by Brother Gregory Williams May 29, 2011 NewsWithViews.com
[Mr. Williams and NewsWithViews] are no affliated with The Plain Truth
Forward by Bob Barney: This is an excellent article concerning God's Holy Days and the role they play in Christian life today. I was even surprised to see that Mr. Williams even understands when Firstfruits takes place (after Passover Week) and not on the 3rd day of Passover as many assume in error.
The Feasts of Israel were in-gatherings and played an essential roll in maintaining a free nation. Without these festivals there was no practical way to bring a nation together and to create bonds in society that were essential for a free state.
There was no civilly enforceable contract to compel performance in a pure republic because the status or state of the people was independent according to the nature of a republican form of government.[1]
Since religion[2] was how you cared for others within your community and society these gatherings were essential for the maintenance of a governmental system based on liberty. Each elder of each family was required, by common sense, to participate.
Making this system work was dependent on everyone working and doing their part. There was no central leader forcing everyone to pay their share. What you contributed and how you participated set the path for success or failure and acceptance or rejection by your nation was founded in either the brotherhood of caring or the covetousness of controlling hearts.
Just as it keeps the weekly Sabbath, the
Church of God also observes the annual holy days that were ordered by God,
kept by the ancient Israelites and continued by the early New Testament
Christians. These seven annual "appointed feasts" picture God's plan of
salvation for man.
The annual holy days are named the Passover and Feast of Unleavened
Bread, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the
Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day. These days occur on specific
dates of the current Hebrew calendar, with the exception of Pentecost
which is counted in a biblically prescribed manner. Like the weekly
Sabbath, each is reckoned from sunset to sunset.
The functions of these annual holy days are partly the same; those of
the weekly Sabbath.
The primary importance of the festivals is their
function as spiritual symbols, outlining God's plan of salvation for the
individual and the world. These days include religious instruction and
worship which provide for spiritual renewal on a regular basis.
The holy days serve as spiritual, psychological and social high points
of the year. They allow people to get together in an atmosphere of leisure
and enjoyment.
In addition, these days provide opportunity to rest
physically. Psychologically, the human need for change of pace and a time
to forget the ordinary concerns of day-to-day life is met by these
periodic festivals. However, the central concern of these days is
spiritual. Supplementing the weekly Sabbath services, there is still a
need for intensive concentration on spiritual matters over a period of
days without the distraction of the normal routine of making a living. The
spring and autumn festival seasons supply this, especially the Feast of
Tabernacles which is customarily held only in a few central locations.
The holy days fulfill the spiritual objective of being holy
convocations for the Church today. They also are "shadows of things to
come" pointing to and outlining the substance of God's great plan of
salvation for all mankind.
This is briefly summarized as follows:
The Passover represents the sacrifice of Christ which pays for the sins
of all who repent and accept it in faith. It also represents partaking of
eternal life through Jesus Christ (shown by the bread and wine which
symbolize His body and blood). The Feast of Unleavened Bread is symbolic
of the continual removing of sin from the spiritual sphere of one's life
and the continual practicing of a new godly way of life, represented by
Christ, who was unleavened, that is, without sin
Pentecost pictures both the foundation of this New Testament Church and
the sending of the Holy Spirit for the individual.
The Feast of Trumpets
symbolizes the spreading of the gospel to the world like the trumpet call
of a watchman; it also shows the return of Jesus Christ to set up the
Kingdom of God on earth.
The Day of Atonement, a solemn day of fasting and
self-searching represents the time when sin shall be placed upon the head
of its ultimate source, Satan the devil. The removal of the cause of evil
allows God's Kingdom to hold unopposed rulership over mankind.
The Feast
of Tabernacles is symbolic of the millennial rule of God through Jesus
Christ and His saints. It shall be followed by an opportunity for
salvation for all who have lived and died and were not previously called
to have a part in the first resurrection—this is the meaning behind the
Last Great Day.
The culmination shall be the new heaven and new earth
(Rev. 21), in which all creation shall be renewed in preparation for the
humanly unfathomable eternity on beyond.
The functions of the annual holy days are partly the same as those of
the weekly Sabbath. They provide physical rest from the regular routine.
Yet there are a number of differences on the purely physical plane of
observance. The annual festival periods provide high points of the year as
social occasions on which to see friends and relatives and during which
one can have the means and the leisure to enjoy good food and recreation.
Psychologically, the annual festivals usually allow a more lengthy
break from regular routine than does the weekly rest day. They are
something to look forward to. They provide the occasion for doing things
as a family unit. While they differ somewhat from the traditional modern
holiday or vacation, their psychological function is very similar,
especially for those who do not have other vacation periods during the
year.
One of the major differences of the annual festivals from the weekly
Sabbath is that Church members are enjoined to follow the biblical
injunction of Deuteronomy 14:22-26, and set aside up to one tenth (or
tithe) of their income in a special fund for use in celebrating these
days. This provides the opportunity for the enjoyment of extra-special
food and drink.
During the non-holy days of a festival, suitable
recreation is also encouraged, especially for the family unit. A special
offering is taken on the annual Sabbaths in accord with Deuteronomy
16:16-17.
In addition to regular church services on each of the annual holy days,
the following festivals have their own special observances. Along with the weekly Sabbath, these festivals place worship and
service of God at the forefront of the minds of Church members. Rather
than taking over former heathen celebrations which have been synchronized
with Christian observance or making up celebrations without any precedent,
the real human need of regular festive celebrations is met by age-old,
God-ordained observances clearly attested in the Bible itself. The days
carry a symbolic teaching which looks forward as well as backward and
places God squarely in the center—the focus of its range of vision.
Millennium
The Old Testament prophets looked forward to the rule of God's Kingdom
on the earth (a time identified as the 1,000 year rule of Christ described
in Revelation 20). Some of these prophets describe holy day observance in
several passages.
One of these passages is Ezekiel 40-48, in which an eschatological
temple is pictured in detail. Along with the weekly Sabbath (described
under Sabbath), the annual festivals are referred to in a general way in
several verses (45:17; 46:9,11). The Passover and Feast of unleavened
Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles are named specifically (45:21-25) as
being kept in the prophetic Kingdom of God. Zechariah 14:16-19 pictures a
time when all nations shall come up to Jerusalem to worship at the Feast
of Tabernacles. Those who refuse shall be punished by natural disaster
until they repent and worship as God desires. This demonstrates that the
annual festivals of God are not restricted to Israel but rather are
designed for the entirety of mankind.
by Earl L. Henn (1934-1997) Forerunner, "Bible Study," May 1996
As we study the meaning of God's holy days, a logical pattern surfaces that unlocks truths that remain a mystery to the vast majority of the world's people. The day of Pentecost symbolizes a major key to spiritual understanding because upon this day God sent His Holy Spirit to His church, providing Christ's disciples with the power, love and understanding to carry out the work of the church. This regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the key to understanding the spiritual principles of God's Word, opens our understanding of the plan that God is working out among humanity.
