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Events From A Biblical Perspective |
| January 09, 2008 | Welcome to this week's edition of Prophecy News Watch |
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1. Where is the United States in Prophecy? Poll: US support for Israel at 5-yr high Support for Israel among Americans is at its highest point in five years, while the image of Palestinians has grown increasingly negative during the past few months, according to the results of a new survey. Over 60 percent of Americans now believe that the US should support Israel, up from a low point of 23% in 2003 and showing a rise of over 10% since the Second Lebanon War. Conversely, close to 50% have an unfavorable opinion of the Palestinians, following a trend that has increased in the past few months. "The results for Israel follow a trend we've seen developing for years," said Greenberg at a Jerusalem press conference on Tuesday, "but the growing negative numbers of the Palestinians are not what you would expect during a period of peace negotiations. While 66% of Americans believe this Israeli government is committed to peace, over half said they had little or no awareness of last month's Annapolis conference. Sixty percent also said they had little or no awareness of Gaza rockets being shot into Israel, and 55% do not believe an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement will have much impact on reducing terrorism. Similar surveys conducted in France and the UK found that support for Palestinians still remains slightly higher than for Israel. The French, though, show increasing concern over Iran's nuclear program and remain convinced its purpose is to develop nuclear weapons. 2. Israel - God's Timepiece Iran's Dangerous Nuke Game: Why Israel Might Rush to Strike Iran turned up the heat this week on still-simmering concerns about its atomic aspirations. It crowed that its 1,000-megawatt Bushehr nuclear power plant would be "online" as early as this spring, putting in place another important building block of its nuclear program. That sort of news can't help but rattle the steadiest of nerves, no matter what the US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear-weapons program said about the current state of affairs. Seemingly not swayed one iota by the NIE's conclusions, you have to wonder if Israel - the country most threatened by an Iranian nuclear weapons breakout - might take matters into its own hands. It has done so twice before - and the time may be here again. In a 1981 dawn raid lasting less than 90 seconds, Israeli Defense Force fighters attacked the nearly completed 40-megawatt Iraqi Osirak nuclear-reactor complex, setting back Saddam's ability to produce fissile material for nukes. And again last September, the IDF allegedly struck a nascent Syrian nuclear program, which possibly was benefiting from outside help, in a preventive air strike that may have also been meant as a warning to Iran of unpleasant things to come. But why strike now? Well, within about a year of Bushehr becoming operational, some of its spent nuclear fuel could be stripped of enough plutonium to produce a handful of nuclear weapons if the rods aren't returned to their owner/provider, Russia. Because the production of fissile material is the long pole in the nuclear-weapons tent, the diversion of material at Bushehr is potentially as big a problem as the 3,000 centrifuges that Iran has whirring at supersonic speeds, enriching uranium. Attacking Bushehr - like Osirak - before it comes online would not only stop it from being used to produce bomb material, but would also prevent radiation from the reactor being spewed into the atmosphere after a strike. Also possibly spurring Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to put the IDF into action is other recent news: Iran is reportedly buying the highly capable Russian S-300 air-defense system to bolster the Tor-M1 surface-air missile systems Moscow supplied last year. The Iranians purchased the Tor-M1 to prevent a modern-day Iranian version of Israel's successful Osirak strike. The lethal S-300s - likely a response to the Syrian strike - will enhance Iran's ability to protect its nuclear sites scattered around the country. A strike would bring Iranian retaliation, including terrorist attacks by Tehran's allies, such as Hezbollah, as well as missile strikes against large Israeli cities. By association, US interests could come into Iran's crosshairs. The new year will likely bring more unwelcome news about Iran's nuclear program as it cascades toward a weapons option. It will also be a fateful year for Israel, one that may require action - no matter what the latest NIE says. US considering international force in West Bank The US is preparing a plan to station third party troops in the West Bank to secure the area after an Israeli withdrawal and before the Palestinian Authority can take over full security control, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The issue of how to deal with the period between when Israel leaves large swaths of the West Bank and the PA is able to take over control is likely to be discussed during talks President George W. Bush will hold in Jerusalem and in the PA on Wednesday and Thursday. US Special Envoy for Middle East Security James Jones has been assigned the task of preparing a plan on this issue within six moths. A number of options are being considered, including the involvement of NATO troops or Jordanian and Egyptian forces. Jones, a former Marine Corps general, was NATO's top military commander from 2003 to 2005. He visited here on December 18, and discussed the concept with his Israeli interlocutors. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who appointed Jones immediately after November's Annapolis Conference, hinted at this role in a briefing she gave reporters on her way to the PA donors' conference in Paris in mid-December. Rice said at the time that the establishment of a Palestinian state "will raise questions about a security vacuum when Israelis leave the West Bank. And this is not an issue just for the Palestinians. It's an issue for the states in the area as well, like Jordan and Egypt." Therefore, she said, there needed to be a "hard look" from a military expert on what the possible vacuums could "look like when you create a Palestinian state," and on how to deal with them. Percentage of World Jewry Living in Israel Steadily Increasing According to the 2007 Annual Report of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI), a project of the Jewish Agency, 41 percent of all Jews now live in Israel. At the beginning of 2007, the total world Jewish population was 13,155,000, an overall growth rate of 0.5 percent over the previous year's figures. The Diaspora experienced a net decrease in population of 20,000 Jews, while Israel's Jewish population increased by 80,000 souls. The report found that, unlike their Diaspora brethren, Jews in Israel "have relatively high and steady birth rates." Israel's 1.5 percent increase and the Diaspora's 0.2 percent decrease in Jewish population "continued the well established patterns of past years," according to the JPPPI report. In 2004, the JPPPI reported that under 40 percent of world Jewry lived in Israel, while in 2002, according to Israeli government statistics, that figure was 37 percent. Projecting ahead, the latest JPPPI report showed that nearly 46 percent of the world's Jews will be found in Israel in the year 2020. The largest single Jewish population bloc is that of North America, with 5.7 million people, according to JPPPI, but decreasing rapidly. However, there was a minor Jewish population increase in Canada by 2007. Nevertheless, assuming no radical migration changes, the North American Jewish population will be outstripped by Israel within the next decade