Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Yahoo News - Katrina Triggers Memories of Asia Tsunami
"Though the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami was far more deadly than the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina, many in Asian nations hardest hit by the killer waves — from Indonesia to Thailand and Sri Lanka — felt acute sympathy with Katrina's victims. The hurricane flooded large parts of New Orleans and several other areas along the Gulf Coast, killing hundreds. Two levees also broke in New Orleans, spilling water into the streets and swamping the below-sea-level city." [Roaring Waves & Tides, Luke 21:26]
Yahoo News - U.N. official says Katrina among worst natural disasters
"United Nations Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland...called Katrina one of 'the largest, most destructive natural disasters ever.' Egeland said you could not compare the tsunami and Katrina in terms of the human toll, but in purely economic costs, this week's storm that ravaged New Orleans and other parts of the U.S. Gulf coast could easily dwarf the devastation of other recent natural disasters." [Fearsome Events, Luke 21:11]
Europeans on alert for Asian bird flu - International Herald Tribune
"Amid further reports of bird deaths in Russia, just over the mountains that separate Asia from Europe, European countries were preparing Tuesday for the possibility that migratory birds might carry the dread avian influenza virus to Europe in coming months, and scientists were trying to understand more about the mysterious spread of the disease."
Religion on demand - International Herald Tribune
"Just as some Christian organizations embraced radio and television, podcasting has quickly caught on with religious groups. Since the beginning of July, the number of people or groups offering spiritual and religious podcasts listed on Podcast Alley (podcastalley.com) has grown to 474 from 177."
U.S. jets strike targets near Syria border - International Herald Tribune
"American fighter-bombers launched airstrikes in northwestern Iraq near the Syrian border Tuesday for the second time in the past week, destroying three houses in an area that has seen intense fighting between American forces and insurgent fighters, U.S. military officials said."

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Breaking News - Suicide Bomber Hits Israeli Bus Station
Yahoo News & AP report:"A large explosion blew up on a bus at the central station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheeba on Sunday, wounding at least 10 people, police and rescue workers said. The bomb was apparently detonated by a suicide bomber, said police spokesman Avi Zelba. Rescue workers said two people were critically wounded and had been taken to hospitals in the city."
VOA - WHO Speeding Up Flu Pandemic Preparations
"The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to prepare for a bird flu pandemic with the potential to kill millions of people worldwide if the disease mutates. The U.N. health agency is urging countries to stockpile antiviral drugs and take other steps to prepare for the worst." [Pestilence, Luke 21:11]

Friday, August 26, 2005

Washington Post - Hackers Attack Via Chinese Web Sites
"Web sites in China are being used heavily to target computer networks in theDefense Department and other U.S. agencies, successfully breaching hundreds ofunclassified networks, according to several U.S. officials."

Thursday, August 25, 2005

The Great Wave
The prophecies that Jesus gave his disciples on the Mount of Olives (called the Olivet Discourse) are among the most well known in the Bible and one of them is quite peculiar when you examine it closely. When the disciples asked Jesus what the signs of his return and the end of the age would be, he gave them several signs that they would be familair with from their own life and times (war, famine, pestilence) and near the end of this list of signs he said that at that time the nations would be fearful and perplexed and the roaring of the waves and tides (Luke 21:25). Keep in mind the Jesus was talking to his disciples (fishermen and locals from the Galilee region), whose experience with waves and tides was exclusively based on the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. And although we do have a very famous account of a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-40) we know that storms over an inland sea (either Galilee or the Mediterranean) do not produce the kinds of giant waves (tsunami) that occur over open water in the oceans of the world. The disciples, experienced fishermen though they may have been, had never set foot in the Atlantic or the Pacific and could scarcely imagine why nations would be bothered by waves. And yet today in modern times we are well aware of why giant waves are something to be worried about.

