Cory Gardner fears congressional hearings with Mark Zuckerberg could lead to further government regulation of the internet.

Daily Caller 04/10/2018
Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado fears congressional hearings with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg could lead to further government regulation of the internet.

Gardner thinks politicians will take advantage of the Facebook situation and use it as a way of increasing their power over a free and open internet.

“I think it treads on some very tenuous ground,” Gardner said on “America’s Newsroom” Tuesday. “There may be some people who wish to look at the opportunity to have regulation of the internet. 

Regulation over speech. Regulation over content. I’m very concerned about that and I think that’s the alarming part about the direction that questions could take this afternoon.”

“Maybe they’ll want to get into campaign finance issues, maybe they’ll want to go into free speech issues,” he continued. “Are they going to try to create some kind of a government filter where it determines who can say what on what kind of a platform?”

“Let’s make sure that users’ privacy are protected. Let’s make sure Facebook is doing what they promised they would do. Let’s make sure there is room for competition against Facebook,” Gardner concluded.

“I don’t think what we want, as an outcome of this hearing, is regulation of the internet. Which has been a very incredible free and open voice of democracy around the globe.”

Donald Trump signs a bill enabling state and federal authorities to pursue websites that host sex-trafficking ads

WP April 11, 2018

President Trump signed a bill Wednesday that gives federal and state prosecutors greater power to pursue websites that host sex-trafficking ads and enables victims and state attorneys general to file lawsuits against those sites.

Addressing the victims and family members in attendance, the president said, “I’m signing this bill in your honor. … You have endured what no person on Earth should ever have to endure.” Trump added, “This is a great piece of legislation, and it’s really going to make a difference.”

The bill, nicknamed “FOSTA” for its title, “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act,” goes into effect immediately, but its impact was already being seen around the Internet as sites shut down sex-related areas and stopped accepting sex-related advertising.

 “FOSTA gives prosecutors the tools they need,” said Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), chief sponsor of the bill, “to ensure that no online business can ever approach the size of Backpage again.”

Remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that he wanted to repair church-state ties caused uproar

 

France24 2018-04-11 

The Catholic Church and the state were for centuries virtually indistinguishable in France but the 1789 Revolution and 19th century modernisation saw the two formally separated by a 1905 law.

Macron, who prides himself on tackling difficult issues head-on, told a meeting of bishops Monday that he hoped to repair relations with the Church through a "dialogue of truth".

"A president of the French republic who takes no interest in the Church and its Catholics would be failing in his duty," he said.

Former socialist prime minister Manuel Valls, who backed Macron for president in 2017, tweeted that "secularism is France".

"Secularism is the jewel in our crown. That is what a president of the republic should be defending," newly-installed Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said in a tweet.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, lead of the left-wing France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, said Macron's remarks were "irresponsible".

"Macron in full-on metaphysical delirium. Outrageous. One expects a president, one gets a little priest," Melenchon said in a tweet.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who is responsible for government relations with religious groups, said Macron's remarks reflected the need for greater spiritual awareness and did not undermine France's secular traditions.

"What he is saying is that for human beings, there is not only the material world but also the search for absolute values, for spirituality, to find meaning in life," he said.

"It is perhaps a new tone but in no way does it break with the great tradition of secularism."

Opinion polls show the French roughly split between believers and non-believers while the role and place of religion in the country remains sensitive.

US stock markets are currently passing through the same peaks they faced 11 years ago

RT 13 Apr, 2018

US stock markets are currently passing through the same peaks they faced 11 years ago, right before the massive sell-off that triggered the 2008 financial crisis, according to Phil Town, who sold his stocks before the crash.

“I think we are right on the brink. The logic is pretty straightforward from a fundamental point of view, we are at a relationship between the Wilshire GDP ratio which is almost unprecedented historically, where we have a relationship that is historically the Wilshire's 70 to a 100 percent value of GDP,” the investor told The Street.

Russia's State TV Instructing Citizens To Start Prepping For The Armageddon!

