Archives Sanhedrin, Quake, Volcano, Bird Flu, Environmental, Religious

[faith]

TBN Acknowledges Lindsey Dismissal Due to His Anti-Muslim Stand

From: Olive Tree Ministries
Subject: December 2 - TBN Acknowledges Lindsey Dismissal Due to His Anti-Muslim Stand
Date: Fri, 02 Dec 2005 07:43:50 -0800

December 2 - TBN Acknowledges Lindsey Dismissal Due to Anti-Muslim Position
I regret to report that the Trinity Broadcasting Network has admitted on today's "World Net Daily" that they did, in fact, drop Hal Lindsey's "International Intelligence Briefing" due to Hal's anti-Muslim stand.
As Hal states in the story, "My show is produced for the Western world and for Christians who are at the most risk from radical Islam." He said in this week's show, which was pre-empted, that he made a clear distinction between Muslims seeking jihad and those who want only a job and a normal life for their families.
Yet TBN states that Muslims causing the problems in the world today are "extremists" who have hijacked the religion. It is basically peaceful.
Lindsey replies, "That's where we violently disagree. Islam is not peaceful; although there may be moderate Muslims, it's because they have not become followers of the Koran." He says his message has not changed "one iota" for twelve years, though TBN says his programming has "clearly changed over the last 12 years." If it has, what would have caused that? How about the stark reality of 9/11?

Since 9/11 Lindsey's TBN program has soared in the ratings to the number one program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. I don't believe TBN is counting the cost here.

This will be my main theme on air this weekend. If you would like to express your opinion and we're not in your city, you can listen live at www.kkms.com, then click on "Listen Live." If you have problems, hold down the Ctrl key as you click on "Listen Live." We headquarter out of AM980 KKMS in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. Programming is posted by Monday to "radio archives" at www.olivetreeviews.org.

Since censorship and political correctness have so entered the Christian world, without the voice of protest from those who stand for truth, where will it end? I have had hundreds of emails on this situation. They range from outrage, to "why is Hal on that Network anyway?" to haranguing at me for being a supporter of the truth Hal shares in his books, TV program, and my conferences. Those who take a different view of eschatology are in true form: blatantly rude and excoriating. Lindsey said that at my conference this fall: Those who differ in eschatological views from the truth can be viscous. Others are hopeful an even better platform will open.

Hal also told one of my board members in October at our conference that Jan Crouch does the programming. Jan is a "Dominionist". In other words, she believes that the church will make the world perfect before Jesus can return. I am not sure if Paul Crouch takes that stand as he has produced or co-produced some excellent films, some on Bible prophecy. Hal has had many talks with Jan Crouch trying to change her theology but to no avail.
TBN does have an outreach to the Muslim world but if it's at the expense of shutting off the truth about Israel, their work may not be blessed (Gen. 12:3).

To contact TBN, write to comments@tbn.org or call 1-714-832-2950. You will then have a menu. Dial "0". That is, if the phone system is restored.

Awaiting His return,
Jan Markell

You may pass on these items or have people sign up on the "Home" page of our Web site, www.olivetreeviews.org. We update "Current Headlines" twice a day and you can access our radio programming from the last two years on "Radio Archives." Also see the Web site for other options to catch the program, "Understanding the Times," live and tape-delayed. Report e-mail address changes reporting old and new.
Please remember us prayerfully and financially.
Gifts are tax-deductible with receipts in January.
Olive Tree Ministries
Box 1452
Maple Grove, MN 55311.
NOTE: Due to volume, we cannot respond to every ministry email but each one is read and appreciated.

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Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2005 08:08:00 -0800
Subject: TBC Today : Heretics Say Unbiblical Things
From: The Berean Call

Benny Hinn: "Adam was a super-being when God created him. I don't know
whether people know this, but he was the first superman that really ever
lived. First of all, the Scriptures declare clearly that he had dominion
over the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea - which means he used to fly.
Of course, how can he have dominion over the birds and not be able to do
what they do?" ("Praise the Lord" program - TBN. 26 December 1991.)

[TBC: Genesis 1:26 is not a license for supporting such notions. If having
dominion over the birds means that man could once fly, does having dominion
over the fish of the sea mean that man once could swim and breathe
underwater with the same facility? There's an old saying that if the first
sense makes good sense, don't look for another sense or you'll end up with
NONsense.]

[faith]

'Bible Games' instead of 'Grand Theft Auto?' (New video game)

'Bible Games' instead of 'Grand Theft Auto?'
Transcending the blood and violence found in many popular video games, a small band of believers want to forsake guts and gore for God, trade bloodshed for the Bible. They are Christian video game developers, like Tom Bean, President and CEO of Digital Praise. “Some of the games that are out in the mainstream market right now introduce a lot violence, blood, guts and gore,” Bean said. “We found there is a need for an alternative, for families to be able to find fun and entertaining games that reinforce positive images.” Digital Praise is one of the leaders in developing Christian-themed video games. Bean and other faith-based gamers say many, if not most of the games on the market now tend to focus on “too much evil and not enough good.”

