“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
(2 Corinthians 4:18)

Not Seen

Dear Friends,

Greetings. We hope you all had a great week. If not, to quote Winston Churchill, “If you are going through hell, keep going.”

We are including something this week, we have not done in the past, posting a three hour radio program that came out just over two years ago. We have never posted such a long video as we know many of you are extremely busy people. We usually try to keep the videos no longer than a few minutes.

This radio program is the “Hagman and Hagman Report” and this particular program features Tom Horn and Steve Quayle. The name of the program is called “Return of The Gods”.

The main topic concerns inter dimensional beings, entities from another dimension, the spirit world.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

This is a topic, with which if you are not familiar, you should become aware.

It is a topic that should concern us, as this is exactly what the people who run CERN are attempting to do. They are attempting to contact beings in other dimensions.

Tom Horn and Steve Quayle are both very gifted researchers and we think you will find the information they share to be very valuable.

Have a great week ahead.

+++

We also wanted to thank all those who have sent donations for the video project. God bless you. We sure appreciate it. We are still, however, a little short of the needed funds for this trip so to make things as easy as we can we are including a mailing address here. If you can send anything large or small it would sure be a help and blessing. Thank you. (See appeal at the bottom of this blog.)

Thank you again for your help concerning this project.

The mailing address is:

Norman Cochran

2617c West Holcombe Blvd. #491

Houston Texas, 77025

Att: POTK

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WND

FAMOUS EXORCIST: 'ISIS IS SATAN'

'Things 1st happen in spiritual realms, then made concrete on this Earth'

Published: April 15, 2015

The leading Roman Catholic exorcist is calling out the Islamic State, naming it as Satan manifested on Earth.

Father Gabriele Amorth, 90, founder of the International Association of Exorcists, has taken to Facebook to confront the Muslim group terrorizing Syria and Iraq and rapidly spreading its influence throughout the Muslim world, reported the Catholic News Agency.

“ISIS is Satan,” the priest posted on the social-media site.

“Things first happen in the spiritual realms, then they are made concrete on this Earth.

“There are only two spiritual realms: The Holy Spirit and the demonic spirit,” Father Amorth said, adding the demonic enters in “because evil is disguised in various ways: political, religious, cultural, and it has one source of inspiration: the devil.

“As a Christian I fight the beast spiritually,” he said.

Amorth has indeed been fighting the devil for a long time, many of those years nearly alone. He is credited with performing over 70,000 exorcisms during the past 29 years.

Twenty-five years ago, the number of exorcists officially recognized by the Vatican was approximately a dozen. Today, the International Association of Exorcists (IAE) now numbers some 300 members from 30 different countries, reported Catholic World Report. The group founded by Amorth received official recognition in June 2014 and was given the status of a pontifical entity.

Up until the fourth century, exorcisms were a standard ministerial function for local pastors, a practice still found in the Orthodox Church. At that time, Pope Innocent, reacting against magicians and frauds taking advantage of the faithful, ruled exorcisms could be administered only with a bishop’s authorization.

It has been Amorth’s calling to reinvigorate the practice of exorcism in the Church, echoing the words of Jesus to his disciples in Mark 16:17: “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons …”

Satan “keeps saying that the world is in his power, and what he says is true,” said Amorth. “Biblically speaking, we are in the last days, and the beast is working furiously.”

Questioning the West’s failure to vigorously challenge the Islamists’ advance, Amorth warned ignoring the threat is not a long-term option.

“The political world, which today seems to lack a response in face of the massacre of Christians, will also have to fight ISIS, and it will do it in a different way,” said the priest.

“If it advances as it seems to be doing, we ask ourselves what has the West done over the course of the last decades.”

WND reported Amorth has been willing to go after Satan wherever he finds him, even within the Church itself.

In March 2010, Amorth told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: “The devil resides in the Vatican and you can see the consequences. He can remain hidden, or speak in different languages, or even appear to be sympathetic. At times he makes fun of me. But I’m a man who is happy in his work.”

He added the evil influence of Satan was evident in the highest ranks of the Catholic hierarchy, with “cardinals who do not believe in Jesus and bishops who are linked to the demon.”

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PRESSTV

Turkey says never possible to recognize 1915 Armenia killings as genocide

Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:53PM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan © AFP

Turkey says it will never recognize as genocide the 1915 killing of Armenians as the European Parliament considers whether to pass a resolution on the Ottoman-era massacre.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, “For Turkey, it will never be possible to recognize such a sin, such a blame.”