or so, per JPPPI statistics. Significant decreases in Jewish population were noted in Europe, Latin America and Africa. The JPPPI report further noted, "The overall Jewish population numbers in Europe are at a historic low. Due to emigration, assimilation and an aging population, many communities are set to shrink further or to vanish altogether." Germany's Jewish population, however, "continued to increase, but France and the United Kingdom's declined." Analyzing the Israeli birthrates and increasing population figures, the 2007 JPPPI report determined that "a persisting preference for nuclear families with children stand behind an annual natural population increase of about 70,000." JPPPI reported that 2006 saw the highest number of Jewish births ever recorded in the country (104,000). The Israeli birthrate, while still high compared to most of the West, is affected by the high birthrate of the Hareidi-religious population of Israel. According to JPPPI, Hareidi women have an average of 4.7 children, compared to 2.7 for the general Israeli Jewish population and 1.1 for Jewish women in the Diaspora. "In 2007, one of every three Jewish Israeli children registered in grade 1 is in one of the Hareidi school "Evidence from all over the world shows that children attending Jewish day schools are more likely to develop a Jewish identity," the 2007 JPPPI report declared. Hence, researchers at the institute reported that the Jewish population abroad could be split into two groups: a religious population with a growing sense of connection to Israel and a non-religious population that has a higher rate of intermarriage and a weakening connection to Judaism and Israel. They called on Israel to do more to reach out to non-religious Jews living abroad. 3. A Revived Roman Empire? Tony Blair to become EU President in 2009? Former UK prime minister Tony Blair will attend a conference of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right party UMP on Saturday, in what is said to be his first intervention for a party other than his own. The move is fuelling speculation that Mr Blair, who belongs to the UK's center-left Labour party, is in the running for EU president – a new high-profile job that can be held for up to five years starting in 2009. The two men will debate Europe and Mr Blair may get clear backing from Mr Sarkozy in exchange of his participation at the conference, according to media reports. The UMP meeting marks the launch of its pre-electoral campaign before the municipal elections in France on 9 and 16 March – but there is set to be much speculation around Mr Blair's attendance. The president of the socialist group in the French national assembly, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has accused Mr Sarkozy of preparing the ground for Mr Blair's candidacy for the EU top job with Saturday's event. "I see something emerging from the UMP's side and from the president of the republic…, which is preparing Tony Blair's candidacy for EU president", Mr Ayrault was reported as saying by French news agency AFP on Tuesday. "This candidacy is not acceptable, because it is not acceptable that the first EU president is a man who supported and participated in the war in Iraq", he added. Other politicians who have already expressed interest in what is to set to be one of the EU's top jobs include Luxembourg's prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern. Two more positions are also up for grabs next year – president of the European Commission and EU foreign minister. Haggling over the nominations for the post is set to start in earnest in the second half of this year when France takes over the EU presidency. Extremism flourished as UK lost Christianity In fewer than 50 years, Britain has changed from being a society with an acknowledged Christian basis to one which is increasingly described by politicians and the media as "multifaith". One reason for this is the arrival of large numbers of people of other faiths to these shores. Their arrival has coincided with the end of the Empire which brought about a widespread questioning of Britain's role. On the one hand, the British were losing confidence in the Christian vision which underlay most of the achievements and values of the culture and, on the other, they sought to accommodate the newer arrivals on the basis of a novel philosophy of "multiculturalism". This required that people should be facilitated in living as separate communities, continuing to communicate in their own languages and having minimum need for building healthy relationships with the majority. Alongside these developments, there has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism. One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into "no-go" areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability. Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them. In many ways, this is but the other side of the coin to far-Right intimidation. Attempts have been made to impose an "Islamic" character on certain areas, for example, by insisting on artificial amplification for the Adhan, the call to prayer. Such amplification was, of course, unknown throughout most of history and its use raises all sorts of questions about noise levels and whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker. This is happening here even though some Muslim-majority communities are trying to reduce noise levels from multiple mosques announcing this call, one after the other, over quite a small geographical area. There is pressure already to relate aspects of the sharia to civil law in Britain. To some extent this is already true of arrangements for sharia-compliant banking but have the far-reaching implications of this been fully considered? It is now less possible for Christianity to be the public faith in Britain. The existence of chapels and chaplaincies in places such as hospitals, prisons and institutions of further and higher education is in jeopardy either because of financial cuts or because the authorities want "multifaith" provision, without regard to the distinctively Christian character of the nation's laws, values, customs and culture. Not only locally, but at the national level also the establishment of the Church of England is being eroded. My fear is, in the end, nothing will be left but the smile of the Cheshire Cat. In the past, I have supported the establishment of the Church, but now I have to ask if it is only the forms that are left and the substance rapidly disappearing. If such is the case, is it worth persevering with the trappings of establishment? France is ready to champion larger EU France is to become a champion of further enlargement of the European Union, according to the French minister for Europe, in a change of approach likely to ease the accession of new members to the bloc. In an interview with the Financial Times, Jean-Pierre Jouyet said the French government under Nicolas Sarkozy, the president, had ditched its longstanding scepticism about enlargement and now saw a bigger EU as a stronger force in the world. Mr Jouyet said there had been a sea change in the government’s approach to Europe since French voters rejected the EU constitution in a referendum in 2005. “We have crossed a very important Rubicon in the last two years in terms of European integration. We used to believe that a federal Europe was necessary for a more deeply integrated union and that enlargement would counter this and prevent Europe from working effectively. We have now overcome this contradiction. “The thing that has most struck me since I took up this job seven months ago is precisely the capacity of an EU of 27 members, and more one day, to take decisions.” Mr Jouyet said further extending the EU’s borders “does not make me worried”. France would push for the eventual integration of the Balkan countries, including Serbia, which he described as a “pole of stability” for the region. However, there are limits to how far Paris wants the EU to grow. Mr Sarkozy opposes Turkish membership of the EU. And Mr Jouyet admitted that “in France we have not done enough to make the case for enlargement”. With France due to take over the EU’s rotating six-month presidency in July, Mr Jouyet said his government’s ambitions were that “Europe gets moving once again and that France regains its role”. France’s priorities are a bigger role for the EU in defence and security, energy and the environment, an EU-wide pact on immigration and integration of foreigners and new regulation of financial markets following the credit squeeze. 