“Our game is called the Bible Games and it’s coming out on the Game Box advance, Playstation 2 and Xbox,” Bucklin said. “It’s Bible trivia. The Playstation and Xbox game is a game show. So it’s really just understanding Bible trivia and see what you know and hopefully learning a little too.”
(Release Date: 10/18/2005)

(Amen for better video game choices for Christian families to try.)

Bible Games website

[Guest]

Re: Bird Flu

Has feared mutation of avian flu arrived?
Officials in at least two nations now suspect the avian flu bug has mutated into a virus that is being transmitted from human to human – a development world health authorities have estimated could result in the deaths of tens of millions. Thai health officials have expressed concern that the country's two latest confirmed victims may be the beginning of the much feared human-to-human transmission.

First bird flu outbreak in Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine recorded its first bird flu outbreak on Saturday, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency in four Crimean villages where more than 1,600 chickens and geese have died of the disease.

Tamiflu 'useless' against avian flu
After treating 41 victims of H5N1, the deadly form of the bird flu virus, a Vietnamese doctor has concluded Tamiflu, the drug most widely stockpiled around the world to combat a feared pandemic, is "useless."

[faith]

Strong earthquake shakes East Africa, one dead

Strong 6.8 earthquake shakes East Africa, one dead
A strong earthquake jolted Africa's Great Lakes region on Monday, killing at least one person in Congo's remote east and rattling regional capitals. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 6.8 magnitude quake struck near the town of Kalemie in the Democratic Republic of Congo at 1219 GMT, some 975 km (600 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Besides Kenya and Congo, tremors were felt in Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania, impoverished countries connected by a string of lakes and mountains, many of them active volcanoes.

[faith]

news...

Vanuatu volcano causes mass evacuation
Authorities in Vanuatu are evacuating thousands of villagers from homes near a volcano spewing ash and steam on the island of Ambae amid fears of a major eruption, officials say. Local volcanologist Douglas Charlie said today the volcano "is one of the most dangerous in the world as it's situated below a lake"...

Less Seafloor Disturbance than Anticipated from 2004 Earthquake/Tsunami
The first research expedition to directly observe the seafloor near the epicenter of the earthquake that caused the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami has revealed unexpected results that will dramatically improve forecasting of future tsunamis.

Grilli has applied his updated model to a fault off the Oregon coast called Cascadia, which has been moving 6 centimeters per year since the last large earthquake occurred in the area in 1700 and where seismologists have long predicted another large earthquake, possibly up to 9.2 in magnitude, could occur. The refined model now predicts that an earthquake of that size could generate tsunami wave run-ups of up to 30 meters in some locations along the Pacific Northwest coast – almost 3x higher than previously predicted – and significant waves could reach as far away as Japan and Russia. “Communities in Oregon and Washington have been anticipating waves of only 10 to 12 meters or so, but now they need to be even better prepared,” Grilli said.
(For full article, go to link above.)

Earthquake leaves Kenyans shaken
Kenyans were shaken by a powerful earthquake which hit East Africa, with scientists saying the tremor was also felt in DR Congo, Tanzania and Kenya`s Rift Valley. It violently shook buildings in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The Kenya Meteorological Department said the earthquake, which it described as "strong", occurred at 1219 GMT at the epicentre in the Lake Tanganyika region and was also felt in Burundi, shaking buildings and leaving huge cracks on the earth`s surface. The Denver-based USGS, said in its preliminary report on the quake that it measured 6.8 on the richer scale and erupted from Lake Tanganyika. It was felt along the Indian Ocean and the entire Great Lakes region, including Rwanda...

"We held on the wall and prayed. The walls were shaking and we thought the earth was coming to an end, I have never seen such a thing all my life," said an employee of Telkom Kenya, who lost her shoe sole in the confusion...

[faith]

The War Against Bible Prophecy

December 6 - The War Against Bible Prophecy
I have heard from hundreds of you stating your feelings about the Hal Lindsey/TBN issue. My radio program on it is now posted at my "radio archives" on the Web site. Dial-up users should have no problems hearing it due to new technology. I am also aware of TBN's canned reply to those of you emailing stating that Lindsey will be back in January. I am skeptical but let us wait and see. Kindly don't send me any more of TBN's replies as I am overwhelmed with them when ministries like mine are in pretty frantic year-end countdown.

However, I state again, the real issue here is censorship in the Kingdom. Who is next to be silenced for having truth? God will open another door for Lindsey and many hope it will be a better venue than Trinity Broadcasting Network who always ran a disclaimer before Lindsey's show indicating they were not in agreement with him. His program was the number one rated show on TBN. Their loss may be huge. Continue to pray Romans 8:28.

