“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”
(Hebrews 8:6)
Better Covenant

Dear Friends,

Greetings! For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:17

Did you know that the New Testament, covenant, was prophesied in the Old Testament in the book of Jeremiah?

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda: not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they abode not in my covenant, and I disregarded them, saith the Lord. For this is my covenant which I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will surely put my laws into their mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not at all teach every one his fellow citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 38 (Jeremiah 31:31-34 KJV)

Paul quotes these same verses in the book of Hebrews, chapter eight. The Thompson Chain Reference Bible expounds that, “The epistle was apparently written primarily to Hebrew Christians. These converts were in constant danger of relapsing into Judaism or at least of attaching too much importance to ceremonial observances. The chief doctrinal purpose of the writer was to show the transcendent glory of Christian dispensation, as compared with that of the Old Testament.”

“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. This [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new [covenant,] he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old [is] ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:6-13

Paul in the books of Romans and 1Timothy speaks of the Law in the Old Testament as being good.

“Wherefore the law [is] holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.” Romans 7:12 1Timothy 1:8-10

It is interesting that Paul says of the Law of the Old Testament that it was good. Then he says of the new covenant it is a better covenant. He didn't say best covenant but better covenant.

Could there be coming the best covenant, perhaps after the thousand year reign of Christ on the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1), which will usher in the fulfillment of 1Timothy 4:10? “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”

After the complete destruction of the old heaven and the surface of the old earth and the establishment of a new heaven and new earth there are still individual nations living outside the gates of New Jerusalem.

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner] of fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:1-2

Have a great week ahead.

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WND

SUNRISE 'ANGEL,' CROSS IN SKY PHOTOGRAPHED SAME DAY!

Spectacular images seen from New York to Hawaii

Published: January 15, 2016

JOE KOVACS

Amy Langley photographed this “angelic” sunrise in Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii on Jan. 13, 2016. (courtesy Amy Langley/Facebook)

What on Earth is happening in the sky?

A series of spectacular images of the sun were caught on camera this week from New York to Hawaii, with some saying they see angels, doves and crosses.

A photograph of Wednesday’s sunrise in Hawaii caught the attention of seasoned photographer Amy Langley from the town of Koloa on the island of Kauai.

“The sunrise was so beautiful on my way to work that I stopped on the side of the road and snapped a photo. And I got … this,” she said.

“Looks like an angel,” said one of Langley’s friends on Facebook. Others suggested: “Your guardian angel” as well as “an angel or a dove.”

Langley told WND she photographed the sunrise at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday with her Samsung 5 phone while standing outside of her car, not looking through the windshield.

“The shape is only in the photo,” said Langley, a former photojournalist for a network television affiliate in Florida. “It looked like a normal giant pink sun [when taking the picture]!”

“I was mostly worried it looked like a giant breaking wave,” she added, believing it was a “total flare in the camera lens. It was incredibly bright, mixed with southern winds that push ‘vog,’ volcanic haze from a big island volcano across Hawaii.”

The same morning of Jan. 13 that Langley took her photo in Hawaii, Mechaele Loraff pulled her vehicle over in Buchanan, Michigan, to take a photo of the sunrise.

Once she looked at the photo, she noticed an obvious shape of a cross.

Mechaele Loraff of Buchanan, Michigan, snapped this photo of a sunrise Jan. 13, 2016, appearing to look like a cross. (courtesy Mechaele Loraff/Facebook)

“I did not see it till after I took the picture,” Loraff told WND. “I was focused on the sunrise and the beam of light going straight up! The cloud reflecting in the shape of a cross was a bonus!”

Loraff’s photo of the sunrise cross went viral after she shared it with a meteorologist at a local TV station.

“I don’t really know what to say other than I am in shock and overwhelmed that my picture has gone all over the U.S. the past couple days,” she told WND. “I have never seen a light pillar before and the cloud reflecting the light from it and making it look like a cross just made it even more beautiful to me!”

Meanwhile, last Friday, Jan. 8, another woman, Erika Redner Winn of Pine Valley, New York, took a photo of a different solar cross on the horizon at sunset.

A sunlight cross appeared on the horizon in Pine Valley, New York, the same week as the other photos were taken. (Erika Redner Winn/Facebook)

“I appreciate all of the love that this photo is getting,” Winn said. “The sunset, painted by my Jesus, gave me such peace and hope. … I pray that peace will touch everyone who feels that way about such a beautiful photo of such an amazing sky.”

Interestingly, the Bible uses morning solar terms to refer to divine beings such as angels and God Himself.

The fallen angel Lucifer is mentioned in the Old Testament, which states: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!” (Isaiah 14:12 New International Version)

And Jesus declared in the final book of Scripture: “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:16 King James Version)

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Daily Mail

Plane passenger captures mysterious shadowy figure that 'resembles the Iron Giant robot' walking on clouds at 30,000ft

• Nick O'Donoghue snapped the image on an EasyJet flight to Cork

• Speculation as to what the shadow really is have been circulating online

• Some users commented that the figure looks like the robot from Iron Giant

By GEORGIA DIEBELIUS FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 09:56 EST, 15 January 2016 | UPDATED: 13:28 EST, 15 January 2016

An extraordinary picture captured by a plane passenger at 30,000ft shows what looks like a huge robot walking along the clouds.

Some internet users have commented that the figure looks like the robot from the animated movie The Iron Giant.

Flyer Nick O'Donoghue, 30, a software support team manager from Ireland, was on board an EasyJet flight from Austria to Cork when he noticed the bizarre figure in the sky and grabbed his camera.

An extraordinary picture captured by a plane passenger at 30,000ft shows what looks like a huge robot walking along the clouds

One internet user has commented that the figure looks like the robot from the animated movie The Iron Giant. The picture was taken by EasyJet passenger Nick O'Donoghue en route to Cork from London

First appearing on Joe.ie and later on Reddit, hundreds of online users commented on the picture, with some stating that it resembled The Iron Giant and others comparing the shadow to the cloud men in James And The Giant Peach.

One user wrote '[It] looks like the Iron Giant', which was soon backed up by many others, who stated that they had thought the same thing. A woman replied: 'I was gonna say the same thing! Reminds me of the end of the movie.'

Some online posters said that the figure was in fact two smokestacks from a power plant or factory.

First appearing on Joe.ie and later on Reddit, hundreds of online users commented on the picture

He said: 'I was flying back from a work ski trip in Austria, I was on the window seat with two work colleges beside me.

'They were talking like crazy and I was gazing out the window, as you do. I could see this figure in the distance in front of us and then as we flew closer this shape appeared.

'I asked the ladies beside me to look at it too in case I was seeing things. They too were amazed! I then took some pictures and then the aircraft slowly passed it.

'It was in view for about two minutes as it was a good bit away in the distance. To me it looked like the Michelin man but to be honest I have no idea what it was.