God established His holy days around the two major harvests of the year, a small one in the spring and a larger one in the fall. These harvest seasons typify two spiritual harvests. Pentecost, occurring in late spring, symbolizes the first spiritual harvest and reveals that this is not the only day of salvation. Those whom God calls now are merely a "pilot group" that He has specifically selected to be His "firstfruits." This day is also the anniversary of God's church—the beginning of the portion of God's master plan in which He calls people out of this evil world to create in them His holy, perfect, spiritual character.
1. During what three periods of the year did God command Israel to appear before Him? Exodus 23:14-16.
Comment: The "three times" are three general periods during which God's holy days fall. Passover and Unleavened Bread occur in early spring, the "Feast of Harvest" in late spring and the "Feast of Ingathering" in the fall.
Comment: Before the Israelites could reap the spring crop, God commanded them to bring a sheaf of grain to the priest, who waved it before God for acceptance. This "wavesheaf offering" occurred on "the day after the Sabbath" that falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. {Actually this day is a High Sabbath that falls on the 8TH Day of Passover}
3. How do we determine when to observe Pentecost, also called "the Feast of Weeks"? Leviticus 23:15-16, 21.
Comment: This late spring holy day must be counted. God instructs us to count 50 days from the day that the wavesheaf was offered. This explains why this day is commonly called Pentecost, which means "count fifty."
4. What special offering did God command to be offered on Pentecost in the Old Testament? Leviticus 23:17.
Comment: God commanded that two loaves of bread be offered as firstfruits to God. These two loaves represent the Old and New Testament churches.
Comment: Pentecost, the Feast of Firstfruits, represents the first part of God's spiritual harvest. God is now calling a small number of people, the firstfruits, into His church. These people, who live in the world but are not part of it (John 17:15-16), are training to be the leaders in the World Tomorrow when God will work to save the whole world.
6. Is the end time a spiritual harvest? Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43.
Comment: "End of the age" (verse 39) refers to the time of Christ's second coming and the resurrection of the dead when God will reap the firstfruits of His harvest! The fifty days between the wavesheaf offering and Pentecost symbolize the time from the founding of the church to the end of the age when the small harvest of the firstfruits occurs.
Comment: Jesus Christ, the first of the firstfruits, willingly gave His life so others may receive forgiveness of sin. He was a holy, sinless sacrifice, and three days later, He was the first person resurrected to eternal life! In this, He fulfilled the symbolism of the wavesheaf offering.
8. Did Jesus have to be accepted just as the wavesheaf offering was? John 20:17.
Comment: Jesus was crucified on the day of the Passover in AD 31, which fell that year on a Wednesday. God resurrected Him at the end of the weekly Sabbath (Saturday). He appeared to Mary Magdalene the next morning, the day after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, when the priests presented the wavesheaf offering. He did not permit her to touch Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father. Just as the High Priest had to wave the sheaf of grain before the spring harvest began, so our Savior had to ascend to the Father to be accepted before Him. Once this happened, He allowed His disciples to touch Him (cf. Matthew 28:9; John 20:20-28).
9. Did Christ's disciples observe Pentecost? Acts 2:1.
Comment: This was the Day of Pentecost exactly fifty days after Christ ascended to heaven{On FIRSTFRUITS, the 8th Day of Passover} to be accepted by the Father on the day the sheaf of grain was waved.
10. What happened then to fulfill a promise that Jesus had made to His disciples? Acts 2:2-4; John 14:16, 26.
11. Was the Holy Spirit to be IN the disciples as contrasted to dwelling WITH them? John 14:17.
Comment: During Jesus' life on earth, the Holy Spirit was with the disciples. After the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the Spirit was within them as it had been in Christ. At this time, the disciples were born from above by the Holy Spirit, marking the beginning of the church of God.
Comment: About 25 years after Christ's ascension into heaven, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, hurried to be in Jerusalem in time for Pentecost! Just as the early church kept Pentecost every year, so the true church of God continues to keep it today as a continual reminder of our part in God's great master plan of salvation!
Going on a hike or just outside pulling
weeds in the garden, Amy Scher would recommend you use an insect
repellent for most outdoor activities.
It’s not just an irritating scratch she
wants to help people avoid, but more harmful effects like the disease
that nearly killed her.
(Photo: Wikimedia)
In the early 2000s, Scher went hiking
in California and didn’t wear a repellent. Unknown to her at the time, a
tick had latched on and gave her Lyme disease. For years, Scher began
experiencing strange symptoms, which were misdiagnosed, as they often
are with the tick-borne illness. But then things started getting worse.
In 2005, Scher was sitting in a Jacuzzi and lost all feeling in her legs.
“Everything went downhill from there,” she said.
Scher became bed ridden. Scans found
lesions on her brain. The bacterial disease had spread to every organ in
her body and into her bone marrow.
Scher was taking dozens of medication
and antibiotics each day to fight the infection, and she eventually went
to India for an experimental treatment, which she said helped boost her
immune system so she could eventually fend off the disease. Even the
lesions on her brain healed.
This is why Scher, now 33, advocates people wear an insect repellent.
“Anytime you would wear sunscreen, I would say put on insect repellent as well,” she said.
There are a variety of repellents on
the market targeting everything from ticks to mosquitoes. Some are
natural and some are chemical. Some are applied topically, while others
take the form of a patch or create a perimeter around a designated
space.
NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series driver (18) Kyle Busch drives under a portion of the
television CamCat overhead camera systems rope during the Coca Cola 600
at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 2013. A report provided
by the speedway stated that 10 fans were injured when a nylon rope fell
over the grandstands in Turn 4 on lap 121 of the race. Seven fans were
treated for minor cuts and scrapes at on-site care centers and released.
Three people were transported to an area hospital for further
evaluation. The rope was a guide for the network television CamCat
overhead camera system. Jeff Siner - jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
A nylon rope used to suspend a Fox Sports overhead television
camera came loose during Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola
600, injuring at least 10 fans.