We've heard about the war against Christmas but I was made aware of an equally-troubling issue last week. The head of a mid-sized Christian publishing house contacted me. He told me that other than Multnomah who publishes Mark Hitchcock, and Tyndale, who publishes "Left Behind" and Hank Hannegraaff, all other publishing houses are saying "no" to Bible prophecy. They claim the topic is out of date, out of favor (an understatement), divisive, and no one cares. Seems strange that 40 million copies of "Left Behind" have sold if no one cares. They are partially right. I got this e-mail from a supporter in Oregon and have gotten hundreds of similar e-mails over the years.

"It is surprising to me that there are so many people I have tried to talk to about prophecy who have brushed me off by saying that they consider it 'doomsday talk.' It is difficult to get anyone to even talk about it. Even my own family doesn't want to hear about it."
How and when did we get to this deplorable point? Why is the issue of "the King is coming" a downer? It started twenty years ago in our seminaries when students determined, thanks to their professors, that we can't know for sure which interpretation is right so it would be better to just stay away from it. The Bible is clear which interpretation is right. Their are nuances that admittedly only let us "see through a glass darkly." But the seminaries are cranking out pastors who aren't sure what theology to teach and preach so they don't even go near it.

Now we have theologies who are "new kids on the block." They aren't really "new" but they are enjoying new popularity as those that promote them are popular (though wrong). Almost all mainline Protestant denominations and Catholicism teach Replacement Theology which says the church is Israel, when, in fact, Israel is the key to eschatology. Amillennialism (we're in the Millennium now) is standard in most denominations, and Preterism (all prophecy but the Second Coming is history and happened in 70 AD) is growing thanks to Gary DeMar and Hank Hannegraaff. It looks like they're partially right: All prophecy IS history, at least in the churches and now Christian publishing houses. The theologies that have exploded in the last twenty years are Kingdom Now/Dominion/Reconstructionist/Latter Rain. They all teach that the church will subdue the world and make it perfect, then the Lord can return, but not until the world is perfect. Find that in the Bible, would you?! As I said last week and on air, Jan Crouch is a "Dominionist" and thus locks horns with Lindsey and as program director, she likely made the tragic TBN decision.

So here we are, likely in the last of the last days, facing such a scenario. The signs are shouting at us. But in the last days the Bible also says in II Peter that people would mockingly ask, "Where is the promise of His coming?" And there is an assault on truth. Eschatology spells out in deadly detail (pun intended) the devil's demise. Thus, he's putting up a fight against it as well.
So hang on to your prophecy books because if the Lord does tarry, you may have to resort to re-reading them with the publishing ban on them now in play.

Hear real truth on the tapes/CDs/DVDs of our fall 2005 "Evidences for the End Times" Conference with Hal Lindsey and others. Visit "Our Products" at the site or "CONFERENCES." These may be some of the last remnant of eschatological truth if the issue is going to be silenced in book stores, seminaries, churches, television, radio, and other places. Orders received by December 14 will make it to your door step by December 23...a guarantee only for U.S. orders.
Please also consider a tax-deductible, year-end gift to Olive Tree Ministries. Keep truth-telling, prophecy-friendly ministries alive. You can use Pay Pal or write to us at Box 1452, Maple Grove, MN 55311. Receipts are sent just once a year in January. Credit card donations and orders are welcome at 763-493-3010.

Awaiting His return,
Jan Markell

You may pass on these items or have people sign up on the "Home" page of our Web site, www.olivetreeviews.org. We update "Current Headlines" twice a day and you can access our radio programming from the last two years on "Radio Archives." Also see the Web site for other options to catch the program, "Understanding the Times," live and tape-delayed. Report e-mail address changes reporting old and new.
Please remember us prayerfully and financially.
Gifts are tax-deductible with receipts in January.

Olive Tree Ministries
Box 1452
Maple Grove, MN 55311.

[faith]

WINTER STORM DEVELOPING; & environmental news

Magnitude 6.1 - EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
A strong earthquake occurred at 09:01:27 (UTC) on Thursday, December 8, 2005. The magnitude 6.1 event has been located in EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

Small earthquake reported in NC
A small earthquake rattled homes in Yancey County, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon.
The US Geological Survey says Wednesday's earthquake had a magnitude of 2.8. No damage was reported.

It was the 2nd time in 4 months that a minor quake was reported in the same general area. The quake was centered near the community of Price Creek, about 6 miles from Burnsville and nearly 100 miles NW of Charlotte.

Magnitude 6.3 - KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
A strong earthquake occurred at 23:32:54 (UTC) on Wednesday, December 7, 2005. The magnitude 6.3 event has been located in the KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 37 km (23 miles). (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

South Central Radar - Click here to watch as storm is developing.

MAJOR WINTER STORM DEVELOPING
The latest from the AccuWeather.com Weather Center -- The AccuWeather.com Winter Weather Center meteorologists are forecasting the remainder of the week will be dominated by a major winter storm and a massive area of bitterly cold weather. Today rain, ice and snow are in the mix for the Southern Plains, with anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of snow forecast from eastern Colorado across the Central Plains states by Thursday morning.

