Friday, July 31, 2020

Evolution or intelligent design? The story of the bacterial flagellar motor

An illustration of a elongated bacteria with a tail-like flagellar motor

ABC

Nature abounds with wonders — and the quest to explain them has driven some epic human advances.

But scientific discoveries are often resisted when they contradict powerful religious traditions.

Galileo famously argued in the early 17th century that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, and was instead moving at great speed around the Sun.

As a result, the Roman Catholic Inquisition banned Galileo's books and sentenced him to house arrest until his death.

In the 21st century, one natural wonder that has attracted controversy is the tiny rotating wheel that powers the swimming movement of bacteria.

Followers of a modern form of creationism known as "intelligent design" argue that this motor is too complex, too incredible, and too efficient to have possibly arisen naturally.

The bacterial flagellar motor moves bacteria to places where the environment suits them better.

It does this under the control of a sensory system in which receptors on the outside of the bacteria respond to changing nutrient concentrations in its environment. A chemical signalling system tells the flagellar motor to change direction.

And it's able to change its structure, dynamically, while it is rotating at up to 100,000 rpm — the equivalent of a Formula One car changing the number of pistons in the engine while driving around the track.

What's more, the flagellar motor quite literally builds itself, on demand, out of constituent protein parts, assembling them at the right time and in the right place.

One Man Farms One Acre by Himself


Record low temperatures across regional South Australia

Yahoo News 7 August 2020

Record low temperatures across regional South Australia brought rare snow to the Flinders Ranges on Friday, August 7, turning the red outback desert into a winter wonderland.

Records for the lowest daily maximum temperature were broken on Thursday at several locations including Hawker, Whyalla, Yongala, and Port Augusta. The Bureau of Meteorology expected more temperature records to be broken on August 7.

A cold blast of wintry air brought the conditions to Australia in early August, according to the weather bureau. Snow was reported in parts of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.

Videos posted by the Skytrek Willow Springs Station show snow blanketing the red desert around the outback station. Staff from the station told Storyful they had seen snow on the top of the hills around them before but never so much down in the valley.

Sunlight destroys virus quickly

Harnessing the Entire Spectrum of Sunlight to Make Solar Energy ...

Yahoo News April 2020

Preliminary results from government lab experiments show that the coronavirus does not survive long in high temperatures and high humidity, and is quickly destroyed by sunlight, providing evidence from controlled tests of what scientists believed — but had not yet proved — to be true.

A briefing on the preliminary results, marked for official use only and obtained by Yahoo News, offers hope that summertime may offer conditions less hospitable for the virus, though experts caution it will by no means eliminate, or even necessarily decrease, new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The results, however, do add an important piece of knowledge that the White House's science advisers have been seeking as they scramble to respond to the spreading pandemic.

The study found that the risk of "transmission from surfaces outdoors is lower during daylight" and under higher temperature and humidity conditions. "Sunlight destroys the virus quickly," reads the briefing.

Your Grace Still Amazes Me



Happy Sabbath!

Toronto West Seventh-day Adventist Church on Twitter: "Happy ...

Here’s why I don’t trust any rushed shots

RT 21 Jul, 2020

Developing any type of vaccine requires meticulous, methodical research, and the willingness to scrap ideas that don’t pan out and start over again from scratch. I don’t see that happening, with the pressure to produce a vaccine amid a pandemic as devastating to all aspects of life as this one. And with several companies and groups trying to be the first to get a vaccine to market, I’m afraid the company that receives the approval may be the one with the best political connections, not the best and safest vaccine. Considering the number of post-market drug recalls and withdrawals in the past few years, the US’ Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have the best track record on vetting the research.

I ask once again: how can the public trust a drug that’s made in haste while the scientific community is still learning the remaining health problems the virus has created in people who’ve contracted it and lived? The government is not instilling any confidence that whatever is produced will be in our best interest.

How can you not be seriously skeptical of any vaccine produced in the current climate of hate, fear, and political pressure? You should be. Right now, I would feel about as safe trying a Covid-19 vaccine as I would trying one of the potion recipes in the Harry Potter books.