'Some comments online said it was smoke stacks below and the heat from them pushed up the layer of clouds, but I don't think so as they looked very close together.

'Probably just a funky cloud formation but I'd love for someone who knows about clouds to see it and try and explain.'

In October thousands of people in China claimed they had seen a 'floating city' in the sky.

Residents of Jiangxi and Foshan were stunned when they saw what they thought to be towering sky scrapers appearing from the clouds.While many believed they had seen parallel universes, weather experts say the phenomenon was down to an optical illusion known as a Fata Morgana.

(Who makes the clouds his chariot; who walks on the wings of the wind. Psalm 104:3)

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BREAKINGISRAELNEWS

Son of Baba Sali Proclaims: “The Days of Ishmael Ruling in the Land of Israel Are Over!”

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz January 14, 2016 , 12:30 pm

“And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.” (Genesis 17:24-25)

Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira (The Baba Baruch) sitting with Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Amar. (Photo: YouTube screenshot)

The end of days are quickly approaching, announced a prominent Israeli rabbi, as the “difficult security situation in Israel” heats up.

In a video making the rounds online, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Amar, the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, is seen hosting Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira, known as the Baba Baruch and son of the late Baba Sali, who was one of the greatest Kabbalists of our generation. In a markedly uncharacteristic manner, the Baba Baruch related to present events in Israel and their connection to the imminent arrival of the Messiah.

In the video, which was broadcast to hundreds of thousands of viewers, Rabbi Baruch spoke about “the difficult security situation in Israel” but reassured his audience by saying the hard times were almost over.

“It is finished and from today on, the years in which Ishmael (the Arabs) rule over the Jews are finished,” he stated. “There are signs the Messiah is imminent.”

Beseeching God, Rabbi Baruch called out, “Enough already! The nation of Israel can no longer bear it. Everything that is happening today, in Israel and all over the world, may the evil ones be cursed, it is spoken about in Kabala.”

Rabbi Baruch then related what is written in the Zohar, Judaism’s central mystical Jewish text, regarding the divine reward for the nation of Ishmael and its ultimate downfall.

“Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (a sage from the Second Temple period) said that the ministering angel of Ishmael stood in front of God and petitioned him, saying, ‘Anyone who does a mitzvah (good deed) should receive a reward. Ishmael circumcised himself. And not just at eight days, but when he was 13 years old! Does he not earn merit for this?’”

Rabbi Baruch taught, “The Zohar says that God answered, saying that the land of Israel will be given to them during the time that it will be empty of Jews, after the destruction of the Temple.”

“That is exactly what happened,” he continued. “God gave Ishmael 100 years for every year until he was circumcised; 1,300 years to rule in the land of Israel. Now we see that the end of this time has come. They were here, they ruled over the land, they received their reward, now it is time for the Nation of Israel to rule in their land. It is time for the messiah and the redemption, when Israel will rule over all of the land. Not this part belonging to them and this part belonging to us.”

Rabbi Baruch concluded his message with a special blessing: “With God’s blessing, we will merit seeing this with our own eyes, the arrival of the Messiah, who will subdue them and send them out from our land.”

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PRESSTV

China backs establishment of independent State of Palestine

Fri Jan 22, 2016 2:36AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses members of the Arab League in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on January 21, 2016. ©AFP

China has lent its support to the establishment of the State of Palestine with East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made the remarks during an address at the Arab League’s headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Thursday.

He said such state should be established based on the 1967 borders and enjoy full sovereignty.

That year saw Israel occupying and then annexing the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds during the Six-Day War in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Xi’s remarks echoed the demands of Palestinians, who are seeking to create an independent state on the occupied territories as well as the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.

In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status at the UN from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state” despite strong opposition from Israel and the United States.The Palestinian flag was also raised for the first time at the UN headquarters in New York last September.

The Chinese head of state considered the issue of Palestine to be crucial to peace in the Middle East, and urged the international community to contribute to the resumption of Israel-Palestinian talks, which have been broken off due to Tel Aviv’s refusal to put a hold on its expansion of illegal settlements.

"We are in favor of putting in place a new mechanism to promote peace as to the Middle East question, and support efforts made by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation toward this end," the Chinese president stated.

He also pledged RMB 50 million (USD 7.53 million) in aid to Palestinians.

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Tom Horn 2016

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WND

SHEMITAH IMPACT? SEE EVIDENCE FOR YOURSELF

Exclusive: Jonathan Cahn shows unmistakable financial fallout in biblical pattern

Published: January 20, 2016

By Jonathan Cahn

Could an ancient mystery over 3,000 years old be affecting the world today? Did it skip a cycle in 2015? Or did it show up? And if it did, how great was its impact? And is it still affecting the world and our lives to this day?

For those who haven’t read “The Mystery of the Shemitah,” the biblical Shemitah was the year of rest, Sabbath, cessation, that came every seven years to Israel. The Shemitah brought cessation to production, trade and economic activity, and ultimately, a nullification to the nation’s financial realm, the wiping away of credit and debt.

Could this ancient pattern, established by God, manifest even in the modern world and affect modern economies, financial systems and stock markets?

The amazing answer is yes.

Does the pattern have to manifest in every cycle? No. God doesn’t have to do anything at any particular time. For as long as I’ve spoken of the Shemitah and the future, I’ve issued that warning and caution: God is sovereign, and nothing had to happen on any date, month, season, Shemitah, or year.

But having said that – What about the Shemitah of 2015? Did the ancient mystery manifest or not?

Many observers were so focused exclusively on dates, months (as in September) and blood moons, that they missed this overwhelming fact: The ancient mystery of the Shemitah did indeed manifest in 2015 – dramatically and powerfully – and its ramifications are still affecting our lives as I write.

In the Shemitah of 2001 and 2008 an amazingly precise phenomenon occurred in which the greatest two crashes in Wall Street history each took place on the same exact biblical day, the last day of the biblical Shemitah, Elul 29, the Day of Nullification, appointed from ancient times for the wiping away of financial accounts – a day that only comes around once in seven years.

The Shemitah’s Central Pattern

But this was a unique pattern. The most central and predominant pattern or manifestation of the Shemitah, as revealed in the book, is this: During the year of the Shemitah, the ancient phenomenon manifests in the form of a long-term financial or economic collapse.

This pattern has manifested in every Shemitah of the past half-century, every seven years:

• In the Shemitah of 2008, it manifested as the Global Financial Collapse and the Great Recession.

• In the Shemitah of 2001, it manifested as a long-term stock market collapse and an economic recession.

• In the Shemitah of 1994, it manifested it in the Great Bond Market Massacre, the greatest bond market collapse in history up to that time.

• In the Shemitah of 1987, it manifested in a summer to autumn stock market collapse and Black Monday, the worst one day stock market percentage collapse in history.