Dozens of megachurch pastors met with Vice President Mike Pence

CP Apr 12, 2018

Dozens of Southern Baptist megachurch pastors and their wives met with Vice President Mike Pence and senior White House officials on Wednesday to cap off the annual Southern Baptist Convention MegaMetro retreat.

Organized by former SBC President and Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd, as many as 68 megachurch pastors and 65 of their wives traveled to the nation's capital on Monday to partake in the annual invite-only retreat, which was attended only by pastors with Sunday church attendance of 2,000-plus.

"Folks wanted to come to Washington, D.C. so that we can pray for our country and be in the environment of Washington," Floyd told The Christian Post.

During the 3-day conference, discussion was devoted "to talking church." While Floyd led the pastors through various panels and interviews touching on how to "reach people for Christ," Floyd's wife, Jeana, led separate discussions for the pastors' wives.

Christ that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin

1Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.       1 Peter 4:1-2

German Catholic bishops plan to allow some Protestants to cake Communion in their churches.

EF  19 April 2018

The German Catholic Episcopal Conference, headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, approved in its February gathering a proposal that has sparked a huge theological debate. 

The 62 German bishops have voted to produce a guide on how to allow Protestants married to Catholics to receive Communion. 

This non-Catholic spouses in “mixed marriages” could access the Catholic rite if they “affirm the Catholic Eucharist”. 

The Intercommunion, the bishops said, would be a solution for cases in which “the spiritual hunger to receive Communion together (…) is so strong that it could threat the marriage and the faith”. 

PROTESTANT CHURCH WELCOMES PROPOSAL 

The President of the German Protestant Church (EKD), Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, welcomed the announcement as “an important step in our ecumenical path”. 

Bedford-Strohm and his Catholic counterpart Reinhard Marx have been very proactive in sending pro-ecumenical messages during the commemoration of the 500 anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, in 2017, with calls to “heal the wounds of the past” and advance to stronger “unity” among the two Church institutions. 

STRONG CRITICISM OF SOME BISHOPS 

The open door for Protestants has been challenged by important Catholic sectors in Germany. Among them, seven German bishops that have written an open letter expressing their opposition to what they define as a “Protestantisation of the Church”. 

In interviews with the media, some of the signatories have criticised what they believe is a “banalisation” of the “holiest Sacrament” of Catholicism. 

Protestant taking part in the Communion would ‘de facto’ contradict the Protestant doctrines and its view of the Lord’s Supper. These bishops called the Vatican and Pope Francis to step into the debate. 

Catholic media have reported in the last days that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would have sent a letter to the German conference asking to pause the proposal. It is not expected, though, that Rome will express this position publicly. 

EVANGELICALS SEE ECUMENIAL STRATEGY 

Evangelical leaders have also reacted with surprise to the moves towards Intercommunion. In an interview with German news agency Idea, evangelical theology professor Ulrich Körtner said it would be difficult for a Protestant believer to accept the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist, which “includes the veneration of Mary as the Mother of God, and the intercession of the Apostles, martyrs and saints”. 

The decision of the German Episcopal Conference can be understood as a strategy to attract Protestants to the Catholic liturgy. “I would not be surprised that someday other ecumenical formulas are presented to us to try to sell us that high prayers of the Catholic Eucharist are evangelical”.

Global Islam Body Demands Europe Ban Religious Hate Speech

 

Breitbart  12 Apr 2018

Europe must increase its efforts to integrate Muslims and eradicate religious hate speech, Muslim World League (MWL) chief Mohammed al-Issa has declared.

“We believe that European countries, where there is much debate now, and other countries around the world … need to enhance national assimilation programmes and criminalise hatred and contempt for adherents of religions because this threatens the safety of the community,” he toldReuters in an interview.

Without giving specific details, the wealthy Saudi figure told the international news agency that the MWL “has programmes and curricula that enhance national assimilation and which can courageously and forcefully confront all forms of extremism, as well as special programmes to thwart efforts to infiltrate the Muslim community”.

Widely regarded a promoter of the Kingdom’s fundamentalist Wahhabi ideology which critics allege is the basis for jihadi violence across the globe, the MWL is very active in nations of Europe which have a large number of Muslim residents, such as Britain and France.