Erdogan pointed to the European Parliament’s plan and said the resolution “will go in one ear and out the other.”

The World War I event, during which Armenia says up to 1.5 million of its people were killed, was first qualified as genocide in a similar resolution passed in 1987 by the European Parliament, which says the planned resolution is to honor “the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.”

A picture released by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute dated 1915 shows soldiers standing over the skulls of victims from the Armenian village of Sheyxalan in the Mush valley, on the Caucasus front during World War I.

The Turkish president, meanwhile, defended the present-day treatment of Armenians in Turkey, saying, “There are 100,000 Armenians who are either Turkish citizens or not citizens in my country. Have they been submitted to any different treatment?”

He added that the Armenians in his country “benefit from all kinds of opportunities,” and Turkey does not deport them as, he said, “they are guests in our country.”

The issue was brought to the limelight on April 12, when in controversial remarks during a Sunday solemn mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis used the word “genocide” to describe the massacre. The pontiff said the incident was the “first genocide of the 20th century.”

Ankara was quick in responding to the remarks. The Turkish Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for consultation amid the worsening diplomatic row over the issue.

Davutoglu: Pope joined “an evil front”

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said during an event in Ankara on Wednesday that the Pope has joined “an evil front” plotting against Turkey.

He expressed Turkey’s willingness to face its history, but stressed, “We won’t allow our nation to be insulted through history, we won’t allow Turkey to be blackmailed through historic disputes.”

Ankara rejects the term “genocide” and says the 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks, who perished between 1915 and 1917, were the casualties of World War I. Armenia, however, demands that the deaths be recognized as genocide.

Armenia, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay formally recognize the incident as genocide.

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Brought to you by AmericanMinute.com.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was born April 13, 1743. He drafted the Declaration of Independence, 1776; was governor of Virginia, 1779-1781; and founded the University of Virginia in 1819.

While U.S. minister to France, 1785-1789, Jefferson met with the Muslim ambassador from Tripoli to negotiate freeing hundreds of captured U.S. sailors held in dungeons. Jefferson was secretary of state under President Washington, 1790-1793; and vice-president under John Adams, 1797-1801.

Immediately after being inaugurated the third U.S. president, Jefferson received a demand from the Muslim pasha of Tripoli for $225,000 as an extortion tribute payment, or they would declare war. Jefferson refused and sent over the U.S. Navy and Marines in the First Muslim Barbary Pirate Wars.

In 1803, Jefferson approved purchasing the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon, and sent Lewis and Clark to explore it, 1804-1806.

Jefferson took a public stand for religious freedom. On May 24, 1774, Thomas Jefferson drafted a Virginia Resolution calling for a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer to be observed the day British ships blockaded Boston’s harbor.

In 1777, Jefferson organized the independent Calvinistical Reformed Church, which met in the Charlottesville courthouse. That same year, fellow church member Col. John Harvie introduced Jefferson’s Bill for Religious Freedom in the Virginia Legislature. Jefferson’s bill was passed as the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, Jan. 16, 1786: “Almighty God hath created the mind free. … All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments … tend only to begat habits of hypocrisy … and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in His Almighty power to do, but to extend it by its influence on reason alone.”

In 1779, as governor of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson signed a proclamation appointing a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer: “Whereas … Congress … hath thought proper … to recommend to the several States … humbly to approach the throne of Almighty God … that he hath … been a shield to our troops in the hour of danger, pointed their swords to victory … and above all, that he hath diffused the glorious light of the Gospel, whereby, through the merits of our gracious Redeemer, we may become the heirs of his eternal glory

“Resolved … to appoint … a day of publick and solemn Thanksgiving to Almighty God … that he would grant to his church, the plentiful effusions of divine grace, and pour out his Holy Spirit on all Ministers of the Gospel; that he would bless and prosper the means of education, and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth … and finally, that he would establish the independence of these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue. … Given under my hand and the seal of the commonwealth, at Williamsburg, this 11th day of November, in the year of our Lord, 1779, and in the fourth of the commonwealth. THOMAS JEFFERSON”

Jefferson approved a treaty with the Kaskaskia Indians, Dec. 3, 1803: “Whereas the greater part of the said tribe have been baptized and received into the Catholic Church, to which they are much attached, the United States will give annually, for seven years, one hundred dollars toward the support of a priest of that religion … and the United States will further give the sum of three hundred dollars, to assist the said tribe in the erection of a church.”