In the Lord put I my trust

The Neuroscience of Trust | Psychology TodayIn the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.         Psalms 11

Archbishop letter to President Trump

June 7, 2020
Holy Trinity Sunday
Mr. President,

In recent months we have been witnessing the formation of two opposing sides that I would call Biblical: the children of light and the children of darkness. The children of light constitute the most conspicuous part of humanity, while the children of darkness represent an absolute minority. And yet the former are the object of a sort of discrimination which places them in a situation of moral inferiority with respect to their adversaries, who often hold strategic positions in government, in politics, in the economy and in the media. In an apparently inexplicable way, the good are held hostage by the wicked and by those who help them either out of self-interest or fearfulness.

These two sides, which have a Biblical nature, follow the clear separation between the offspring of the Woman and the offspring of the Serpent. On the one hand, there are those who, although they have a thousand defects and weaknesses, are motivated by the desire to do good, to be honest, to raise a family, to engage in work, to give prosperity to their homeland, to help the needy, and, in obedience to the Law of God, to merit the Kingdom of Heaven. On the other hand, there are those who serve themselves, who do not hold any moral principles, who want to demolish the family and the nation, exploit workers to make themselves unduly wealthy, foment internal divisions and wars, and accumulate power and money: for them the fallacious illusion of temporal well-being will one day – if they do not repent – yield to the terrible fate that awaits them, far from God, in eternal damnation.

...

Although it may seem disconcerting, the opposing alignments I have described are also found in religious circles. There are faithful Shepherds who care for the flock of Christ, but there are also mercenary infidels who seek to scatter the flock and hand the sheep over to be devoured by ravenous wolves. It is not surprising that these mercenaries are allies of the children of darkness and hate the children of light: just as there is a deep state, there is also a deep church that betrays its duties and forswears its proper commitments before God. Thus the Invisible Enemy, whom good rulers fight against in public affairs, is also fought against by good shepherds in the ecclesiastical sphere. It is a spiritual battle, which I spoke about in my recent Appeal which was published on May 8.

For the first time, the United States has in you a President who courageously defends the right to life, who is not ashamed to denounce the persecution of Christians throughout the world, who speaks of Jesus Christ and the right of citizens to freedom of worship. Your participation in the March for Life, and more recently your proclamation of the month of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, are actions that confirm which side you wish to fight on. And I dare to believe that both of us are on the same side in this battle, albeit with different weapons.

For this reason, I believe that the attack to which you were subjected after your visit to the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II is part of the orchestrated media narrative which seeks not to fight racism and bring social order, but to aggravate dispositions; not to bring justice, but to legitimize violence and crime; not to serve the truth, but to favor one political faction. And it is disconcerting that there are Bishops – such as those whom I recently denounced – who, by their words, prove that they are aligned on the opposing side. They are subservient to the deep state, to globalism, to aligned thought, to the New World Order which they invoke ever more frequently in the name of a universal brotherhood which has nothing Christian about it, but which evokes the Masonic ideals of those who want to dominate the world by driving God out of the courts, out of schools, out of families, and perhaps even out of churches.

The American people are mature and have now understood how much the mainstream media does not want to spread the truth but seeks to silence and distort it, spreading the lie that is useful for the purposes of their masters. However, it is important that the good – who are the majority – wake up from their sluggishness and do not accept being deceived by a minority of dishonest people with unavowable purposes. It is necessary that the good, the children of light, come together and make their voices heard. What more effective way is there to do this, Mr. President, than by prayer, asking the Lord to protect you, the United States, and all of humanity from this enormous attack of the Enemy? Before the power of prayer, the deceptions of the children of darkness will collapse, their plots will be revealed, their betrayal will be shown, their frightening power will end in nothing, brought to light and exposed for what it is: an infernal deception.

Mr. President, my prayer is constantly turned to the beloved American nation, where I had the privilege and honor of being sent by Pope Benedict XVI as Apostolic Nuncio. In this dramatic and decisive hour for all of humanity, I am praying for you and also for all those who are at your side in the government of the United States. I trust that the American people are united with me and you in prayer to Almighty God.

United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity, I bless you and the First Lady, the beloved American nation, and all men and women of good will.

