False Prophets

 NYT - Christian Prophets Are on the Rise. What Happens When They’re Wrong?
The New York Times reports: "The desire to divine the future is a venerable one, fueling faith in figures from ancient Greek oracles to modern astrologists. Christianity in particular is a religion whose foundational text is filled with prophecies proven true by the end of the book. Whether the gift of prophecy continues into the present day has long been the subject of intense theological debate. But in recent years, self-described prophets have proliferated across the country, accelerating in stature over the course of the Trump era. They are stars within what is now one of the fastest-growing corners of Christianity: a loose but fervent movement led by hundreds of people who believe they can channel supernatural powers — and have special spiritual insights into world events."

Comment: This is an interesting news report that sheds light on the rise of a new class of prophets delving into the world of politics and getting it wrong. To most Christians, prophecy is not something to be made light of, it's serious business because of what it means. A prophet, in the Biblical sense, is someone who has been given a message from God about things that will come to pass. In this context, Bible prophecy is always correct. God knows that past, the present and the future. So when God reveals the "future" to us, it has already happened from the divine perspective. It is a message intended to remind us of the sovereign power of God as well as his mercy in preparing us for what will be. So, for a prophet to say, "hey, I just had an off day, got it wrong," just doesn't work. That's why in the Bible, the penalty for false prophets was execution. They didn't tolerate people running around saying God told them something and having it be wrong. It makes a mockery of God to tolerate that. I wonder if we should return to the Biblical standard for false prophets?

Pestilence

 NPR - 2nd Person Dies Of Ebola In Congo, Marking Virus's Return

NPR reports: "A second person who had contracted the Ebola virus died this week in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking another outbreak just three months after the nation outlasted the virus's second-worst outbreak in history. [...] Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness, according to the WHO. It causes fever, fatigue and muscle pain at the start. Victims then suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and in some cases internal and external bleeding. [...] The resurgence of the illness now is not wholly unexpected, the WHO said on Feb. 7. Ebola is 'endemic' in Congo, and the virus remains in animal reservoirs in the region."

Comment: How amazing that this fearsome disease is now considered a fact of life (like seasonal flu) in that region of the world. While we all worry about coronavirus, it's important to remember that these other viruses are still out there.

Rumors of War

ZDNet -  Hacker modified drinking water chemical levels in a US city

ZDNet reports: "An unidentified hacker has accessed the computer systems for the water treatment facility in the city of Oldsmar, Florida, and has modified chemical levels to dangerous parameters. [...] Oldsmar city staff said that no tainted water was delivered to local residents as the attack was caught in time before any lye levels could be deployed. According to Sheriff Gualtieri, the hacker disconnected as soon as they modified the lye levels, and a human operator set the chemical level back to normal right away. Officials didn't attribute the attack to any specific hacker group or entity."

 See also:
NYT - ‘Dangerous Stuff’: Hackers Tried to Poison Water Supply of Florida Town
This report has a good summary of the international context with a focus on Iran.

Comment: Here we have a report of a confirmed cyberattack by an unknown actor. This attack is noteworthy for being an example of an attack that not only penetrated a protected system and accessed information, but also changed system controls that altered hardware settings and could have impacted the health and welfare of the citizens in the city. The attack was detected, not by an automated system, but by a human operator. The attacker's changes were corrected and no one was hurt in the incident.While media reports are emphasizing that this could have been a local hacker, it should also be noted that this could well have been a foreign hacker or a state-sponsored attack. A municipal utility is low-hanging fruit and represents an attractive target for a range of bad actors to test vulnerabilities and demonstrate proof-of-concept attacks.