So, I bring to your attention a report today from the Associated Press (MyWay News - Deadly Tsunami Reached Around the Globe) on the latest discovery about the magnitude of the Sumatra tsunami:
"Last year's Sumatra tsunami focused its death and destruction on the lands around the Indian Ocean, but the great wave traveled around the world and was recorded as far away as Peru and northeastern Canada. The wave rose a massive 30 feet as it destroyed communities around the Indian Ocean. Tide gauges worldwide recorded its arrival from hours to a day after its Dec. 26 start, and movement of the wave was also tracked by satellite, according to a study appearing Thursday in Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science."
The giant wave generated by the Sumatra tsunami confirms that this prophetic sign speaks to our generation far more directly that it did to people two thousand years ago. The nations are indeed perplexed by the waves, and are still paying for tsunami relief and investing millions of dollars in expensive tsunami detection equipment. We can say with certainty based on this prophecy that there will be more giant waves and coastal flooding, perhaps because of global warming as well as quake activity. These fearsome events remind us that life is fragile and fleeting, this is the right time to examine your relationship with God and head the words of Jesus, "when these things begin to happen, look up, your redemption draws near."
RFID Journal - Portable Kit Enables Remote Tracking: "Portable Kit Enables Remote TrackingSavi is releasing a kit that can establish logistics or asset tracking centers in remote locations. Designed for use by the military, the kit can also be used for commercial applications.

"
A Doll That Can Recognize Voices, Identify Objects and Show Emotion - New York Times: "A Doll That Can Recognize Voices, Identify Objects and Show Emotion"
Wired News: One Device to Rule Them All: "Here's how Adderton sees the near future: You'll be asleep in your house, and your wireless entertainment device will wake you up. It'll be voice-activated, so if you want some music-- Nelly or Eminem--you just say so. You'll use the device to turn on your TV and change channels or to surf the internet on your computer. Just tell it what you want to do and it'll take you there.

When you go outside, you'll plug it into your car and it will serve as a
global positioning system and give you detailed directions to where you're
going. The device will tell the car stereo what tunes you have on your iPod
and play them over the speakers. If someone else is driving, you can watch TV news or surf the internet, answer e-mail, download music or read an
electronic book. At work you can put the phone up to a special reader and
pay for lunch or coffee. Perhaps you'll hold a video conference. Or pay
bills.


If you are in e-commerce mode, you can purchase music or movies, which will automatically be stored in your home entertainment system as well as in your wireless device, which will hold 34 MB of data -- or much more with an optional card. Or you can download an interview with Dave Chappelle as you watch reruns of his show on Comedy Central, because the device will function like TiVo, too."
C4ISRJournal.com - Revolutionizing Electronic Warfare Revolutionizing Electronic Warfare - : "Revolutionizing Electronic Warfare

JSF Will Combine Strike, Jamming, Intelligence
By MICHAEL FABEY
August 23, 2005

The U.S. Marine Corps wants its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to be more than an affordable replacement for the Harrier close-air-support plane; it wants the next-generation aircraft to jam the cell phones that trigger roadside bombs.

For about the past six months, the Marines have been coming to us and asking if there was anything the JSF could do to support the guys on the ground, to shut down a communications system," said David Jeffreys, a program manager with F-35 maker Lockheed Martin.

And in February, the Marines hired Penn State University to study how the JSF might handle other forms of electronic warfare (EW). The Corps currently relies on the decades-old EA-6B Prowler, which is slated to retire in a decade or so."


Thinking Blink: JPMorgan Chase gets a jump on the smart card market, one blink at a time : Contactless News
: "Thinking Blink: JPMorgan Chase gets a jump on the smart card market, one blink at a time


Tuesday, August 23 2005
By Dee Ann Kuhn, Contributing Editor

It has a catchy name, it's convenient to use and, most importantly, it offers card members peace of mind. That's what JPMorgan Chase is banking on in promoting its Chase with contactless credit card. Chase introduced the card in June in an effort to be the first to pave the way for a national switch to smart cards in the U.S. To date, Chase has issued two million blink cards to Visa and MasterCard credit cardholders in Colorado and Georgia and it's continually adding new merchant locations to the 400-plus initially slated for the rollout."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4181172.stm

PARENTS LOSE RIGHT TO LIFE APPEAL

The parents of a brain-damaged baby have failed to overturn a court order that rules she should be allowed to die if she stops breathing.

Darren and Debbie Wyatt, from Portsmouth, presented a letter at the Court of Appeal from doctors saying Charlotte has made remarkable progress.

The 22-month-old has serious lung, brain and kidney damage.

Doctors at St Mary's Hospital, in Portsmouth, won the legal right not to resuscitate her last October.