4. The Gog/Magog War Putin's plan to become 'father of a new country' Many observers of Russia are puzzled as to why President Vladimir Putin went to such bizarre lengths to turn the country's recent legislative elections into a "national referendum" on his own rule. After all, Putin completely dominates the political stage, and he could have easily initiated and passed any changes to the constitution needed for him to run for another term as president. His oft-repeated assertions that he respects the letter and the spirit of the current constitution ring hollow, given Kremlin policies like the restriction of opposition political parties, strictures on civil society, suppression of nonstate media, subordination of the judicial system, and abolition of the direct election of regional administration heads. Even most foreign observers -- while noting the unfair nature of the Duma elections and the myriad ways the Kremlin misused its power against weak political opponents -- have never really doubted the outright victory of the pro-Putin forces. That victory was never in doubt because Putin is genuinely popular, for a mixture of objective and subjective reasons. Because of the vast revenues Russia accrues due to high global energy prices, the standard of living for many Russians is improving markedly -- and most of them attribute that prosperity to Putin personally. Putin has also hijacked populist policies from both the right and left ends of the spectrum. Borrowing from the left, he has increased pensions and state aid programs. From the right, Putin adopted the policy of a sharp reduction of business taxes and a low, flat-rate income tax for individuals. Finally, Putin's efforts to restore Russia's standing as a power in the international arena is enormously popular among Russians, many of whom remain bitter about the economic hardships and foreign-policy weakness of the 1990s. The yearning for a restoration of Russia's prestige is expressed throughout society, in areas as diverse as sports and the arts. This feeling has saturated the atmosphere because of the Kremlin's skillful manipulation. A career intelligence officer, Putin has taken considerable pains to conceal his plans. It has become commonplace to say that Russian policy under Putin has become a series of "special operations." This secrecy is simply a part of the mindset of Putin and the siloviki -- people associated with the security organs and the military -- who surround him. Some clues about Putin's intentions can be found in an 800-page manifesto issued last summer by a group of about 70 pro-Putin, national-patriotic academics under the title "Russian Doctrine." The book is presented as a set of "guidelines" for the next administration and a kind of national, supra-party platform. It contains detailed foreign- and domestic-policy proposals, including autocratic reforms to the military, national-security system, the economy, the mass media, education, and culture. The "Russian Doctrine" presumes that the Russian Federation is doomed to extinction because it will be unable to cope with the looming challenges of international competition. Within the next decade, the authors claim, Russia will increasingly begin to lag behind China, India, the United States, and some Southeast Asian countries. In response, the authors propose a new state structure based on the traditions of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Interestingly, they propose doing so without dissolving the Russian Federation: that is, they urge the creation of a "parallel state" initially operating unseen behind the facade of the current one. It would consist of a system of political and economic institutions accessible only to Putin and the siloviki that the authors call "the invisible, networked Russia." Russia launches full-scale production of new-generation warplane Russia has started full-scale production of the Su-34 Fullback fighter bomber at a Siberian aircraft plant, plane maker Sukhoi said on Wednesday. A company spokesman said up to 20 fighters could now be assembled simultaneously at the Novosibirsk Aviation Production Association (NAPO), but did not specify how many would be built each year. The $36 million Su-34 fighter-bomber is a two-seat strike aircraft equipped with twin AL-31MF afterburning turbojet engines. It is designed to deliver high-precision strikes on heavily-defended targets under any weather conditions, day or night, and fields weaponry that includes a 30mm GSh-301 cannon, up to 12 Alamo or Archer AAMs, ASMs, and bombs. Designed by Sukhoi, the Su-34s will replace the Su-24 Fencer frontline bombers. Experts said the new bomber has the potential to become the top plane in its class for years to come. 5. Apostate Christianity Evangelical Leaders Come Under Fire For Pledge Of Common Cause with Islam An attempt by leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) to win friends and influence Muslims is alienating another group — evangelical Christians. Reactions have been negative and strong. Islam expert Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo has called it a “betrayal” and a “sellout.” Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Seminary (Southern Baptist), termed it “naiveté that borders on dishonesty.” Others are just beginning to hear of it. In November, NAE President Leith Anderson and NAE Vice President Richard Cizik signed onto a Christian response to an invitation to dialogue from 138 Muslim leaders around the world. Their response — initiated by Yale Divinity School and endorsed by other liberal Christian leaders — apologized for the sins of Christians during the Crusades and for “excesses” of the global war on terror, without mentioning Muslim atrocities. It appeared to leave the fundamentals of Christianity — especially the deity of Christ — open for discussion. It even seemed to acknowledge Allah as the God of the Bible. “Before we ‘shake your hand’ in responding to your letter,” it stated, “we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world.” The very name of the Muslim communiqué — A Common Word between Us and You — is from a verse in the Quran that condemns “people of the Scripture” (Christians) for alleged polytheism (the doctrine of the Trinity). Mohler said the agreement “sends the wrong signal” and contains basic theological problems, especially in “marginalizing” Jesus Christ. He also condemned the apology for the Crusades. “I just have to wonder how intellectually honest this is,” he said. “Are these people suggesting that they wish the military conflict with Islam had ended differently — that Islam had conquered Europe?” Neither Anderson nor Cizik could be reached for comment. On the NAE Web site, Anderson asserts he signed the letter as a private individual, although he is identified as NAE president. He also seems to acknowledge problems with the statement. “Sometimes we all sign onto things that are not all that we would like them to be,” Anderson wrote. “Even after we write and say our own words, we discover that we wish we had done better.” Gary Bauer, president of the Campaign for Working Families, told