As well as encouraging followers of Islam to be more religiously observant and promoting global solidarity among Muslims, the body also seeks to propagate a conservative brand of the religion and convert nonbelievers, according to the Pew Research Center.

A California church is getting ready to stand in the light of Queen Beyonce's music.

Huffington Post 19/04/2018

San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral is planning to host a Beyoncé Mass on April 25, using the pop icon’s music to celebrate black female spirituality.

The Wednesday evening service is part of The Vine, a weekly contemporary gathering organized by Grace for San Francisco’s “urbanites and spiritual seekers.” The Beyoncé Mass promises to help attendees discover how the musician’s art “opens a window into the lives of the marginalized and forgotten ― particularly black females.”

The Rev. Jude Harmon, founding pastor of The Vine, pointed to how Jesus used ordinary stories to preach the gospel ― parables about vineyards, day laborers, stewards, and other figures that would have been familiar to his audience. He said the upcoming Mass uses a familiar part of modern culture ― Beyoncé lyrics ― in the same way.

Iran's Khamenei urges Muslim nations to unite against U.S.

Yahoo News April 26, 2018

ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to "bullying," state television reported on Thursday.

"The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist... All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

Iran's top authority criticized Trump for saying on Tuesday some countries in the Middle East "wouldn't last a week" without U.S. protection.

"Such remarks are humiliation for Muslims ... Unfortunately there is war in our region between Muslim countries. The backward governments of some Muslim countries are fighting with other countries," Khamenei said.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been locked in a proxy war, competing for regional supremacy from Iraq to Syria and Lebanon to Yemen.

Who is the third person of the Godhead?

This video is intended primarily for Seventh-day Adventists. 

Who is the third person of the Godhead? The Bible is clear, the Spirit of Prophecy is clear, but many are confused or misled. 

Our allegiance must not be to the doctrines of men or to any church. We need to lay aside preconceived ideas, lay aside tradition and look to the Word of God and follow His Word alone, for only there will we find the truth.

Pastor Chuck Baldwin says it's a "Biblical requirement" to own a gun

TNCRM   April 2, 2018
Christian pastor Chuck Baldwin says it's a "Biblical requirement" that every American adult (and even some younger than 18) own an AR-15 or similar assault-style weapon.

"Many, many gun owners do not even own an AR-type rifle," Baldwin says in a Facebook post last month. "Whether they realize it or not, these people are effectively DISARMED. The handgun, shotgun, or bolt-action rifle might be fine for sporting purposes and for defending oneself against a lone gunman, but they are wholly ineffective in protecting society against government (any government) aggression."

Major Christian denominations unite in doctrine

CT  April 02, 2018

A joint commission of Turkey’s major Christian denominations has published a historic book of concise Christian doctrine, receiving the unprecedented endorsement of all the nation’s Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Syriac, and Protestant churches.

According to Armenian Bishop Sahak Masalyan, keynote speaker at the formal book launch in Istanbul of the English edition in February, the “most spectacular aspect” of the book is in fact its first page of endorsements, which he declared “akin to a miracle.”

This book “expresses the shared beliefs of the churches in Turkey. We approve its publication and recommend that it be widely read,” the statement says.

Undersigned are the ecclesiastical leaders of all mainstream branches of the Christian faith in Turkey: the Orthodox patriarch, Armenian archbishop, Syriac metropolitan, chairman of the Catholic bishops, and the church leader chairing the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches.

Evangelicals and Pope Francis United

Charisma News   4/6/2018

A lot of attention has been focused on St. Francis of Assisi after Cardinal Bergoglio took the name of Francis upon his election as Pope. As well we should, because St Francis taught his followers to share the Gospel more by what they do than what they say.

But this week, on April 8, we mark the life of another Francis who, it is believed, is also a role model for the new Pope. On that date in 1541, Francis Xavier began his extraordinary missionary journey to the East. Over the next 10 years, he traveled through 50 kingdoms and baptized over 1,000,000 people. He founded churches from India to Japan, earning the title "Apostle to the Indies."

