A new study finds an intriguing link between contaminants found in milk and the risk of developing parkinson

Alice Park @aliceparkny Dec. 9, 2015

Studies have found a connection between the consumption of dairy products and a higher risk of developing Parkinson disease, the neurodegenerative disorder that affects motor neurons in the brain. While researchers speculated that chemicals found in cows’ milk might be responsible, there was little evidence to detail how dairy products like milk and cheese might be affecting people’s risk of the disease.

Now, scientists may have uncovered a promising clue. Reporting in the journal Neurology, Robert Abbott, from Shiga University of Medical Science in Japan, and his colleagues took advantage of an environmental scandal in Hawaii in the 1980s to investigate the connection. At the time, an organochlorine pesticide used by pineapple farmers made its way into the milk supply when cows were fed a gruel made in part from the pineapple debris. Coincidentally, there was also a study of heart disease among Japanese-American men begun then that involved more than 8,000 men who were followed from mid-life to death. All provided detailed information about what they ate, including how much milk they drank, and some agreed to donate their brains for research upon death.

Abbott and his team studied 449 brains and recorded the density of neurons in specific areas of the brain known to be affected by Parkinson’s. They found that men who reported drinking more than two glasses of milk a day (16 oz) showed the thinnest nerve networks in these areas, suggesting compromised function of these nerves, compared to men who drank little or no milk. The milk drinkers also had residues of specific organochlorines called heptachlor epoxide.

Interestingly, by measuring when cells in motor nerve regions died, they also learned that the accumulation of heptachlor epoxide occurred before the cells were damaged, strongly hinting that the chemical was responsible for triggering the changes associated with Parkinson’s.

Abbott says that he and his team did not have samples of the milk the men drank, so can’t say for sure that the contaminated milk was the source of the pesticides they found in the mens’ brains, but it’s a reasonable explanation. “We don’t have all the data yet, but we are close to finding the smoking gun here,” he says. “It’s not complete, but it’s very suspicious.”

Heptachlor epoxide is no longer used as an insecticide in the U.S. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “nearly all registered uses of heptachlor epoxide have been canceled.” But it tends to be persistent, remaining in soil and water for many years. Abbott also notes that it’s been found in goat and cow milk in Ethiopia and that other organochlorines have been detected in the milk supply in Italy.

The data certainly don’t mean that anyone who drinks several cups of milk a day is putting themselves at risk of developing Parkinson’s. What it does mean is that diet and lifestyle risk factors should be considered more deeply. “This adds to the literature that diet may indeed play a role in Parkinson’s,” says Abbott. “But it also tells us that there is more to food than just its nutritional value. There’s contamination, and what’s on that food.”

For now, there’s no reasons to stop drinking milk. (“I drink a cup of milk every day,” says Abbott.) But he hopes his findings fuel the continued careful look at how chemicals in the environment might be affecting our health, even in indirect and not always obvious ways.Time 

I never knew you

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to 

the marriage: and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 25:10-13 KJV

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 7:15-23. KJV

The papacy system will be unmasked

In every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin, both in the world and in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken to them, and the pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many reformers, in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people back to the doctrines of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon them as it came upon Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins of a wicked king and an apostate people; they could not refrain from preaching the plain utterances of the Bible-- doctrines which they had been reluctant to present. They were impelled to zealously declare the truth and the danger which threatened souls. The words which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of consequences, and the people were compelled to hear the warning.

Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power--all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven. As the people go to their former teachers with the eager inquiry, Are these things so? the ministers present fables, prophesy smooth things, to soothe their fears and quiet the awakened conscience. But since many refuse to be satisfied with the mere authority of men and demand a plain "Thus saith the Lord," the popular ministry, like the Pharisees of old, filled with anger as their authority is questioned, will denounce the message as of Satan and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it.

The Great Controversy, pp. 605-607.

Jesuits in the SDA church

Danny Vierra

Published on Dec 9, 2015

Danny Vierra and Bill Hughes discuss the Jesuit influences in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and why I was disfellowshipped from the organization.