Jefferson wrote to William Canby, Sept. 18, 1813: “Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus.”

Jefferson wrote to Jared Sparks, Nov. 4, 1820: “I hold the precepts of Jesus as delivered by Himself, to be the most pure, benevolent and sublime which have ever been preached to man.”

Jefferson wrote to Joseph Priestly of Jesus, April 9, 1803: “His system of morality was the most benevolent and sublime probably that has been ever taught, and consequently more perfect than those of any of the ancient philosophers.”

Jefferson wrote to John Adams, July 5, 1814: “The doctrines that flowed from the lips of Jesus himself are within the comprehension of a child.”

Discover more of Bill Federer’s eye-opening books and videos in the WND Superstore!

Jefferson lived in Virginia, which had the Anglican Church established from 1606 to 1786. Establishment meant mandatory membership, mandatory attendance, mandatory taxes to support it and no one could hold public office unless he was a member. Other Protestant Christian denominations were considered “dissenters” and Catholics were prohibited from entering the colony. With the king of England being the head of the Anglican Church of England, there were conflicting allegiances for Anglican clergy during the Revolution, with many siding with the king.

Vocalizing his sentiments, Jefferson wrote to Henry Fry, June 17, 1804: “I consider the doctrines of Jesus as delivered by himself to contain the outlines of the sublimest system of morality that has ever been taught but I hold in the most profound detestation and execration the corruptions of it which have been invented.”

In 1813, Jefferson wrote to John Adams: “In extracting the pure principles which Jesus taught, we should have to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled … there will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.”

On April 21, 1803, Jefferson wrote to Dr. Benjamin Rush, also a signer of the Declaration: “My views … are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others…”

Jefferson wrote further: “His system of morals … if filled up in the style and spirit of the rich fragments He left us, would be the most perfect and sublime that has ever been taught by man. …

1. He corrected the Deism of the Jews, confirming them in their belief of one only God, and giving them juster notions of His attributes and government.

2. His moral doctrines…were more pure and perfect than those of the most correct of the philosophers … gathering all into one family under the bonds of love, charity, peace, common wants and common aids. A development of this head will evince the peculiar superiority of the system of Jesus over all others.

3. The precepts of philosophy, and of the Hebrew code, laid hold of actions only. He pushed his scrutinies into the heart of man; erected his tribunal in the region of his thoughts, and purified the waters at the fountain head.

4. He taught, emphatically, the doctrines of a future state … and wielded it with efficacy as an important incentive, supplementary to the other motives to moral conduct.”

Jefferson told Benjamin Waterhouse, June 26, 1822: “The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.

1. That there is one only God, and he all perfect.

2. That there is a future state of rewards and punishments.

3. That to love God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself, is the sum of religion. These are the great points on which he endeavored to reform the religion of the Jews. …

Now, which of these is the true and charitable Christian? He who believes and acts on the simple doctrines of Jesus? … ”

Jefferson continued: “Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christian. … How much wiser are the Quakers, who, agreeing in the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, schismatize about no mysteries, and, keeping within the pale of common sense, suffer no speculative differences of opinion … to impair the love of their brethren.”

Jefferson wrote “Notes on Religion,” possibly in October of 1776, for use in his speeches in Virginia’s House of Delegates regarding the disestablishment of the Episcopal Church (“The Works of Thomas Jefferson,” Federal Edition, Paul Leicester Ford, editor, New York and London, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904-5, Vol. 2): “Another plea for Episcopal government in Religion in England is its similarity to the political government by a king. No bishop, no king. This then with us is a plea for government by a presbytery which resembles republican government. The clergy have ever seen this. The bishops were always mere tools of the crown.