Beyond his importance as an Asian missionary, Francis Xavier pioneered a return of Christian missions to its gospel roots. The medieval model of missions called for conquest and forced conversion, as exemplified by the Spanish conquests and failed conversations in the New World. Francis Xavier showed that heartfelt conversion won by the love of God was not only more scriptural, it was more effective. In that sense he is the father of all modern Christian missions.

Francis Xavier lived in an age of upheaval, when Europeans had begun challenging the pagan kingdoms of the East for commerce and, later, military supremacy. The European traders were interested in gold, not God, but they undermined the power of the pagan kings and the pagan gods they claimed to represent. The traders also curtailed the power of the Islamic merchants and stopped the Islamic expansion into the Far East. As a result, societies which had been closed to Christianity became more open, and Christian missionaries were able to present the Gospel. For Francis Xavier, a million baptisms followed.

These European powers eventually spread their empires throughout the world, replacing pagan kingdoms in the Americas, Africa and Asia. While these nations were seldom, if ever, interested in spreading Christianity, many missionaries followed in the footsteps of Francis Xavier and brought God's love to the colonized peoples. Today there are thriving Christian communities in the Americas, Africa and Asia because of these missionary efforts.

Also, today, we find that it is Europe which has abandoned its Christian roots and fallen into darkness. So it seems somehow to be fitting that the new pope taking the name Francis would come from a place which was Christianized by missionaries like Francis Xavier and would now return to Europe to preach a new evangelism to the lost Europeans.

We pray for Pope Francis, a man of the Spirit and a uniter of Christians, that he will help lead the whole church to challenge the European societies and open them to the gospel as the Europeans did to the pagan world 500 years ago.

We pray also for the unity of the church and a spiritual awakening of the church to enable it to be faithful in our generation as Francis Xavier was in his

Most people today live in a sea of radiofrequencies emitted from wireless technologies

Mercola  March 31, 2018
Most people today live in a sea of radiofrequencies (RF), emitted from wireless technologies of all kinds, from routers to smartphones, tablets, baby monitors, TVs, appliances, smart meters and more. In the featured ABC program “Wi-Fried,” originally aired in 2016, Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D., investigates the alleged safety of mobile devices.

According to many experts, chronic, heavy exposure could be having severe repercussions for our health, especially that of children, who are now being exposed even before birth.
As noted by Devra Davis, Ph.D., an epidemiologist and author of the book, “Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation,” children have never before been exposed to this level of pulsed radiation, and it’s still too early to determine the exact extent of the harm. Still, mounting evidence suggests harm is indeed occurring, so it would be foolish to wait until we’re in the midst of a global catastrophe. 

Ginger May Be Stronger than Chemo for Fighting Cancer

Natural Blaze April 3, 2018

We all know that ginger is a healthy addition to any meal, and that it can reduce nausea and inflammation in the human body. It’s a food with curative powers that have been highly regarded for centuries, though science is still unlocking its secrets. Coincidentally, three researchers from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in India may have just stumbled upon one of those secrets, and it will likely have far-reaching implications for the cancer treatment field.

They’ve found that there is a chemical in ginger called 6-shogaol, which has an impressive effect against breast cancer cells. It also targets cancer stem cells in particular, which are largely responsible for spreading cancer throughout the body, as well spurring the growth of tumors that have been previously treated with chemo or surgery. And best of all, it is effective at doses that aren’t harmful to noncancerous cells, unlike chemotherapy.

In fact, the researchers decided to see how 6-shogaol would stack up against a traditional chemotherapy drug known as taxol. While taxol is known to inhibit ordinary cancer cells (and cause a host of awful side effects) it still struggles to eliminate cancer stem cells. The researchers tested the taxol at a concentration that was 10,000 times higher than their 6-shogaol samples, and it still wasn’t as effective at destroying cancer stem cells as the ginger chemical.

As for how 6-shogaol works in the human body, the researchers found 6 different ways that it can inhibit cancer growth.

