailed from Jerusalem to the New World in 600 BC and split into two main warring factions.

The God-fearing Nephites were "pure" (the word was officially changed from "white" in 1981) and "delightsome." The idol-worshiping Lamanites received the "curse of blackness," turning their skin dark.

According to the Book of Mormon, by 385 AD the dark-skinned Lamanites had wiped out other Hebrews. The Mormon church called the victors "the principal ancestors of the American Indians." If the Lamanites returned to the church, their skin could once again become white.

WorldNetDaily: Boy Scouts 'a religion'?

WorldNetDaily: Boy Scouts 'a religion'?:

By Rees Lloyd

"Arguments in a major Boy Scouts case unfolding in Pasadena, Calif., before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – a case that is certain to be headed for the Supreme Court -- centered on the contention that the revered organization is actually a religion and should therefore not be given a lease of public land.

The case was brought by self-declared agnostics Lori and Lynn Barnes-Wallace and Michael and Valerie Breen, along with a son of each, in protest of a lease of parkland in Balboa Park and Fiesta Island by the city of San Diego to the Boy Scouts of America."

A federal judge in San Diego granted the summary judgment to the agnostics, finding that the Boy Scouts are a "religion" because of the Boy Scout Oath, which includes doing one's duty to "God and my country," and the Boy Scout Law, which includes "reverence" as one of 12 precepts. Also, the Scouts require a belief in God as a condition of membership.

This is crazy. Once again our judges don’t have common sense or they are bent to an agenda. Because you swear an oath using God you are not a religion.

The courts themselves compel witnesses to swear to tell the truth so help them God. That is an oath.

Most of our schools pledge allegiance to the flag and our country under God. Are our schools therefore a religion?

Alcoholics Anonymous asks people to believe in God or a higher power but nobody believes they are a religion.

This does not fit the defining properties that the government puts on religions in order to be recognized as a religious institution. You must have ordained clergy to offer the rites or sacraments of the church. You must have a regular meeting place for worship with a statement of faith. This is just silly.

The flames of hate in Alabama

The flames of hate in Alabama - The Boston Globe:

"By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | February 15, 2006

SUPPOSE THAT in 2005 unknown hoodlums had firebombed 10 gay bookstores and bars in San Francisco, reducing several of them to smoking rubble. It takes no effort to imagine the alarm that would have spread through the Bay Area's gay community or the manhunt that would have been launched to find the attackers. The blasts would have been described everywhere as ''hate crimes,' editorial pages would have thundered with condemnation, and public officials would have vowed to crack down on crimes against gays with unprecedented severity."

Ten arson attacks against 10 churches -- all of them Baptist, all in small Alabama towns, all in the space of eight days: If anything is a hate crime, obviously this is.

Or is it? ''We're looking to make sure this is not a hate crime and that we do everything that we need to do," FBI Special Agent Charles Regantold reporters in Birmingham. Make sure this is not a hate crime? If 10 Brooklyn synagogues went up in flames in a little over a week, wouldn't investigators start from the assumption that the arson was motivated by hatred of Jews? If 10 Cuban-American shops and restaurants in Miami were deliberately burned to the ground, wouldn't the obvious presumption be that anti-Cuban animus was involved?

Apparently Baptist churches are different.

''I don't see any evidence that these fires are hate crimes," Mark Potok, a director of the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, told the Los Angeles Times. ''Anti-Christian crimes are exceedingly rare in the South."

But are anti-Christian crimes really that rare? Or are they simply less interesting to the left, which prefers to cast Christians as victimizers, not victims?

A search of the SPLC's website, for example, turns up no references to Jay Scott Ballinger, a self-described Satan worshiper deeply hostile to Christianity, who was sentenced to life in prison for burning 26 churches between 1994 and 1999. Yet if those weren't ''hate crimes," what were they?

These certainly are hate crimes. However, I don’t like hate crime legislation. All crimes can be defined as hate crimes. They are certainly not love crimes. I love you so much I am burning your church down in love. I love you so much; now give me your wallet.

A crime is a crime. You never know for sure what motivated the crime. Hate crimes are just another way the liberals empower certain groups with extra privileges.