CitizenLink the NAE leaders “have left the (card) table without their pants — that is, they’ve been taken and may not even realize they’ve been taken.” Bauer said he already was dismayed by the NAE’s recent controversial excursions into questionable areas such as global warming. “Many of us have been concerned about the NAE getting into all sorts of areas where it has had no previous expertise,” Bauer said. “And now, I’m afraid, I see signs that they’re going down the same road that the National Council of Churches is going.” The National Council of Churches has embraced liberal causes and is affiliated with ultra-liberal groups, such as MoveOn.org and People For the American Way. Sookhdeo called for Christian leaders who signed the letter to withdraw their names, saying the confession of guilt puts Christian communities in Muslim areas of the world at risk. “I find it difficult to understand how senior evangelical leaders in the West can join hands with other Christians who actually are betraying the Christian faith (and) their Christian brothers and sisters in the Muslim world,” he said. Obama's church draws attention for race based philosophy While some election commentators are looking carefully at the level of devotion Sen. Barack Obama has to Islam, it is the strong African-centered and race-based philosophy of the senator's United Church of Christ that has some bloggers crying foul.
Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago is where Obama was baptized as a Christian two decades ago, even borrowing the title for one of his books, "The Audacity of Hope," from a sermon by his senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
The first paragraph of the "About Us" section of the church's website mentions the word "black" or "Africa" five times:
We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian. ... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.
Focus on the African continent continues in two of the 10-point vision of the church: 6. The Rise of Islam Muslim Clerics Press Afghan President to Block Christian Missionary Activity The President of Afghanistan has been told by the country’s Islamic council to stop foreign aid groups from converting locals to Christianity. The influential council of Islamic clergy and ulema (scholars) made the warning in a statement during a meeting with President Hamid Karzai on Friday in which it also called for the reintroduction of public executions, which have not taken place since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. "The council is concerned about the activities of some ... missionary and atheistic organs and considers such acts against Islamic sharia (law), the constitution, and political stability," the council said in its statement. "If not prevented, God forbid, catastrophe will emerge, which will not only destabilize the country, but the region and the world." Ahmad Ali Jebrayeli, a member of the council and also a member of parliament, said that reliable sources had told him of Christian missionaries using offices in Kabul and in the provinces as bases from which to convert the local population. He also alleged that the missionaries are being supported by NGOs. "Some NGOs are encouraging them to convert, give them books (Bibles) and promise to send them abroad," he told Reuters on Saturday. Missionary work in Afghanistan came under fire in 2007 when a group of 23 South Korean missionaries were kidnapped and held hostage by the Taliban, who accused them of converting Muslim Afghans to Christianity. They were later released, but not before two from the group were murdered. Some Muslims who hold onto a strict interpretation of the Koran believe that conversion to another faith from Islam is apostasy and therefore punishable by death. In 2006, Pope Benedict appealed for clemency and a number of Western leaders protested over the case made by an Afghan court against Abdul Rahman over his conversion to Christianity. The case was later dropped amid international clamor and widespread protests after the court ruled that Rahman was mentally ill. Rahman was to be put to death for his conversion to Christianity. Malaysia Embroiled in Another Christian/Islam Conversion Court Battle Malaysia is engaged in yet another conversion court battle, with the country’s high court deciding whether the Christian widower of a Malaysian woman has the legal right to stop Islamic authorities from burying her in accordance with Muslim rites. The judges in the court have to decide whether Wong Sau Lan, 53, converted to Islam before she died. The conversion claim made by the Islamic Council is being contested by her husband, Ngiam Tee Kong, who had received a notice from the council that she converted to Islam on Christmas Eve. The case is the latest in the string of cases brought before the court that tests the strength of the Malaysian Constitution in defending religious freedom for minority groups. Last year, Lina Joy, one of Malaysia’s best known Christians, lost a six-year battle with the government over its refusal to remove Islam from her national identity card even though she converted to Christianity. In his judgment against Joy, Federal Court Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim had stated that individuals “cannot simply convert from one religion to another (at the whim and fancy of the individual)” even though religious freedom is protected by the constitution. The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia had condemned the court decision and claimed that it was retreating in the face of ”relentless onslaught” on their position. Muslim population in Russia growing quickly This is Moscow, where modern-day citizens stand on centuries of history and try to interpret new rules for living. The city, as well as the Russian Federation, has grappled with wave after wave of change as Russian society struggles to refashion itself from the ruins of the Soviet Union. One ongoing wave has brought in a tide of Central Asians, said Daniel Powell, a strategist for International Mission Board teams working with Muslims in Russia. Across the nation, low Russian birthrates and rising immigration from former Soviet republics fuel the tension, he said. "Fifteen years ago, less than 1 percent of Moscow was populated by Muslims. Now, up to 20 percent of the population may be Muslim," he said. Demographers estimate Russia's Islamic community may account for a majority of the nation's population by mid-century. "There are approximately 3.5 million Muslims in Moscow who have little chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus in a way they understand," Powell said. "They have traveled to Moscow to find better-paying jobs, but I'm praying they will find more than just steady work. "I'm praying Southern Baptists will respond to this call and join us in a new campaign of distributing the Gospel message in Moscow," he added. 