The storm will cut a wide swath across the East through Thursday and Friday, with the wintry mix falling from Central Michigan to North Carolina on Thursday. By Friday residents from Southern Ontario to Virginia and into New England will face treacherous driving conditions. 3-6 inches is forecast for most of the region, but Abrams cautions that if this storm slows down those snowfall totals could be much higher.

Expert Senior Forecaster Joe Bastardi sees similarities between this storm system and the storm that struck the East in February 1979, when more than 2' of snow fell from northern Virginia to New Jersey.

Keep checking AccuWeather.com, where you can also find more information about the storms in the Winter Weather Discussion written by our meteorologists from the Winter Storm Center.

Winter Weather Summary

Plains drop into deep freeze
Bitterly cold arctic air continued to funnel into the Rocky Mountains and Midwest on Tuesday, sending temperatures plummeting below zero throughout much of the region. The city of Chicago broke record lows as well.

Record Low Temperatures in Parts of U.S.
Bitterly cold air poured southward across the nation's midsection Wednesday, dropping temperatures to record lows from Montana to Illinois. The mercury dived to a record 45 below at West Yellowstone, Mont., the frequently cold spot at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the National Weather Service said. The old record for Dec. 7 was 39 below, set in 1927.
The cold even extended south to the Texas Panhandle, where Lubbock shivered at a record low 6 above zero, the weather service said.

A winter storm warning was issued Wednesday in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the temperature fell from the low 40s before sunrise to the upper 20s by the end of the morning rush hour. Freezing rain and sleet fell Wednesday and up to 2 inches of snow was predicted by Thursday morning.

Largest solar cell research effort launched
A consortium led by the University of Delaware could receive up to $53 million in funding. The group's mission: to double the efficiency of solar cells within 50 months. It is the largest award in the history of solar energy research..
Barnett expects the more efficient cells to have an impact on home and business electrical appliances as well. "This technology will definitely migrate to the next generation of devices for homeowners," he said.

Wind turbines pop up on U.S. farms
The farm generates enough electricity to power a town of up to 15,000 homes for a year. The local utility pays each farmer between $1,500 and $2,000 a year for each turbine, depending on how much the wind blows and the amount of energy generated. “We were ahead of our time,” Cradduck said of his decade-old interest in wind energy.

Alternative energy sources such as wind power have gained a competitive advantage now that oil and natural gas prices have soared in the past year.
U.S. energy output from wind is forecast to climb 35% in terms of wind installations in 2005 from a year earlier, says the American Wind Energy Association, the industry’s trade group. Currently, there are wind farms from Massachusetts to California.

San Andreas fault is ready for its closeup
Scientists studying the San Andreas fault in California say they will soon be able to monitor seismic activity from deep inside Earth’s crust so they can identify patterns that might foreshadow a major quake. The Stanford-USGS project is the 1st time geologists have dug deep below Earth’s surface to within 10 of yards (meters) of an active fault zone to study earthquakes, Stanford University geologist Mark Zoback said at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

The monitoring instruments, part of a 5-yr, $20 million project by the university and the USGS, will be installed 1.5 to 2 miles (2 to 3 kilometers) underground in a portion of the San Andreas fault zone that triggered several moderate quakes of about magnitude 6 from 1857 to 1966. Drilling for the project began in 2004.

Recent storm spawned an unusual number of tornadoes
An unusually high number of tornadoes — 22 — were spawned by a weather system that swept across Arkansas on Nov. 27 with the twisters spinning over just 7 hours, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Meanwhile, hospitals reported that 3 people are recovering who were hurt when a van drove into a tornado. "It's unusual for any state to have that many tornadoes in that period of time in any season," meteorologist John Robinson said. The 2 strongest tornadoes were rated F3 on the Fujita intensity scale.

AIDS pandemic in Africa is destroying family structures
The HIV/AIDS virus is destroying family life across Africa, international health experts warned as they met in the Nigerian capital Abuja. In poor families where the two parents had difficulty in making ends meet, the death of even one parent from AIDS places an intolerable economic strain on the household.
If both parents die, the children are left to fend for themselves and take charge of younger brothers and sisters. Girls with little education who find themselves catapulted into the role of head of household may have no option other than turning to prostitution to support their brothers and sisters, putting themselves at risk of being infected if they are not already.

Husbands infect their wives and mothers infect their children. Half of mother-to-child transmissions occur during delivery. "Children being affected is a major social crisis ... in terms of taking care of them and in terms of family stability", Michel Sidibe, deputy director of UNAIDS, the body that groups together 10 UN agencies in the fight against AIDS.

'Always on' Internet changing American life : study
"Always on" broadband Internet hook-ups are transforming American life, empowering grass roots politics, moulding new work and shopping habits and bringing far flung families closer. A major new survey published Wednesday also found that the most explosive growth in online time was among low income web surfers, who had previously been excluded from the Internet revolution. In 2005, more Americans than ever before were on the Internet -- as much as 78% of the population. E-mail remains the most popular online activity, followed by general web surfing, reading news, shopping and entertainment -- and only 27 percent of users said they would give up the Internet over their cell phone or television.