• In the Shemitah of 1980, it manifested as an economic recession leading to a stock market collapse.

• In the Shemitah of 1973, it manifested in a stock market collapse and a long-term global recession.

• And in the Shemitah of 1966, it manifested in a stock market collapse.

The Shemitah of 2015: Year of Collapse

So what about the Shemitah of 2015? In 2015, the most predominant dynamic of the Shemitah manifested yet again. The stock market that had been ascending for years underwent a change. In May, it reversed its momentum and began to descend. Its descent would extend for months.

“The Mystery of the Shemitah” specifically focuses on the month of Elul as the peak month concerning the Shemitah and its dynamic of financial nullification. So it was in the Shemitah of 2015. With the approach of Elul 2015, all major markets were in collapse. The Dow Jones Industrial and the S&P 500 had been in collapse since May. The Russell 2000 index began collapsing in June. China’s Shanghai Composite index also began collapsing in June. Then in late July the Nasdaq also began collapsing.

The month of Elul began in August. And with its coming, the collapse of the stock market would reach its crescendo with massive stock market crashes taking place on Wall Street and throughout the world.

How severe was the impact of this most recent Shemitah? The Shemitah of 2015 …

Wiped out an estimated 16 percent of the British markets

Wiped out 18 percent of the French markets

Wiped out one-fourth of the German markets

Wiped out 4,000 points from the Indian markets

Wiped out 12,000 points from the Brazilian markets

Wiped out $2 trillion of the U.S. markets

Wiped out a colossal $11 trillion from the world’s financial realm

The Collapse of China

We might expect that the impact of the Shemitah would manifest most powerfully in America. And for many of the past Shemitahs, this has been the case. And for much of modern history America has been the engine of the world economy. But this is no longer the case.

In the year after the previous Shemitah, in 2009, China became the largest exporter nation. In the year before the start of the most recent Shemitah, in 2013, China became the largest trading nation, supplanting the United States. At the opening of the most recent Shemitah, the news came out that the United States was no longer the strongest economic power on earth. That title too had passed to China.

As the world approached the Shemitah of 2015, China was the new engine of the world economy. If the Shemitah struck China, it would strike the world. And that’s exactly what happened.

In the summer of 2015, China’s stock market, the Shanghai Exchange, began to collapse. By the end of the summer, and of the Shemitah, China’s financial realm had been decimated. The Shemitah had wiped away a colossal 43 percent.

Such a percentage alone would mark the collapse of 2015 as one of the greatest in history. And it had all taken place in a mere 2.5 months. That’s a rate of 18 percent of the market wiped out each month, a rate greater then that of the Great Depression. It was thus one of the most intense, if not the most intense, stock market collapse of modern times.

With the striking of China, the Shemitah of 2015 had struck the financial and economic realms of virtually every nation.

‘Worst Year Since 2008’

According to the ancient mystery, we might have expected 2015 to be a bad year for the world’s financial realms. It was all that and more. It was the worst year in years. As 2015 reached its end, the Internet was flooded with articles providing the final results concerning the year that had just past:

“Dow, S&P 500 In Red For 2015, Worst Year Since 2008” (Daily Mail)

“… Tumultuous 2015 …” (Wall Street Journal)

“Worst Year For S&P, Dow Since 2008” (CNBC)

The word “Shemitah” in Hebrew, can be translated as “the shaking.” So the Shemitah of 2015, as in past Shemitahs, was a year of massive shaking in the financial and economic realms – from the Greek Crisis, to the Collapse of China, to Black Monday. For the first time in years, stock markets closed in the red, having entered negative territory. The headlines proclaimed it the worst year since 2008. Again, it had all happened according to a seven-year cycle as in the mystery of the Shemitah. And it wasn’t just any seven-year cycle. It was the specific, ancient and precise seven-year cycle of the biblical Shemitah. 2015 was the worst year of financial collapse since 2008. Both worst years, both years of collapse, 2015 and 2008, constituted the biblical Shemitah.

2016 – The Shadow of the Sword

As 2015 turned to 2016, the repercussions of the Shemitah did not end but continued. The S&P 500 large-company stocks had collapsed from their peak in 2015 by 22.6 percent. The S&P 1500, a broad-based index of large, mid and small company stocks, had fallen from their 2015 peak by 26.9 percent.

And as 2016 opened up, it would witness a series of massive collapses in the stock markets of China and the world – a continuation of the Shemitah’s destabilization of China and its summer collapses. It would constitute the worst opening week in stock market history.

What was happening at the opening of 2016 was clearly the continuing impact and repercussion of the Shemitah. It had brought years of an ascending stock market to an end. It had destabilized the engine of the world economy. It had produced some of the greatest stock market crashes in history. It was still shaking the world’s financial and economic realms. How long the shadow of its sword would extend in the future was now the question.

But one thing was clear, in the year 2015, the dynamic and mystery of the Shemitah had again manifested, powerfully, dramatically and profoundly, and according to the ancient template and pattern.

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IBT

Iran Preparing For Armageddon? Islamic Republic Backs Shiites In Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan And Yemen

BY MICHAEL KAPLAN @MICHAELD_KAPLAN ON 01/15/16 AT 9:30 AM

Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, said Iran has armed hundreds of thousands of fighters around the Middle East. Above, Jafari attends a news conference in Tehran Feb. 7, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS/STRINGER

Iran has prepared almost 200,000 young men in countries across the Middle East to help with the arrival of the Mahdi, a Muslim leader who will usher in justice prior to the Day of Judgment, a Revolutionary Guard commander said earlier this week. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said recent violence across the region, including the rise of the Islamic State group, was a sign the arrival of the messianic Muslim leader was imminent, the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported.

Jafari said the current developments in the region, “the formation of [the Islamic State group] and Takfiri [extremist] groups, and the events that occurred in the past years are paving the ground for the emergence of Imam Mahdi,” Middle East Monitor reported. "You can now see the positive results in the readiness of nearly 200,000 young armed in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.”

Shiite Muslims generally believe the Mahdi will arrive following a period of widespread violence and instability, and will usher in justice and an event like the Armageddon, the conclusive battle between good and evil. The comments come as Iran has grown increasingly entangled with several regional conflicts, including in Syria, where Revolutionary Guard forces have been battling to support the embattled dictator Bashar Assad.

The conflict, which has broken down along sectarian lines, has given rise to apocalyptic theories, as war in the region was prophesied by the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the Syrian war, and millions more have been displaced.

Several regional leaders expressed disapproval of the Iranian general’s statement, reported Asharq al-Awsat, a London-based Arabic language newspaper. A spokesman for the Yemeni government said Jafari’s comments were seen as “direct aggression against Yemen and a violation of its sovereignty.” Houthis have been battling the Yemeni government for months and are believed to be backed by Iran.

