Friday, November 30, 2018

Earthquakes

7-magnitude earthquake damages buildings, roads near Anchorage - UPI.com
UPI reports: "An earthquake with a preliminary 7-magnitude shook Alaska on Friday, damaging roads and buildings, and disrupting air traffic in and out of the state's largest city, officials said. [...] The temblor cracked walls and caused ceilings to crumble in some buildings. At some stores, products crashed to the floor, creating a mess. [...] The damage caused power outages throughout the city and at least three buildings were set ablaze."

Comment: A 7.0 magnitude quake is a very large quake, thank God there was no loss of life.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Rumors of War - King of the North

Russia delivers missile systems to Crimea over Ukrainian objections - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The Kremlin's plans to deploy a fourth surface-to-air missile battalion in Crimea would endanger all countries in the Black Sea region, a Ukrainian official warned Thursday. Russia's Black Sea Fleet said the air defense missile systems are ready for combat in Crimea near the Ukraine border, Moscow's state-run news agency reported. [...] Moscow forcibly annexed Crimea from Ukraine in a highly controversial move in 2014, which remains a source of tension between the Kremlin and Ukrainian and Western governments."

Comment: When Hitler started his conquests in WWII he began with relatively small countries that had large German-speaking populations. He said he was simply bringing these German-speaking areas back into Germany. Putin used the same excuse when he annexed Crimea from Ukraine, reminding everyone that Crimea had been part of Russia many years ago and a great many Russian-speaking people still live there...just bringing them back into mother Russia. If the Allies had learned the lesson of history then NATO would have immediately challenged this attempt to redraw the borders of Europe by force. Instead, the Western allies imposed economic sanctions on Russia. It does not appear that sanctions are a deterrent to Putin's Russia. We can conclude with absolute certainty that this will not end well. Like other leaders in history bent on conquest, Putin will not stop until he is made to stop.

Pestilence

Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is second worst in history - UPI
UPI reports: "At least 245 people have died from the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks, the country's health ministry said Thursday, making it the second-deadliest outbreak of the disease in history. [...] WHO said there was a high risk of the outbreak spreading to other provinces in the DRC and other countries. Neighboring Uganda intensified preparedness activities, including vaccinations, in case of an outbreak there."

Comment: Wishing them luck in containing this outbreak. 

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Gospel Preached to All Nations

Anthropologist suggests gifts in effort to retrieve body from North Sentinel Island
UPI reports: "An anthropologist who made contact several times with an isolated island tribe accused of killing an American missionary last week suggested the Indian government take gifts to ease the effort of retrieving the man's body from North Sentinel Island. John Allen Chau, 27, ignored Indian law and multiple warnings that the Sentinelese tribe resists outsiders when he paid fishermen to take him to the island in an attempt to convert the islanders to Christianity. The fisherman told Indian authorities the tribespeople shot Chau with arrows as he reached the shore and that they buried his body on the beach."

Comment: This was an unfortunate incident but it's also a great example of how brave missionaries continue to reach the farthest corners of the globe to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. 

Pestilence

Freeze-dried vaccine may help rid world of polio - UPI
UPI reports: "A freeze-dried polio vaccine that could be used in locations without refrigeration might help doctors conquer the disease, researchers report. [...] Polio is a highly infectious disease that's close to being eradicated, with just 22 reported cases worldwide in 2017. But young children are at risk in countries where refrigeration for vaccines may not be widely available."

Comment: This is good news. Let's hope the anti-vaccers don't object to this new twist on a life-saving vaccine. 

Friday, November 16, 2018

Peace and Security of Jerusalem

Leaders warn Australia about possible embassy move to Jerusalem - UPI
UPI reports: "Australia moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem would be a shift that could make the country a larger target for terrorists, leaders in Malaysia and Indonesia warned Friday. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison talked about moving the embassy during his recent campaign, though no firm decision has been made on the proposal."

Comment: I support Israel and reject the notion that countries should not support Israel because it only encourages terrorists. What kind of logic is that? Don't do something because it makes the terrorists angry? 