A majority of Internet users told the survey that the Internet was having no influence on the time they were spending with family and friends. But 40% said it had increased contact with close relatives and friends. The web is also playing an important role in keeping members of the US military, many fighting far flung conflicts, in touch with their families back home, the survey said.

[faith]

Ninth Circuit Body Slams Parent's Rights (w/their children at school)

Date: Wed, 07 Dec 2005 07:12:31 -0800
Subject: TBC Today : "No Doubt We're In The Last Days" News
From: The Berean Call

Ninth Circuit Body Slams Parent's Rights [Excerpts]

America's favorite appeals court has done it again! The 9th Circuit Court in
San Francisco, notorious for ruling against "under God" in the Pledge, upset
families across America with another controversial decision, this time
undermining parents' rights. In the case of Fields v. Palmdale School
District, the 9th Circuit ruled that parents have no constitutional right to
prevent a school district from introducing sexual ideas to their children.

Parents of 1st, 3rd, and 5th graders at Mesquite Elementary School in
Palmdale, California, were asked to sign a parental consent letter, giving
the school permission to administer a psychological test to their children.
The stated goal of the study was "to establish a community baseline measure
of children¹s exposure to early trauma (for example, violence)" and to
"identify internal behaviors such as anxiety and depression and external
behaviors such as aggression and verbal abuse." The results of the study
would be used to help create a better learning environment for troubled
children.

A number of parents who agreed to let their children participate were later
dismayed to learn that the survey involved eight sex-related questions
inappropriate for the average 6-10 year old. These included "Thinking about
touching other people's private parts" and "Can't stop thinking about sex."

Several parents eventually took the issue to court. They argued that the
school district had robbed them of their fundamental right "to control the
upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating
to sex in accordance with their personal and religious values and beliefs."

The 9th Circuit, however, ruled that no such fundamental right existed -
either in the Constitution or in statute law, or even in the nation's
history and tradition. In his opinion, Judge Stephen Reinhardt argued that
allowing parents that right would place an undue burden on schools to cater
to the moral beliefs of each student. Parents had the right, Reinhardt said,
to decide where to send their children to school, but not to dictate what a
public school exposed to their children.

"...once parents make the choice as to which school their children will
attend, their fundamental right to control the education of their children
is, at the least, substantially diminished."

Reinhardt's opinion could be considered legally compelling - the
Constitution says nothing about parents' rights, after all. The parents
might also have done better to argue their case from the 1st or 4th
Amendments. Yet, Reinhardt's liberal ideology still oozes through the
rhetoric; the Constitution says nothing about public schools' rights either.
This is the same Judge Reinhardt, remember, who ruled in 1996 that the
"right to privacy" guaranteed a right to physician assisted suicide. He's
argued that farmers cannot fight the Endangered Species Act when it destroys their livelihood because an "economic interest" is involved. He comes up with all sorts of ways to get "rights" from the succinct lines of the
Constitution text. Yet, in Fields v. Palmdale, he decided public schools are
free to expose young children to sensual concepts, and parents did not have
the right to stop them.
http://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2005/992/print/).
(Sheesh, no wonder so many parents are taking their children out of the public schools and homeschooling, or sending them to private schools if they can afford that. Homeschooling sure is a blessing! Here's a very helpful resource link below. God bless in however the Lord leads you & yours.)
http://www.hslda.org/

[faith]

The Call of the Samaritan - November's newsletter...

The Call of the Samaritan - NOVEMBER newsletter

God bless & be with Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse. What a HUGE blessing they are to so many in need. What a precious ministry that reaches people around the world with physical needs, while also bringing the most important eternal need as well - the gospel of Jesus. What love they show in His name. PTL for them! \/

May God use them in an incredible way during these times of trials for America as well.

http://www.samaritan.org/

[faith]

Presbyterian Leaders Meet Hizbullah Terror Chief - See video clip

Presbyterian Leaders Meet Hizbullah Terror Chief
Presbyterian Christians from Chicago met recently with Hizbullah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. The trip’s leader, Dr. Robert Worley, praised Hizbullah and expressed understanding for the terror group’s activities against the Jewish state, saying that Presbyterians “have suffered much pressure on the part of Jewish organizations.” Worley also told Nasrallah that Jewish influence in America leads to the perception that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization.

Another Presbyterian leader, Ronald Stone, met with the southern Lebanese Hizbullah chief Sheik Nabil Kauq and agreed to the terror chief's denouncement of US policies at a meeting that was broadcast on Al-Manar TV. The meeting can be viewed by clicking here- Video Clip #294 - Hizbullah Leader Meets with a US Presbyterian Delegation. (Oh my gosh. You have got to watch this. Shocking and sad, but just like the Bible predicted for the last days - the world turning against the Jews & Israel. Back to article briefs...)

Hizbullah terrorists have killed scores of Israelis and kidnapped Israeli soldiers and civilians...

The Presbyterian Church (USA) embarked on a campaign of divesting from Israeli companies last year, a move condemned widely, including by other Christian groups.