Track officials announced early Monday that all 10 fans have now
been treated and released. Three of the fans were taken to area
hospitals and seven were treated at the racetrack. Fox Sports announced
late Sunday that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The incident happened 121 laps into the 400-lap race at Charlotte
Motor Speedway. Long strands of the rope got tangled in some cars,
causing damage to then-race leader Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota and Marcos
Ambrose’s No. 9 Ford. The race was delayed about 26 minutes.
The nylon rope fell on the grandstand along Turn 4. The track
described the rope as a guide to the “CamCat,” overhead camera system,
which Fox uses for a variety of sports.
The all-star race on May 18 and the Coca-Cola 600 was the first time the system has been used at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“It snapped down and then flew down everywhere,” said Alec
Schaffer, 22, of Richmond, Va., who was not injured. “Hats, popcorn,
concessions were flying. It flew back up and everyone started holding
the wire. Everyone was like, ‘what is going on?’ and then we realized it
was the cable.
“It was grabbing people’s hats, drinks, everything. Someone’s hat had to have gone 25 feet in the air.”
One of the injured fans, Todd Seymour of Lenoir, said that
despite some fans saying they heard the rope snap, he did not. Instead,
the rope hit the back of his head and came to rest on his right shoulder
and right arm.
“I picked it up and it took back off,” Seymour said. “When it took back off, it caused the burn.”
Seymour had his right forearm treated and wrapped in gauze 6 inches wide.
He said his injury was more of an abrasion than a cut, though he
did see one fan in front of him bleeding “really bad.” That fan left
through the stairway and onto the concourse between sections D and E.
'These are the most important things in the world'
JERUSALEM (AP) — Parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are up for sale — in tiny pieces.
Nearly 70 years after the discovery of the world’s oldest biblical
manuscripts, the Palestinian family who originally sold them to scholars
and institutions is now quietly marketing the leftovers — fragments the
family says it has kept in a Swiss safe deposit box all these years.
Most of these scraps are barely postage-stamp-sized, and some are
blank. But in the last few years, evangelical Christian collectors and
institutions in the US have forked out millions of dollars for a chunk
of this archaeological treasure. This angers Israel’s government
antiquities authority, which holds most of the scrolls, claims that
every last scrap should be recognized as Israeli cultural property, and
threatens to seize any more pieces that hit the market.
“I told Kando many years ago, as far as I’m concerned, he can die
with those scrolls,” said Amir Ganor, head of the authority’s
anti-looting squad, speaking of William Kando, who maintains his
family’s Dead Sea Scrolls collection. “The scrolls’ only address is the
State of Israel.”
By Bob Barney: Here are two speeches, of many. Long, sometimes tedious, we have highlighted important aspects of his words, but please take the time to read and understand what this man had to say. His words were from God, he was a prophet, military genius and the greatest American of the 20th century! MacArthur also cautioned the young President Kennedy to avoid a U.S. military
build-up in Vietnam, pointing out that domestic problems should be
given a much greater priority. Kennedy was said to have come out of the
more than three-hour meeting 'stunned' and 'enormously impressed'. unfortunately, the President didn't listen to his warning and 59,000 Americans paid the price.MacArthur and his second wife, Jean Faircloth, spent the last years of their life together in the Penthouse of the Waldorff-Astoria. After his death Jean continued to live in the Penthouse until her death. The couple are entombed together in downtown Norfolk, Virginia;
their burial site is in the rotunda of a memorial building/museum
(formerly the Norfolk city hall) dedicated to his memory, and there is
a major shopping mall (MacArthur Center) named for him across the
street from the memorial. According to the museum, General MacArthur
chose to be buried in Norfolk because of his mother's ancestral ties to
the city. Today, literally hundreds of millions of people owe their freedom, their way of life, and there prosperity to this great man. Ironically most of these people do not know it, or even know his name today. He wrote the Constitution of Japan, which forbade that country to ever have a military again. That nation's wealth and security is because of this man alone! Many today deride the General, call him a demagogue. He was vain, arrogant and sometimes aloof, but what separates him from those monsters like Hitler who have some of those same attributes is his belief in the true God, and God's divine guidance over him. He knew it, and trusted it. Once when his staff were dodging bullets, scrambling for safety behind a jeep, they peered out to see MacArthur, standing tall and totally unafraid of the situation.... "Doesn't he think he can get killed," a staffer asked the other.
The instant reply from his aide in horror, "Goddamn it, of course he does'nt!"
When his wife asked him (after failing to win the nomination for President) "What kind of President will Mr. Eisenhower make?" He replied... "I think a good one! He was the best orderly that ever worked for me!" Today, his prophetic words are haunting now more than ever....
Listen to the general, in his own words. he wrote all of his speeches himself!
Here is a US Holiday that actually has AMERICAN ORIGINS and didn't come from some pagan ritual in 2000BC! Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.
General John A. Logan Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-B8172- 6403 DLC (b&w film neg.)]
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
'We were riding and I saw
something poking out on the side of the road. At first I didn't know
what it was,' said Veronica Larios, who accompanied Leon to the
Everglades.
In a video recorded by another friend Blake Jordan Leon can be seen grabbing the snake by it's neck.
Larios hands Leon a knife and helps him move the snake's body as it tried to coil around her friend.
Taking measurements: Python being measured in University of Florida Lab after it was captured and killed near Miami
By Bob Barney “There is a mighty battle that is coming, and it is well now on its
way,” words of a song by the legendary Roy Acuff recorded by the great
hank Williams, Sr more than 60 years ago sums up what we are waiting
for. As the song states, it will be a sad day for the inhabitants of
this world, and although we do not know the exact hour of this event, we
were given by Christ a list of world events to watch and then how to
prepare ourselves if we are the ones that will live during these times.
In
Matthew 24 and Revelation 16, we are told that great armies will
prepare for an end time great last battle which will plunge the earth
into the greatest upheaval since the flood of Noah. This is an event
that will happen, as God is never wrong. We can hope and pray that it is
not during our time, but it is best to always assume hat it could be.
What are we to do? Build bomb shelters, or run to the desert? Jesus
actually told us not to be troubled, when all of this starts because
this last battle must happen before His return to earth to rule it,
subdue it and to end poverty, strife, war and death. The Day of the LORD
will be hard for all, but those who stand by Christ, will see all of
their preparation come to fruition. Christ promised that after these
horrible times, He is coming - and with him eternal life without fear of
death, without sorrow or pain.