The region has seen intensified sectarian tensions in recent weeks, particularly in the aftermath of the execution of a popular Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia, a country with a Sunni majority. The execution sparked protests in Shiite communities across several Muslim countries, including in Iran where protesters attacked the Saudi embassy.

Saudi Arabia and several of its predominantly-Sunni allies in the region cut diplomatic ties with Iran following the embassy attack. The execution and outcry that followed was seen as exacerbating already tense relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two of the Middle East’s major powers.

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Medical Daily

Medical Miracle Or Playing God: Human Chimeras Made With Man, Animal Cells Provide New Hope For Organ Transplants

Jan 14, 2016 02:42 PM By Dana Dovey @danadovey

In a world where the demand for organ transplants greatly outnumbers the availability of organ donors, a small division of scientists believes they have a solution: growing human organs inside the bodies of farm animals. Despite the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently denouncing such projects, some independent U.S. research centers have decided to go ahead with plans to grow humans tissue and organs inside the bodies of genetically altered pigs and sheep.

The complicated process would produce something known as a chimera: an organism with an extra set of DNA that it didn’t inherit from either of its parent. Though they sound like something out of a science-fiction novel, they’re actually a common natural occurrence — they can be result from blood transfusions, organ transplants, or in-vitro DNA exchanges between mothers their fetuses. Sometimes they even result from the absorption of one twin in the womb by the other.

With regard to an animal-human chimera, it would be produced from a combination of stem cell technology and gene-editing. Though controversial, the procedure is technically feasible. In a presentation at the NIH’s Maryland campus last November, Dr. Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte of the Salk Institute showed unpublished data from more than a dozen pig embryos that contained human cells. Based on interviews with three U.S. based research teams, the MIT Technology Review estimates about 20 pregnancies involving pig-human or sheep-human chimeras have occurred in the past year. However, none of these animals have gestated to full-term.

In order to create such a creature, scientists must first tweak the DNA inside sheep and pig cells using gene-editing technology, so that the developing embryo will lack certain organs, IFL Science reported. “We can make an animal without a heart,” said Dr. Daniel Garry, a cardiologist who leads a chimera project at the University of Minnesota, according to the MIT Technology Review. “We have engineered pigs that lack skeletal muscles and blood vessels.”

Under normal circumstances these embryos would not survive without such important organs. But scientists have developed a way to replace the missing cells with stem cells from another species’ embryo in order to grow the missing organ. In 2010, for example, Japanese scientists successfully created mice with pancreases made entirely of rat cells. Breeding sheep and pigs with salvageable human organs would be completely new territory, however.

Though most scientists believe it’s possible, some believe the endeavor poses serious ethical concerns, arguing that it’s unclear if the animal’s human qualities will extend past their organs. “What if the embryo that develops is mostly human?” Pablo Ross, a veterinarian and developmental biologist at the University of California, Davis, told the MIT Tech Review while adding this wasn’t something that he could rule out.

“The specter of an intelligent mouse stuck in a laboratory somewhere screaming ‘I want to get out’ would be very troubling to people,” NIH ethicist David Resnik added during the NIH meeting. Still, the chances of either of these results occurring are unlikely, since only about 0.5 percent of animal-human chimeras’ cells are human.

This past fall, the NIH, one of the world's foremost medical research centers, announced that it will not fund any study involving human-animal chimeras unless more evidence is presented. But even without NIH funding, the demand for more viable organs for transplant operations, and the sheer curiosity surrounding such a taboo subject, could make human-animal chimeras a reality sooner than you think.

(The sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals. Jashur 4:18 But as the days of Noe [were,] so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:38)

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LIFE SITE NEWS

DIY human gene editing kits: coming to a hobbyist’s garage near you?

Gene Editing

Fri Jan 15, 2016 - 3:22 pm EST

January 15, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Yesterday an embryologist in UK asked permission to take the life of thirty children by editing their genes at the embryonic stage. Her goal is to advance knowledge of human development in order to treat infertility. Last month a landmark conference in Washington, D.C., the International Summit on Human Gene Editing, advocated deadly experimental use of children at an embryonic level of development for purposes largely related to curing certain genetic anomalies. What is Human Gene Editing and why did so many scientists at the conference call for an immediate worldwide moratorium?

Formerly referred to as “germline intervention,” Human Gene Editing (HGE) is the creation of a genetically modified human. HGE changes made to a human child at an embryonic level will be passed through normal sexual reproduction to all future offspring. This emerging technology has profound implications for the future of the human race.

Advocates hope to bring generational cures to genetic diseases such as Sickle Cell Anemia and Tay-Sachs Disease which can be specifically targeted for HGE at an early embryonic level. Critics are arguing that the technology is too new and the inherent risks to all of human-kind are too great. Due to the uncharted concerns and very present unintended consequences regarding HGE, many scientists in the summit are calling for a moratorium on all human gene editing. Philip Campbell of the science journal Nature explains why they have called for a moratorium and have rejected papers on the subject:

So we've had human germline editing papers sent to us. These are confidential so I won't say more about them but several papers have been received by several journals and all have been rejected by us either because of technical inadequacies or because of noncompliance with local regulation . . . OR BOTH [emphasis mine].

Poor science and breaking the law are just a couple of the reasons why we should be concerned when discussing proliferation and scientific acceptance of this emerging technology. Here are a few facts to consider:

Human Gene Editing has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in over 29 countries (China, North Korea and the United States are not among them). Due to its eugenic history, Germany has enacted some of the strictest criminal penalties for human embryo experimentation. The Nuremberg medical trials of last century ruled that the deadly human experiments performed by the Nazis during the Holocaust on concentration camp inmates constituted “human experimentation without informed consent” and were considered war crimes. Seven Nazi doctors were found guilty and hung. To prevent the medical research community from repeating these crimes the Nuremburg Code was adopted by most western nations (United States excluded) and became the founding tenant of modern bioethics. If the embryo is a person then HGE would be a violation of informed consent.

Undeterred by international condemnation, China, in April 2015, described their use of a newly developed CRISPR–Cas9 technology to edit the genomes of human embryos. Led by Junjiu Huang at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, this team of scientists published the first and only paper to date of this controversial form of human experimentation. This new genetic modification technology is called CRISPR, short for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.” CRISPR is incredibly fast, relatively simple and very cheap. A recent biotech startup named Amino has brought desktop bioengineering to everyone for a little under $700.00. For less than the cost of a leading smartphone you can bioengineer your own glow in the dark bacteria by splicing genes in your garage. Their marketing material boasts that “Amino is a small and simple-to-use hardware system that enables anyone to grow and take care of living cells. We are the world’s first publicly available bioengineering platform that can be used at home, in labs or in schools.” They go on to describe the following product line: “These hand-assembled polished rich Mahogany Amino Ones are shipped with the Amino Glow App, a DNA program and the set of chemicals needed to transform the regular bacteria into a glowing organism and keep it growing and glowing! A living Nightlight!”