7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies Nanotechnology could create Frankenfoods A breed of Frankenfood is being introduced into human diet and cosmetics with potentially disastrous consequences, experts said last night. Academics, consumer groups and Government officials are warning that the arrival of nanotechnology threatens dangerous changes to the body and the environment. The particles it uses are so small - 80,000 times thinner than a human hair - that they can pass through membranes protecting the brain or babies in the womb. Nano health supplements, such as antioxidants, are already on the market while the first of hundreds of new foods are expected to arrive in the next 12 months. However, the products are being introduced without any regulation or independent assessment to ensure they are safe - mirroring the controversy over the launch of GM foods ten years ago. Some critics have talked of the threat of the creation of a "grey goo" of tiny particles with hidden harmful properties. Prince Charles has said it would be "surprising" if the technology did not "offer similar upsets" to thalidomide - the morning sickness drug that caused children to be born with deformed limbs. Professor Vicki Stone, Professor of Toxicology at Napier University in Edinburgh, is concerned about unforeseen side effects. "We know very little about the ability of nanoparticles to move around the body, to accumulate or to be excreted, or their potential to cause toxic effects in organs," she said. However, nanotech advocates have remarkable claims for the technology. For example, foods are in development that are said to stave off the aging process. On a more trivial level, they suggest it would be possible to create a fizzy drink that changes flavour according to the number of times the can is shaken. Scientists create machine that knows what you are thinking Scientists have developed a machine which is capable of reading our mind and revealing our most private thoughts. American researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, found that, with the aid of a sophisticated scanner and computer programme, they were able to determine how the brain lights up when thinking about different subjects. Using an advanced form of MRI scanner, they analysed how the brain reacted to ten drawings of tools and buildings. They then used a computer programme to work out whether a person was thinking about a tool or a building. The researchers' analysis was found to be 97 per cent accurate but they went on to show that they could distinguish between two similar objects, such as two different tools, almost as successfully. This is the first time the technique has been finetuned to distinguish between similar objects. The brain scans also showed many different brain regions are involved in processing information even in the case of something as simple as a line drawing of a hammer. Thinking about how a hammer is used activated the areas involved in movement, while thinking about the shape of a hammer and what it is used for lit up other regions. Despite being limited to picking up the thoughts behind just ten pictures, the researchers are confident that they will soon be able to identify entire sentences. One of the team, Dr Svetlana Shinkareva, said: "We hope to progress to identifying the thoughts associated not just with pictures but also with words and eventually sentences." The technique could also have medical applications by, for example, providing valuable insights into conditions such as autism. Study leader Professor Marcel Just said: "People with autism perceive others in a distinctive way that has been difficult to characterise. "This approach offers a way to discover that characterisation." The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, also showed that different people think about the same thing in the same way. "This part of the study establishes, as never before, that there is a commonality in how different people's brains represent the same subject," the study said. "There has always been a philosophical conundrum as to whether one person's perception of the colour blue is the same as another person's. "Now we see that there is a great deal of commonality across different people's brain activity corresponding to familiar tools and dwellings." The device's possibilities can, however, be extended and the team envisage a time when it will be used to conduct infallible lie detector tests, while the accurate interpretation of a person's intentions could allow police to arrest criminals before they break the law, as seen in the film Minority Report. Microsoft Seeks To Patent System To Spy On Workers An invention described in a newly published Microsoft patent application aims to make sure workers meet their deadlines and do what they're supposed to. The patent application, published Dec. 27, describes a program that would monitor users' computer activity, automatically offer help solving problems or links to information resources, and even allow supervisory monitoring of users to make sure they're working or so others can give employees' guidance if they're stuck on a certain task. The application centers on "activity-centric monitoring," which could be anything from "designing a new ad campaign" to "resizing an image." Either way, the program as described would be capable of monitoring related activity and providing advice or gentle nudging to carry out the task properly. The program would even be able to determine performance levels across a group of employees and identify lower performers who might then be given additional training, be reassigned to other tasks, or, potentially, even be fired because they can't keep up with the work. It's all reminiscent of a hyperactive and potentially more controversial version of Microsoft's maligned "Clippy" Office assistant that would pop up on the screen and interact with users, asking them if they'd like help writing the letter that they're apparently trying to write. However, such a system wouldn't be all bad news for workers. In addition to weeding out the low performers, it also could single out good workers who do their jobs well, allowing higher-ups to identify future group leaders and reward those who excel. The system also could find the right person to help another with a task. For example, Microsoft describes a situation in which a worker might need to replace a toner cartridge in a printer, but doesn't know how to do so. If the system monitors toner changes, it could assess who's changed the toner most and with the most success and recommend that employee to help the one who's having problems. Police Begin Fingerprinting on Traffic Stops If you're ticketed by Green Bay police, you'll get more than a fine. You'll get fingerprinted, too. It's a new way police are cracking down on crime. If you're caught speeding or playing your music too loud, or other crimes for which you might receive a citation, Green Bay police officers will ask for your drivers license and your finger. You'll be fingerprinted right there on the spot. The fingerprint appears right next to the amount of the fine. Police say it's meant to protect you -- in case the person they're citing isn't who they claim to be. But not everyone is sold on that explanation. "What we've seen happen for the last couple of years is increasing use of false or fraudulent identification documents," Captain Greg Urban said. Police say they want to prevent the identity theft problem that Milwaukee has, where 13 percent of all violators give a false name. But in Green Bay, where police say they only average about five cases in a year, drivers we talked with think the new policy is extreme. "That's going too far," Ken Scherer from Oconto said. "You look at the ID, that's what they're there for. Either it's you or it's not. I don't think that's a valid excuse." "I would feel uncomfortable but I would do it," Carol Pilgrim of Green Bay said. Citizens do have the right to say no. "They could say no and not have to worry about getting arrested," defense attorney Jackson Main said. "On the other hand, I'm like everybody else. When a police officer tells me to do something, I'm going to do it whether I have the right to say no or not." That's exactly why many drivers are uneasy about the fine print in this fingerprinting policy. Police stress that the prints are just to make sure you are who you claim to be and do not go into any kind of database; they simply stay on the ticket for future reference if the identity is challenged. ACLU Rips Plan to Track R.I. Students A tech company with ties to a school district plans to test a tracking system by putting computer chips on grade-schoolers' backpacks, an experiment the ACLU ripped Monday as invasive and unnecessary.