Mr and Mrs Wyatt's solicitor, Richard Stein, said: "They are pleased that the court recognised Charlotte's continued improvement.

"The doctor called her improvement remarkable and one of the judges called it astonishing."
DefenseNews.com - Chinese, Russian Commandos Stage Airborne Raid - 08/25/05 09:28: "Chinese, Russian Commandos Stage Airborne Raid

By PETER HARMSEN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING
Elite troops from China and Russia staged a mock airborne attack on an enemy position as unprecedented joint exercises wrapped up on Aug. 25, state media reported.
Eighty-six Chinese and Russian shock troops parachuted into battle in eastern China's Shandong province at the end of the eight-day Peace Mission exercise, the Xinhua news agency said.

Although the enemy troops still put up a desperate struggle, their failure had become a foregone conclusion, Xinhua said of the drill outside the city of Weifan"

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Jerusalem Post - PA won't disarm Hamas, Islamic Jihad
Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been on vacation. This is news from JPost: "Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced on Monday that they have reached an agreement with the Palestinian Authority according to which the two groups would not be disarmed...Sources close to the two groups said Qurei made it clear that the PA would not confiscate the weapons of any of the armed groups in the Gaza Strip."

Sunday, August 21, 2005

My Way News - Encephalitis Kills 100 Children in India
AP reports, "Mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis spread to new areas of India's most populous state on Saturday as the death toll from the preventable disease rose to 100 amid a shortage of funds to pay for vaccinations, officials said." [Pestilence, Luke 21:11]
My Way News - Pope Calls for Return to Christian Roots
"Pope Benedict XVI urged Europe to rediscover its Christian tradition and warned against rising secularism as he concluded his first foreign trip with an open-air Mass for a million people in his native Germany."

Thursday, August 18, 2005

My Way News - Group: China Detains U.S. Church Workers
AP reports, "Authorities in northern China detained five American church workers in raids on unofficial Protestant church groups, a U.S.-based monitoring group said Thursday. Four Americans, including a married couple, were held after authorities broke up a Christian fellowship service Monday in Luoyang in Henan province, about 460 miles southwest of Beijing, the China Aid Association said." [Believers Persecuted, Matthew 24:8]
My Way News - Encephalitis Kills 79 Children in India
AP reports, "An outbreak of mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis has killed at least 79 children in a north Indian state over the past week, with dozens of other children in serious condition, officials said Thursday." [Pestilence, Luke 21:11]
My Way News - Israeli Riot Police Storm Gaza Synagogues
AP reports, "Riot troops stormed synagogues in two hardline Jewish settlements Thursday to evict hundreds of militant holdouts who locked arms in a human chain and pelted soldiers with acid, oil and sand, the most violent clashes in Israel's historic Gaza pullout."

Monday, August 15, 2005

Yahoo News - Biometric IDs could see massive growth
Some information on biometric identification technology and how quickly it is being adopted for security and travel purposes. [Mark of the Beast, Rev 13:16-18]
Yahoo News - Stealing into Gaza, true believers see big setback for Jews
This report from the Christian Science Monitor contrasts events in Israel today to Jewish history and the destruction of the First and Second Temple. Is it a coincidence that fateful events happen on the same date in history? Is there, perhaps, something more significant going on here?

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Space - Meteor 'Outburst' Expected Friday Morning
"For as long as records exist, the Perseid meteor showers have always been strong. This summer's Perseid shower will be exceptional. The moon is mostly out of the way later in the night, and higher-than-normal activity rates are
expected over the United States." [Signs & Wonders in the Heavens, Luke 21:11]
BBCNews - WHO plans bird flu drug stockpile
"World Health Organisation officials are in talks about building up a stockpile of drugs for poorer countries to fight a possible bird flu pandemic." [Pestilence, Luke 21:11]
My Way News - Iran Resumes Full Conversion Operations
"A defiant Iran resumed full operations at its uranium conversion plant Wednesday, as Europe and the United States struggled to find a way to stop the Islamic republic from pushing ahead with a nuclear program they fear will lead to weapons of mass destruction." [Rumors of War, Matthew 24:6]