Or Nightmare, depending on whose hand holds the test tube. These do-it-yourself (DIY) bioengineering kits have been criticized as opening the door to “bio-hackers” who may use the technology for malevolent intent. From DIY DNA kits to community laboratories where CRISPR is available to untrained amateurs, the possibility for domestic bio-terrorism becomes a probability. “One of the biggest fears surrounding CRISPR is that it could be used to create a genetic modification designed to spread through a population of organisms at an unnaturally fast rate,” says Heidi Ledford writing for the science journal Nature. The FBI routinely builds relationships within the bio-hacker community so that any realtime threat can be assessed and hopefully neutralized.

As the price of this “cut and paste” gene sequencing has reached hobbyist levels the temptation to alter children at an embryonic level has proliferated. Testing material is easily acquired. An excess of over 500,000 human embryos have been created through the IVF process. Clients routinely abandon their cryogenically preserved offspring rather than continue to pay for the upkeep of their frozen embryos. It is increasingly common that they altruistically donate their left-overs to science. With the easy availability of human test subjects whom the National Institutes of Health have declared non-persons, it is just a matter of time until a rogue scientist using CRISPR technology repeats what was done in China last April and produces a GMO child.

Once the genie is out of the bottle there will be no putting it back. Perhaps we should heed science fiction writer Bruce Sterling, “"Maybe we're about to radically change the operating system of the human condition. If so, then this would be a really good time to make backups of our civilization."

(“Noe was a just man; being perfect in his generation.” This means his genome system had not been currupted or altered.)

***

AFF

BREAKING: Nation’s First SATANIC Ceremony At State Capitol In History…

DECEMBER 31, 2015

BY BLAZE

As our nation watches God and Christianity constantly being assaulted, I find this particular event very disturbing. This is a microcosm of what our nation has became. I was once told that what was once was good, will become bad and what was bad will be looked upon as good. With gatherings such as this and 20 feet tall satanic statues popping up as the 10 commandment monuments are taken down, I believe it.

Honestly I believe this is a prelude to even more sinister plans, it is not as innocent as their making it out to be, the masses are being tricked into acceptance. The very same freedoms guaranteed by our constitution are being used against us to silence those who dares speak against such things. I wanted to pass a short video along with you to show you exactly what I mean, I’m still in disbelief.

On December 19, the Satanic Temple of Detroit held a ceremony on the steps of the state Capitol in Lansing, MI.

This was the nation’s first state-sanctioned satanists ceremony in history.I would ask you to take the time to watch the video and please share your thoughts. Now more than ever the good people of America need to rise up together and stand against all who wish to destroy our nation and honestly these people in my eyes harbor no good intentions for any of us.

***

WND

JAMIE FOXX, HOLLYWOOD ACTOR, SAVES MAN FROM BURNING CAR

'I'm not a hero, but had to do something'

Published: January 20, 2016

CHERYL CHUMLEY

Jamie Foxx embraces the father of a man who nearly died in a car crash.

Jamie Foxx, one of Hollywood’s leading comedy men, rushed to save a man from a burning vehicle, yanking him from the truck and helping save his life and telling media outlets after: I’m hardly a hero.

He shortly after shared a photo of the emotional meeting with the victim’s father on Instagram.

Police said Brett Kyle, 32, from California, was driving his Toyota Tacoma when he plowed into a drainage ditch, ABC News reported. His vehicle then rolled several times and ignited into flames.

“Two witnesses that were near the collision scene ran to the burning, overturned truck in an attempt to free the driver,” police said, ABC News reported. “One of the witnesses retrieved a rescue tool from his vehicle allowing the two citizens to break the window, cut the seat belt and extricate the driver.”

And that witness was Foxx, 48, whose Hidden Valley home was right near the accident scene, various media reported.

“Jamie didn’t hesitate,” a source told ABC News. “He jumped out and ran to the car.”

Foxx pulled the man from the car, telling reporters after the incident: “I’m not a hero, but had to do something,” People magazine reported.

Kyle, who suffered major head, chest and neck injuries, was later charged with driving under the influence, police said, People reported.

But Foxx said the fact the man was alive was due to heavenly intervention.

Foxx, who met with Kyle’s father shortly after the accident, posted a photo on Instagram of the two in embrace alongside this text: “Met the father of the young man from last night today. This is all that matters. That a man, a son, a brother’s life was spared last night. God had his arms wrapped around all of us … No heroes … Just happy fathers.”

***

SPUTNIK

Lord Rothschild: Dark Clouds Forming in Europe, Russia and Middle East

Lord Rothschild characterized the geopolitical situation in the world as the most dangerous since the end of WWII, warning investors about a forthcoming crisis

Wed, Mar 11, 2015

Lord Rothschild has warned about the dark cloud on the horizon for the global economy, characterizing the geopolitical situation as the most dangerous since the end of World War II.

"We are confronted by a geopolitical situation perhaps as dangerous as any we have faced since World War II: chaos and extremism in the Middle East, Russian aggression and expansion, and a weakened Europe threatened by horrendous unemployment, in no small measure caused by a failure to tackle structural reforms in many of the countries which form part of the European Union," wrote Jacob Rothschild, a British investment banker and a member of the prominent Rothschild family, in an annual Strategic Report of RIT Capital Partners plc (RIT).

RIT is an investment trust that has been investing "in a widely diversified, international portfolio" delivering high returns to shareholders since 1988.

According to the company's website, RIT has more than doubled its net asset value per share and share price over the past ten years.

Although Rothschild's RIT can currently boast the highest level of its share price, not everything is rosy in the garden for the global economy, emphasized Lord Rothschild: "The world economy grew at a disappointing and uneven rate in 2014 after six years of monetary stimulus and extraordinarily low interest rates."

Furthermore, the value of paper money has reduced substantially, as countries were trying to generate growth by lowering the value of their currencies, particularly the Euro and the Yen, which have lost over 12 percent against the US Dollar during the last year. The undesirable consequences of such monetary experiments are hard to predict, noted Lord Rothschild.

It seems that Rothschild's concerns are shared by the EU member states as well: at the end of 2014 several European countries demonstrated a revived interest in gold as a monetary policy instrument and focused on repatriating their bullion gold reserves from abroad, citing issues of economic stagnation and an unprecedented level of money printing in the world.

However, Jacob Rothschild underscored that the majority of companies are reporting profits exceeding forecasts together with steady earnings growth.

The banker believes that "the combination of a more competitive Euro and an aggressive program of quantitative easing and the yields available on equities, may well lead to even higher valuations."

***

WND

REFUGEE CRISIS 'JUST PRECURSOR' TO MUCH BIGGER EVENT

Collapse in oil prices could bring historic shift in populations

Published: January 18, 2016

LEO HOHMANN

Klaus Schwab is founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum

The founder of the World Economic Forum, which will hold its annual meeting this weekend in Davos, Switzerland, is predicting that falling oil prices could worsen the migrant crisis and bring chaos to Europe.