We must live everyday in this world, but we must also live everyday preparing ourselves just in case that day comes.
The Battle of Armageddon Written by Roy Acuff and Odell Mcleod….Recorded by Hank Williams, sr.
There’s a mighty battle coming and it’s well now on it’s way. Isaiah 13:9 It’ll be fought at armageddon, it shall be a sad, sad day. Revelation 16:16 In the book of Revelation, words in chapter sixteen say Revelation 16 There’ll be gathered there great armies for that battle on that day. Revelation 16:16 All the way from the gates of Eden to the battle of Armageddon 2 Peter 3:4 There’s been troubles and tribulation, there’ll be sorrow and despair. Matt 24:9 He has said "ye not be troubled for these things shall come to pass." Matt 24:6 Then your life will be eternal when you dwell with him at last. Revelation 20:4
Was the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem more than a place of worship? Was it, in addition, a roadmap to future events – a kind of prophetic landmark whose significance is only now revealed through the development of satellite imagery?
The book asserts it has "deciphered Isaac Newton’s greatest paradox: None other than 'the unified field theory' of Bible prophecy."
Sir Isaac Newton was not only a great thinker in physics, the book explains, but had extensive knowledge of the Scriptures with a special interest in prophecy. Newton believed there was a hidden code, a type of time-encrypted language. He believed the key to deciphering this code was the Temple of Solomon. He wrote extensively on the length measurements of the Temple and suggested it intersected time and dimension, serving as a prophetic and supernatural structure.
According to Flynn, although Newton never cracked this code, he was on the right track and was limited only by the lack of sophisticated satellite technology.
"The description of Jerusalem as a terrestrial center point, situated in the center of the world, is found in Philo's Legatio and Gaium," Flynn notes. "The world is like a human eyeball. The white of the eye is the ocean surrounding the world, the iris is this continent, the pupil is Jerusalem, and the image in the pupil is the Holy Temple."
"A belief that the ancients held unusual scientific knowledge, of which only fragments remain today, was held by many great philosophers and scientists who participated in the 'scientific revolution,' explains the publisher's description of the book. "Though research by these men led to great discovery, many were convinced that they were merely scratching the surface of an immense but lost pristine knowledge … somehow reflected in the architecture and remains of ancient civilizations."
Now comes Flynn's treatise which takes on the explanation of the true form and nature of the original knowledge.
"For the first time in history, 'Temple at the Center of Time' uncovers what Newton was looking for and, in so doing, proves that pivotal events in history are unquestionably connected in time and space to Jerusalem," the review said. "Newton didn't know it. The key was right in front of him."
Among the mysteries addressed is the location now of the lost Ark of the Covenant.
The massive circular structure appears to be an archaeologists dream:
a recently discovered antiquity that could reveal secrets of ancient
life in the Middle East and is just waiti
ng to be excavated.
It's thousands of years old -- a conical, manmade behemoth weighing hundreds of tons, practically begging to be explored.
The problem is -- it's at the bottom of the biblical Sea of Galilee.
For now, at least, Israeli researchers are left stranded on dry land,
wondering what finds lurk below.
'The bottom line is we don't know when it's from, we don't know what it's connected to, we don't know its function.'
- Dani Nadel, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa
The monumental structure, made of boulders and stones with a diameter of 230 feet, emerged from a routine sonar scan in 2003. Now archaeologists are trying to raise money to allow them access to the submerged stones.
"It's very enigmatic, it's very interesting, but the bottom line is
we don't know when it's from, we don't know what it's connected to, we
don't know its function," said Dani Nadel, an archaeologist at the
University of Haifa who is one of several researchers studying the
discovery. "We only know it is there, it is huge and it is unusual."
Archaeologists said the only way they can properly assess the
structure is through an underwater excavation, a painstakingly slow
process that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And if an
excavation were to take place, archaeologists said they believed it
would be the first in the Sea of Galilee, an ancient lake that boasts
historical remnants spanning thousands of years and is the setting of
many Bible scenes.
In January 2009, President of the United States of America, George W. Bush invited then President-Elect Barack Obama and former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter for a Meeting and Lunch at The White House. Photo taken in the Oval Office at The White House. All the above helped destroy America's liberties.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A few weeks ago, President Obama advised graduates at Ohio State
University that they need not listen to voices warning about tyranny
around the corner, because we have self-government in America. He argued
that self-government is in and of itself an adequate safeguard against
tyranny, because voters can be counted upon to elect democrats
(lowercase “d”) not tyrants. His argument defies logic and 20th-century
history. It reveals an ignorance of the tyranny of the majority, which
believes it can write any law, regulate any behavior, alter any
procedure and tax any event so long as it can get away with it.
History has shown that the majority will not permit any higher law or
logic or value – like fidelity to the natural law, a belief in the
primacy of the individual or an acceptance of the supremacy of the
Constitution – that prevents it from doing as it wishes.
Under Obama’s watch, the majority has, by active vote or refusal to
interfere, killed hundreds of innocents – including three Americans – by
drone, permitted federal agents to write their own search warrants,
bombed Libya into tribal lawlessness without a declaration of war so
that a mob there killed our ambassador with impunity, attempted to force
the Roman Catholic Church to purchase insurance policies that cover
artificial birth control, euthanasia and abortion, ordered your doctor
to ask you whether you own guns, used the IRS to intimidate outspoken
conservatives, seized the telephone records of newspaper reporters
without lawful authority and in violation of court rules and obtained a
search warrant against one of my Fox colleagues by misrepresenting his
true status to a federal judge.
James Rosen, my colleague and friend, is a professional journalist.
He covers the State Department for Fox News. In order to do his job, he
has cultivated sources in the State Department – folks willing to speak
from time to time off the record.
One of Rosen’s sources apparently was a former employee of a federal
contractor who was on detail to the State Department, Stephen Jin-Woo
Kim. Kim is an expert in arms control and national defense whose lawyers
have stated that his job was to explain byzantine government behavior
so we all can understand it. When he was indicted for communicating top
secret and sensitive information, presumably to Rosen, his lawyers
replied by stating that the information he discussed was already in the
public domain, and thus it wasn’t secret.