[faith]

Ohio Valley Winter Storm; & Nov. severe weather summary

Ohio Valley winter storm

7:24 a.m. ET 12/8/2005
Tim Ballisty, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel

We are now in the midst of our 3-day winter storm that will span from the central and southern Plains and will end in New England. It certainly got off to a raring start on Wednesday. Snow amounts this morning in northeast Kansas and western Missouri are peaking in the 4 to10 inch range – a sign of things to come for the Ohio Valley including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. A potent upper-level low with healthy upper dynamics will make a trip from the central Plains this morning to the central Ohio Valley late tonight dropping snow amounts of 3 to 6 inches (locally 6”+) as it progresses. In some locations, the snow will be quite heavy at times. On the southern edge of the swath of snow, a mix freezing rain, sleet, and snow will make travel quite treacherous especially locations along or near the Ohio River. Folks in cities such as Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Evansville, Louisville, and Cincinnati will have to deal with hazardous road conditions this afternoon and evening. If you live in lake-effect favorable areas, this will likely just be icing on the cake after enduring several days of persistent lake-effect snow.

The area of low pressure that will embark across the Ohio Valley today and produce some decent snow amounts will begin to push off towards western New York State by early Friday morning and weaken. However, as this area of low pressure weakens, a new coastal storm will take shape near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. During Friday morning, this storm will rapidly explode and strengthen as it heads towards coastal Massachusetts by Friday evening. Still, there are some uncertainties in regards to storm track however it is looking more certain that much of the Northeast region will deal with plowable snow by Friday evening/Saturday morning – including the major cities. Indications at this time also show that some of the heaviest snow (along with high snow rates and very strong winds) may occur across central and northeast Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and extreme southern Maine.

A “snow day” may not have been in the cards for school kids earlier this week from the previous modest snow event in the region but this event may just be one that keeps kids at home!

The severe weather summary for November:

The final numbers are in for the tornado outbreak on Nov 27th – 47 tornadoes in AR, KS, and MO, including killers in AR and MO.

The tornado outbreak on Nov 15th had 50 confirmed tornadoes.

The preliminary count for the month wound up at 135, 3rd most on record for a November.

November 2004 holds the record with 150 tornadoes.

10 days in November 2005 had tornadoes. That has now happened 5 times in the last 56 years, so it’s a once-in-11-years type event.

4 days had deadly tornadoes in November 2005. That has happened now 3 times in the last 56 years (about once in 20 years).

There were 5 deadly tornadoes, killing 27 total, with the Evansville tornado about 2 a.m. on November 6 killing 23. Other killers were on November 12 (1), 15 (1), and 27 (2). The Evansville tornado is the deadliest of the year and the deadliest individual tornado since the Moore, OK, tornado of May 3, 1999.

The strongest November 2005 tornado was an F4 at Madisonville, KY, which is preliminarily the strongest tornado of the year.

December Tornadoes:

December has averaged just 24 tornadoes over the past 10 years (way below the monthly average of 65 for November).

During the last 10, 20, and 30 years, December has averaged the fewest tornadoes, slightly below January and February.

In some years, though, December can be active. In the past 3 years, December has averaged 42 tornadoes, with January just 2 and February just 10.

December 2002 set the monthly record with 99 tornadoes.

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/stormwatch/

[Guest]

Re: Bird Flu

Death toll from bird flu hits 70 as Thai boy dies

BANGKOK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Thai boy has become the 70th Asian to die of bird flu, authorities said on Friday, as reports warned a flu pandemic could cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars as well as millions of lives.

China also reported a new case of H5N1, the fifth person in the country known to have been infected with the deadly virus. The 31-year-old woman, who lived in Heishan county of Liaoning province, has since recovered.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it may seek to investigate control measures in the area, which has not reported any other human cases.

[faith]

Re: Environmental News

Northeast Snowstorm Over, Lighter Snow for Midwest
6:20 a.m. ET 12/10/2005 - Brandon Noriega, Meteorologist, TWC
The record snowfall and hurricane force wind gusts in the Northeast have ended, but a new system is dropping light snow in the Upper Midwest...

Friday brought a quick moving, but rapidly strengthening winter storm to the New England area. As much as 12-18 inches of snow fell over some areas, while parts of Massachusetts endured not only frequent lightning, but also winds in excess of hurricane force.

Today snow will fall across the Upper Midwest as a clipper system moves through the area. While this system is not nearly as strong as what the Northeast experienced yesterday, an inch or so of snow is possible from Minnesota to Michigan, with locally higher amounts downwind of Lakes Superior and Michigan. Sunday will bring more snow to many of these same locations, but once again accumulations will be fairly small.

Ft. Wayne: Date-record 8 inches of snow causes slide-offs, cancels school - Fri., Dec. 9
A date-record 8.3 inches of snow accumulated on Fort Wayne, IN yards and roads before midnight Thursday, causing a slew of vehicle slide-offs and flight cancellations for the area. Also in northern Indiana, about 40 people had slid off the toll road, State Police said. Traffic was backed up for hours in some areas around Indianapolis during the evening rush hour, and traffic during this morning’s rush hour was also expected to move slowly.