The pilot program set to start next week in the Middletown school district would have about 80 children put tags containing radio frequency identification chips, or RFID chips, on their schoolbags. It would also equip two buses with global positioning systems, or GPS devices.
The school and parents will be able to track students on the bus, and the district hopes the program will improve busing efficiency, Superintendent Rosemarie Kraeger said. The devices are intended to record only when students enter and exit the bus, and the GPS would show where the bus was on it's route.
Parents could opt out of the program, Kraeger said.
The pilot program, made by MAP Information Technology Corp., is to run for several months at the Aquidneck School, she said. The district, which serves about 2,500 students, is the company's only client, said Deborah Rapp, the company's director of marketing and communications.
Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, sent a letter to Kraeger and members of the school committee calling the plan "a solution in search of a problem" and saying the school district should already have procedures in place to track where its students are.
On Monday, he said the program raises enormous privacy and safety concerns.
"There's absolutely no need to be tagging children," he said. "We are not questioning the school district's ability to use GPS to monitor school buses. But it's a quantitative leap to monitor children themselves." 8. Christian Worldview/Issues Is American Christianity Turning Charismatic? Pentecostal or charismatic Christianity is viewed by some Americans as an emotional, theologically suspect form of the Christian faith. It is widely thought to be a very vocal and visible, but numerically small slice of the grand religious pie in the United States. Two new surveys from The Barna Group, however, indicate that things are changing dramatically in the religious landscape. Those surveys - one among a national sample of adults and the other among a national sample of Protestant pastors - show that the number of churches and adherents to Pentecostal perspectives and practices has grown significantly in the past two decades. A decade ago, three out of ten adults claimed to be charismatic or Pentecostal Christians. Today, 36% of Americans accept that designation. That corresponds to approximately 80 million adults. (For the Barna survey, this included people who said they were a charismatic or Pentecostal Christian, that they had been "filled with the Holy Spirit" and who said they believe that "the charismatic gifts, such as tongues and healing, are still valid and active today.") Charismatics are found throughout the fabric of American Christianity. Although just 8% of the population is evangelical, half of evangelical adults (49%) fit the charismatic definition. A slight majority of all born again Christians (51%) is charismatic. Nearly half of all adults who attend a Protestant church (46%) are charismatic. One out of every four Protestant churches in the United States (23%) is a charismatic congregation. While some of the most common charismatic denominations are well-known - such as the Assemblies of God, Foursquare or Churches of God in Christ - non-denominational churches emerged as one of the most common charismatic "denominations." Four out of every ten non-denominational churches are charismatic. The profile of the typical charismatic congregation is nearly identical to that of evangelical, fundamentalist and mainline Protestant churches. Four out of five (80%) have a full-time, paid pastor in charge of the ministry. The senior pastor is, on average, 52 years old - the same as in other Protestant churches. And the weekly adult attendance is equivalent to that of other Protestant bodies (82 adults at Pentecostal gatherings compared to 85 adults among all Protestant churches). The Barna study found that several widespread assumptions about charismatic churches are inaccurate. Many people believe that charismatic Christianity is almost exclusively a Protestant phenomenon. However, the research showed that one-third of all U.S. Catholics (36%) fit the charismatic classification. Framed differently, almost one-quarter of all charismatics in the U.S. (22%) are Catholic. Charismatic churches are generally thought to belong to a rather strictly defined group of denominations. The growth of Pentecostalism, however, has crossed denominational boundaries in recent years. For instance, 7% of Southern Baptist churches and 6% of mainline churches are charismatic, according to their Senior Pastors. One widespread view is that charismatic Christianity is found mostly in small, relatively unsophisticated congregations. The research suggests something different. Charismatic congregations are about the same size as those of non-charismatic Protestant churches. Most surprisingly, charismatic ministries are more likely than other Protestant churches to use five of the seven technological applications evaluated. Those included the use of large-screen projection systems, showing movie clips in worship services or congregational events, using blogs, and web-based social networking by the church. In the past, many have observed that the female pastors were more likely to be welcomed into the Pentecostal community. However, 9% of both charismatic and non-charismatic Protestant churches are currently led by a female Senior Pastor. It is assumed faith trends in America are dictated by white churches, which represent about 77% of the nation's Protestant congregations. However, only 16% of the country's white Protestant congregations are Pentecostal, compared to 65% of the Protestant churches dominated by African-Americans. Pastoral education is another major distinction. A large majority of the Senior Pastors of non-charismatic churches (70%) have graduated from a seminary. Not quite half of the charismatic pastors (49%) have a seminary degree. 