Prior to securing Kim’s indictment, the Department of Justice
obtained a search warrant for Google’s records of Rosen’s personal
emails by telling a federal judge that Rosen had committed the crime of
conspiracy by undue flattery of Kim and appealing to Kim’s vanity until
Kim told Rosen what he wanted to hear. In a word, that is rubbish. And
the FBI agent who claimed that asking a source for information and the
federal judge who found that the flattering questions alone constituted
criminal behavior were gravely in error.
Reporters are protected in their craft by the First Amendment, and
the Supreme Court has ruled that they can ask whatever questions they
wish without fear of prosecution. If Kim revealed classified information
to Rosen – a charge Kim vigorously denies – that is Kim’s crime, not
Rosen’s. The Supreme Court ruled in the Pentagon Papers case that it is
not a crime for a journalist to seek secrets, to receive them, to
possess them and to publish them so long as they affect a matter of
material public interest.
The government’s behavior here is very troubling. Government lawyers
and FBI agents are charged with knowing the law. They must have known
that Rosen committed no crime, and they no doubt never intended to
charge him, and they never have. They materially misled the judge, who
saw the phrase “probable cause” of criminal activity (taken from the
Fourth Amendment) in their affidavit in support of the search warrant
they sought, and he signed. The judge should have seen this for the ruse
it was. It is inconceivable that a person could conspire to commit a
crime (release of classified information) that is impossible for that
person to commit, particularly with a Supreme Court case directly on
point.
This misuse of the search warrant mechanism by misrepresentation of
the status of the target continues the radicalization of federal
criminal procedure now typical of this Department of Justice. It has
claimed that it can release military weapons to foreign criminal gangs
just to see where the weapons end up, and that its agents cannot be
prosecuted for harm caused by those who received the weapons. It has
held that the serious consideration given in the White House by
high-ranking government officials to the identity of persons the
president wants to kill somehow is a constitutional substitute for due
process and thus enables the president to use drones to kill people
uncharged with federal crimes. It has extended the public safety
exception to the Miranda rule from the few seconds at the scene of the
crime spent securing the prisoner, where the Supreme Court has said it
resides, to more than 72 hours.
And now this.
The reason we have the due process safeguards imposed upon the
government by the Constitution is to keep tyranny from lurking anywhere
here, much less around the corner. Due process is the intentionally
created obstacle to government procedural shortcuts, which, if
disregarded, will invite tyranny to knock at the front door and sneak in
through the back. Justice Felix Frankfurter warned of this 70 years ago
when he wrote, “The history of liberty has largely been the history of
the observance of procedural safeguards.” That was true then, and it is
true now.
Do you expect the Department of Justice to cut constitutional corners against you?
“It's
a fine line between the darkness and the dawn They say in the
darkest night, there's a light beyond”
Tragedies
and sorrows abound. The tragedy in Newton Connecticut... sorrows in
Aurora Colorado and places around the world we have never even heard
of. What's it all mean, and how can anyone cope with the pressure of
an evil world. One thing I have learned over the years is that people
face tragedy differently. Some can't handle their sorrowful times,
and just “tune out.” These people will not face reality no matter
what the consequences. Others, jump into the face of tragedy and
fight with everything they have to stay sane. Many turn to God, and
others to “religion.” Often some go into a morbid period of
denial. I can very well understand the parents of those 20 children
slaughtered the other day fitting into one of the categories above.
My hope is that they turn to God for help, but many may not. It is
sad, but the world we live in is not God's world. The apostle Paul
said that this world is ruled by the Devil and his demons
masquerading as false ministers of Christ who pray on those in
distress and lead many to despair. He says in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that,
“Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of
those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of
the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of
Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” Some have such a
difficult time grasping the practical this concept- that this is not
God's world, perhaps because we think of God as Creator and marvel at
the staggering beauty of what God has made. In that sense it is His
world. But the society is not. In 1 John 2:16, John writes, “For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the.”
William Barclay in his commentary on this verse writes, "To John
the world was nothing other than pagan society with its false values
and its false gods" (p. 56).
It
is hard for us to grasp a loving God with hardships, tragedy and
depression, but because we are not living in God's world, under God's
Laws and following God's religion, we are subject to living in a
world that will hate us, hurt us and for some, kill us. Jesus warned
his followers that “These
things I have spokento
you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of
the synagogues [today
it might be from churches];
yes, the time is coming that whoever
kills you will think that he offers God service.And these things
they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
But these things I have told you, that when
the time comes, you may rememberthat
I told you of them." (John
16:1-4) Paul added, “Everyone who wants to live a
godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy
3:12).
I
am not writing here as a mere observer, or a teacher; but rather, as
an expert, familiar with the pains and sorrows of failure, misery and
despair. Many years ago, after I began seeing God's word (called the
Bible) as the truth, I traveled to Texas to meet the person who had
probably more to do with my confusion and reeducation as anybody
alive. But first a little history.
I
was born into an average middle-classed New England Episcopalian
family. My mother was a devote believer; my father was too, but not
outwardly in the way mom was. He grew up very quickly and terribly
hard during the depression. His father died when he was very young,
forcing his family to be broken up and sent to various farms to work
as cheap labor – slave labor. At 12 and 13 years old many kids like
my dad, ended up living with farm families, just for a bed and a
meal. Little pay – if any. They were often treated like mere
slaves. My dad tells of times that he would have to stay in the
kitchen, as the farmers real kids celebrated Christmas in the living
room, opening their presents and having a great family gathering. Dad
was not included. That's how he grew up in the real world - one that
was often cruel and uncaring. Dad dropped out of school after the 8th
grade in order to work. That experience made him sure that he would
better himself, and that his family would never suffer as he had. For
the most part he succeed, through hard work, and a sense of honesty
and character. All who knew him respected him, most I would say
looked up to him.
His
story changed. Dad worked hard, and people noticed. Like Joseph in
Egypt, he had a knack to turn things around and make people money.
Soon this got the attention of the Nestle company, and Dad was hired
and quickly worked his way up the ranks to a high paid management
position. In doing so, we (his children) grew up in a storybook life.
We lived well in the 50,'s 60's and 70's. As for me, I was good in
school, went to college and ended up graduating at the University of
Connecticut in the mid-70's.
Now
back to my story and my trip to Texas in 1978. My life began to
change during these years, as I went from initially believing in God-
as my mom did, to one that came to be convinced that God wasn't real.