False wheat among the wheat

24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 13:24-43 KJV

Darnel (Tare) usually grows in the same production zones as wheat and is considered a weed. The similarity between these two plants is so great that in some regions, darnel is referred to as "false wheat".^[1] It bears a close resemblance to wheat until the ear appears. The spikes of L. temulentum are more slender than those of wheat. The spikelets are oriented edgeways to the rachis and have only a single glume, while those of wheat are oriented with the flat side to the rachis and have two glumes. The wheat will also appear brown when ripe, whereas the darnel is black.^[2]

Darnel can be infected by an endophytic fungus of the genus Neotyphodium, and the endophyte-produced, insecticidal loline alkaloids were first isolated from this plant.^[3] The French word for darnel is ivraie (from Latin ebriacus, intoxicated), which expresses the drunken nausea from eating the infected plant, which can be fatal.^{[citation needed]} The French name echoes the scientific name, Latin temulentus "drunk."

Footnotes: 

1. Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2009 p.387

2.  Heinrich W.Guggenheimer, The Jerusalem Talmud,Vol. 1, Part 3, Walter de Gruyter, 2000 p.5

3. Schardl CL, Grossman RB, Nagabhyru P, Faulkner JR, Mallik UP (2007). "Loline alkaloids: currencies of mutualism". Phytochemistry 68 (7): 980–996. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.01.010. PMID 17346759.

Wikipedia 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want

Champion Studios

Music: "Shepherd Love" by Keith Brown

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake.4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Happy Sabbath!

The Benefits of Nature On Your Health, Happiness and Vitality

By Eva M. Selhub and Alan C. Logan. December 2015/January 2016 

Scientific research provides powerful evidence of the importance of nature for our health. Time spent in the Great Outdoors reduces the stress hormone cortisol and increases our sense of well-being.  

As Western society has developed, we have retreated from the Great Outdoors, placing greater importance on technological pursuits and human creations. Mounting scientific evidence reveals that by pushing ourselves away from nature, we not only have distanced ourselves from crisis-level environmental problems, but also have begun to lose contact with a vital mental-health tool. By denying ourselves time in green space, we risk rejecting an essential part of our heritage — a truth that, ironically, we are now able to see more clearly because of advances in medical technology.

The Science of Green Space

Healers within various medical systems, from India’s Ayurvedic medicine to traditional Chinese medicine, have long advocated for the importance of nature. Indeed, in many cultures, it’s regarded as a form of medicine. But the notion that trees and flowers can influence psychological well-being remained largely untested in a scientific way until 1979, when behavioral scientist Roger S. Ulrich examined the mental influence of nature scenes on stressed students. His psychological testing showed differences in mental states and outlooks after the students viewed various environmental scenes. The nature scenes increased positive feelings of affection, playfulness, friendliness and elation. Urban views, on the other hand, significantly cultivated one emotion in these students: sadness. Viewing nature tended to reduce feelings of anger and aggression, and urban scenes tended to increase these feelings.
Encouraged by his findings, Ulrich set up a similar experiment to measure brain activity in unstressed, healthy adults. His team discovered that seeing natural landscapes was associated with increased production of serotonin, a chemical that operates within the nervous system. Almost all antidepressant medications are thought to work by enhancing the availability of serotonin for use in nerve cell communication, hence its moniker, “the happy chemical.” A follow-up study showed that green spaces acted as a sort of visual Valium: The nature scenes fostered positive thoughts, and lowered post-stress anger and aggression.
Many other contemporary researchers have used objective testing to support Ulrich’s pioneering work:
• In one study, older adults in a residential care center in Texas engaged in the same mental activities in two contexts — once in a garden setting and again in an indoor classroom. The participants were shown to produce lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol while in the garden.
• The presence of plants in a room, particularly flowering plants, can enhance recovery from the stress induced by an emotional video, quickly bringing brain wave activity back to normal, researchers at Kansas State University found.
• A research group from Taiwan reported that rural farm scenes are associated with higher alpha-wave activity, particularly in the right part of the brain, which has been linked with creativity. Forest scenes and natural water scenes promote alpha-wave activity and decrease heart rate. Conversely, an increase in muscular tension has been associated with city scenes.