44 percent find marriage 'unnecessary' Half of Americans 20 to 69 years of age believe marriage is not necessary -- according to a new study. Zogby International and AOL surveyed more than 7,000 Americans in that age bracket and found 44 percent who said marriage is not necessary in order to have a committed, fulfilling, life-long relationship. Mike McManus, president of Marriage Savers -- a group that works to help churches reduce divorce rates, finds that number shocking. "People who are married live longer, they're healthier, they're happier; they're wealthier," he points out. "A man who's single, for whatever reason, will live ten years less than a married man; a woman, about four years less." Most of the survey respondents also said that they would prefer living together before getting married. "Unfortunately, the marriage message just doesn't seem to be getting out to the public," continues McManus. "And what we have is a reflection of Hollywood morals ... in the culture." Fear may be the motivating factor in this study, says McManus. "Since 1970 there's been one divorce for every two marriages, every year. And that means there's a whole generation of young adults whose parents divorced and who are, therefore, fearful of marriage commitments," he maintains. "And they're fearful that if they marry they'll end up being divorced -- and their antidote is to cohabit." But research by Rutgers University's National Marriage Project indicates that couples who live together before marriage are 46 percent more likely to divorce and significantly more likely to experience domestic violence within their relationships. McManus believes the church shares some of the blame for this trend. "Churches really aren't very 'marriage-minded' -- they're 'wedding-minded.' They are equipped to be able to help couples have weddings, but they really don't know how to build marriages," he argues. "The problem is the pastors are picking safe subjects, and they're avoiding the subjects that could help us learn how to build relationships that can go the distance." The pro-marriage advocate expects similar survey results in the future if churches do not do a better job promoting the benefits of marriage and exposing the pitfalls of cohabitation. Moeller anticipates increased Christian persecution in '08 Carl Moeller, the president of Open Doors USA, says 2008 could see an increase in persecution against Christians worldwide. While persecution against Christians increased dramatically last year in countries such as India, Pakistan, and Indonesia, Dr. Moeller expects the new year to see more instances of Christian persecution. The Open Doors leader says recent events show that hostility against Christians is on the rise worldwide. "The year 2007 was probably the worst year on record for the growth of persecution worldwide," he shares. "But now as 2008 has started, it's very evident that as bad as 2007 was, 2008 is proving to be even more unstable in many, many parts of the world." He cites the current situation in Kenya, as well as the recent assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan -- which Moeller says has resulted not only in political instability there, but also the possibility of even greater persecution of the Christian community in Pakistan. For now, Moeller says North Korea is the worst country when it comes to persecution against Christians. However, he says persecution has increased dramatically against believers in India and Indonesia. It is time, he says, for Christians in free nations to take action. "We need to pray that 2008 will be a year that Christians around the world wake up and take action on behalf of those Christians in those places where this violence is taking place -- to stand with them and to help alleviate their suffering and to encourage them," the ministry leader urges. Moeller says Christians in free nations can write embassies and government officials of countries where persecution is commonplace. Study: How Unchurched Americans View Christianity In a portrait of the "unchurched" in America, a new study found that most are willing to hear what people have to say about Christianity but a majority also sees the church as a place full of hypocrites. "A full 72 percent of the people interviewed said they think the church ‘is full of hypocrites,’" said LifeWay Research director Ed Stetzer. "At the same time, however, 71 percent of the respondents said they believe Jesus ‘makes a positive difference in a person’s life’ and 78 percent said they would ‘be willing to listen’ to someone who wanted to share what they believed about Christianity." Many unchurched adults don't have a biblical understanding about God and Jesus, according to the survey. Study results, released this week, showed that while 64 percent of the respondents think "the Christian religion is a relevant and viable religion for today," 72 percent of unchurched adults said they believe God, a higher or supreme being actually exists. Only 48 percent agree there is only one God as described in the Bible and 61 percent believe the God of the Bible is no different from the gods or spiritual being depicted. "If you went back 100 years in North America, there would have been a consensus that God is the God in the Bible. We can't assume this any longer," said Stetzer. "We no longer have a home-field advantage as Christians in this culture." LifeWay Research Associate Director Scott McConnell isn't surprised that the unchurched population doesn't understand Bible basics. "If you aren't going to church, you don’t have an opportunity to be informed about what the Bible teaches or what other faiths teach," he said. "It’s not surprising then that unchurched people lump world religions all together and consider the gods described in them as being the same." Up from 17 percent in 2004, 22 percent of Americans say they never go to church - the highest ever recorded by the General Social Survey. But the problem is compounded by a widespread notion of religious tolerance that says religious and spiritual truth is a matter of personal opinion, Stetzer said, according to the report. "We found a real openness to hearing about matters of faith, but the study also clearly documents what I call the Oprah-ization of American Christianity," he said. "It’s very much a generic ‘big guy in the sky’ view of God and a ‘you believe what you believe, I believe what I believe’ viewpoint on theology. People say, ‘Who am I to judge?’ "We have seen this in the current political campaigns, in regard to Mormonism," Stetzer added. "Recently a Christian leader was asked whether Mormons are Christians, and he replied that no, Mormons are outside the standard definition of what an orthodox Christian is. The host was shocked somebody would say that. How dare we say someone else is or is not a Christian?" The American public seems to hold a similar opinion, Stetzer indicated. "Christians begin with a faith system that teaches who God is, but the people in our culture not only don’t believe that, but often consider us intolerant because we dare to believe it," he said. Many unchurched Americans have a negative perception of the church. "There will always be the stumbling block of the cross. Yet our study shows that many are tripping over the church before they hear the message of the cross," said Stetzer. A majority of unchurched Americans (79 percent) think that Christianity today is more about organized religion than about loving God and loving people; 86 percent believe they can have a good relationship with God without being involved in church. "These outsiders are making a clear comment that churches are not getting through on the two greatest commandments," to love God and love your neighbor, said McConnell. What they see the church as is "candles, pews and flowers, rather than people living out their love for God by loving others," he noted. "Such skepticism can only be overcome by churches and believers who demonstrate the unity and love for which Jesus prayed." Still, a majority (89 percent) of the unchurched have at least one close friend who is Christian, Stetzer noted. And while turned off by church, 78 percent are willing to listen to someone who wanted to talk about their Christian beliefs. The number rose to 89 percent among adults 18-29 years of age. Additionally, 78 percent of adults 30 years and older said they would enjoy an honest conversation with a friend about religious and spiritual beliefs, even if they disagreed with the friend. Only 28 percent of adults 30 years and older said they think Christians they know talk to them too much about their beliefs. "We think religion is a topic that is off-limits in polite conversation, but unchurched people say they would enjoy conversations about spiritual matters," Stetzer noted. 