School taught me that God wasn't real, and that the Bible was full of
fairy tales. Modern science, not ancient religion, was the real hope
for mankind. One day I started listening to a guy on the radio who
challenged about everything I thought I knew. His name was Garner Ted
Armstrong, and his show challenged me to do my own research and not
believe anyone, not him, or my teachers or some man, but prove
through original research what were real facts, and what was myths. I
soon found out that religion was full of myths, but so was science!
To
make this short, I soon learned that evolution was as mythological as
Pandora's box! It was shot through with holes, junk science and a
bunch of junk science. I learned when one investigates any subject
that they think they know, they often realize that they knew very
little, and many of the experts teaching those subjects are more like
“preachers” than teachers. So after several years of studying
everything I could, I found myself believing in God, and more
importantly believing what God said in the Bible! I have found over
the years that many people believe in God, few believe in what God
says! There is a big difference.
In
1978 I traveled to Texas to meet the man that had changed my life so
drastically. I was surprised with our meeting. I told him that I
believed God was calling me, but I didn't have a clue on what I was
to do. What he said blew my mind. “If God is calling you, you
better be prepared to have a quite miserable life,” he surprisingly
said. “You better be prepared to lose your friends, family and
sometimes even your own mind. You will be torn apart within, and
often feel hopeless and weak. You see, God doesn't call people to
save them, or for that matter to make their lives better. God calls
those who will work for Him, and pay the price that will be required
- which is often heartache and pain.” I didn't know what to say.
He
continued, “Have you read the Psalms?” You will find those of
David are mainly filled with fear, defeat and devastation! David
didn't have a great life, you know- and neither will most people
following the call of God. What you will have is the beginning of the
greatest friendship you will ever experience. You will learn that God
is very hard on those He loves, and that through the tough
discipline, God will turn you into His tool to bring the Gospel to
others searching for that same truth that you are searching for
today.” I confess, this wasn't what I expected to hear. But is was,
the plain truth of what was to come.
He
turned out to be right. My life has had up and downs, great blessings
and great sorrows, but my travel down God's pathway has never
stopped. I have had great periods of depression and doubts. Many
times I have thought God had left me, only to find out it was the
other way around. I struggled with myself, and my God. There are
times even today I worry about the things that in the long view
doesn't mean anything, I still get distracted by this world. I still
make mistakes and often find myself crying like a baby, pleading with
God for help. The other day, feeling sorry for myself, as we struggle
to make ends meet, I heard the words of this song which said:
“It's a
fine line between the darkness and the dawn They say in the darkest night, there's a
light beyond”
“But the ending always comes at
last
Endings always come too fast But they pass too slow”
As
I heard those words, I literally cried, because I know that God is
there, and allows the darkest night, but we also know that His light
is just around the corner. And it is for me, and it can be for you.
You
see, I don't just believe in God. I know God. I know how God thinks,
what God feels, and what great wonderful things God is going to do
when His kingdom comes to rule on this earth. All those who ever
lived and died will find another chance! All will have the chance to
relive their lives without pain, suffering and evil caused by the
Devil. I do not have to worry about saving anyone in this world,
because everyone will have the chance to be saved after the Devil is
chained in the world to come.
All
those children that died so brutally in Newton will live again. Not
now in heaven, as churches falsely proclaim, but at their
resurrection when Jesus comes back to rule as King of Kings on this
very earth where we walk on today! All their pain will be gone and
happiness will abound. I often stupidly worry about my day to day
life, but I know that everyone has the chance to someday find the
real God and The Plain Truth of His Gospel.
However
some of you are being called now, and you are the FirstFruits of the
great harvest of God. These first fruits are the saints, the
Christians of the Bible, who make the choice in this lifetime to
follow God and His Law and believe what God says. They are people
like John, Peter, Paul, and maybe you! Yes you too, if you are being
called can know today what you and everyone else will know tomorrow -
Those who are Christians will not be raised back to mortal life at
the resurrection, but raised to Spirit at the time of the coming of
Christ, and we will be His brethren. Our mortality will be turned
into immortality and we will be “Born Again,” not of flesh and
blood, but of spirit and become fully begotten members of the God
Family, made out of the same spirit that God the Father and Jesus His
Christ are made from. We will see God the father and Jesus as they
are, because we will be like them!
I
laughingly say that, if you want to join a miserable bunch of losers,
ex-whores and ex-thieves (as the Jews called the early Christians)
then anyone willing to walk the walk are accepted. Most don't want to
join now, but even with the heartache and bumps in the road, it is
great knowing the mind of the Living God, and what the truth is. And
the best part? You don't have to fill out an application and send it
to anyone. There is no cost, you simply tell God it's what you want –
and if He is calling you – YOU WILL GET THE INVITATION SENT BACK,
but probably not in the way you expect.
You
may be being called now to teach others about the truth of God and
the future of the world. It is an awesome task. If you are, times
will be tougher than ever, but you will find that “fine line
between the darkness and the dawn and that light beyond the darkest
night.”
Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th President of the United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Bob Barney
As the Obama scandal grows, the incompetence of the EOE president-in training showing, what becomes obvious to the historian is the mistakes that Richard Nixon made when he found himself in a similar situation. Obama, whose administration has been racked the scandal and stupidity, as well as mafia style Chicago politics has shown itself to be an enemy of the people, the press, and the church. It has struck out as boldly as any Stalinistic regime against all perceived enemies, and yet has basically remained intact.
The question is why? What could the Nixon administration have learned from this current occupant of the White House? I have come up with a short list.
1) Nixon who started the EPA, ended the war that the nation hated, did wage and price controls like any good progressive democrat, ended the gold standard and began arms reduction with the Russians (something every liberal loves), was still hated by liberals universally! Why? The answer is simple. He ran has a conservative (which he was not) Republican. If he were a Democrat, he would probably have been rated as the second greatest president in the 20th century (behind FDR of course). He would have easily replaced Woodrow Wilson from that coveted second place position. After all, Wilson, a media and liberal darling did belong to the KKK and did think blacks were totally inferior to the genetically superior white race.
2) Nixon should have been a better liar, and should have surrounded himself with better liars. Of course, this may not have worked for him. He was a Republican. If he were a Democrat, he would probably have been rated as the second greatest president in the 20th century.
3.) Nixon probably should not have resigned. Like Bill Clinton, if he had probably fought his impeachment all the way till the end, destroying the nation in the process, he may have won in his trial in the Senate. Then again, he was a Republican….. If he were a Democrat, he would probably have been rated as the second greatest president in the 20th century
After considering the facts, I guess the only thing Nixon could have done to survive his tenure - was to run as a Democrat. If he were a Democrat, he would probably have been rated as the second greatest president in the 20th century.
