Last Days - Roelof's News Reports #4

[Roelof]

The economy shrank much more than expected in the second quarter to record an record annual decline, official figures show.

The dire figures have raised fears that the country may take longer to emerge from the worst economic downturn since the second world war than previously thought.

GDP tumbled by 0.8 per cent in the second quarter meaning the country has been mired in recession for five consecutive quarters.
Analysts had expected a fall of just 0.3 per cent, after a massive 2.4 per cent decline in the first three months of the year.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle6725891.ece

[Roelof]

It sounds if they are not using human embrios, which is a great step forward - Roelof

Mice have been cloned from adult mouse skin cells that have been reprogrammed to turn them into a versatile embryo-like state, marking an important advance in stem-cell research.

The results demonstrate for the first time that it is possible for adult tissue to develop into the full range of the body’s different cell types, in a manner similar to embryonic stem cells.

If the technique were to be repeated in humans, it could offer the prospect of a limitless supply of an individual’s own stem cells and be used to treat conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, paralysis and diabetes.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6725624.ece

[Roelof]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California budget deal that would at least temporarily avert a financial collapse of the most populous U.S. state hit delays on Thursday, although legislative leaders still hoped lawmakers would pass the plan.

The agreement by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican and Democratic leaders would close a $26 billion budget gap

California's economy also is grappling with record unemployment and a mortgage crisis deeper than other states. If the deal fails to pass, S&P is ready to cut the state's credit rating a notch closer to junk, joining Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service.

http://www.reuters.com/article/polit...56M7D020090724

[RevLogos]

A publicly funded exhibition is encouraging people to deface the Bible in the name of art — and visitors have responded with abuse and obscenity.
The show includes a video of a woman ripping pages from the Bible and stuffing them into her bra, knickers and mouth.
The open Bible is a central part of 'Made in God’s Image,' an exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. By the book is a container of pens and a notice saying: “If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it.”
The exhibit, Untitled 2009, was proposed by the Metropolitan Community Church, which said that the idea was to reclaim the Bible as a sacred text. But to the horror of many Christians, including the community church, visitors have daubed its pages with comments such as “This is all sexist pish, so disregard it all.” A contributor wrote on the first page of Genesis: “I am Bi, Female & Proud. I want no god who is disappointed in this.”
The Church of Scotland expressed concern, the Roman Catholic Church called the exhibit infantile, and a Christian lawyers’ group said that the exhibition was symptomatic of a broken and lawless society.
The exhibition has been created by the artists Anthony Schrag and David Malone, in association with organizations representing gay Christians and Muslims. Mr Schrag, the gallery’s artist in residence, said that he did not believe in God, but that his research for the show had underlined his respect for people of faith.
The community church, which celebrates “racial, cultural, linguistic, sexual, gender and theological diversity,” had suggested the “interactive” Bible and pens and Mr Schrag, 34, said he had been intrigued.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle6723980.ece

[wombat]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle6723980.ece

This is incredibly heart-wrenching, Revolvr.

In Your way, Lord Jesus, change the lives of these people who mock Your Word and turn them around so they repent and seek Your forgiveness and desire to know Your truth and to live righteous lives for You. Change their spirit of mocking into a powerful witness for You and for Your Word.

[menJesus]

Report: North Korea Publicly Executes Christian Woman for Distributing Bible
Friday, July 24, 2009


Print ShareThisSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman last month for distributing the Bible, which is banned in the communist nation, South Korean activists said Friday.

Ri Hyon Ok, 33, was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States and organizing dissidents. She was executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon near the border with China on June 16, according to a report from an alliance of several dozen anti-North Korea groups.

Ri's parents, husband and three children were sent to a political prison camp in the northeastern city of Hoeryong the following day, the report said, citing unidentified documents it says were obtained from North Korea. It showed a copy of Ri's North Korean government-issued photo ID. It is virtually impossible to verify such reports about secretive North Korea, where the government tightly controls the lives of its citizens and does not allow dissent.

On Thursday, an annual report from a state-run South Korean think tank on human rights in the North said that public executions, though dropping in number in recent years, were still carried out for crimes ranging from murder to circulating foreign movies.

North Korea claims to guarantee freedom of religion for its 24 million people but in reality severely restricts religious observances. The cult of personality surrounding national founder Kim Il Sung and his son, current leader Kim Jong Il, is a virtual state religion.