Accepting that you can punish people for the way they think when they commit a crime is just a small step to punishing people when they commit no crime. Hence, it is illegal to speak against homosexuality in Canada. Many Christian radio broadcasts are edited when they are transmitted in Canada otherwise they would be committing a crime.

However, it is not a crime to speak against Christianity in Canada. The application of hate crime is to only empower the left. We are not very far from the same thing here in America.

Bird flu 'mutated into more dangerous form'

Bird flu 'mutated into more dangerous form' | the Daily Mail:

"Bird flu has mutated into a more dangerous form which could breed in humans, according to scientists.

The Vietnamese research has shown the bug is adapting to infect humans in the biggest study of its kind.

The respected Ho Chi Minh Pasteur Institute in Vietnam said it had decoded 24 samples of the H5N1 virus taken from poultry and humans."

"There has been a mutation allowing the virus to breed effectively on mammal tissue and become highly virulent," it said.

Virus could breed in humans

The study also found a mutation of the PB2 gene in a virus sample from a patient who died in the southern Dong Thap province earlier this year.

Small changes in this gene can make it much easier for the virus to breed in humans making it more deadly.

An Agriculture Ministry report said the H5N1 virus had now hit 10 of Vietnam's 64 provinces since returning in early October. Vietnam's death toll since the virus first arrived in late 2003 is 42.

THE COMING STORM OVER THE 'DA VINCI' MOVIE

THE COMING STORM OVER THE 'DA VINCI' MOVIE:

WE'RE GOING to have ourselves a devil of a culture war this spring over the film version of 'The Da Vinci Code' - perhaps the worst written book ever so widely read.

I predict the battle lines will be different than anyone expects.

Many are trying to anticipate and exploit those lines for financial, political, or theological purposes. My favorite example: The Sony studio hired a marketing firm to position the film with conservative Christians.

Movie moguls seem concerned that a hundred million conservative believers might actually be offended by a story that manages to cast doubt on every premise of Christian Fundamentalism: the inerrancy of the Bible, the divinity of Jesus, the sacrificial atonement made by his death, his bodily resurrection, and the certainty of his Earthly return.

But the studio has nothing to fear from this huge demographic. Conservative American Protestants will look past the speculations about Jesus and Mary Magdalene (many will even find them neat to ponder, though probably not with their children) and will instead revel in the anti-Catholic bigotry the story appears to justify.

The film, like the novel, will have a technical defense at hand: The bad guys are not the Catholic Church, nor even its prelature Opus Dei, but just a couple of renegades within that jurisdiction. That subtlety will be dismissed with a wink as a mere fig leaf.

The fear of 'Popery' is the forgotten strain in the Christian Right. Forgotten but not gone. Nearly every tale of early colonists and later immigrants starts with the evils of an Established Church. And for most Americans, even those whose ancestors were fleeing persecution by the Church of England, not Rome, Catholicism is the ultimate Established Church.

These modern confessors of the Old Time Religion - listeners of 'Focus on the Family,' viewers of 'The 700 Club,' members of suburban megachurches: a religion for mall-goers - will walk out of theaters being pleasantly outraged by the idea of a Vatican conspiracy perpetrated against them.

These are the same people who've made NASCAR and the 'Left Behind' novels so popular. Fundamentalists are plenty comfortable with thrills and chills, and have learned to live and prosper in a wicked world."

This writer thinks we will look past the defamation of Jesus, the denial of His deity, the denial of His resurrection, the denial of the trinity, and denial of the ultimate return of Christ, he does not know conservative Christians. What outlandish hate for Catholics is out there that he believes we will overlook this attack on Christianity?

There is not one fact cited here to back up his story. What we are left with is his bigotry. Sooner or later it shows up and he is no exception with his NASCAR and fundamentalist insults.

Iran questions Holocaust and Israel

Bangkok Post Breaking news: "
Ahmadinejad: Israel 'will be removed'

Tehran (dpa) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that the Palestinians and 'other nations' will eventually remove Israel from the region.

Addressing a mass demonstration in Tehran - one of many organized throughout Iran to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Islamic revolution - he once again questioned the Holocaust 'fairy tale'.