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Pestilence

Nigeria cholera deaths spike more than tenfold over 2017 - UPI
UPI  reports: "There have been 1,110 documented cholera deaths in 2018, more than 13 times higher than cholera deaths in the same time period in 2017, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control said Wednesday. [...] Cholera is a bacterial intestinal infection spread by contaminated drinking water or food. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, circulatory collapse and shock, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says."

Comment: The tragedy of cholera is that the disease is easily prevented and easily treated but it requires a certain level of development to do so. As such it is a far better measure of development than commonly used economic indicators like GDP. A country that has cholera outbreaks is not developed, no matter how much oil it may sell. 

Rumors of War

DARPA issues contract proposition for hypersonic missile defense - UPI
UPI reports: "DARPA has released proposals for the development of missile defense systems called Glide Breaker fielding interceptors capable of downing the hypersonic weapons currently in development by other nations. [...] Hypersonic weapons under development by countries such as Russia and China are considered by many defense leaders a priority threat to be addressed, with current satellites, as well as sea- and land-based interceptors, being inadequate to defeat hypersonic glide vehicles and potential guided missiles that can fly lower and maneuver differently than existing ballistic missiles, evading U.S. sensors and defenses."

Comment: The logic of an arms race suggests that it will always be a game of action and reaction, of measures and counter-measures. The logic also suggests that an enemy has a small window of opportunity to deploy advanced technology before counter-measures can be deployed on the other side. These are dangerous times my friends.

Pestilence

Number of patients with paralyzing illness increasing, CDC reports - UPI
UPI reports: "A mysterious condition that causes paralysis in children continues to baffle public health officials. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 90 cases of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, in people in 27 states. [...] The polio-like condition brings on respiratory illnesses between three and 10 days prior to the victim experiencing limb weakness. Some of those victims experience paralysis. [...] No one has died of AFM in 2018, and about half of patients fully recover from the condition. However, Messonnier said, the other half suffer from permanent disability."

Comment: Please join me in praying that the medical community will soon discover the cause of this illness and develop methods to treat and prevent it.  

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Wickedness Increases - Love Grows Cold

FBI: Surge in hate crimes in 2017 the largest since 9/11 - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Hate crimes in the United States in 2017 saw the largest increase -- to more than 7,000 -- since a period immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, new FBI data said Tuesday. [...] The figures noted a double-digit increase in anti-Semitic crimes, the largest increase over the previous year since anti-Arab and anti-Muslim attacks spiked after the 2001 attacks."

Comment: You hear people say that antisemitism is increasing and they pass along anecdotal evidence and you're never sure quite what to believe, but there is hard data to back up that claim. 

Monday, November 12, 2018

Jerusalem Security

Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza, destroys Hamas TV station - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The Israeli military and Palestinian militants exchanged rocket fire Monday after a botched undercover mission over the weekend killed several people in the Gaza Strip. [...] The IDF said it built up its troops and defenses along the border with Gaza after Palestinians launched at least 300 projectiles over the fence into Israeli territory."

Comment: Here is another good example of how the news media goes out of the way to denigrate Israel while promoting the Palestinian cause. According to this UPI reporter, the Palestinians (aggrieved and wrong, btw) launched "projectiles" at Israel. You know, another word for projectiles would be missiles. But, that sounds so harsh and mean-spirited, right? Better go with the technical and almost antiseptic sounding term projectiles. It's almost Orwellian, this use of alternative terms and phrases to describe the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.

Pestilence

FDA OKs new Ebola test for use in remote areas
UPI reports: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved emergency use of a new Ebola fingerstick test, which includes a reader that makes it possible to obtain results outside a laboratory. The DPP Ebola Antigen System makes obtaining test results possible in remote areas with limited lab resources, such as those in African nations affected by Ebola outbreaks, the agency said Friday in a news release."

Comment: This is very encouraging news and certainly something that will make it easier for those countries in Africa to combat the outbreak.