6 to 8 inches of snow were reported in many areas of the state including Bloomington, Indianapolis, Columbus and Richmond, the National Weather Service reported. Hundreds of school districts canceled or delayed the start of classes today.

Tropical Storm Epsilon finally petered out over Atlantic
Tropical Storm Epsilon petered out over the Atlantic on Thursday, perhaps bringing an end to the record-breaking hurricane season more than a week late. "It's about time," the National Hurricane Center in Miami wrote in its final advisory for the storm.

Epsilon was the 26th named storm and 14th hurricane of the record-breaking Atlantic storm season, which officially ended Nov. 30 after a ruinous run that included Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Epsilon was only the fifth hurricane to form in December in more than 150 years of record-keeping.

Earthquake Survivors Prepare for Winter
Earthquake survivors are digging graves before the ground freezes in anticipation of the deaths that the long Himalayan winter may bring, the aid agency Oxfam said. The Oct. 8 quake killed at least 87,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless in northwest Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir. Aid workers have been racing against time to get aid and suitable shelter to the needy. "There is a real danger that this unprecedented natural disaster will be followed by a manmade one," said Farhana Faruqi Stocker, who is directing relief efforts in Pakistan for the British agency Oxfam. "The international community must work together and work faster to fulfill its promise to prevent further deaths."

First shipload of aid reaches South Pacific island hit by volcanic eruption
The first shipload of aid for thousands of Vanuatu villagers forced from their homes by an erupting volcano arrived Saturday at this remote South Pacific island. It arrived as some refugees began complaining of ill health at the largest evacuation centre. Erupting volcano Mount Manaro has been pumping out steam, ash and sulphur gases since Nov. 27 after waking from a 10-yr. slumber.

The latest seismological readings show Manaro remains in a "stable, constant" state of activity, with the mountain trembling as explosions occur inside its crater. Already the Vanuatu government has two ships standing ready to evacuate the island if the volcano's activity increases, though vulcanologists have said the chance of that happening appears low...

Ailing hearts boosted by Israeli (adult) stem cell treatment
Ever since she gave birth 2 yrs. ago, Jeanine Lewis' heart had grown increasingly weak and enlarged, due to a condition called cardiomyopathy.
She was diagnosed with the condition at age 17, but childbirth significantly worsened her health. With each pump, her heart moved only about half the blood that a healthy heart should be circulating throughout her body.
...She became the 1st patient in the world to have stem cells that had been harvested using TheraVitae's Israeli-developed VesCell therapy implanted directly into her heart.

"I'm not ready to run a marathon," she recently wrote on her website. "But I feel like I did before I was pregnant. That they could take something from your own body and use it to heal you, there's nothing more natural than that." Lewis's miraculous recovery was a result of TheraVitae's novel technology which offers treatment for heart disease with stem cells taken from the patient's own blood. (Amen for them using people's own stem cells instead!)

According to Fulga, using one's own cells is advantageous because in contrast to stem cells taken from a human embryo, there are no ethical questions or political controversy involved. Patel, who has collaborated with TheraVitae to treat many patients, said that another advantage of the technology is that there is no risk of rejection by the immune system. Patel believes that VesCell is as safe as cells taken directly from the patient's bone marrow - and safer than cells derived from muscle tissue. "The results are very promising and we don't see the complications that we see with other cell types," he said.

North Magnetic Pole Drifting Toward Siberia
Earth's north magnetic pole is drifting away from North America and toward Siberia at such a clip that Alaska might lose its spectacular Northern Lights in the next 50 years, scientists said Thursday. Despite accelerated movement over the past century, the possibility that Earth's modestly fading magnetic field will collapse is remote. But the shift could mean Alaska may no longer see the sky lights known as auroras, which might then be more visible in more southerly areas of Siberia and Europe.

Scientists have long known that magnetic poles migrate and, in rare cases, swap places. Exactly why this happens is a mystery. Previous studies have shown that the strength of the Earth's magnetic shield has decreased 10% over the past 150 years. During the same period, the north magnetic pole wandered about 685 miles out into the Arctic, according to a new analysis by Stoner.

Performing Monkeys Could Spread Primate Viruses to Humans
A new study warns that performing monkeys in Indonesia carry several viruses that could infect humans during the close contact common to street shows. Scientists have long known that monkeys and other primates can be sources of new viruses that morph into types that can kill people. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is thought to have originated with primates in Africa and jumped species during contact with natives who ate their meat.

Scientists: New Ocean Forming in Ethiopia
Ethiopian, American and European researchers have observed a fissure in a desert in the remote northeast that could be the "birth of a new ocean basin," scientists said Friday.

Shaking Presaged Large California Earthquakes
Earthquake forecasting remains a mostly elusive pursuit, but seismologists have developed models that predict activity years in advance and also seconds before a catastrophe. A new study indicates two large California quakes were presaged by heightened activity months in advance, offering another potential forecast technique.