“The Presbyterian spirit is known to be so congenial with friendly liberty, that the patriots after the restoration finding that the humour of people was running too strongly to exalt the prerogative of the crown promoted the dissenting interest as a check and balance, & thus was produced the Toleration Act …”

Jefferson added in his “Notes on Religion”: “The Gentiles have the law written in their hearts, i.e. the law of nature: to which adding a faith in God’s & his attributes that on their repentance he would pardon them, they also would be justified. This then explains the text ‘there is no other name under heaven by which a man may be saved,’ i.e. the defects in good works shall not be supplied by a faith in Mahomet Foe, or any other except Christ …”

Jefferson continued: “The fundamentals of Christianity as found in the Gospels are 1. Faith, 2. Repentance. That faith is everywhere explained to be a belief that Jesus was the Messiah who had been promised. Repentance was to be proved sincerely by good works. … The fundamentals of Christianity were to be found in the preaching of our Saviour, which is related in the Gospels. …

“What are fundamentals? The Protestants will say those doctrines which are clearly & precisely delivered in the Holy Scriptures. … If we are Protestants we reject all tradition, & rely on the Scripture alone, for that is the essence & common principle of all the Protestant churches. … The care of every man’s soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or estate, which more nearly relate to the state. Will the magistrate make a law that he shall not be poor or sick? Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves. God himself will not save men against their wills.”

Jefferson compiled “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French and English” in 1816, which stated on the original handwritten cover page: “The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth – extracted from the account of his life and doctrines as given by Matthew, Mark, Luke & John – being an abridgement of the New Testament for the use of the Indians unembarrassed with matters of fact or faith beyond the level of their comprehensions.”

Jefferson wrote to Charles Thomson, Jan. 9, 1816: “I have made this wee-little book … which I call The Philosophy of Jesus. It is a paradigm of his doctrines, made by cutting the texts out of the book and arranging them on the pages of a blank book, in a certain order of time and subject. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me an infidel, and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its Author never said nor saw.”

Franklin Roosevelt said on the 400th anniversary of the printing of the English Bible, Oct. 6, 1935: “Learned as Jefferson was in the best of the ancient philosophers, he turned to the Bible as the source of his higher thinking and reasoning. … He held that the Bible contained the noblest ethical system the world has known. His own compilation of the selected portions of this Book, in what is known as Jefferson’s Bible, bears evidence of the profound reverence in which he held it.”

In 1904, the 57th Congress, in order to restrain unethical behavior, voted: “That there be printed … for the use of Congress, 9,000 copies of Thomas Jefferson’s Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, as the same appears in the National Museum.”

In his second inaugural, 1805, Jefferson wrote: “I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old.”

In 1798, Jefferson had written the Kentucky Resolutions: “That in cases of an abuse … where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy. … Each State has a natural right … to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits; that without this right they would be under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgment for them.”

Inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., are his words: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

Brought to you by AmericanMinute.com.

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WND

COUNTRY-MUSIC STAR LOSES ALL IN BUS FIRE – BUT BIBLE

'My faith is forever deepened because of today'

Published: April 17, 2015

CHERYL CHUMLEY Lady Antebellum’s bus was destroyed by fire.

Hillary Scott with the country band Lady Antebellum said flames erupted on her tour bus after a tire blew in Garland, Texas, destroying everything aboard – except for the Bible.

She posted a message on Instagram: “EVERYONE IS SAFE AND SOUND. It was me, my husband, our tour manager and driver. Thanking God for our safety and the safety of all of those who helped put this fire out and keep us safe. Love you all!!!!”

Scott shortly after posted another message saying her faith had actually deepened from the fire when she learned her Bible escaped the flames, nearly untouched.

“I just got this picture from the scene of the fire and HAD to share this,” she wrote, the Washington Post reported. “Today, when our bus caught on fire we had quite a few personal belongings in the back (where I was asleep before evacuating the bus) one of them being my Bible. I kid you not, EVERYTHING in the back lounge was destroyed from the flames, except my Bible.”

She said the cover was a bit blackened, but that was the only damage.

“But NOT ONE PAGE was missing,” Scott went on. “Ya’ll God’s Word will always stand. He is FOR YOU, WILL PROTECT YOU, AND HIS LOVE FOR YOU WILL NEVER FADE. My faith is forever deepened because of today. I hope this story deepens yours.”

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CNN

IBM warns Louisiana over 'religious freedom' bill

IBM has sent a letter to the governor of Louisiana warning that a pending religious freedom bill would create a hostile environment for the tech company's employees.

"A bill that legally protects discrimination based on same-sex marriage status will create a hostile environment for our current and prospective employees, and is antithetical to our company's values," IBM vice president James Driesse wrote in a letter to Gov. Bobby Jindal.

"IBM will find it much harder to attract talent to Louisiana if this bill is passed and enacted into law," Driesse said.