“Look how many countries in Africa depend for their income from oil exports,” Klaus Schwab told Bloomberg News. “Now just imagine 1 billion inhabitants. Imagine they all move north.

“So it could be that the present refugee problem we have in Europe is just the precursor of what could come if you add in addition a possible water crisis,” he continued. “So I’m very concerned that the lowering of commodity prices leads to substantial social breakdown in a number of countries.”

Schwab also said the Federal Reserve and other elite decision makers are moving in “uncharted territory.”

The theme of this year’s conference, set for Jan. 20-23 in Davos, is “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” as the world prepares to deal with mass replacement of human labor with robots and other technology.

Schwab said leaders should not underestimate the impact of lower commodity prices or the vulnerability of some countries to foreign-exchange exposure.

“I’m positive for the developed world but I would foresee the potential for quite substantial shocks,” he said.

“You’re seeing uncharted territory. We don’t know. We make a decision, but we don’t know actually what the consequences are. I would say we are living in times of unexpected consequences. Whatever your decision, you don’t know exactly what will happen. So we are not completely in control of what is happening, and this leads also to the erosion of trust toward decision makers.”

‘Very concerned about final impact’

The refugee crisis, if not dealt with wisely, has the potential to bring chaos and unimaginable change to Europe, Schwab said.

“I think we probably have to redefine the word ‘refugee’ to make sure those who are really in need find the necessary protection, but certainly we have to look what to do with those who are more economic refugees. I do not have a recipe,” he said. “But I know we have to protect those … it’s one of our European values. This is having a heart for other people. I am torn myself. Because I would like to help those people as much as possible. On the other hand, I am very concerned what the final impact on populations will be.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said over the weekend she feared the refugee crisis will “tear the European Union apart,” according to the Huffington Post, and she blamed nationalist attitudes for the fissures in German society. The crisis is jeopardizing “the very core of the European Union,” added the EU’s migration commissioner.

Merkel’s government has already welcomed 1.1 million migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

Her popularity has plummeted as a result, as Germany has been hit by a historic crime wave. Muslim refugees perpetrated hundreds of sexual assaults on German women at New Year’s Eve parties in Cologne.

Merkel, facing a backlash not just from “far right” opponents but from her supporters as well, called Europe “vulnerable” and the fate of the euro “directly linked” to resolving the migrant crisis – “highlighting the risk of at the very least serious economic turbulence if not a formal dismantling of E.U. institutions,” according to Huffington Post.

German warnings

Germans are also getting little help from E.U. co-founder France, whose leaders fear a rising anti-immigrant National Front, or from Britain, which is embroiled in its own debate on whether to quit the E.U. altogether.

Efforts to engage Turkey’s help have proved unfruitful as Istanbul has shown little interest in preventing migrants from reaching Europe. German and E.U. officials are warning that without a sharp drop in migrant arrivals or a big increase in help from other E.U. nation-states, Germany could shut its borders.

With Merkel’s conservative allies in Bavaria demanding she halt the mainly Muslim refugees ahead of regional elections in March, her finance minister delivered a veiled threat to E.U. counterparts of what that could mean for them.

“Many think this is a German problem,” Wolfgang Schaeuble said in meetings with fellow E.U. finance ministers in Brussels. “But if Germany does what everyone expects, then we’ll see that it’s not a German problem – but a European one.”

***

RT

Austria suspends Schengen agreement, steps up border control, tells EU to sort out migrant crisis

Published time: 17 Jan, 2016 05:29

Vienna is radically changing its policy towards migrants and refugees, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told local media. Faymann said that with the new measures introduced at Austria’s borders, the existence of “the whole EU is in question.”

“All refugees must be controlled, economic migrants must be sent to the countries of their origin,” Faymann said in an interview with Austria’s Oesterreich newspaper, to be published on Sunday.

The government is implementing a strict monitoring system for asylum seekers, the chancellor said, adding that, just like in neighboring Germany, its border controls are being tightened, and repatriations of refugees are carried out.

“Anyone who arrives at our border is subject to control,” Faymann said. A valid identity card will now have to be provided to authorities, and those who do not have a right to asylum or have been already rejected by Germany will be denied entry, as will those who don’t intend to apply for refugee status in Austria.

Consequently, the Schengen agreement on open borders is “temporarily cancelled” in Austria, the chancellor said.

“If the EU does not manage to secure the external borders, Schengen as a whole is put into question...Then each country must control its national borders,” Faymann told the newspaper, adding that if the bloc’s external borders are not secured in the near future, “the whole EU [will be] in question.”

“So far, the Schengen agreement does make provision for what they call exceptional measures. So this doesn’t mean that de jure there is yet a complete collapse of the Schengen. What it does mean is that we are seeing the beginning of a de facto collapse,” William Mallinson, a writer and former British diplomat told RT. “If this continues, Schengen will actually die,” he added.

The new regulations issued by the Austrian Defense Ministry came into effect on Saturday, with the army being deployed at the borders to stop refugees who intend to simply transit through the country and not apply for asylum there.

Over 3,000 migrants that arrived under false identities have already been sent back since the beginning of the year, border officials reported.

“It’s big business and what hasn’t yet been ascertained is who is running this show. A lot of [fake documents] are quite well produced, which means certain groups are actually making a lot of money and causing a lot of problems,” Mallinson said, adding that “it’s very difficult to distinguish between genuine refugees and those – and there are many of them – who are jumping on the bandwagon and coming in [to Europe].”

‘Biggest refugee inflow still ahead:’ 10 million could come to Europe – German minister

Earlier on Friday, the policy of free movement within the European Union was questioned by Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble. Europe’s open borders might be “close” to an end, the minister said after a meeting of the EU’s finance ministers in Brussels. The Schengen system could soon collapse, with more of the bloc’s 28 member states introducing internal border checks, the German official told reporters.

***

PRESSTV

Venezuela president declares economic emergency

Sat Jan 16, 2016 8:18AM

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has declared a 60-day nationwide economic emergency as his embattled government tries to tackle a deepening economic crisis.

The announcement on Friday came hours before Maduro delivered a much-anticipated state of the union address.

In his speech, Maduro promised to continue his statist economic model in the face of hardships he attributed to lower oil revenues and capitalist speculation.

The edict, which includes tax hikes, puts emergency measures in place to pay for food imports and welfare services in the oil-rich nation.

The move came as Venezuela’s central bank released key data for the first time since December 2014, showing that the economy shrank 7.1% and annual inflation hit 141.5% through September.

Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves but the big slump in oil prices in the past 18 months has axed its revenues by 60%. Oil exports make up some 95% of Venezuela's revenue.