Shinrin-Yoku – Forest Bathing

Among the many reasons to preserve what’s left of our forests, the mental aspects stand tall. In 1982, the Forest Agency of the Japanese government premiered its shinrin-yoku plan. In Japanese, shinrin means forest, and yoku refers here to “basking in.” More broadly, it is defined as “taking in, with all of our senses, the forest atmosphere.” In 1990, Dr. Yoshifumi Miyazaki of Chiba University conducted a small test study of shinrin-yoku in the beautiful landscape of Yakushima, home to Japan’s most revered forests. Miyazaki found lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in subjects after they took forest walks, compared with those who took walks in the controlled environment of the laboratory.

Since then, university and government researchers in Japan have collaborated on detailed investigations, including projects to evaluate physiological markers while subjects spend time among trees. These studies have confirmed that spending time in a forest setting can reduce psychological stress, depressive symptoms and hostility, while at the same time improving sleep, and increasing vigor and a feeling of liveliness. These subjective changes match objective results reported in nearly a dozen studies — that lower blood pressure, pulse rates and levels of cortisol accompany time spent amid trees and flowers.

Stress hormones can compromise our immune systems, particularly the activities of front-line defenders, such as antiviral killer cells. Because forest-basking can lower stress-hormone production and elevate mood, it’s not surprising that it also influences immune-system strength.

The Practical Necessity of Nature Scenes

In 1984, Ulrich published a landmark study in the prestigious journal Science, in which he examined records for adults who had undergone identical gallbladder surgeries in the same hospital. The only major distinction among the patients was the room into which they were wheeled for recovery. Rooms on one side of the hospital had windows with a view to a mini-forest, while rooms on the other side offered a radically different vista of red bricks. The results were quite dramatic: Those who had an outdoor view of trees had significantly shorter hospital stays, fewer post-surgical complaints, and were able to manage their pain with aspirin instead of narcotics. Other studies have confirmed Ulrich’s findings. Among them:

• Norwegian research showed that having a plant at or within view of an office workstation significantly decreases the amount of sick leave workers take.
• Research published in 2008 in the Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science showed that greening select high school classrooms with potted plants significantly reduced the students’ visits to the school’s infirmary compared with the number of visits by students attending classes in rooms without plants.

World Health Organization projections indicate that in fewer than 20 years, 75 percent of the world’s population will live in urban settings, compared with the current distribution of about 54 percent city dwellers. The potential ability of a single factor — time in nature — to counteract a cascade of stress hormones will have enormous implications for us and future generations.

Because so many aspects of human health and even longevity are negatively influenced by stress, it follows that green space is a promoter of human health, vitality and longevity. Ample research confirms this. The closer your family lives to green space, the healthier you’re likely to be, and the longer you’re likely to live. Merely being in nature for brief periods — even just having it in view — can reduce the flood of stress hormones and improve immune defenses.

Your Brain on Nature

Critics once might have suggested that subjects who reported improved mood while viewing nature scenes were merely marking the right boxes that would fulfill the researchers’ expectations. The true, objective test would be the ability to go inside the brain and analyze it while it was focused on nature.

In the 1990s, researchers in California gained that ability by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a sophisticated brain-imaging technique. Their findings showed that aesthetically pleasing nature views fired up a specific portion of the brain that’s rich in opioid receptors. These receptors connect to the brain cells within the dopamine reward system, and carry the potential to trigger feelings of wellness and to propel the motivation required for positive behavior.

This was an incredible finding, revealing that nature is like a little drop of morphine for the brain. Although best known for pain inhibition, the opioid receptors do so much more. When these receptors are activated, people are less likely to perceive themselves as stressed, are more likely to form emotional bonds, and tend to dwell less on negative memories.