• It reduces the expression of CD44/CD24 cancer stem cell surface markers in breast cancer spheroids (3-dimensional cultures of cells modeling stem cell like cancer)
• It significantly affects the cell cycle, resulting in increased cancer cell death
• It induces programmed cell death primarily through the induction of autophagy, with apoptosis a secondary inducer
• It inhibits breast cancer spheroid formation by altering Notch signaling pathway through γ-secretase inhibition.
• It exhibits cytotoxicity (cell killing properties) against monolayer (1-dimensional cancer model) and spheroid cells (3-dimensional cancer model)

A California superior court judge has ruled that all coffee companies, including global giant Starbucks, must use cancer warning labels on products

RT  31 Mar, 2018
A California superior court judge has ruled that all coffee companies, including global giant Starbucks, must use cancer warning labels on products. A discussion on fines is ongoing, but they could amount to $2,500 per customer.

Judge Elihu Berle ruled that “defendants failed to satisfy their burden of proving... that consumption of coffee confers a benefit to human health.” The Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT), a non-profit group, sued Starbucks and about 90 other companies under a state law that requires warnings on a wide range of chemicals that can cause cancer or birth defects.

The case has been developing for eight years and is still not over. A third phase of the trial will determine the amount of penalties that companies will have to pay. The fines may reach up to $2,500 for clients who have frequently visited Starbucks for the past eight years.

The coffee industry tried to defend its case, claiming that coffee has long been considered a healthy product. “Coffee has been shown, over and over again, to be a healthy beverage,” William Murray, president and CEO of the National Coffee Association, said.

In 2010, the California-based CERT claimed that the coffee served at Starbucks contained high levels of acrylamide. According to the group, the threat came from a chemical compound produced in the process of roasting coffee beans. That substance was said to be noxious and carcinogenic.
The coffee industry insisted its products wouldn’t have the same taste if the beans weren’t roasted at high temperatures. It said that the chemical was present at harmless levels and shouldn’t cause any concern, but failed to demonstrate compelling evidence.

“While [the] plaintiff offered evidence that consumption of coffee increases the risk of harm to the fetus, to infants, to children and to adults, defendants’ medical and epidemiology experts testified that they had no opinion on causation,” Judge Berle said.

Many coffee companies have already agreed to post warnings about acrylamide. However, many of those warnings were almost invisible to their customers due to placement below serving counters. Starbucks claimed that labelling its cups with cancer warnings would be misleading and alarming to consumers, as the beverage has always been largely considered to be a healthy product.

The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, better known as California's Proposition 65, the same provision that condemned the coffee industry, insists that signs warning residents about the risk of cancer should be placed everywhere. Even at Disneyland.

Walking is a simple way to improve your physical health and encourage creativity

Alternet  March 18, 2018

When we walk, we engage both sides of the body, simultaneously activating both the left and right sides of the brain. Hartmann explains that both hemispheres of the brain join forces through the bilateral therapy of walking, in order to break up the patterning of a traumatic experience that has become "stuck" in the brain.

Walking for creativity and problem solving

"The legs are the wheels of creativity." —Albert Einstein

Creativity and problem solving are psychologically similar processes. Both combine a linear approach—how do I get from here to there?—with the need to randomly access memories and ideas that may, in a linear world, seem completely unrelated.

One of the unique hallmarks of bilateral activity is that it gives access to the whole brain, making walking and other forms of bilateral work/play useful for enhancing creativity and problem solving. Resources and strengths, helpful learnings and experiences that date all the way back from childhood are available when walking, and can be brought to bear on current problems or creative endeavors.

Walking is a grounding experience, a step-by-step, moment-by-moment contact with the earth. Whether by some mystical force or some as yet unexplained psychological phenomenon, perhaps deeply rooted in our genes and stretching back over millions of years of evolutionary ancestry, feeling connected with the earth produces a liberating experience for most people.

Walking also provides us with a break from the state of normal everyday existence. Looking at the same walls, the same furniture, the same place and people often anchors us to a particular state of mind. When we go out for a walk, that state is broken, and new states of mind and emotion provoked by new sounds, sights, smells, and sensations offer access to new ways of knowing and understanding ourselves and our problems or opportunities.