Then again, Nixon could never have been black. A “condition” that renders one immune from any white attack, as long as you are a black DEMOCRAT. Not being black, even as a Democrat, may have ultimately ended up in Nixon’s destruction after all.
Lessons: 1) Be black, be a democrat, be liberal, be pro gay, be pro Muslim, be anti-American and BE STUPID --- and you may end up being president for life!
The liberal world vision and reality are often at variance, for
example, with equal pay for equal work. I’ve often watched “Lockup,” a
show that features California supermax prisons, including Pelican Bay
and Corcoran. Often, a recalcitrant prisoner must be extracted from his
cell through brute force. I’ve never seen female guards remove a
prisoner. If they are part of the process at all, it’s to videotape the
extraction for legal purposes. It’s my bet that female guards receive
the same salaries as male guards while not having to risk injury. Along
the same lines, women on aircraft carriers earn as much as their male
counterparts, but I have yet to see women hefting a hernia bar to attach
a 500- or 1,000-pound bomb to a fighter jet wing. All of this suggests
that liberals are for equal pay for unequal work. Or could it be sex
discrimination whereby equally qualified women are denied the
opportunity to extract beastly inmates from their cells and load heavy
bombs on fighter planes?
Here’s another bit of liberal confusion. Liberals deny that raising
labor cost through minimum wages reduces incentives to hire. But if you
asked a liberal for advice on how to stop rich people from shirking
their tax obligations, they’d say raise the penalty. Ask low-information
Harvard University doctors what should be done to stem gun violence and
they answer that government should institute “a new, substantial
national tax on all firearms and ammunition.” Ask Illinois’ Cook County
Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle how to reduce
purchases of bullets and guns. She’d say levy a nickel tax on each
bullet and a $25 tax on each gun. Liberals demonstrate they understand
the law of demand – that raising the cost of something lessens the
amount taken – but they deny that it applies to labor. That’s as
ludicrous as suggesting that the law of gravity applies to everything in
the universe except cute creatures, such as pandas and puppies.
Liberals love political correctness that conceals information. For
example, how does one know whether the “chair” of a board of directors
or the chair of a city council is a man or woman? This issue arose
during my (1995-2001) chairmanship of George Mason University’s
distinguished economics department. At a chairman’s meeting or
gathering, I was referred to as department chair. I told the speaker
that I am a chairman and that I have empirical evidence as proof.
Needless to say, it didn’t go over well. Academics don’t like the terms
chairwoman or chairperson, either, but puzzlingly, God forbid that
people refer to their idol as Chair Mao instead of Chairman Mao.
How liberals identify black people must be confusing to whites.
Having been around for 77 years, I have been through a number of names.
Among the more polite ones are colored, Negro, Afro-American, black and,
more recently, African-American. Among those names, African-American is
probably the most unintelligent. Let’s look at it. To identify their
races, suppose I told you that I had a European-American friend, a South
America-American friend and a North America-American friend. You’d
probably say, “Williams, that’s stupid. Europe, South America and North
America are continents and home to different races, ethnicities and
nationalities.” You might suggest that my friend is a German-American
instead of European-American. My friend from Brazil is a
Brazilian-American rather than a South America-American, and my friend
from Canada is a Canadian-American instead of a North America-American.
So wouldn’t the same apply to people whose heritage lies on the African
continent? For example, instead of claiming that President Barack Obama
is the first African-American president, he’s the first partially
Kenyan-American president. Obama is lucky; he knows his national
heritage. The closest thing to a national identity for most black
Americans is some country along Africa’s Gold Coast. Adding to the
confusion, what would you call a white American of Afrikaner or Egyptian
descent? Is he an African-American?
Liberals suffer confusion and cognitive dissonance because the rest of us don’t help explain things to them.
Many pundits say it's because of the AP scandal. I feel there is another reason!
By Bob Barney
Conservatives
everywhere are surprised with the sudden actions of the main stream
media in response to the Obama Administration. Many feel this is due to
the fact that the AP found out they themselves were a target of the
Administration wiretapping and spying. I do not believe that this has
anything to do with the change in tone.
Why would reporters from the mainstream media, liberals who have
protected Obama through almost every scandal anyone could think of have
suddenly started to find every single scandal that could find to bring
this president down? What has changed? I think you'll be surprised what I
think on this. This crew at CBS, NBC, CNN, NBC along with print
journalist have all spent their entire goodwill protecting the Obama
administration up until now. This idea
that the liberal evil media has had a “come to Jesus moment” and all of
a sudden is realizing the truth and wanting people to truly be informed
is nonsense! Yes, I beg to disagree with those conservative pundits
that are hoping the media has finally woke up!
Something is about to change.
This
corrupt media has been hiding the truth of the world’s economy from the
public. They have been complicit in not reporting the real facts that
we have been in the greatest world wide depression since the 1930’s.
They have hid the real conditions that many are facing. They also know
that Obama policies have magnified what is going to happen. I believe
that we are close to civil war in this nation and a coming trade and
economic WORLD WAR between the economic powers that will eventually end
up in a gigantic World War! What we have seen in Cyprus and Greece is
just a shadow of what is coming. The stories that The Plain Truth has
been reporting (but that very few media outlets have been reporting),
comes from the warnings of the Bible. It predicts a worldwide crash,
economic depression, and a world war- then the revelation of the
antichrist. How close are we to that? I don’t know about the end of the
world, but I do see that beginnings of the birth pains.
All
of this trouble in America with a coming Civil War has all been caused
by this administration. I think the press knows that a worldwide crash,
an economic depression and a world war are coming. I think the press
wants to make sure they are seen on the good side of this ensuing
war...the very hard times that they themselves have helped create and
cover up. What they are doing now is merely trying to uncover what they
have covered up to protect their asses.
This has happened before. After the death of JFK, no president
except Obama has ever manipulated the press as good as LBJ. He passed
civil rights, Medicare and a bunch of new deal type socialistic
programs. The press loved him. Then came Vietnam. The press wasn’t
really originally against the war, but they saw the protests and the
riots and realized America was going to be dragged into a civil war.
There was going to be blood in the streets, and the media realized that
the masses would turn on them (the media) if they were seen as the
“establishment.” They slit LBJ down the back. They sided with the
hippies and the anti-war movement, and fooled the public. That is what
they are trying to do right now. Don’t you be fooled!