The letter asks Jindal to work with the state legislature to "ensure this legislation is not discriminatory." IBM has made significant investments in Louisiana, including a technology services delivery center in Baton Rouge.

The letter is the latest warning from corporate America to states that are considering controversial religious freedom laws. In Indiana and Arkansas, an intense backlash has already forced lawmakers to make revisions.

Critics say the laws give businesses the ability to discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people on religious grounds. Louisiana's "Marriage and Conscience Act" would prohibit the state from taking "adverse action" against a person who opposes same-sex marriage because of their religion.

Jindal, a potential Republican presidential candidate, said it's a matter of liberty.

"I think we can have religious liberty without having discrimination," he said earlier this month on NBC's Meet the Press. "I think it's possible to have both."

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Worldcrunch

Genetic Engineering, Humankind Creeps Toward A 'Planet Of The Apes'

Laurent Alexandre (2015-04-07)

PARIS — Half-animal, half-human? The astounding developments in nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC) are posing problems that we thought only existed in science fiction.

Recent studies have brought us closer to Planet of the Apes, written by French novelist Pierre Boulle in 1963. In three experiments, the last one of which was published in Current Biology last month, scientists have improved the intellectual capacities of mice by modifying their DNA sequences with segments of human chromosomes or by injecting them with human brain glial cells.

These modified animals have bigger brains and can perform difficult tasks more quickly. The DNA sequences that were successfully modified are involved in language and brain size in humans. This comes after a study on successful genetic modifications on two small monkeys was published in Nature in March of last year. Meaning that the success of cognitive improvement of mice will soon be verified in monkeys.

These manipulations were achieved with DNA-modifying enzymes. For about $12, a biology student these days can create these enzymes and conduct genetic engineering, making it incredibly cheap to create animal-man chimeras. Decade after decade, new findings and experiments will have breathtaking consequences.

DNA-modifying enzyme — Source: Zephyris/GFDL

How will we prevent some animal lovers from ordering a more intelligent, more emphatic, more "human" dog? There will always be room for indulgence in relation to cognitive enhancement of animals. Society will be presented with a fait accompli, as it is now with same-sex couples buying children from surrogate mothers in foreign countries.

What will the ethical standards be? Will we allow chimpanzees to become more intelligent? As dignity and respect for animals grow in our societies, the issue will only become more relevant. How will we view animals if and when their IQs are modified to be close to that of today's humans? Should we decree a conceptual intelligence monopoly for our species and computers with artificial intelligence — therefore barring animals from such recognition?

This NBIC revolution will raise philosophical questions about what makes us humans by abolishing two limits that were previously thought to be impassable: that which separates us from animals, with neuro-enhancement, and that which separates us from machines, with artificial intelligence. In both cases, doesn't access to intelligence and awareness also mean accessing a dignity equal to that of any human being? What status should we then allow enhanced animals and robots in our society?

The emergence of new, intelligent electronic or biological creatures also has religious consequences. Some theologists, such as Reverend Christopher Benek, want intelligent machines to receive baptism if they express such a desire.

The NBIC are raising truly groundbreaking questions that will have consequences for the future of humankind. But to properly answer them, we need a new political elite. Among today's political class, very few are capable of fully comprehending these questions.

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NATIONAL POST

Why is the scientific world abuzz about an unpublished paper? Because it could permanently change human DNA

Ashley Csanady | April 6, 2015 | Last Updated: Apr 6 12:48 PM ET

Leah Hennel/Calgary Herald

Scientists around the world are buzzing about a highly anticipated study that has yet to be published but could mark a major milestone in genetic and embryonic research.

Scientists around the world are anticipating the results of a Chinese study that would mark the first time DNA in a human embryo has been modified in a way that would carry into future generations.

Although the embryos would be for study only, and not intended for implantation, the research would mark a significant milestone: the first time human DNA had been altered so substantially that it would change the “germ line” — the eggs or sperm of any child produced from the embryo.

Theoretically that could allow parents in the not-too-distant future to essentially clean their own eggs and sperm of undesired genes — such as ones known to cause cancer — and prevent those genes from being passed on to grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

As scientists debate the practicalities and ethics in journals and online, one expert says he believes the results will land soon.

“There is a paper from China. I don’t think it’s been accepted yet, but I think it will be at some point,” said George Church, a Harvard genetics professor who pioneered genome sequencing in his PhD. He may have some insider insight as well, as one of his researchers, Luhan Yang, was poached from Beijing and is thought to have worked on the forthcoming paper.