Junk food is a multibillion-dollar industry

Mercola  April 04, 2018

Junk food is a multibillion-dollar industry. In his book, “Fast Food Nation,” Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist and best-selling author, describes how nearly 90 percent of America's budget is spent on junk food.¹ What is more appalling is that nearly 60 percent of food eaten in America are ultra-processed,² convenience foods that can be purchased at your local gas station. These processed foods also account for nearly 90 percent of the consumption of added sugar in the U.S.

The industry doesn't depend upon fate to drive sales. They use several tricks to paint their products in a better light. Since people eventually start questioning the decision to eat foods based solely on taste, especially with the increasing attention on healthy eating, the industry funds research to justify your cravings for their products.

Thus, when a study revealed that children who ate candy bars were 22 percent less likely to be overweight,³ it came as no surprise the research was funded by a trade association representing some of the country's top candy makers. Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at New York University, acknowledges that "The only thing that moves sales is health claims."⁴

Nestle formerly served as nutrition policy adviser in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and editor of the Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health.⁵

Reliance on these ultra-processed foods is undoubtedly one of the primary factors driving skyrocketing rates of obesity and disease. Consumers may "know better," but it is difficult to steer clear of foods that may be more addictive than cocaine for some.⁶ A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals only 10 percent of Americans are getting enough fruit and vegetables in their daily diet.⁷

Very common vitamin deficiency linked to higher levels of depression

Spring  March 30, 2015

Almost half of young women have insufficient vitamin D levels, which is linked to depression.

The new study also found that over one-third of young women had signs of clinical depression.

Dr David Kerr, the psychologist who led the study, said:

“Depression has multiple, powerful causes and if vitamin D is part of the picture, it is just a small part.
But given how many people are affected by depression, any little inroad we can find could have an important impact on public health.”

While many suspect a link between the vitamin deficiency and depression, studies have not often confirmed it.

Dr Kerr continued:

“The new study was prompted in part because there is a widely held belief that vitamin D and depression are connected, but there is not actually much scientific research out there to support the belief.
I think people hear that vitamin D and depression can change with the seasons, so it is natural for them to assume the two are connected.”

Birdsong works even more like language than we think

Miami Herald March 29, 2018

On a dewy summer morning, Karla Rivera-Cáceres, an ornithology researcher at the University of Miami, crouched in her usual workspace –– the tall grasses of Costa Rica’s woodland –– and heard something unusual.

Rivera-Cáceres studies bird song, and that day she was listening to the canebrake wren, a brown bird whose bland appearance (it was once named the “plain wren”) belies an unusual and extremely complex call.

Canebrake wrens are songbirds, the subset of species whose calls develop beyond the standard tweet or chirp into full-fledged ballads –– and within that group they are part of a somewhat exclusive club: duetting birds.

When two of these wrens communicate, they weave their songs into an elaborate, Sonny and Cher-style duet. They warble back and forth, literally finishing each other’s phrases, with such high coordination that, to an outsider, they sound like a single voice.

But as Rivera-Cáceres sat listening that morning in 2011, she noticed something odd about this pair’s effort: their duet was really bad.

The birds were sloppy. They chirped over each other. They sang the wrong responses and screwed up the timing. They were young, still inexperienced at singing, and it showed. As birdsong goes, their act was like a five-year-old belting opera. In the world of bird science, her observation proved huge.

Namely: it demonstrated that birdsong works even more like language than we think –– that in order to achieve their Pavarotti-esque exchanges, wrens need to learn a specific set of social rules which are similar to what humans might call manners.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article207286584.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article207286584.html#storylink=cpy

Re-creation of the mississippi river’s 500-year flood history shows the worst floods are bigger than ever

Science News  April 4, 2018
The world’s longest system of levees and floodways, meant to rein in the mighty Mississippi River, may actually make flooding worse.