In two separate studies, Korean researchers used imaging to assess brain-activation patterns while subjects viewed urban or nature-based scenery. In the first study, viewing the urban scenes resulted in pronounced activity in the amygdala, a center in the brain most often associated with feelings of fear. Overactivity of this center has been linked to impulsivity and anxiety. Furthermore, chronic stress and cortisol may promote activity in the amygdala, and in this overactive state, we tend to selectively prioritize the memorization of negative events and experiences. This becomes a vicious cycle: The world looks a bit more scary and depressing, and our dominant memories confirm that to be true. When the amygdala is amped-up on a regular basis, it fuels the brain’s fear. The good news is that we can regain control by acknowledging our thought processes and seeing green — placing ourselves in environments that will dial down the fear.

When large population studies indicating a stress-buffering effect are layered on top of studies using subjective and objective evaluations of mood and stress — and when this information is, in turn, layered onto hospital data and brain-imaging studies — the picture of nature’s influence emerges. Add to this body of information dozens of forest-basking studies from Japan, the argument that time in nature has no consequence on human health and physiology becomes impossible to support.

The results of these scientific investigations should wake all of us up to the importance of preserving nature. The wellness of individuals and nations — and clearly the planet — depends on recognizing the importance of nature to human health.

---

The Right Tally of Trees

Research has shown that pleasure and happiness are elevated as tree density increases. The bigger and denser the trees, the better the scenic beauty scores — up to a point. If trees are too tightly packed — if a trail is too narrow or obscured — the scene becomes foreboding and causes fear.

Lining one’s walls with wood might be too much of a good thing. Japanese researchers have found that the sweet spot for the right amount of wood on the floor and walls is somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of surface area. If you go all-out and panel the entire room, your stress can actually increase.

---

Dr. Eva M. Selhub is a clinical associate at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. Alan C. Logan is a naturopathic doctor, scientist and independent researcher. This article is based on an excerpt from their book, Your Brain on Nature: The Science of Nature’s Influence on Your Health, Happiness and Vitality.

Financial Markets Crashed, Including the Dollar. What Happened?

So what exactly happened last Thursday?  The markets (including the dollar) crashed …and this was not supposed to happen? 

It’s actually quite easy to understand if you see what they did was “only a test” …   Do you understand what I mean when I say a “test”?  

I will explain shortly but first, the Fed came out with piggybacked governors talking about a rate hike.  Hilarious on the face of it if you just look at the U.S. economic implosion going on. 

But let’s assume this is reality, the Fed really wants to hike rates (they do not “want to”,  they HAVE to).  For the sake of saving face and retaining any credibility they absolutely MUST raise interest rates after seven years …how do they do this? 

Please read this piece by E.D. Skyrm,  just a .25% rate raise in rates will require the equivalent of up to $800 billion of collateral necessitated to being pulled.  Did you get that?  $800 billion???  A huge number and enough to tank the whole system …unless someone is willing to replace it. 

For starters you must understand if the Fed does tighten and collateral is withdrawn from the system, because everything is now so levered …”collateral” from somewhere else must be added. That “somewhere” was supposed to be Europe.  Mario Draghi tried to push the EU governing council into further QE, in essence the German hawks refused and instead want to let some air out of the current bubbles.  Europe was supposed to carry the baton of QE, they instead dropped it.  

Mario Draghi tried to fix it on Friday with his “whatever it takes” statement.  I see a problem with this and it has to do with collateral, or the lack of.  You see, Europe is experiencing the same limits the Fed ran into during its last round of QE, not enough unencumbered collateral left to purchase.  Another way to say this would be …”there is just not enough debt outstanding”.  I know it sounds crazy because the underlying financial and economic problems have arisen BECAUSE there is too much debt …but, there is not enough to accommodate the needs for more QE.

What happened on Thursday was a “test of wills” between the Fed and the Bundesbank, the Fed clearly lost even though Friday was a giant reversal from Thursday.  I say this because Mario Draghi can say whatever he likes, his mouth will not create the collateral necessary to substitute for any tightening by the Fed.  He can say what he pleases but the governing council of the EU (run by hawkish Germans) will not reach for the QE baton.  Mr. Draghi can now only jawbone and try to mold appearances.