Friday, November 09, 2018

Famine

U.N.: 8 million people in Yemen nearing starvation:
UPI reports: "Efforts to avert mass starvation in war-ravaged Yemen will be doubled, the United Nations' World Food program announced on Friday. About 8 million people in Yemen are in an 'emergency situation,' a category recognized as a step below famine, the WFP said Friday. It added that an upcoming assessment, later in November, is expected to show that as many as 14 million people will be in an emergency classification. It indicates that half of Yemen's population is a step away from starvation, the WFP's Francis Mwanza Head said. In October the WFP warned that Yemen could face "the worst famine in 100 years."

Comment: The UN  has been running refugee camps and aid camps for decades, if the parties to Yemen's civil war would let them do their jobs, they know how to distribute aid and help civilians caught in the crossfire.

Thursday, November 08, 2018

Persecution

Woman freed in blasphemy case still in hiding in Pakistan - AP
The AP reports: "A week after Pakistan’s Supreme Court acquitted her of blasphemy, a Christian woman who had been on death row for eight years was freed from detention Thursday, but her whereabouts are a closely guarded secret following demands by extremists that she be hanged in public. The case of Aasia Bibi has become a political minefield for Prime Minister Imran Khan. He is trying to placate the Muslim extremists who have threatened to topple his government, while keeping the 54-year-old mother of five safe from a lynch mob and also finding a way to allow her to leave Pakistan without bringing rioters into the streets. Bibi has been offered asylum by the European Parliament, which championed her case after she was convicted in 2010 under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy law."

Comment: Please join me in praying for the safety of Aasia Bibi and her family and their quick escape to Europe. Can you imagine how sad it is that this one Christian women can bring rioters into the streets and potentially bring down a government? And what of the other Christians in Pakistan, surely this must be a very difficult time for them as well. Please join me in praying for the church in Pakistan, that they may persevere in faith and meet persecution with love, compassion and forgiveness.

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

Pestilence

Uganda health workers get pre-emptory vaccinations against Ebola - UPI
UPI reports: "Vaccinations of front line healthcare workers have begun in Uganda to stop an outbreak of the Ebola virus, officials said Wednesday. [...] Officials fear the epidemic will spread from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and are implementing the plan so healthcare workers don't catch the virus and spread it. The current Ebola outbreak in DRC is the country's second in 2017. The last outbreak, contained in July, sickened 53 people and killed 33."

Comment: Wishing them the best of luck in containing this outbreak. Vaccinations work.

Tuesday, November 06, 2018

Wickedness Increases

Florida teen charged with killing mother, burying her body over poor grade - UPI.com
UPI reports: "A Florida teenager was charged with murder after confessing to killing his mother over a poor grade report, authorities said. The 15-year-old boy confessed to strangling his mother, 46-year-old Gail Cleavenger, with a rope in their family's home early Friday then using a wheelbarrow to load her into her van and bury her beneath a fire pit, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said."

Comment: A 15-year old sociopath killed his mother over a bad grade. Love grows cold indeed. 

Monday, November 05, 2018

Rumors of War - Persia

Iran president warns of 'war situation' as sanctions resume
The AP reports: "The U.S. re-imposed all sanctions Monday on Iran that once were lifted under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, grinding further down on the Islamic Republic’s already-ailing economy in what President Hassan Rouhani described as a “war situation” now facing Tehran."

Comment: Well, there it is, the Iranian Nuclear Deal is officially over and sanctions have been re-imposed. Does it appear that Iran will now take corrective action? No, not really. What I'm not seeing is the Trump team signalling a way for Iran to back down gracefully, to save face, and get out of this. Trying to humiliate another country rarely works, especially with a country as proud as Iran. It would be wise to think carefully about strategy and tactics...and not just Twitter. 

Friday, November 02, 2018

Famine

U.N.: Fighting could turn Yemen food crisis into world's worst famine - UPI
UPI reports: "Severe hunger in Yemen could devolve into the worst famine in world history - and threaten the lives of more than a million mothers, a new United Nations report says. [...] The Yemeni civil war, now in its fourth year, has made it difficult to get humanitarian aid into the country [...] Earlier this week, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis urged the Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Houthis to stop their attacks within 30 days so peace talks can begin."

Comment: Hopefully they can get the humanitarian assistance where it is needed even if the civil war continues. There are ways of doing that, Syria and Iraq have shown that.