News for May 18, 2005

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Old Media Neither Credible, Trustworthy nor Relevant (May 18, 2005) - In its May 23 edition, Newsweek writers Michael Isikoff and John Barry reported that American military personnel at Guantanamo Bay had flushed the Muslim world’s holiest book, the Quran, down the toilet – a report that led to blistering condemnations and a call for a holy war in the Arab world, violent anti-American protests in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, et al., and 17 deaths and over 100 injuries so far. Mark Whitaker, the magazine’s editor, wrote in a follow-up issue that he regretted “we got any part of our story wrong,” but not that his magazine had been caught spreading lies, distortions and anti-American propaganda in a story that was based on a solitary anonymous source. Reuters reported that the magazine’s managing editor, Jon Meacham, responded to the expose by saying, incredibly: “This was reported very carefully, with great sensitivity and concern, and we’ll continue to report on it.” Right. Newsweek’s definition of “very” careful reporting is an untrue story that was investigated with no care at all, and its definition of “sensitive” is a story that savages the American military and inflames an already incendiary part of the world.

Palestinians Used Bible as Toilet Paper (May 18, 2005) - While Muslims have responded with deadly outrage to the now-retracted report by Newsweek of alleged Quran desecration by U.S. interrogators, there was little outcry three years ago when Islamic terrorists holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity reportedly used the Bible as toilet paper. Catholic priests in the church marking the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born said that during the five-week siege, Palestinians tore up some Bibles for toilet paper and removed many valuable sacramental objects, according to a May 15, 2002, report by the Washington Times.

Pacific’s First Tropical Storm Could Hit Central America, Caribbean - A tropical depression in the Eastern Pacific was likely to grow into a tropical storm -- perhaps even a hurricane -- that could hit Central America by the weekend, forecasters said Tuesday.

If Evidence of Ancient Civilizations are Discovered Elsewhere in the Galaxy, Will You Lose Your Religion? - One of the more troubling aspects of the benevolent creator-astronaut view is the related “abduction” scenario associated with certain types of aliens--the taking of a person against their will, often followed by intrusive probes, genetic tinkering, embryo farming and other experimental processes. The abduction by shadowy forces for reasons unknown is viewed by most abductees and researchers as impersonal and malevolent, or demonic. Associate professor of psychology Elizabeth L. Hillstrom points out in her book, Testing the Spirits, that a growing number of academics also associate UFOnauts--whoever, or whatever, they are--with historical “demons”.

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 is often added to this theory:
And then shall that Wicked [one] be revealed....whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders....And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness [emphasis added].

The message is: Beware if world authorities begin “disclosure” by pointing to ancient mysteries, megaliths, pyramids, the Face on Mars, UFOs or anything else as proof of an ancient visitation of planet earth by creator ETs. Deception, we are told, will follow. We will be instructed to believe that ancient astronauts--not God--created the human race, and a great “falling away” of the earth’s major religions will follow.

Personal Nuclear Power: New Battery Lasts 12 Years - A new type of battery based on the radioactive decay of nuclear material is 10 times more powerful than similar prototypes and should last a decade or more without a charge, scientists announced this week. The longevity would make the battery ideal for use in pacemakers or other surgically implanted devices, developers say, or it might power spacecraft or deep-sea probes.

Science reveals biblical rainbow (May 18, 2005) - Azurite, cinnabar, malachite, verdigris, carbon: These are the true colors of the Bible -- the Gutenberg Bible, that is. For the first time in 600 years, the world has become privy to the mysterious substances used to illustrate the rare volumes of God’s word produced by the German printer Johann Gutenberg circa 1454. It took a pair of enterprising researchers with a delicate touch to isolate the composition of the nine colors -- painstakingly concocted by unknown artists from such substances as precious metals and minerals, ground chalk, copper, plants and even insects.

Hostile Grackles Attack People in Houston (May 18, 2005) - Like a scene from the horror movie “The Birds,” large black grackles are swooping down on downtown Houston and attacking people’s heads, hair and backs. Authorities closed off a sidewalk after the aggressive birds, which can have 2-foot wingspans, flew out of magnolia trees Monday in front of the County Administration Building. “They were just going crazy,” said constable Wilbert Jue, who works at the building. “They were attacking everybody that walked by.”

Islamic Edict Forbids Suicide Bombings By Teresa Neumann (May 18, 2005) - Pakistani Dawn reports that on Tuesday, a group of 58 Islamic scholars from all groups of thought in Pakistan, issued an edict against suicide bombers, calling such acts “deplorable.” The edict states that Islam forbids suicide attacks on Muslims, and specifies that those who do such acts at “places of worship” and “public congregations” cease to be Muslims. Leading Islamic scholar Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman said that protecting life and property of “non-Muslim citizens” and foreigners visiting the country was the prime responsibility of the a Muslim state. He also said that the edict did not apply to “ongoing struggles in Kashmir and Palestine.”

Former Homosexual, Now Married, Decries Pamphlet with Graphic Photos Distributed in Massachusetts High School Aimee Herd, Steve Shultz reporting (May 18, 2005) - At the end of April a pamphlet titled: The Little Black Book - Queer in the 21st Century, was distributed to high school children in Brookline, Mass., which contained vulgar images and wording that “...encourages teens to engage in homosexual [activities],” according to the Christian Wire Service. The distribution of the pamphlet was part of the 15th annual conference of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The conference was held at the Brookline High School.