+ Carlo Maria Viganò
Titular Archbishop of Ulpiana
Former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America            Lifesite

Facebook censors almost 90 percent of ‘hate speech’ before it’s allowed to circulate

RT 29 Jul, 2020
Facebook censors almost 90 percent of ‘hate speech’ before it’s allowed to circulate, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress at Wednesday’s Big Tech hearing, responding to pressure from Democrats to submit to the advertiser boycott.

“We’re able to proactively identify 89 percent of the hate speech that we take down before, I think, it’s even seen by other people,” Zuckerberg told the Antitrust Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The statement was in response to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) pressuring Facebook to “join the civil rights movement” by submitting to the demands of the Stop Hate For Profit campaign, an advertising boycott accusing Facebook of tolerating “widespread hate” on the platform.

German economy shrinks at record pace in recession of a century

Reuters July 30, 2020
The German economy contracted at its steepest rate on record in the second quarter as consumer spending, company investment and exports all collapsed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, wiping out nearly 10 years of growth.

The Federal Statistics Office said gross domestic output in Europe’s largest economy shrank by 10.1% quarter-on-quarter from April to June after a revised 2.0% contraction in the first three months of the year.

The plunge was the steepest since the office began collecting quarterly growth data in 1970 and was worse than the 9% contraction predicted by economists in a Reuters poll. Adjusted for inflation, seasonal and calendar effects, it erased almost a decade of growth, the statistics office said.

The WEF and the Great Reset


The Great Reset & The New Normal

Clearly, 2020 has been unlike any previous year in the last century or so. The world is currently battling against an infodemic of propaganda spewing from the corporate media and official health authorities. Yes, people are sick and dying. However, the statistics make it clear that COVID-19 simply does not warrant a total lockdown of the planet and further destruction of the economy. 

Regardless, nations around the world are using COVID-19 as an opportunity to grab more surveillance and police state powers, institute mask and vaccine mandates, accelerate the push towards a completely digital world, enact more corporate bailouts, and generally, extreme control and involvement in citizens lives. The sheer magnitude of the COVID-19 operation is unparalleled, with the most recent similar event being the attacks of September 11, 2001. As with the 9/11 attacks, the predator class is using COVID-19 as the excuse to push plans and agendas which predate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Even so, the COVID-19 operation is unlike any other event to take place in modern history because the results of this event are affecting people in every single nation on the planet and will continue to for years to come. Also, unlike 9/11 – which took place over the course of one morning – the COVID-19 operation is taking place daily for months on end. The effects of this constant bombardment with fear and panic are taking a toll on the hearts and minds of free people all around the world. Quite simply, the people are ready for this to end and they will do almost anything to achieve this goal. It is within this space of fear and uncertainty which the predator class has now begun to insert themselves, ready to present the “solution” to our ills.

Big Pharma firms will NOT be held accountable for side effects of Covid vaccine

RT31 Jul, 2020
A senior executive for pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has confirmed that his company cannot face legal action for any potential side effects caused by its Covid vaccine. Those affected will have no legal recourse.

AstraZeneca is one of 25 pharmaceutical companies worldwide already testing their Covid vaccines on humans, in preparation for injecting hundreds of millions of people. These are flush times for Britain’s largest pharmaceutical company, worth something in the order of £70 million. They have just reported bumper profits of $12.6 billion in the last six months alone.

But despite its healthy balance sheet, AstraZeneca is unwilling to be held responsible for any potential side effects of its ‘hopeful’ vaccine candidate. In other words, the company is completely protected, or indemnified, against lawsuits from people who are injected with their vaccine and experience negative effects, regardless of how severe or long-lasting they are.

The firm’s lawyers have demanded that clauses to that effect be put in their contracts with the countries AstraZeneca has agreed to supply with its Covid vaccine. The company says that, without such guarantees of indemnity, they would not be incentivised to produce the drug. And it seems most of the countries have ceded to this demand.

The world stands on the brink of a food crisis

A farmer harvests wheat in Hebei province, China

The Guardian June 2020

The world stands on the brink of a food crisis worse than any seen for at least 50 years, the UN has warned as it urged governments to act swiftly to avoid disaster.