People line up to buy basic products outside a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 15, 2016. (Reuters)

Maduro and new Economy Minister Luis Salas have called for the need to protect social programs established by his predecessor, former President Hugo Chavez, from the drop in oil prices.

“The figures confirm a dire macroeconomic backdrop,” Goldman Sachs analyst Mauro Roca said, adding, “Under these conditions, the administration will find it increasingly difficult to continue servicing its external debt.”

But Salas said, “We want to reaffirm the people’s trust in the revolutionary government.”

The opposition United Democratic Roundtable won a victory over Maduro’s United Socialist Party in a December 2015 vote, and took control of the National Assembly for the first time since 1999, when Chavez had risen to power.

Newly-elected National Assembly Speaker Henry Ramos Allup has said he would find a way to have Maduro ousted within six months. Maduro’s presidential term will end in 2019.

The opposition accuses Maduro’s government of mismanaging the economy and leading the oil-rich country to poverty.

***

INTELLIHUB

DHS and the Supreme Court collude to hide secret plan to shut off cell phone communication in American cities

Cell phone “kill switch” that was already used against a political protest will remain secret

By Alex Thomas

January 15, 2016 1:26 pm EST

(INTELLIHUB) — The Department of Homeland Security’s plan to shut off cell phone service across large swaths of the country in the event of a major disaster or civil emergency will remain secret after the Supreme Court “set aside” a petition that demanded the Orwellian plan be released to the public.

The petition from by the Electronic Privacy Information Center came after a federal appeals court ruled that homeland security could keep the plan secret from the American people. Sadly, the Supreme Court apparently agreed, refusing to even comment on the extremely important issue.

“The top court, without comment, refused Monday to review a federal appeals court’s May ruling that the DHS did not have to divulge the full contents of Standard Operating Procedure 303. That court held that the government could withhold the plan’s contents under the Freedom of Information Act if its disclosure would “endanger” public safety,” reproted Ars Technica.

The Supreme Court’s claim that revealing the plan would “endanger” public safety is completely laughable, especially when you consider the documented fact that DHS has used the cell phone “kill switch” to quell a political protest.

That’s right, this technology is not actually being used after a major “disaster” but rather it is being used to stop the American people from organizing and protesting any number of issues, with the 2011 San Francisco Bay Area subway system shutdown just being the major example that we know of. DHS could effectively choose to use this technology for any number of reasons, all of which would hurt the American peoples ability to speak out and protest their government.

While SOP 303 does indicate that in some cases the kill switch may only be used in one specific area, it also clearly allows DHS to shut off mobile service for an entire city.

“Under the direction of the so-called National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, SOP 303 allows for the shutting down of wireless networks “within a localized area, such as a tunnel or bridge, and within an entire metropolitan area.”

In regards to how the technology specifically works, Mac Salvo noted, “Like other non-lethal weapons brought on the scene of post-9/11 crowd control situations, DHS’ kill switch features the patent ability to dial down to a specific location, or broaden the cellular interruption devices to a city-wide area.”

“These are enormous powers that will be used during crises of all types – and already it poses a danger to the civil rights that expressly protect the right to assemble, give redress of grievances and speak freely – including across cell phone signals.”

At this point it should be obvious that this secretive plan is being kept secret because the government does not want the American people to know that they have detailed and specific plans to shut down any sort of actual resistance to their power.

ENENEWS

Alert: LA gas well has ‘destabilized’, large crater develops in area — Officials: “Could be catastrophic” — TV: Risk of massive fire, possible explosion — Expert: “If wellhead fails, the thing is just going to be full blast… a horrible, horrible problem” — Company refuses to provide photos or media access 

Published: January 20th, 2016 at 8:27 pm ET

Los Angeles Times, Jan 15, 2016 (emphasis added): Efforts to plug Porter Ranch-area gas leak worsened blowout risk, regulators say — Southern California Gas Co… is trying to avoid a blowout, which state regulators said is now a significant concern after a seventh attempt to plug the well created more precarious conditions at the site. If a blowout occurs, highly flammable gas would vent directly up through the well… rather than dissipating as it does now… State officials said a blowout would increase the amount of leaked gas… That natural gas also creates the risk of a massive fire… The risk of fire already is so high that cellphones and watches are banned from the site… [The gas company's attempts to stop the leak] expanded a crater around the wellhead, state and gas company officials said. The crater is now 25 feet deep, 80 feet long and 30 feet wide, those officials said… [The gas company] declined repeated requests from The Times… The gas company would not provide current photos of the site or allow media access… In one internal state report obtained by The Times, an agency official described [one] kill effort as a “blowout to surface.” “A large column of gas, aerated mud, and rock formed a geyser around the wellhead,” the state observer wrote.

Scott McGurk, senior oil and gas field regulator assigned to daily watch at Aliso Canyon, Jan 15, 2016: The site and wellhead were made more unstable by the gas company’s attempts to stop the leak by pumping a slurry directly into the well… The wellhead sits exposed within the cavernous space, held in place with cables attached after it wobbled during the plugging attempt… During one of [the plugging] attempts Nov. 13, a hole in the ground opened 20 feet north of the well… Gas that had seeped through diffuse rock fissures on the western side of the narrow ridge began streaming instead from the new vent… the vent allowed a “serious amount of gas” to escape.

Gene Nelson, a physical sciences professor at Cuesta College, Jan 15, 2016: “If the wellhead fails, the thing is just going to be full blast… It will be a horrible, horrible problem. The leak rates would go way up.”

Don Drysdale, California Department of Conservation spokesman, Jan 15, 2016: The possibility of fire [is] “a concern” even without a blowout.

Los Angeles Times, Jan 16, 2016: [There's] new evidence the [Puclic Utility Commission] is concerned that the compromised well site in Aliso Canyon is vulnerable to either a blowout… an explosion, or both… PUC includes a warning that damage to the well system, which was subjected to two months of aggressive high-pressure pumping to try to plug the leak, might now permit air to mix with methane in a way that “could be catastrophic.”… [T]he utility began a series of increasingly aggressive attempts to plug the well with heavy mud… those efforts instead scoured a 25-foot-deep crater around the well, blew out a large vent from which gas could escape more freely, and threatened the stability of the wellhead itself… The Department of Conservation says those facilities present “a direct and ongoing threat to public health, safety, and the environment”…

NPR, Jan 15, 2016: Adding to concerns over the disaster, efforts to stop the leak appear to have destabilized the well, the Los Angeles Times reports, raising the risk of a blowout… SoCalGas’ efforts to cap the well have actually increased the risk of a blowout. Seven attempts to plug the leak have made the area less stable… even without a blowout, the leak could catch on fire.

FOX LA transcript, Jan 16, 2016: “Trying to avoid a blowout, state regulators say it’s now a big concern after SoCalGas has tried to plug a leaking well near Porter Ranch seven times. If a blowout happens, experts say highly flammable gas would go up the well, creating a risk of a massive fire — possibly even an explosion.”