Using tree rings and lake sediments, researchers re-created a history of flooding along the lower Mississippi River extending back to the 1500s. This paleoflood record suggests that the past century of river engineering — intended to minimize flood damage to people living along the river’s banks — has instead increased the magnitude of the largest floods by 20 percent, the researchers report April 5 in Nature.

Climate patterns that bring extra rainfall to the region don’t account for the dramatic increase in flood size, the team found. “The obvious culprit is that we have really modified the river itself,” says Samuel Munoz, a geoscientist at Northeastern University in Boston.

Settlers built the first levees on the Mississippi in the early 1800s. After a massive flood displaced hundreds of thousands of people in 1927, the U.S. government built the current system of spillways and levees. The engineering projects profoundly altered the river’s shape and sediment content. But how these changes affected the size of the river’s largest floods has been unclear, in part because water gauges have tracked the river’s flow for just 150 years.

China appears to have banned the Bible as Beijing and the Vatican negotiate a historic agreement

Independent April 6 2018

China appears to have banned the 'Bible' from being sold online or in large book stores, as Beijing and the Vatican negotiate a historic agreement.

Searches for the book on e-commerce platforms JD.com and Taobao brought up no results, while staff at one of Beijing's biggest book stores said they no longer sell it.

There are currently tensions between China and Rome over a landmark deal that observers believe is close to being signed.

It would give the Vatican more control over the appointment of bishops in China but has sparked concern among some Chinese Catholics who believe recognising Beijing's role in the Church would represent a betrayal of their faith.

China's ruling Communist Party is officially atheist, but the Chinese government recognises Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism.

Chinese leaders have called for increased efforts to "Sinocise" religion in comments seen as being part of a wider clampdown on Western ideas.

Hundreds of Google employees are up in arms over the company's partnership with the Pentagon in AI technology

RT  8 Apr, 2018

Hundreds of Google employees are up in arms over the company's partnership with the Pentagon in AI technology, fearing it may be used for war. Experts told RT the "questionable" alliance could result in "disaster for humanity."

Google employees wrote a letter to the company's CEO, Sundar Pichai, calling on the US tech giant to immediately pull out of a controversial program that many fear could be used for warfare.

"We believe that Google should not be in the business of war," the letter obtained by The New York Times and published earlier this week stated. 

Gizmodo broke the news about Google's partnership with the US Department of Defense (DoD) last month, adding that Project Maven, whose stated mission is to "accelerateDoD's integration of big data and machine learning," was established in April 2017. The project will see Google developing AI surveillance to help the US military scrutinize video footage captured by US government drones "to detect vehicles and other objects, track their motions, and provide results to the Department of Defense."

Google claims that the technology is human-friendly and is actually designed to "save lives" and "scoped to be for non-offensive purposes." But Noel Sharkey, Emeritus professor of AI at Sheffield University, told RT that the fears of Google employees "are correct."

The Bayer-Monsanto Alliance Is Bad News for the Planet

Truthdig   Apr 03, 2018

Two new studies from Europe show that the number of birds in agricultural areas of France has crashed by a third in just 15 years, with some species being almost eradicated. The collapse in the bird population mirrors the discovery last October that more than three quarters of all flying insects in Germany have vanished in just three decades. Insects are the staple food source of birds, the pollinators of fruits and the aerators of the soil.

The chief suspect in this mass extinction is the aggressive use of neonicotinoid pesticides, particularly imidacloprid and clothianidin, both made by the Germany-based chemical giant Bayer. These pesticides, along with toxic glyphosate herbicides such as Roundup, have delivered a one-two punch to monarch butterflies, honeybees and birds. But rather than banning these toxic chemicals, on March 21 the EU approved the $66 billion merger of Bayer and Monsanto, the U.S. agribusiness giant that produces Roundup and the genetically modified (GMO) seeds that have reduced seed diversity globally. The merger will make the Bayer-Monsanto conglomerate the largest seed and pesticide company in the world, giving it enormous power to control farm practices, putting private profits over the public interest.

Americans are consuming more news than ever

Miami Herald   April 03, 2018

Americans are consuming more news than ever — and it’s driving us further and further apart.