Better social protections for poor people are urgently needed as the looming recession following the coronavirus pandemic may put basic nutrition beyond their reach, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said on Tuesday.

“Unless immediate action is taken, it is increasingly clear that there is an impending global food emergency that could have long-term impacts on hundreds of millions of children and adults,” he said. “We need to act now to avoid the worst impacts of our efforts to control the pandemic.”

Although harvests of staple crops are holding up, and the export bans and protectionism that experts feared have so far been largely avoided, the worst of the impacts of the pandemic and ensuing recession are yet to be felt. Guterres warned: “Even in countries with abundant food, we see risks of disruption in the food supply chain.”

About 50 million people risk falling into extreme poverty this year owing to the pandemic, but the long-term effects will be even worse, as poor nutrition in childhood causes lifelong suffering. Already, one in five children around the world are stunted in their growth by the age of five, and millions more are likely to suffer the same fate if poverty rates soar.

The Three Angels and Babylon's Fall

The Third and Final “Woe” | The Revelation of Jesus ChristAnd I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

8And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12Here is the patience (endurance) of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.         Revelation 14

Trump visits the shrine of John Paul II

NY Post  June 2020

President Trump and the first lady visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Northeast Washington, DC, Tuesday, a day after Trump appeared at looting-damaged St. John’s Episcopal Church.

The president and Melania Trump walked from the building about 11:45 a.m. onto a large outdoor patio, turned and faced the assembled media and posed for a photo.

They then turned around and stood for several minutes before the statue of the late pontiff, where a wreath had been laid earlier, before walking back inside the building without speaking or taking questions.

John Paul II served as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005, and was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in April 2014. The effort to erect the shrine was spearheaded by the Knights of Columbus, a lay Roman Catholic organization.

America, for the sake of its own sanity needs to restore the blue laws.

Crisis Magazine   June 2020

America, for the sake of its own emotional and spiritual welfare—for the sake of its own sanity—needs to restore the blue laws.

There was a time, surprising as it may be, when Amazon did not deliver on Sunday, and Americans somehow survived. There was a time when citizens had to do their shopping at the hardware store on a weekday, or early Saturday morning, in order to complete their home projects.

To preempt accusations of “theocracy,” I am not advocating mandatory church-going (though it wouldn’t be the worst idea), but rather simple restrictions on which businesses remain open on Sunday. Political and cultural leaders could “opt-out” of things like social media: as de Tocqueville rightly notes, leaders who set the standard should “act every day as if they believed in it themselves.”

Blue laws may limit “freedom,” but only the freedom to limitless consumption. If promulgated in a prudent and focused way, they can cultivate virtue, strengthen neighborliness, and protect small businesses. Most importantly, they can help promote prayer and peace—now, when America needs them most.

French archbishop calls for monthly 'lockdown Sunday'

French archbishop calls for monthly 'lockdown Sunday'

The Tablet June 2020

People work out at a fitness center in Lille, northern France, June 15, 2020. In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron declared 'a first victory' over the pandemic, announcing a return to normalcy.
Sebastien Courdji/Xinhua/PA

French bishops conference head Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort has said the recent pandemic shutdown had shown both the planet and its people needed "a real day of Sunday rest" and suggested France designate one Sunday a month as a locked-down day.

Responding to President Emmanuel Macron’s call for the faiths to share their post-lockdown reflections, he said the 10 weeks of “suspended time” had made people realise how modern life had led to "the constant acceleration of time”.

He said in his written reply: "Many have heard the birds again and have been able to observe the arrival of spring like never before in their lifetime.” Admitting it was probably “a waking dream”, he suggested a monthly “real Sunday rest … for people, but also for cities (and) the Earth.”

A bishop has urged Christians to speak out against plans to relax Sunday trading laws in the UK

Bishop Mark Davies reopens Shrewsbury Cathedral to the public after 86 days of lockdown June 15, 2020. Credit: Shrewsbury diocese
A bishop has urged Christians to speak out against plans to relax Sunday trading laws in the United Kingdom as the economy reels from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. 

In a June 21 homily at Shrewsbury Cathedral, Bishop Mark Davies criticized the government’s intention to lift the current six-hour limit on Sunday trading. 