9. Other Events To Watch Forget oil, the new global crisis is food A new crisis is emerging, a global food catastrophe that will reach further and be more crippling than anything the world has ever seen. The credit crunch and the reverberations of soaring oil prices around the world will pale in comparison to what is about to transpire, Donald Coxe, global portfolio strategist at BMO Financial Group said at the Empire Club's 14th annual investment outlook in Toronto on Thursday. "It's not a matter of if, but when," he warned investors. "It's going to hit this year hard." Mr. Coxe said the sharp rise in raw food prices in the past year will intensify in the next few years amid increased demand for meat and dairy products from the growing middle classes of countries such as China and India as well as heavy demand from the biofuels industry. "The greatest challenge to the world is not US$100 oil; it's getting enough food so that the new middle class can eat the way our middle class does, and that means we've got to expand food output dramatically," he said. The impact of tighter food supply is already evident in raw food prices, which have risen 22% in the past year. Mr. Coxe said in an interview that this surge would begin to show in the prices of consumer foods in the next six months. Consumers already paid 6.5% more for food in the past year. Wheat prices alone have risen 92% in the past year, and yesterday closed at US$9.45 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. At the centre of the imminent food catastrophe is corn - the main staple of the ethanol industry. The price of corn has risen about 44% over the past 15 months, closing at US$4.66 a bushel on the CBOT yesterday - its best finish since June 1996. This not only impacts the price of food products made using grains, but also the price of meat, with feed prices for livestock also increasing. "You're going to have real problems in countries that are food short, because we're already getting embargoes on food exports from countries, who were trying desperately to sell their stuff before, but now they're embargoing exports," he said, citing Russia and India as examples. "Those who have food are going to have a big edge." With 54% of the world's corn supply grown in America's mid-west, the U.S. is one of those countries with an edge. But Mr. Coxe warned U.S. corn exports were in danger of seizing up in about three years if the country continues to subsidize ethanol production. Biofuels are expected to eat up about a third of America's grain harvest in 2007. The amount of U.S. grain currently stored for following seasons was the lowest on record, relative to consumption, he said. "You should be there for it fully-hedged by having access to those stocks that benefit from rising food prices." He said there are about two dozen stocks in the world that are going to redefine the world's food supplies, and "those stocks will have a precious value as we move forward." Mr. Coxe said crop yields around the world need to increase to something close to what is achieved in the state of Illinois, which produces over 200 corn bushes an acre compared with an average 30 bushes an acre in the rest of the world. "That will be done with more fertilizer, with genetically modified seeds, and with advanced machinery and technology," he said. 2008: The year a new superpower is born Here comes the world's newest superpower. The rest of the world is gloomily contemplating economic slowdown and even recession. Not in Beijing. China is set to make 2008 the year it asserts its status as a global colossus by flexing frightening economic muscle on international markets, enjoying unprecedented levels of domestic consumption and showcasing itself to a watching world with a glittering £20bn Olympic Games. The world's most populous nation will mark the next 12 months with a coming-of-age party that will confirm its transformation in three decades from one of the poorest countries of the 20th century into the globe's third-largest economy, its hungriest (and most polluting) consumer and the engine room of economic growth. Once regarded at best as a sporting also-ran, China is widely tipped to top the medals table in the Beijing Olympics in August, an event in which the country's leadership is investing huge importance and prestige. It will be a celebration viewed with consternation by many, as China's authoritarian regime shows little sign of relaxing its grip on power and continues to expand its influence overseas from the oil fields and metal mines of Africa to the City of London. Appropriately, 2008 marks the Year of the Rat, an animal considered in Chinese folklore to be a harbinger and protector of material prosperity. China's trade surplus with the rest of the world will widen from £130bn in 2007 to £145bn this year as it tries to tame its burgeoning economy amid pressure from Washington and Brussels to narrow the trade gap and raise its currency's value. Stephen Perry, chairman of the 48 Group Club, a Sino-British business network, said: "China has become an international player much more quickly than it would have wanted to do, in part to meet its need for natural resources. But I don't think China has any intention of taking on American power. The West is important to China in this stage of its development as it seeks inward investment. But that is beginning to be much less important and it is looking more to the development of a strong Asia, in which it is one of the strongest players because of its enormous consumer base." But while some may question Beijing's political motives, there is no doubt that China has arrived as serious power-broker. Last year, it surpassed America as the greatest driver of global economic demand. It is also widely predicted to overtake Germany as the world's third largest economy this year.
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