So where does this leave the Fed and their quarter point rate increase?  I would say they have already seen the future and … IT WAS THURSDAY!  If they decide to hike rates and the EU does not pick up the collateral slack, I believe we will not see the markets stay open for more than a week or so.  I say this because in essence the Fed will be issuing a margin call into a system already lacking for liquidity.  As I’ve said before, they originally treated a “solvency” problem with more liquidity and it has now morphed into a far bigger solvency problem.  Only this time as liquidity is also lacking, they do not have the tools (collateral) to create the needed additional liquidity.

The Fed has truly painted themselves into a corner of their own making.  I am shocked they have been so vocal and vehement they were going to raise rates.  Did they not have a deal already in place with the ECB or were they double crossed?  On the one hand if they do not hike rates, their credibility is toast.  On the other hand if they do raise rates they will smoke the financial markets faster than you can call your broker with a sell order.  I can only think the Fed somehow believed they had a deal with the ECB?  Even the BIS has warned the Fed about raising rates, is the Fed just not listening to the rest of the world?  Whether they see it or not, they have created a currency crisis with the dollar being the central character.   

The way I see this, the U.S. now has very big problems on the credibility front.  You can add to the above monetary fix we are in with a multitude of other U.S. “pictures” just not adding up.  U.S. “policy” is now being found out geopolitically thanks to Mr. Putin dropping a few “truth bombs”.  The domestic economy is already in recession and Christmas (the politically correct term is now “holiday”) sales will be a disaster.

“Truth” is beginning to slip out from behind several different curtains.  I hate to say it but a giant false flag will have to come out very soon in order to keep cover and divert attention from the truth.  I do not see any other options left, the reality MUST remain hidden or attention diverted, …or the unravelling comes. Standing watch,

Bill Holter, Holter-Sinclair collaboration, Comments welcome  bholter@hotmail.com   Global Research

France wants to ban internet encryption & free Wi-Fi after terror attacks

France wants to introduce security measures which could outlaw the use of encrypting software for anonymous connections and public Wi-Fi but critics say authorities are using the November 13 Paris attacks to clamp down on internet freedom.

The French government is pondering whether to introduce measures which could make the use of Tor, the free anonymizing software, illegal and to make it harder for terrorists to contact one another over the internet, according to an internal document from the Ministry of the Interior, as seen by Le Monde. However, the software is also used by journalists and whistleblowers as a safe way to correspond to avoid government surveillance.
Paris is thinking of moving to outlaw the use of public Wi-Fi during a state of emergency, however, it also wants “to block or forbid communications of the Tor network,” a step which Le Monde says could be introduced by January.
To encrypt communications, Tor uses Onion Routing, a software system that allows users to browse the web anonymously by preventing website and network operators from knowing a person’s location and the websites the person has been viewing. It does this by passing the connection between thousands of relay points to make it impossible to pinpoint where it came from.
The right to use encrypted software has even been defended by the UN.
"Encryption and anonymity, separately or together, create a zone of privacy to protect opinion and belief," a written report by David Kaye, a special rapporteur in the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in May.
Last week, the French government said it wanted to change its constitution to allow a state of emergency to last for six months. The country has been in a state of emergency since the multiple terror attacks in Paris which killed 130 people last month.