Monday, August 08, 2005

My Way News - Officials Test Radio Tags at Canada Border
"Security officials gathered Monday at a Canadian border crossing to mark the first test of a radio frequency identification system to be used by foreign visitors. If successful, radio 'tags' carried by travelers will be part of the standard registration process for those entering the United States." [ID Tech & Trends, Mark of the Beast, Rev 13:16-18]
My Way News - Bird Flu Kills One More Person in Vietnam
"A 35-year-old man from southern Vietnam died of avian flu, health officials said Tuesday, as the country began a mass vaccination of poultry to try to slow the spread of the virus." [Pestilence, Luke 21:11]
My Way News - Iran Defies West, Resumes Nuclear Work
"Iran stepped up its confrontation with the West over its nuclear program, restarting work at a uranium conversion facility Monday in a move the United States and Europe have warned will prompt them to seek U.N. sanctions." [Rumors of War, Matthew 24:6]

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Yahoo News - Crisis brews after Iran rejects 'unacceptable' EU nuclear offer
"An international crisis is brewing after Iran rejected a broad package of trade and technology incentives offered by the European Union if it agreed to abandon nuclear fuel work." [Rumors of War & Persia, Matthew 24:6 & Ezekiel 38:5]

Thursday, August 04, 2005

My Way News - Muslims, Christians Work Together in Niger
"Behind the high, brown wall of a clinic run by a Muslim charity, nurses care for hundreds of hungry children. Down the road 150 yards, members of a Christian congregation discuss how to stretch funds collected at Sunday services to help more of the poorest in drought-stricken, overwhelmingly Muslim Niger. 'There is no rivalry between the two communities,' said Abdou Laouali, permanent secretary of the 250-member Evangelical Church of the Republic of Niger. 'We are working toward the same objective.'" [Famine, Matthew 24:7]

How you can help:

Doctors Without Borders
212-679-6800

Save the Children
011 44 20-7012-6400

UN World Food Program
212-530-1694
My Way News - Humans Dying of Pig Disease a Concern

"Experts on a strep germ that's sickening people and pigs in China are baffled by reports of 37 farmers suddenly falling ill, bleeding under the skin and dying - all previously unheard of with the disease." [Pestilence, Luke 21:11]
My Way News - Giant Ocean Waves More Common Than Thought

"Last year's Hurricane Ivan generated an ocean wave that towered higher than 90 feet at one point, says a study that also suggests such giants may be more common than once thought." [Roaring Waves, Luke 21:25]
My Way News - al-Qaida's No. 2 Threatens London, U.S.
"Al-Qaida's No. 2 embraced the London suicide bombings Thursday, warned Britain that more destruction lies ahead and promised tens of thousands of U.S. casualties in Iraq in a brazen assertion of the terror group's global reach." [Wars & Rumors of War, Matthew 24:6]

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

CSM - Special briefing: How radical Islamists see the world
Today and tomorrow, the Christian Science Monitor examines the origins of Islamic terrorism and how it is changing. [Wars and Rumors of War, Matthew 24:6]

Monday, August 01, 2005

Yahoo News - Economist Blames Aid for Africa Famine
This report from the AP examines a basic question: Why does Africa continue to suffer from famine? One economist thinks he has the answer, he blames foreign aid. [Famine, Matthew 24:7]
World not set to deal with widespread flu - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com: "World not set to deal with widespread fluStrategy for pandemic needed, experts say

By David BrownUpdated: 3:02 a.m. ET July 31,

2005WASHINGTON - Public health officials preparing to battle what they view as an inevitable influenza pandemic say the world lacks the medical weapons to fight the disease effectively, and will not have them anytime soon.Public health specialists and manufacturers are working frantically to develop vaccines, drugs, strategies for quarantining and treating the ill, and plans for international cooperation, but these efforts will take years. Meanwhile, the most dangerous strain of influenza to appear in decades -- the H5N1 'bird flu' in Asia -- is showing up in new populations of birds, and occasionally people, almost by the month, global health officials say.If the virus were to start spreading in the next year, the world would have only a relative handful of doses of an experimental vaccine to defend against a disease that, history shows, could potentially kill millions. If the vaccine proved effective and every flu vaccine factory in the world started making it, the first doses would not be ready for four months. By then, the pathogen would probably be on every continent."