'We ask the West to remove what they created sixty years ago and if they do not listen to our recommendations, then the Palestinian nation and other nations will eventually do this for them,' Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony marking the 27th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

'Do the removal of Israel before it is too late and save yourself from the fury of regional nations,' the ultra-conservative president said. He once again called the Holocaust a 'fairy tale' and said Europeans have become hostages of 'Zionists' in Israel.

He also accused Europeans for not allowing 'neutral scholars' to investigate in Europe and make a scientific report on 'the truth about the fairy tale of Holocaust.'

'How comes that insulting the prophet of Muslims worldwide is justified within the framework of press freedom, but investigating about the fairy tale Holocaust is not?' Ahmadinejad said.

'The real Holocaust is what is happening in Palestine where the Zionists avail themselves of the fairy tale of Holocaust as blackmail and justification for killing children and women and making innocent people homeless,' Ahmadinejad said. "

Rare Chlamydia Strain Infecting Gay Men

BREITBART.COM - Rare Chlamydia Strain Infecting Gay Men:

"A particularly bad strain of chlamydia not usually seen in this country appears to be slowly spreading among gay and bisexual men, an infection that can increase their chances of getting or spreading the AIDS virus.

Called LGV chlamydia, this sexually transmitted disease has caused a worrisome outbreak in Europe, where some countries have confirmed dozens of cases. Diagnoses confirmed by U.S. health officials still are low, just 27 since they warned a year ago that the strain was headed here.

But specialists say that's undoubtedly a fraction of the infections, because this illness is incredibly hard to diagnose: Few U.S. clinics and laboratories can test for it. Painful symptoms can be mistaken for other illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

And because LGV chlamydia doesn't always cause noticeable symptoms _ right away, at least _ an unknown number of people may silently harbor and spread it, along with an increased risk of HIV transmission.

'My feeling is that what we're seeing now is still the tip of the iceberg,' says Dr. Philippe Chiliade of the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, D.C., which diagnosed its first few cases of LGV last month and is beginning to push for asymptomatic men to be screened.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already was counting an 8 percent increase in HIV among gay and bisexual men between 2003 and before LGV's arrival was recognized."

Chlamydia, caused by bacteria, is among the most common sexually transmitted diseases. As many as 3 million Americans a year may become infected with common strains, best known for causing infertility in women if left untreated.

LGV can infect both sexes, although new cases diagnosed so far are among men having sex with men.

Studies have shown that STD’s run as much as 300% higher in homosexuals than any other segment of the population. Gay marriage is not beneficial to gays or to society and should not be legitimized.

Five Santa Cruz churches target of 'hate crime'

Five Santa Cruz churches target of 'hate crime'

By Cathy Smith
sentinel staff writer

SANTA CRUZ — Vandals struck five Santa Cruz churches, a Christian bookstore and the historic Santa Cruz Mission Adobe on Saturday night in what police are calling a hate crime.

The vandals used a stencil to leave specially crafted messages and images about a half-foot across. One depicted a cross with an equal sign followed by a swastika. Church leaders said another stated 'Abort Christ,' a message one minister called 'stunning and distressing.'

The targeted churches included Holy Cross, Messiah Lutheran, High Street Community, First Congregational and Calvary Episcopalian. Also struck was the Agnus Dei Christian bookstore on Cedar Street and the Santa Cruz Mission Adobe park, which is near Holy Cross."

This after the burning of nine churches in Alabama. The violence against Christians in America is rising.

South Dakota Approves Bill Banning Abortion

SD House Approves Abortion Ban

The South Dakota House has passed a bill that would nearly ban all abortions in the state, ushering the issue to the state Senate.

Supporters are pushing the measure in hopes of drawing a legal challenge that will cause the US Supreme Court to reverse its 1973 decision legalizing abortion.

The bill banning all abortions in South Dakota was passed 47-to-22 in the House.

Amendments aimed at carving out exemptions for rape, incest and the health of women were rejected.

The bill does contain a loophole that allows abortions if women are in danger of dying. Doctors who do those abortions could not be prosecuted.

This is the first of five states that had bills banning abortion on demand. It will be an up hill battle for these states but who would of thought that this type of bill could be passed even at the state level? This is good news.