The news came after Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the current state of emergency could be extended beyond its scheduled conclusion on February 26.
"Obviously, we can't rule out that possibility, depending on the level of danger, and we have to act with a great deal of responsibility," Valls told Europe 1 radio.
Created during the Algerian war in 1955, France's state of emergency law allows the government to conduct warrantless searches, put people under house arrest, seal the country's borders, and ban demonstrations.
The protest ban has been met with fierce opposition from those who say they have the fundamental right to demonstrate.
“This state of emergency grants the forces of order like the police and the army exceptional powers that put people’s liberties at risk – whether it’s night-time raids on their homes, house arrests, or the ban on demonstrations," lawyer Patrick Baudouin, Honorary President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), told The Local.
This is not the first time the French government has tried to introduce surveillance legislation. In the wake of January’s Charlie Hebdo attacks, parliament approved new snooping rules which would allow the government to spy on the emails and phone calls of anyone linked to terror suspects, without authorization from a judge.
However, the move led to protests, with hundreds rallying in Paris against the government’s plans, while the co-founder of an internet surveillance watchdog slammed the move.
“It’s not just about terrorism; it allows the intelligence agencies to resort to surveillance for a broad range of motives: scientific, economic espionage or monitoring social movements,” said Felix Treguer, co-founder of La Quadrature du Net.
“So it’s really not just about terrorism and some of the measures really come down to legalizing mass surveillance. This is of course a very dangerous path,” he added.   RT

Tattoos that collect your data: the new wearable technology

Chaotic Moon Studios

David's dancing and the amusements of this world

"David's dancing in reverent joy before God has been cited by pleasure lovers in justification of the fashionable modern dance, but there is no ground for such an argument. In our day dancing is associated with folly and midnight reveling. Health and morals are sacrificed to pleasure. By the frequenters of the ballroom God is not an object of thought and reverence; prayer or the song of praise would be felt to be out of place in their assemblies. This test should be decisive. Amusements that have a tendency to weaken the love for sacred things and lessen our joy in the service of God are not to be sought by Christians. The music and dancing in joyful praise to God at the removal of the ark had not the faintest resemblance to the dissipation of modern dancing. The one tended to the remembrance of God and exalted His holy name. The other is a device of Satan to cause men to forget God and to dishonor Him." Patriarchs and Prophets p. 707

The five "I's" of lucifer vs the five "I's" of Christ

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Isaiah 14:12-15  Biblehub

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20  Biblehub

Non-Christian Writers and Historians Declare Jesus is Real

Flavius Josephus
Jewish Historian
(AD 37 – c. 100)

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ.

And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.   Jewish Antiquities 18.3.3

Cornelius Tacitus
Senator and Roman Historian
(ca. 56 – ca. 117)

"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.

Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed."  Annals 15.44

Lucian Samosata
Assyrian rhetorician and satirist
(c. A.D. 125 – after A.D. 180)

The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day--the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. ... it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property.   The Passing Peregrinus

Prophesies and fulfillments of Jesus Christ as Messiah

Born of a virgin

The Prophecy: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)


The Fulfillment: And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; ... thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (Luke 1:26-31)

Born in Bethlehem

The Prophecy: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2)


The Fulfillment: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, (Matthew 2:1)

Of the Tribe of Judah

The Prophecy: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10)

The Fulfillment: Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, (Luke 3:33)

Descended from King David

The Prophecy: The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Psalms 132:11)

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7)


The Fulfillment: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ... David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; ... And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:1-16)

A healing ministry

The Prophecy: And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. (Isaiah 29:18)

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 
(Isaiah 35:5-6)


The Fulfillment: For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. (Matthew 9:5-7)

Entered Jerusalem on a donkey

The Prophecy: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9)

The Fulfillment: And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. (Luke 19:35-38)

Anointed on Time

The Prophecy: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. (Daniel 9:24)


The Fulfillment: Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:14-15)

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; (Luke 3:1-3)

Preceded by a messenger

The Prophecy: The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 40:3-5)


The Fulfillment: In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Matthew 3:1-3)

Betrayed by a friend

The Prophecy:  Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psalms 41:9)


The Fulfillment: I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. ... Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Si (John 13:18-19, 26)

Crucified

The Prophecy: For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. (Psalms 22:16)

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10) 

The Fulfillment: And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. (Mark 15:25)

Lots cast for His clothes

The Prophecy: They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 
(Psalms 22:18)

The Fulfillment: Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
(John 19:23-24)

Beaten and Spat Upon

The Prophecy: I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)

The Fulfillment: Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands ... (Matthew 26:67)

Cried out to God

The Prophecy: ... My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ... (Psalms 22:1)


The Fulfillment: And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  (Mark 15:34)