Two case studies.. (Go to link above to read...)

The Smart Home Is Here
Want the lights to dim and the blinds to close when you press “play” on your DVD player? Want to receive an alert on your TV when the mailman opens your mailbox? No problem. ZigBee, an emerging wireless home-networking standard expected to be widely available next year, is about to open up the lines of intergadget chatter. It doesn’t involve wiring, and setup takes just a few minutes.

SIX WAYS ZIGBEE WILL CHANGE YOUR HOME... (Go to link above to read...Sounding more Jetson's-like all the time. That's if you're old enough to remember the fun cartoon Jetson's. )

The Moonlit Geminids
This week brings us what usually is considered to be the most satisfying of all the annual meteor displays, even surpassing the famous Perseids of August: the December Geminid Meteor Shower...

Russia's Next Spaceship: Alternative to NASA's CEV
As NASA prepares to once again send humans to the surface of the Moon, Russia is also developing its own plans for future manned spaceflight.

[faith]

Re: Environmental News

Snowfall Update Map & Discussion

Study Finds Significant Flu-Related Deaths Among Children
Researchers have discovered that a substantial number of flu-related deaths occur among children -- and that they can die quickly. The finding is based on data analyzed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the 2003-2004 influenza season. Researchers say state health departments reported 153 influenza-related deaths among children for that period. Almost one-third died within three days of the onset of the flu. Scientists also say almost half of the children who died had previously been healthy.

5.2 earthquake felt in New Delhi
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook northern India on Wednesday, a day after residents of New Delhi and other areas in the north were shaken by a 6.7 quake centered in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. Scores of houses were damaged in Afghanistan by Tuesday's early morning earthquake, the biggest since the devastating October 8 South Asia quake that killed almost 75,000 in the region.

Alaskan Volcano Showing Signs of Erupting
A sulfurous steam plume, hundreds of miniature earthquakes and a new swath of ash on snowy Augustine Volcano have scientists looking for a possible eruption in the next few months. "It's steaming more vigorously right now than it has at any point since 1986," Steve McNutt, research professor of volcano seismology with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said Wednesday.

Steam mixed with sulfur dioxide gas has been billowing vigorously since late last week from a space between lava domes formed during Augustine's most recent eruptions, in 1976 and 1986. The presence of sulfur, one of the main magmatic gases, is a sign that molten rock has moved closer to surface, McNutt said...

Life returning to Pakistan miracle quake survivor
Most of her muscles are withered, she cannot speak and she is mentally damaged but doctors believe the Kashmiri woman who survived 63 days under freezing rubble after Pakistan's deadly earthquake will live.

Surprise: High Ozone Levels in Mountains of Tibet
In addition to thin air and sub-zero temperatures, climbers scaling Mount Everest face another challenge. Mountains in the Tibetan plateau where Everest is located contains levels of ozone as high as that of heavily polluted cities. If inhaled, ozone can cause coughing, chest pain and damage to the lining in the lungs. "Most people think about the mountains as one of the areas you can go to get clean air," Semple said. "It may be that when you're up high in the mountains that the good ozone actually becomes bad ozone—because no matter where the ozone comes from you don't want to breathe it."

Report: 2005 Will Be Hottest, Stormiest
The year 2005, the World Wildlife Fund said, is shaping up as the worst for extreme weather, with the hottest temperatures, most Arctic melting, worst Atlantic hurricane season and warmest Caribbean waters. It's also been the driest year in decades in the Amazon, where a drought may surpass anything in the past century. Many scientists believe if temperatures keep rising, extreme weather will continue to kill humans, disrupt lifestyles and make some animal species extinct.

Lara Hansen, chief scientist for WWF's Climate Change Program, said cyclical patterns alone cannot explain the number of hurricanes this year. "What we're seeing now is even beyond what that cyclical nature would lead us to believe has happened,'' Hansen told the AP by telephone from Washington. She noted the National Hurricane Center failed to predict how many hurricanes there would be in 2005. Last year, the center predicted 18 to 21 storms, but so many were recorded that the official naming of them exceeded the Roman alphabet and had to be supplemented with letters of the Greek alphabet...
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(There's one most important part the world is leaving out in this equation...GOD. And we're just in the PRE-trib timing, seeing only the PREshadows of much bigger things to come later in the tribulation itself. Out of love, God has been patient for so long, waiting for those that will still repent and come to Him, before the tribulation begins in His own perfect timing. But in Scripture it says that one day, He will delay no longer.)

Luke 21:
10Then He said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

..25"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

29He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

[faith]

The Disappearing Doctrine of the Evangelical Church

The Disappearing Doctrine of the Evangelical Church
http://www.pro-gospel.org/01/ea-032.php

Wow, that was excellent! Sure is exciting to see anyone these days take a strong stand like in that article. So thankful to God when the truth gets out! It's always so refreshing. PTL! \/ God is great.