We haven't considered Hamas a terrorist organization

Top News Article | Reuters.com:

WOW, I cannot believe Putin said this. The hook is being placed in Gog's mouth. Ezek. 38-39

"MADRID (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he intended to invite to Moscow the leaders of the Islamic militant group Hamas, which won Palestinian elections last month.

A senior official of Hamas said any such invitation would be accepted.

Hamas, which defeated the mainstream Fatah movement, is expected to form a new Palestinian government soon. The United States and the European Union have called on the group, which refuses to recognize the Jewish state, to renounce violence and disarm militants.

'Maintaining our contacts with Hamas, we are ready in the near future to invite the Hamas authorities to Moscow to hold talks,' Putin told a news conference in the Spanish capital Madrid where he was on a visit.

Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, won a crushing victory over the long-dominant Palestinian Fatah group in a January 25 election.

'We haven't considered Hamas a terrorist organization. Today we must recognize that Hamas has reached power in Palestine as a result of legitimate elections and we must respect the choice of the Palestinian people,' Putin said, through a Spanish interpreter."

Chaplain’s log

Chaplain’s log

Sorry I am Blogging late. I attended a Homeland Security Soft target Awareness Course today at the police academy. This day was for houses of worship. Much of the topic was basic security and deterrence but some of information shared with us was chilling. They showed us some training and recruiting footage from terrorist groups. There is such an evil mindset to these groups. They dance and sing while holding bombs and weapons. They laugh at killing people and rejoice while video of 911 plays in the background.

Captured videos show that they are training to hit soft targets like public places. Their hate for Christians is starting to rival their hate for Israel. Recruiting videos call for Jihad against Crusaders or Christians. It is unbelievable the level of hate these people are indoctrinated into. For them infidels are to be converted or killed.

The good news is that we have some really bright and vigilant men and women protecting us. They deserve our support and cooperation.

Iran to publish Holocaust cartoons

Iran to publish Holocaust cartoons - Breaking news - Breaking News 24/7 - NEWS.com.au:

Here is more on the rising tension between Israel and Iran. Keep Ezekiel 38 in mind.

"IRAN'S largest selling newspaper announced today it was holding a contest on cartoons of the Holocaust in response to the publishing in European papers of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

'It will be an international cartoon contest about the Holocaust,' said Farid Mortazavi, the graphics editor for Hamshahri newspaper - which is published by Teheran's conservative municipality.

He said the plan was to turn the tables on the assertion that newspapers can print offensive material in the name of freedom of expression.

'The Western papers printed these sacrilegious cartoons on the pretext of freedom of expression, so let's see if they mean what they say and also print these Holocaust cartoons,' he said.

Iran's fiercely anti-Israeli regime is supportive of so-called Holocaust revisionist historians, who maintain the systematic slaughter by the Nazis of mainland Europe's Jews as well as other groups during World War II has been either invented or exaggerated."

And Here. Interesting how Russia is backing Iran.

Russia Warns Against Conflict With Iran

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW

Russia's foreign minister warned against threatening Iran over its nuclear program Monday after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld reportedly agreed with a German interviewer that all options, including military response, remained on the table.

And Here

'Iran is world's most serious threat since WWII'

Israel's Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon said on Tuesday morning that Iran is the biggest problem facing the world since World War II.

He said the UN Security Council must force Iran to accept real supervision that would prevent the further development of its nuclear program.

If they continue with their plans, Ayalon warned, Iran may have the know-how needed for the production of nuclear weapons by the end of the year.

New source of global warming gas found: plants

New source of global warming gas found: plants - Yahoo! News:

"LONDON (Reuters) - German scientists have discovered a new source of methane, a greenhouse gas that is second only to carbon dioxide in its impact on climate change.

The culprits are plants.

They produce about 10 to 30 percent of the annual methane found in the atmosphere, according to researchers at the Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany.

The scientists measured the amount of methane released by plants in controlled experiments. They found it increases with rising temperatures and exposure to sunlight.

'Significant methane emissions from both intact plants and detached leaves were observed ... in the laboratory and in the field,' Dr Frank Keppler and his team said in a report in the journal Nature.

Methane, which is produced by city rubbish dumps, coal mining, flatulent animals, rice cultivation and peat bogs, is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in terms of its ability to trap heat."