Countries using the Euro de jure Countries and territories using the Euro de facto Countries in the EU not using the Euro (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
PARIS — French President Francois Hollande called on Thursday for an
economic government in the eurozone that would have its own budget, the
right to issue debt, a harmonized tax system, and a full-time president.
Speaking at a news conference marking his first year in office, a day
after economic data showed France had slipped back into recession, the
Socialist leader said he sought to create a full political European
Union (EU) within two years.
His proposals seemed likely to encounter stiff resistance from
Germany, Europe's leading power, which opposes mutualizing debt among
European states and is reluctant to give the eurozone its own
secretariat or create new divisions in the EU, of which 10 countries are
not in the 17-nation single currency.
It also comes as Britain's government faces growing domestic pressure to hold a referendum on leaving the bloc.
"My initiative has four points that I am putting to our partners. The
first is to create an economic government with the eurozone countries
which would meet every month with a real president appointed for a long
period and who would be devoted to this task," Hollande said.
Forward: The Pentecost date here assumes that the Calendar followed was a Solar and not lunar claendar - which we have proven before. Click on page "When does the day begin" for more...
(Los Angeles Times) It’s 1.7 miles long. Its surface is covered in a
sticky black substance similar to the gunk at the bottom of a barbecue.
If it impacted Earth it would probably result in global extinction. Good
thing it is just making a flyby.
Asteroid 1998 QE2 will make its closest pass to Earth on May 31 at 1:59 p.m. PDT.
Forward: The Minoans were mostly part of Isreal. Two modern
authors who have examined the Minoan culture
are Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe. Their
books The Warriors
and the Bankers and The Knights
Templar Revealed, furnish us with a new
understanding of Cretan or Minoan
civilization that so closely resembles that
of the
ancient Irish. Regrettably, like so many researchers
throughout the ages, Butler and Dafoe do not
consider anything but the East to West
transit of the elements of civilization.
That the reverse situation could have
occurred is, alas, a question that does not enter their minds
even though their own discoveries, when seen
from the correct perspective, strongly
support the theory. Some of their key
discoveries regarding the Cretans and the
world's powerful secret societies,
considerably strengthen our own controversial
theories regarding the
importance of the Irish Druids (the Arya) in
world history. (source)
A Minoan fresco of children boxing: New DNA analysis has debunked the theory that the Minoans were refugees from North Africa
DNA analysis has debunked the
longstanding theory that the Minoans, who some 5,000 years ago
established Europe's first advanced Bronze Age culture, were from
Africa. The Minoan
civilisation arose on the Mediterranean island of Crete in approximately
the 27th century BC and flourished for 12 centuries until the 15th
century BC.
But the culture
was lost until British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans unearthed its
remains on Crete in 1900, where he found vestiges of a civilisation he
believed was formed by refugees from northern Egypt. Modern archaeologists have cast doubt
on that version of events, and now DNA tests of Minoan remains suggests
they were descended from ancient farmers who settled the islands
thousands of years earlier. These people, it is believed, are from the same stock that came from the East to populate the rest of Europe.
Evans
set to work on Crete in 1900 with a team of archaeologists soon after
the island was liberated from the yoke of the Ottoman empire, almost
immediately unearthing a great palace. He
named the civilisation he discovered after the legendary Greek king
Minos and, based on likenesses between Minoan artifacts and those from
Egypt and Libya, proposed that its founders migrated into the area from
North Africa.
Since then,
other archaeologists have suggested that the Minoans may have come from
other regions, possibly Turkey, the Balkans, or the Middle East. But
now a joint U.S. and Greek team has made a mitochondrial DNA analysis of
Minoan skeletal remains to determine the likely ancestors of the ancient
people.
Mitochondria, the
energy powerhouses of cells, contain their own DNA, or genetic code, and
because mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mothers to their children
via the human egg, it contains information about maternal ancestry.
Former race car driver's brother Chuck says the NASCAR legend was distressed by a chronic pain in his chest
Dick Trickle called police to a North Carolina cemetery where he said his body would be found
Tricke's career spanned 24 years and included 2,200 races
Remembered for his fun and outrageous personality
Once drilled a hole in his helmet to allow him to smoke a cigarette and installed lighters in his vehicle
The chilling 911 call legendary
NASCAR Dick Trickle made to a hapless 911 operator before he ended his
own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound was released today.
In
the recording, Trickle matter-of-factly tells the female operator that
he is at 'the Forest Lawn Cemetery at 150.' - where he was later found
dead.
When the woman
asks him for his name, he repeats the address, not once identifying
himself as the racer who entertained generations with his extrovert
driving skills.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Dick Trickle (left) suffered from a mystery
ailment that left him with chronic pain and depression according to his
brother Chuck (right)
Larger than life: Trickle, who made his debut
driving the No.84 Miller High Life Buick for Stavola Brothers Racing in
1989, is seen holding one of his famed cigarettes in a hand
Trickle says that he is 'on the back side of it. By a '93 pickup. There's gonna be a dead body..it's suicide.'
The confused operator asks Trickle if he was there to witness one, but instead he chillingly responds with 'I'm the one'.
Stunned, the woman pleads with
Trickle, saying 'listen to me' but Trickle simply repeats '150 Forest
LAwn in the back by a Ford pickup.'
Public DomainThere's been a lot of
discussion about the challenges faced by businesses large and small
in managing health care costs, especially as those costs escalate
and as employers' options are increasingly limited by the
strictures imposed by Obamacare. An even clearer picture of the
dilemma small firms face is offered by a peek inside their internal
deliberations, including the trade-offs that companies have to
offer their employees in order to keep them reasonably content, as
well as control costs and comply with the law. The following memo
was sent to employees of Capterra, a Virginia-based firm that
serves as a marketplace for business software, by Michael Ortner,
the company's president. Capterra has just 23 employees, so it's
subject to fewer restrictions than larger employers (especially
those with more than 50 employees) but has fewer resources and less
bargaining power than larger companies, too.
Ortner is no stranger to political debate, having
written on health care issues for public consumption, and this
memo includes some (informed) policy discussion. But the memo also
outlines the hard choices the company has to make as it decides
what (and whether) to offer employees in the way of health
coverage. With permission, I've included the whole memo including
political discussion, with one name excised, so you get everything
in context.
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