Genetics research is already improving medicine, for example, informing women if they are more likely to develop breast or ovarian cancer. Scientists can sequence the human genome and parse it, find out where it goes wrong, and use that information to prevent, treat and even cure certain diseases, with implications for everything from autism to ALS.

But there’s a big difference between gene therapy — a growing field of largely clinical research that uses genes in treatment — and altering the germ line. That’s because current gene therapies make “somatic” changes to DNA, or ones that don’t affect eggs and sperm or embryos.

There are about 2,000 gene-therapy studies underway around the world, Church said. One clinical trial is seeking to turn off the genes that make the body susceptible to the HIV virus. Another pending trial out of the University of Alberta seeks to alter genes in men to stop the progression of a degenerative eye disease that leaves sufferers legally blind by middle age.

In terms of changing the germ line, “we are very close,” Church said. “In animal models, you can make animal sperm that has whatever alteration that you want. To say that we’re far away I think would be naive, to embrace it right away without proper testing would also be naive.”

With the medical advancements come concerns of “designer babies” or a 21st-century version of eugenics.

The science is moving much faster than the ethics

“The science is moving much faster than the ethics,” said Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist at the University of Toronto.

Germ-line research “does get into deeper questions of eugenics, especially with spectrum disorders,” he said. “We’ve got to take a deep breath because we’re about to alter the human genetic code in a way that it’s never been altered before.”

In fact, in March, a group of leading biologists called for a worldwide moratorium on such research.

Church said however that the concern over germ-line therapies is not unlike the fear in the 1970s over “test-tube babies.” In vitro fertilization is now so common that some provinces cover its health-care costs.

It could also be considered a medical evolution. Vaccines and antibiotics were developed to prevent and cure diseases. Now genetic testing and even embryo selection could be used to tackle the likes of Tay-Sachs disease and Huntington’s disease, he said.

Twentieth-century eugenics, practised horrifically in Nazi Germany, and also in America into the 1960s, was “not trying to make people healthy,” Church said.

“The problem was that the government was sterilizing people against their will,” he said. “That is not what is on the table today. What is on the table today is allowing parents to make decisions about their child’s health, which is very similar to other decisions they make which involve unnatural things … like sending them to school … and giving them iPhones … These things augment them, and make them less like their ancestors.”

ENENEWS

Officials: “Such a bizarre thing” off California coast — “We’re seeing multiple aborted fetuses every day” — 100,000s of seabirds that nest in area now missing… “Huge, unprecedented die-off like we’ve never seen” — Many baby seals dying after mothers led them to a cliff edge… “Brutal to watch”

KQED Science, Apr 5, 2015 (emphasis added): About thirty miles out from the Golden Gate, the federally protected Farallones are breeding grounds visited by hundreds of thousands of seabirds – many of which use the islands as a winter way station — but not this year. Gerry McChesney, manager of the site for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says that’s a bad sign not just for the Farallon Islands but also for wildlife more broadly along California’s coast. There was also hardship for breeding marine mammals. Dozens of pregnant sea lions proved too weak to carry their pups to term “That’s such a bizarre thing,” McChesney says. “We were seeing multiple aborted fetuses every day,” 94 in total – or nearly half the number of sea lions born there in 2014. Nor was the warm winter kind to elephant seal pups. Russ Bradley, Farallon program manager for Point Blue Conservation Science, says elephant seal mothers, trying to cool off amid the unusual heat, led their pups up to a cliff that, while breezy, proved perilous – “and actually had a fair amount of pups fall into this sea channel, because they’re pups and they’re clumsy and they got too close to the edge.” “It is pretty brutal for the biologists out here that had to watch it,” McChesney says. “It was pretty tough.” Among the conspicuously absent birds was a type called Cassin’s Auklet, which feeds on krill. All along the Pacific coast, McChesney says, these birds have been suffering “a huge, unprecedented die-off like we’ve never seen” for want of food. That’s also bad news for other species that eat krill, he says, from salmon to blue whales.

KGO, Apr 2, 2015: Researchers view the Farallon Islands as a barometer for the health of the overall ocean and this year in particular has been tough. Hundreds of sea lion pups have beached themselves, but elephant seals are having trouble too… — Doug Cordell, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: “Some of them have died when the mothers lead them to a cliffs edge attempting to get cool and the pups then fell to their deaths. We’re seeing unusual occurrences with the bird populations. Very low attendance of the breeding sea birds… Any of these things in isolation you might say, ‘Hmm, that’s interesting.’”