So does that mean destroying the rain forest is actually a good thing? I’m confused. ;)

Chaplains To Be Allowed Jesus Prayer - The Post Chronicle

Breaking News: Chaplains To Be Allowed Jesus Prayer - The Post Chronicle:

"Chaplains To Be Allowed Jesus Prayer
by UPI Wire

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2006 (UPI) -- The White House has agreed to pressure the Pentagon to put an end to discrimination against chaplains who pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

White House domestic policy adviser Claude Allen promised Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., that the president will take up the issue personally with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, The Washington Times reported.

Jones' office says chaplains should be able to pray to whomever 'their faith tradition' demands, including named gods, saints or prophets."

Bin Laden Artwork Now Hanging In New York

WCBSTV.com: Your Source For New York News, Weather, Sports & Traffic: Bin Laden Artwork Now Hanging In New York: "

Our interest in this story was sparked by an angry email sent to us here at WCBSTV.com. The writer wasn't angry at us, but rather about what he'd seen at the current National Black Fine Art Show in the Puck Building. This is the 10th anniversary edition of the show which features galleries from across the country selling the works of America's top African American painters, sculptors, and photographers.

But the writer had big problems with a painting by Harlem artist 'Tafa'. It depicts an upside down Christ-like figure with a face strongly resembling Osama Bin Laden. The email read in part, 'This is outrageous. This is an attack against my religion. How can an artist go so low? Most people are outraged, most Christians.'

On the phone with me, the artist declined to do an on-camera interview, telling me the work speaks for itself, but adding, the resemblance to Bin Laden was no accident.

The art show's producer Josh Wainwright, insisted he hadn't even made the Bin Laden connection. 'Knowing what you know now would you have barred the painting from being part of your show?' I asked. 'Absolutely not,' he replied. Wainwright says he's a military veteran and despises Bin Laden, but he added, 'I don't think it's anyone's job or vocation to limit the expression of artists.'"

NBC Offends Christians Again

NBC Offends Christians Again

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor

(CNSNews.com) - A conservative advocacy group accuses NBC of 'hitting back' at the Christian community in an upcoming episode of 'Will and Grace.'

The April 13 episode will mock the crucifixion of Christ, the American Family Association said.

AFA pointed to wire reports saying that Britney Spears will make a guest appearance on the April 13 'Will and Grace,' playing a conservative Christian sidekick to Sean Hayes' homosexual character, Jack.

When Jack's fictional TV network, Out TV, is bought by a Christian TV network, Spears hosts a cooking segment called 'Cruci-fixin's.'

'To further denigrate Christianity, NBC chose to air [the episode] the night before Good Friday,' AFA Founder and Chairman Donald E. Wildmon complained.

'NBC does not treat Jews, Muslims or other religions with such disrespect. Yet the network demonstrates a deep of hostility toward followers of Christ.'

NBC recently cancelled a series called 'The Book of Daniel,' amid loud complaints from conservative Christians who saw the series as a slur on Christianity"

Their anti-Christian agenda is obvious now.

UN may use 'flu-casters' if pandemic hits

News:

This is scary stuff. Instead of cloud cover the flu-casters would show us where the flu covers the country.

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The United Nations is considering using 'flu-casters,' modeled on television weather forecasters, to publicize vital information if a global flu pandemic strikes.

They could broadcast latest developments from emergency-response facilities at the U.N.'s World Health Organization in Geneva, according to David Nabarro, the U.N.'s top influenza coordinator.

'The flu-casters would draw out the maps and keep people engaged at regular intervals ... beaming it from the WHO bunker,' Nabarro told Reuters in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The WHO's Geneva bunker, a $5 million facility built in a former cinema, is the world's nerve-center for tracking bird flu and other deadly diseases.

The room will become a global command center if the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed at least 83 people in Asia since 2003, mutates into a form which spreads easily among humans and sparks a flu pandemic which could kill millions.

The screen-filled bunker could link the 'flu-casters' with TV networks via satellite feeds.

Nabarro was speaking as the United Nations analyzed results from a top-level catastrophe simulation to set policies that envisage governments, companies and the media working together to fight a global flu pandemic.

The exercise has produced surprising conclusions that could prove key should the disease start to spread quickly among humans. "