That’s according to a new paper from Neil Johnson, a physicist who now runs the University of Miami’s Complexity interdisciplinary group, which is examining collective behavior in a number of fields.

Johnson and his team have found that when it comes to digesting news of any kind, Americans now exist in a state of pure polarization: the size of the extremes of the left and right are now so large that they outnumber those in the middle ground.

As a physicist, Johnson is used to seeing populations sorting into bell curves — think of heights and weights, he says. So one might expect that people would naturally sort into this normal distribution when it comes to ideology.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article207841309.html#storylink=cpy

The Arming of America

April 8, 2018 TFTP

While there are a number of arguments that are used by gun control advocates, one of the most common is that individuals do not need high-powered firearms because they will not stand a chance in a war against the federal government. However, four years ago, a group of armed men and women did come together to form a militia, as referenced in the Second Amendment, and they successfully stood up to the government agencies that were infringing upon their rights.

On April 5, 2014, an ongoing land dispute between cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and the United States Bureau of Land Management hit its peak when the agency and federal law enforcement began seizing cattle owned by Bundy that they claimed were trespassing on “federally-owned” land.

 

The dispute first began in 1993 when Bundy refused to pay for a cattle grazing permit to use the land near his ranch in Clark County, Nevada, after the BLM claimed that he must reduce the side of his herd to 150 and that the size of land where his cattle were allowed to graze would be severely restricted. Bundy argued that the federal government does not have the authority to own large amounts of land, which launched a legal battle that continued for the next two decades.

A new survey has found that a third of young millennials in the U.S. aren’t convinced the Earth is actually round

April 5, 2018  CBS

A new survey has found that a third of young millennials in the U.S. aren’t convinced the Earth is actually round. The national poll reveals that 18 to 24-year-olds are the largest group in the country who refuse to accept the scientific facts of the world’s shape.

YouGov, a British market research firm, polled 8,215 adults in the United States to find out if they ever believed in the “flat Earth” movement. Only 66 percent of young millennials answered that they “always believe the world is round.” Science teachers across the U.S. will be shaking their heads after learning that nine percent of young adults answered that they have “always believed” the planet was flat.

Another nine percent said of young adults said they thought the planet was spherical but had doubts about it. In a disturbing display of indecision, 16 percent of millennials said they weren’t sure what the shape of the planet was.

Overall, only two percent of the respondents said they always thought the Earth was flat without any doubt. YouGov found that age was directly connected to Americans’ views on the shape of the world. Seventy-six percent of adults age 25-34 say they’ve always believed the Earth is round, compared to 82 percent of ages 35-44, 85 percent of ages 45-54, and 94 percent of adults 55 and over.

Flath earht theory is a tool to distract people

August 29, 2016 by State of the Nation

There is perhaps no greater Internet-wide PSYOP than the CIA-directed Flat Earth Conspiracy (FEC).  This covert black operation has London’s notorious Tavistock Institute written all over it.

The Millennium Report has posted extensively on this extremely effective PSYOP since its inception. We have felt compelled to address it one last time because of a number of prominently configured truth-tellers who either subscribe to the FEC utter nonsense or who provide a safe haven to discuss their absurd and distracting ‘theories’.

How is it that some major alternative news websites even host the ridiculous ramblings of Flat Earthers … … … unless they, themselves, have been set up to do so? If ever there was a universal hot-button issue on the World Wide Web that ought to send up big bright RED flags, any website or blog that takes this mental diarrhea seriously is it. Unless they are totally exposing the FEC for the wacky (yet contrived) insanity that it truly is, why even go there.

No one is saying that the current scientific paradigm that involves both astrophysics and astronomy is not full of holes. Nor is there any reason to stop questioning every aspect of those various disciplines of modern science which have been shown to fall short … some woefully short of the mark. 

However, the FEC was designed from the get-go to take any rational discussion into a completely irrational direction.

Really, who doesn’t know by now that NASA will lie and misrepresent whenever it behooves them to maintain their New World DisOrder? Are the sane and rational among us going to throw the baby out with the bath water because of perennial NASA prevarication?