The government has authorized four state churches, one Catholic, two Protestant and one Russian Orthodox, but they cater to foreigners and ordinary North Koreans cannot attend. However, defectors and activists say more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to practice Christianity secretly.

The U.S. State Department reported last year that "genuine religious freedom does not exist" in North Korea.

"North Korea appears to have judged that Christian forces could pose a threat to its regime," Do Hee-youn, a leading activist, told reporters, claiming public executions, arrest and detention of North Koreans are prevalent.

[Roelof]

Report: North Korea Publicly Executes Christian Woman for Distributing Bible
Friday, July 24, 2009

Print ShareThisSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman last month for distributing the Bible, which is banned in the communist nation, South Korean activists said Friday.

menJesus

Thanks for the shocking post
Please remember to always give the link or source detail

[Roelof]

The Government appears to be unprepared for an expected "second wave" of swine flu in the autumn, a report from the Lords found today.
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee said that ministers had failed to offer reassurance that NHS services can deal with the predicted surge when several million people may become ill.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6730118.ece

[Roelof]

Police believe that Michael Jackson's personal physician killed him by administering a powerful drug, according to reports.
Dr Conrad Murray gave the pop star the anaesthetic propofol the night before he died, an unnamed law enforcement official told the Associated Press.

Jackson was regularly given propofol to help him sleep. The drug, also known as Diprivan, is used to induce unconsciousness in hospital patients before major surgery. Reports have said that it was found in Jackson’s home.

Dr Murray, 51, has been a central character in the investigation from the outset

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6729930.ece

And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world? (Mat 24:3)

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold. (Mat 24:12)

[Roelof]

With the US Defence Secretary standing at his side, Ehud Barak, Israel’s Defence Minister, today warned Iran that a military strike on its nuclear facilities was still an option.

“We clearly believe that no option should be removed from the table. This is our policy. We mean it. We recommend to others to take the same position but we cannot dictate it to anyone,” Mr Barak said at a press conference with Robert Gates in Jerusalem.

The renewed threat of military action came a day after Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, told Iran that its pursuit of nuclear ambitions was “futile”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6729276.ece

[Roelof]

The bombing of Gaza led to the highest number of recorded attacks in 25 years against Britain’s Jewish community, according to a report. In some cases there were more than twice as many as last year.

All types of anti-Semitic incidents, including assaults, threats and abusive behaviour rose sharply this year, in some cases there were twice as many attacks as in the same period in 2008.

The report - released by the Community Security Trust which has been recording anti-Semitism since 1984 - says there were 609 incidents in the first half of 2009

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6727000.ece

[Roelof]

Some of the world money powers are working towards the destruction of the dollar and want a new world reserve currency - Roelof

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks extended gains to fresh 9-month peaks on Tuesday while the dollar fell to a 2009 low after upbeat U.S. data and optimism over corporate earnings prompted investors to add risky assets.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...56R0CG20090728

[Roelof]

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Economic woes are taking a toll on marriages and relationships around the globe but the love lives of Americans seem to be most stressed by the recession, according to an international poll.

Nearly 30 percent of Americans claim the recession has added stress, strained or ruined their relationship or marriage, compared to 23 percent of Canadians, 24 percent of the French and 12 percent of Germans.

Americans also believe they will have to work an additional 10 years before being able to retire thanks to the downturn, which is longer than Europeans or Canadians.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...56Q5KM20090728

[Roelof]

(IsraelNN.com) Heads of the Pikuach Nefesh rabbinical committee have begun collecting the signatures of rabbis in Israel on a letter to United States President Barack Obama. The letter demands that Obama cease talking about ending Jewish construction in Jerusalem and stop pressuring Israel in that direction.

In a reference to the upcoming “nine days” which culminate in Tisha B’Av, the rabbis tell Obama that “during these days, in which the Jewish people mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and marks the disgraceful memory of its destroyers, we are certain that you, Mr. Barack Obama, do not want to enter that disreputable list of those who raise their hand to strike Jerusalem and those who live in it.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132506

[Roelof]

America’s foreclosure crisis – which has been concentrated in Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada – is beginning to spill over to neighboring states.

As a result, the fallout from the housing bubble looks increasingly likely to spread, pushed by a worsening economy, rising unemployment, and what appears to be a “bubble thy neighbor” effect.
Nationally, foreclosure filings rose 9 percent

http://features.csmonitor.com/econom...ef=patrick.net