“As we emerge from lockdown, it is regrettable that the government is considering removing the remaining legal protections of Sunday in order to make it a full trading day,” the bishop of Shrewbury said. 

“Proposals for unrestricted Sunday trading may be included within plans to revive economic activity and so place new demands upon the very shop workers and their families who have supported us throughout this crisis.” 

“Whatever economic advantages the government may calculate, the human loss will surely be greater if Sunday becomes just another working day.”

The Samoa Government is about to permanently ban all commercial activities on Sundays.

Talanei  June 2020

The Samoa Government is about to permanently ban all commercial activities on Sundays.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said on Radio 2AP last week that he had instructed the Attorney General’s office to draft a law to permanently close business activities on Sundays.

Under the current COVID-19 State of Emergency orders, all major supermarkets have been allowed limited opening hours on Sunday evenings except smaller shops who are allowed to open “normal hours”..

Tuilaepa also introduced a ban on beach excursions as well as swimming in public swimming places like rivers and public swimming pools.

He quoted the Bible and referred to the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah after straying into the ways of the devil.

“These are all clear in the Bible but these days other countries have legalized businesses such as prostitution,” he said.

He went on to say that currently his government was using the SOE Orders to do away with Sunday trading.

He said that people have been pushing to go back to normal Sunday trading but he said it is not going to happen and that all commercial activities shall cease on Sundays.

Secret Files Of The Inquisition


Premonitions Of War

Split societies, global chaos and World War Three: We could be in for the most tumultuous era in modern history

RT  20 Jul, 2020

In 2014, I wrote an essay about the possibility of World War III around 2030, arising out of a clash between the U.S. and China. Six years later I would make two corrections to that article. First, a Sino-American war now looks not just possible, but almost inevitable. Second, the situation preceding the US-China clash will not resemble the world of the early twentieth century, pre-WWI, with its rapidly growing prosperity due to what is now considered the first era of globalization. Rather, the atmosphere of the 2020s will be more akin to that of the 1930s, with the global economy in the doldrums and the rise of authoritarian and neo-totalitarian regimes. The most important question, though, is whether the US-China war will be a relatively limited one. If not, could it lead to a global conflagration, drawing in other players such as Russia, India, Japan and Europe?

The history of mankind has never lacked in conflicts over values and power, both within societies and among them. Yet the present moment is rather unique because of the convergence at one point in time of several profound and explosive societal contradictions, with the threat of pandemics and climate change as the background. China is perhaps the only major island of relative stability in the global tempest, which, incidentally, amplifies the fears that Beijing would try to reach for the scepter of global power.

In due time, the current contradictions and conflicts will run their course and be resolved. A new equilibrium will set in. Until it does, however, we will be living in very interesting times. Perhaps, not angst but, rather, excitement should be the main mood of our era.

Saturday, July 4, 2020

This prophecy will again be fullfilled

HAS YOUR LOVE GROWN COLD!A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 1:24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

But the day and the hour of His coming Christ has not revealed. He stated plainly to His disciples that He Himself could not make known the day or the hour of His second appearing. Had He been at liberty to reveal this, why need He have exhorted them to maintain an attitude of constant expectancy? There are those who claim to know the very day and hour of our Lord's appearing. Very earnest are they in mapping out the future. But the Lord has warned them off the ground they occupy. The exact time of the second coming of the Son of man is God's mystery.

Christ continues, pointing out the condition of the world at His coming: “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Christ does not here bring to view a temporal millennium, a thousand years in which all are to prepare for eternity. He tells us that as it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of man comes again.

How was it in Noah's day? “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. The inhabitants of the antediluvian world turned from Jehovah, refusing to do His holy will. They followed their own unholy imagination and perverted ideas. It was because of their wickedness that they were destroyed; and today the world is following the same way. It presents no flattering signs of millennial glory. The transgressors of God's law are filling the earth with wickedness. Their betting, their horse racing, their gambling, their dissipation, their lustful practices, their untamable passions, are fast filling the world with violence.

In the prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction Christ said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure (In the love of God) unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to “every creature which is under heaven.” Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Revelation 14:6, 14. God “hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world.” Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.      Desire of Ages pp. 632, 633