Zero Hedge

When You Think The Financial World Can’t Get Any Crazier… This Happens

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/09/2015 19:49 -0400

Submitted by Simon Black of Sovereign Man

When you think the financial world can’t get any crazier… this happens

The world has truly gone mad.

We’ve become accustomed somewhat in the last several years to historical anomalies such as zero percent interest rates, Quantitative Easing, competitive currency devaluation, etc. by governments and central banks the world over.

It’s almost become the new norm.

But then there’s always something that happens that shocks us all over again.

And just like with any other addiction, the infusion of ridiculous and unsustainable policies has to be that much more potent to have any effect.

Two such developments have just taken place in the financial world.

First, Switzerland became the first to issue 10-year government bonds with a negative yield.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Especially in the last year we’ve seen governments issue short-term debt with negative interest rates. But now the Swiss government is the first that will actually profit from its long-term 10-year debt.

It’s insane.

Just like in a bad infomercial—“But wait, there’s more!”

The government of Mexico just sold 100-year bonds denominated in EUROS. Also the first ever of its kind.

A few years ago, Mexico sold its first 100-year bond—that one was denominated in US dollars. Later, they sold another century-bond in British pounds.

You can just imagine the figures at the Mexican central bank’s meeting going: “Well, that went great. I wouldn’t have believed we could ever get away with that… Hey, what if we tried to do it in euros next time, haha?”

So they did. They took advantage of the European Central Bank’s unprecedented stimulus and issued a 100-year bond in a currency that most likely won’t even be around in the next decade.

Who’s dumb enough to buy this stuff—10-year debt at negative yields and 100-year debt in a doomed currency?

Institutional investors, of course—large pension funds and the like. You might look at news like that and think, well, that’s crazy, I’d never do that. But the fact is, it’s being done with YOUR MONEY.

Just like Winston Churchill commented that it’s false to characterize the fighting at places like the Somme, Verdun etc. in WWI as battles, when they were actually more like prolonged sieges, what’s happening in the financial world today is similar.

Currency wars is a term that’s been used frequently in recent years to describe what the world’s central banks and governments are doing.

In fact, this isn’t a currency war at all—it’s much more like a currency siege.

And when you think it can’t get any worse, it does.

Just like in WWI when nobody expected the amount of destruction and misery that happened. Heavy artillery barrages. U-boats. Tanks. Poison gas… It just kept getting worse and worse.

The financial world today is the same. Billion dollar stimulus packages. Quantitative Easing 1, 2, 3… Negative interest rates. Negative long-term debt yields. Cash withdrawal and transaction controls. Higher taxes. Capital controls…

It doesn’t stop. And it’s even getting worse.

Who are the losers now? Just like in WWI, they’re the guys in the trenches. They’re not the politicians making these decisions—the losers are the rest of us.

This isn’t a siege of one nation against the other. The siege is against us.

***

CNET

Prepare for the epic total solar eclipse hitting the US in 2017

A once-in-a-lifetime moment will sweep across the US two years from now. Crave's Eric Mack says it's already time to plan your travel and your soundtrack.

by Eric Mack 
@ericcmack

April 9, 2015 3:40 PM PDT

This map shows the narrow corridor that will see a total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017.

NASA/F. Espenak

You may have seen a solar eclipse before, but the odds are good that you haven't witnessed anything like the total solar eclipse that will roll across the contiguous United States a little over two years from now. In fact, if you haven't already started making your plan for the first great American eclipse of the century, you might already be behind.

If you've seen an eclipse in the US, it was probably just a partial eclipse, which astronomy enthusiasts will tell you is nothing compared with seeing a solar eclipse in totality, when our star goes completely black save for its eerie corona, the sky dims and stars can become visible in the daytime.

The last time such a thing was witnessed in the US was 1991, and that was only from certain parts of Hawaii. The contiguous 48 states haven't seen a total eclipse since 1979, when one sort of drifted through the northwest quarter of the country -- we haven't had one coast-to-coast since 1918.

The total solar eclipse will first become visible from the Oregon coastline on August 21, 2017, at 10:17 a.m. between Lincoln City and Newport, and then march all the way to the Atlantic near Charleston, S.C.. While at least a partial eclipse will be visible from all of North America and parts of other continents, to experience the the full solar disappearing act, you'll need to be somewhere along the narrow corridor in the map above at just the right time, and ideally with clear skies.