CNN

Facts about Libya under Gaddafi that you probably did not know about!

Posted November 21, 2012

CNN PRODUCER NOTE The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the iReporter. CNN cannot confirm all of the claims in this iReport and has been unable to reach the original submitter. Share your thoughts on this story in the comments below or upload your view to iReport.

- zdan, CNN iReport producer

Here are some Facts you probably do not know about Libya under Muammar Gaddafi:

• There was no electricity bills in Libya; electricity is free … for all its citizens.

• There was no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned and loans given to all its citizens at 0% interest by law.

• If a Libyan is unable to find employment after graduation, the state would pay the average salary of the profession as if he or she is employed until employment is found.

• Should Libyans want to take up a farming career, they receive farm land, a house, equipment, seed and livestock to kick start their farms –this was all for free.

• Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country.

• A home was considered a human right in Libya. (In Qaddafi’s Green Book it states: “The house is a basic need of both the individual and the family, therefore it should not be owned by others.”)

• All newlyweds in Libya would receive 60,000 Dinar (US$ 50,000 ) by the government to buy their first apartment so to help start a family.

• A portion of Libyan oil sales is or was credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens.

• A mother who gives birth to a child would receive US $5,000.

• When a Libyan buys a car, the government would subsidizes 50% of the price.

• The price of petrol in Libya was $0.14 per liter.

• For $ 0.15, a Libyan local could purchase 40 loaves of bread.

• Education and medical treatments was all free in Libya. Libya can boast one of the finest health care systems in the Arab and African World. All people have access to doctors, hospitals, clinics and medicines, completely free of charge.

• If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities they need in Libya, the government would fund them to go abroad for it – not only free but they get US $2,300/month accommodation and car allowance.

• 25% of Libyans have a university degree. Before Gaddafi only 25% of Libyans were literate. Today the figure is 87%.

• Libya had no external debt and its reserves amount to $150 billion – though much of this is now frozen globally.

Gaddafi wrote, “They want to do to Libya what they did to Iraq and what they are itching to do to Iran. They want to take back the oil, which was nationalized by these country’s revolutions. They want to re-establish military bases that were shut down by the revolutions and to install client regimes that will subordinate the country’s wealth and labor to imperialist corporate interests. All else is lies and deception.”

Finally, the gold bullion held by the Libyan Central Bank (March 2011) was among the 25 largest reserves in the world, as reported by the Financial Times, citing the International Monetary Fund. This provided Libya a critical lifeline after billions of Libya’s assets were seized by the United States and the 27 member states of the European Union.

Many believe the NATO-led invasion of Libya was/is about oil and a vast wealth of other natural resources. Yet another critical element that few are aware of is the fact that Gaddafi had planned to introduce a single African currency made from gold. [Of this proposed African currency] Dr James Thring stated, “It’s one of these things that you have to plan almost in secret, because as soon as you say you’re going to change over from the dollar to something else, you’re going to be targeted … There were two conferences on this, in 1986 and 2000, organized by Gaddafi. … Most countries in Africa were keen.” This would have eradicated the US Dollar and Euro as trade currencies for Africa.

***

NaturalHealth365

Common pain killers linked to heart attacks

Posted by: Lori Alton, staff writer in Food News January 19, 2016

(NaturalHealth365) The next time that headache or painful muscle has you reaching for the bottle of pain reliever, stop. That seemingly harmless dose of Motrin, Aleve or Advil could be increasing your risk of deadly heart attack – a high price to pay in the quest to dull a headache.

Such pain relievers are part of a family of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. While considered “generally safe,” mountains of evidence shows frequent use of such medications could be contributing to an increased risk of heart attack.

Study links pain reliever to increased deaths from heart attack

For five years, researchers in Denmark followed the health of about 100,000 people who had suffered a first heart attack. During the course of the study, nearly half of them were prescribed an NSAID type of pain killer at least once. Results were published online in the journal Circulation.

The shocking results were that after just one year, those subjects who used an NSAID were 60 percent more likely to die during each year of the study, compared to those who did not. This is a relative increase when comparing the two groups of subjects – those who have used an NSAID and those who have not.

Looking at the findings in absolute terms, there were 20 deaths per 100 people during the first year among pain medication users compared to just 12 deaths per 100 people among the nonusers. During the fifth year, there were 9.5 deaths per 100 NSAID users and 6 deaths per 100 non-NSAID users. The study also found that those who took any NSAID pain reliever instead of aspirin increased their risk of having a second heart attack.

Be careful: Your pain medication can damage your heart

The NSAID diclofenac, sometimes more familiar under the trade name Cataflm, was linked to the largest increases in death and heart attack rates. Medications containing naproxen, such as Naprosyn and Aleve, appeared to have a slightly lower rate.

The Danish study is only the tip of the iceberg. Countless studies over recent years have that proven pain relievers spark a number of dangerous health conditions. For example, a 2013 study reviewed 600 trials and found high doses of NSAIDs increased the risk of heart attacks by one-third.

Taking ibuprofen was shown to more than double the likelihood of a coronary event. Even more concerning, a 2014 study found that deaths associated with strokes were 19 percent higher in patients who had been taking NSAIDs.

Controversial explanation for increased deaths

The Danish study, like those before it, did not yield a definitive explanation for what caused NSAIDs to increase the risk of cardiac problems for heart attack survivors. It is possible that patients taking NSAIDs are no longer following a recommended aspirin regimen and that this contributes to the increased risk.

It is also possible that the pain relievers are blocking the protective effects of aspirin, even when aspirin is still being taken. Aspirin is recommended for heart patients because it makes platelets less sticky and less likely to form blood clots, a major cause of heart attacks.

Safer alternatives for relieving pain

While it is likely advantageous for anyone to avoid frequent use of these pain relievers, it is especially important for those with heart disease. If you are a cardiac patient and want an over-the-counter pain relief, you may want to choose acetaminophen instead. Even so, do not exceed 3,250 mg per day to avoid liver damage.

But rather than risk a heart attack, a much better choice for minor pain relief is essential oils, specifically frankincense, wintergreen, peppermint, or lavender. In most cases, it will only take a few minutes after application to feel the pain lifted.

Other things to consider are: over exposure to EMF pollution, infections in the mouth, dehydration and food allergies. If you’re suffering with chronic pain – don’t ignore the signals and seek help from a trusted, holistic physician today.

References:

http://www.medicaldaily.com/otc-painkillers-cause-increased-risk-heart-attack-stroke-fda-342550

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/261183.php

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/atrial-fibrillation/news/20140409/certain-prescription-painkillers-tied-to-higher-risk-of-irregular-heartbeat-study

Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions

(And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in [her] body that she was healed of that plague. Matthew 5:25-29)