Body would not decay

The Prophecy: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalms 16:10)


The Fulfillment: And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. (Mark 16:2-6)

Conquered Death

The Prophecy: But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. (Psalms 49:15)


The Fulfillment: Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: (Acts 1:2-3)

Rose from the dead after three days

The Prophecy: After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. (Hosea 6:2)


The Fulfillment: And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. (Luke 24:2-9)

Resurrected

The Prophecy: He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. (Psalms 40:2-3)


The Fulfillment: And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. (Matthew 28:2-7)

The Council of Trent

The Reformers had constantly charged ... that the Catholic Church had apostatized from the truth as contained in the written word. "The written word," "The Bible and the Bible only," "Thus saith the Lord," these were their constant watchwords; and "The Scripture, as in the written word, the sole standard of appeal," this was the proclaimed platform of the Reformation and of Protestantism.

Scripture alone or Scripture and tradition?
"The Scripture and tradition." "The Bible as interpreted by the Church and according to the unanimous consent of the Father," this was the position and claim of the Catholic Church. This was the main issue in the Council of Trent, which was called especially to consider the questions that had been raised and forced upon the attention of Europe by the Reformers. The very first question concerning faith that was considered by the council was the question involved in this issue.

There was a strong party even of the Catholics within the council who were in favor of abandoning tradition and adopting the Scriptures only, as the standard of authority. This view was so decidedly held in the debates in the council that the pope's legates actually wrote to him that there was "a strong tendency to set aside tradition altogether and to make Scripture the sole standard of appeal." But to do this would manifestly be to go a long way toward justifying the claims of the Protestants. By this crisis there was developed upon the ultra-Catholic portion of the council the task of convincing the others that "Scripture and tradition" were the only sure ground to stand upon. If this could be done, the council could be carried to issue a decree condemning the Reformation, otherwise not. The question was debated day after day, until the council was fairly brought to a standstill.

The Archbishop of Reggio
Finally, after a long and intensive mental strain, the Archbishop of Reggio came into the council with substantially the following argument to the party who held for Scripture alone: "The Protestants claim to stand upon the written word only. They profess to hold the Scripture alone as the standard of faith. They justify their revolt by the plea that the Church has apostatized from the written word and follows tradition. Now the Protestants' claim, that they stand upon the written word only, is not true. Their profession of holding the Scripture alone as the standard of faith, is false.

PROOF: The written word explicitly enjoins the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. They do not observe the seventh day, but reject it. If they do truly hold the Scripture alone as their standard, they would be observing the seventh day as is enjoined in the Scripture throughout. Yet they not only reject the observance of the Sabbath enjoined in the written word, but they have adopted and do practice the observance of Sunday, for which they have only the tradition of the Church. Consequently the claim of 'Scripture alone as the standard,' fails; and the doctrine of 'Scripture and tradition' as essential, is fully established, the Protestants themselves being judges."

There was no getting around this, for the Protestants' own statement of faith -- the Augsburg Confession, 1530 -- had clearly admitted that "the observation of the Lord's day" had been appointed by "the Church" only.

The argument was hailed in the council as of Inspiration only; the party for "Scripture alone," surrendered; and the council at once unanimously condemned Protestantism and the whole Reformation as only an unwarranted revolt from the communion and authority of the Catholic Church; and proceeded, April 8, 1546, "to the promulgation of two decrees, the first of which enacts, under anathema, that Scripture and tradition are to be received and venerated equally, and that the deutero-canonical [the apocryphal] books are part of the canon of Scripture. ...

Inconsistency brings defeat
Thus it was the inconsistency of the Protestant practice with the Protestant profession that gave to the Catholic Church her long-sought and anxiously desired ground upon which to condemn Protestantism and the whole Reformation movement as only a selfishly ambitious rebellion against church authority. And in this vital controversy the key, the chiefest, and culminative expression, of the Protestant inconsistency was in the rejection of the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, enjoined in the Scriptures, and the adoption and observance of the Sunday as enjoined by the Catholic Church.- Romes' Challenge, p. 25-27

Source