Notable potential viewing locations include Salem, Ore.; Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming; parts of St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo.; Nashville and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tenn. -- and finally Charleston, S.C., will also see anywhere between a few seconds and a few minutes of a total solar eclipse. Bizarrely for me personally, the path of the eclipse will cast its long shadow on both of the small towns where I attended college in Oregon and in Missouri.

NASA offers this particularly helpful Google map to help plan the best spots to view the eclipse from, and a handful of travel agencies are already taking reservations for eclipse trips, particularly from Europe. There's also a handy breakdown here of where you'll be able to see what.

Nowhere is more ready for the Great American eclipse than the Kentucky town of Hopkinsville, which is nearest the point where the eclipse will last longest, at 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Locals there expect it to be the biggest thing to hit the town of less than 50,000, where they've already been planning for a few years now.

There's even a site that's already taking detailed looks at the potential weather forecasts for that day, two years in advance.

That's a lot of buildup for a performance that's less than 3 minutes long. To really deliver, this eclipse is going to have to be something like the best punk rock song in history.

***

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

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the SUN, and the MOON under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”
(Revelation 12:1-3)

***

Dear Ones,

Greetings!

As you may be aware we have recently put out an appeal for help in support of a documentary we, “People of the Keys”, are planning on making from mid-May to mid-June with Simon Peterson of “Nightlight” (A radio show which airs out of Uganda). (For more on Simon's bio see the last two weeks editorials.)

Below is Simon's appeal which gives more details on the project.

We at “People of the Keys” would right now especially like to take the time to thank those who have already given from last weeks appeal and those who have pledged. God bless you.

We would also especially like to ask TFI and former TFI folks if they would pray and see if the Lord could be leading them to help with this project.

It only takes enough people giving just a little to make it happen.

Thank you and God bless you!

Simon's Appeal

Robert (of www.peopleofthekeys.com) and I are making arrangements to film 2 or 3 documentaries in Jerusalem during the last week of May and the first 2 weeks of June. With the help of a TFI brother who now lives in Jerusalem, we have located an apartment we wish to rent that is just a short walk away from the Old City, where most of the filming will take place.

The Lord has supplied the cameras and other equipment needed for the filming, but we would appreciate some financial help towards our air fares, apartment rental and other costs if any of you would like to chip in with however much you would like to invest in this project.

You can donate via Paypal to dannymarie@gmail.com. Or, if you are a TFI member you can send it with your TFI report as a designated gift to "simonpeter" (my log in). Or you can donate by Paypal via the People of the Keys website.

All donors will, of course, receive copies of the three documentaries, which are:

• 1. OH JERUSALEM!

  A documentary about the past, present and most importantly the future of Jerusalem from where Jesus will reign during the Millennium.

• 2. COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON (2015)

  Completely new script and footage. The linking narrations will be filmed on the Mount of Olives and elsewhere in Israel.

• 3. THE THIRD TEMPLE

This is Robert's specialty. Where did the Temple actually stand? Discussing this question enables us to bring in the wider spectrum of Endtime prophecies. (We have already done a Nightlight radio show on this topic which you can find at www.radioact.org. and which will give you a pretty good idea of the content of the documentary.

Robert spent a month in Israel in September of last year and has already done a lot of background research and visited many of the locations where we will film. I also remember Jerusalem very well from the time I spent there filming "Beyond Armageddon" in 1997. I am also already working on the scripts, so when we arrive in Israel we should be able to hit the ground running.

Robert will arrive from the U.S. a week early, so that he can get over jet lag and then start to set things up. Then I'll join him and we'll start to film footage for the documentaries. Then my son, Kingdom, will join us for the last 10 days to film all the 'on camera' narrations and interviews. We'll be sorting and editing the footage each night as we go along, so that when we return to Uganda, the post production stage should not take so long.

Please pray for this project and also donate towards the costs, if you can. These are documentaries that we would like to make freely available to all and will not be a commercial venture.

If anyone has any ideas to contribute, or you would like to do graphics for it, or whatever, please feel free to communicate.

Wow, I'm excited! The Lord is putting all the pieces in place for this to happen and I am sure that He is going to lead and guide and anoint these documentaries and make them a blessing to many!

God bless!