http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/02/epa.water.chemical/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

EPA to set limits on chemicals in drinking water

By the CNN Wire Staff

February 2, 2011 10:11 a.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The agency will set a national standard for perchlorate in water
• An estimated 4% of water systems contain the chemical
• The EPA will also set regulations on a group of other chemicals

to the EPA. It is u
(CNN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency will set a limit on the amount of the chemical perchlorate, as well as other "toxic contaminants," in drinking water, it announced Wednesday.
The national regulation on perchlorate will reverse a 2008 decision made by President George W. Bush's administration, the agency said in a statement. It comes after EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson ordered agency scientists to review "the emerging science of perchlorate."
"There's going to be a lot of scrutiny of the standard because, again, we are looking at but one of several precursors that can affect iodine uptake in the thyroid," Jackson told CNN's Chief Medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. "It's the first time we've ever regulated a chemical not because of what it does directly to you, but because it has an impact on iodine uptake that might affect your child down the road."
Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and man-made chemical, according sed in fireworks, road flares, rocket fuel and may be present in bleach and some fertilizers, the agency said. Research has indicated that it can impact the thyroid and disrupt the proper development of fetuses and infants.
Some states have already established limits on perchlorate in drinking water, but there has been no national standard.
However, monitoring data shows more than 4% of public water systems have detected perchlorate and between 5 and 17 million people may be served drinking water containing it, the EPA said.
The decision was made after considering input from nearly 39,000 public comments, the agency said. Once the EPA proposes a formal rule, it will be subject to the public comment process.
In addition, the EPA is also establishing a drinking water standard on "a group of up to 16 other toxic chemicals that may cause cancer and pose serious risks to human health," the statement said.
The chemicals are a group of volatile organic compounds, such as industrial solvents, and include trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, along with other regulated and some unregulated substances "discharged from industrial operations."
The move is part of a Drinking Water Strategy laid out by Jackson last year, the agency said. The strategy included addressing contaminants as a group so that their presence in drinking water could be addressed "cost-effectively."
"Today's action delivers on the promise to strengthen public health protection from contaminants in drinking water," according to the EPA. "The aim is to find solutions that meet the health and economic needs of communities across the country more effectively than the current approach."

Jackson said in the statement she believes the decision will spark new innovations. "As improved standards are developed and put in place, America's world-leading clean water technology innovators have an opportunity to create cutting edge solutions that will strengthen health protections and spark economic growth."

THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENTS

Jeremiah 19:5  They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

Jeremiah 7:31  And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

Psalms 106:37-38  Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.


Nearly 50 Million Abortions Have Been Performed in U.S. Since Roe v. Wade Decision Legalized Abortion

Tuesday, January 25, 2011 By Dan Joseph

[1]

In this undated photo provided by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, shows a procedure room at the Women's Medical Society in Philadelphia. Abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, who catered to minorities, immigrants and poor women at the Women's Medical Society, was charged Wednesday Jan. 19, 2011, with eight counts of murder in the deaths of a patient and seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors, prosecutors said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Philadelphia District Attorney)

(CNSNews.com) - Statistics compiled over the past decade show that the number of abortions in the United States has dropped precipitously since the early 1980s, but the procedure still remains a prevalent form of birth control in this country and around the world.
According to the U.S .Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, there were 846,181 abortions in the U.S. in 2006, the latest year for which government records are available.
The pro-abortion rights Alan Guttmacher Institute reports [2] that there have been nearly 50 million abortions performed since 1973, the year the Supreme Court issued the Roe v. Wade decision ushering in legal abortion nationwide.
In 2008, Guttmacher says, there were 1.2 million "legally terminated pregnancies" in the United States, based on reports complied from state and local health agencies -- down from 1.3 million the year previous.
According to Guttmacher, 35 percent of all U.S. women will have had an abortion by age 45.
Guttmacher also reports that 93 percent of all abortions occur for “social reasons” such as a mother’s decision that the child is unwanted or “inconvenient.”
Both Guttmacher and CDC say that black women are more than four times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2.7 times as likely.
BlackGenocide.com, a pro-life campaign to stop abortion in the African American community, estimates that 13 million abortions have been performed on African American women since 1973. They also estimate that, on average, 1,876 black pregnancies are terminated in the U.S. each day.
Surprisingly, Guttmacher estimates that Catholic women account for more than 31 percent of all abortions performed in the United States while 18 percent of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as born-again Christians or evangelicals. Both religious groups preach against terminating pregnancies.
Guttmacher says that there are 1,793 abortion “providers” in the United States and that the average amount paid for an abortion is $413.
-- Over 60 percent of abortions are among women who have had one or more children, and 90 percent of abortions occur within the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy.
-- About 20 percent of women having an abortion report using Medicaid to pay for abortions despite laws that prohibit taxpayer dollars from going to fund abortions.
-- One significant change that has occurred over the last decade comes as a result of the development of the drug RU-486 or the “abortion pill.”
-- Guttmacher estimates that use of the pill has risen significantly since 2005 and now accounts for 17 percent of all abortion procedures.
Worldwide, Guttmacher estimates that 42 million abortions are performed each year with nearly half of those being performed by “unskilled” professionals or in nations where abortion is restricted or prohibited.
According to the United Nations [3], the country with the highest number of abortions per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, in 2007, was Russia: 53.7 abortions per 1,000 women. The corresponding number for the United States that year, according to the U.N., was 20.8 abortions per 1,000 women.
For another comparison,  Guttmacher reports [4] that, "In 2008, 153,110 women obtained abortions in New York, producing a rate of 37.6 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age."
Rallies were held in Washington, D.C., on Monday to mark the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed the right to an abortion.
President Obama marked the anniversary by releasing a statement in which he reiterated his support for abortion rights.
“Today marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that protects women's health and reproductive freedom, and affirms a fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters,” said Obama. “I am committed to protecting this constitutional right.”
Despite the continued legality of the procedure in the United States, pro-life groups have been bolstered in their cause thanks to the Republican takeover of the U.S. House and by recent polls showing support for legal abortion slipping.

Source URL: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/nearly-50-million-abortions-have-been-pe

Links:
[1] http://cnsnews.com/image/procedure-room-abortion-abortion-clinic
[2] http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/4304111.pdf
[3] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=GenderStat&f=inID%3A12
[4] http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/new_york.html
[5] http://cnsnews.disqus.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcnsnews.com%2Fnode%2F80495

ONLY THE BEGINNING

This is a good start to a bad situation . The constitution forbids the American   government the right to interfere in the private lives of its citizens.
 Judge strikes down entire new health-care lawBy N.C. Aizenmanand Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 1, 2011; 9:32 AM
A federal judge in Florida on Monday became the first to strike down the entire law to overhaul the nation's health-care system, potentially complicating implementation of the statute in the 26 states that brought the suit.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson represents a more sweeping repudiation of the law than the December ruling in a suit brought by Virginia that found the requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance to be unconstitutional.
As the judge ruled in the Virginia case, Vinson held that Congress overstepped its authority by compelling nearly all Americans to be insured or pay a fine. But Vinson went further: Likening the law to "a finely crafted watch" in which "one essential piece is defective and must be removed," he ruled that the insurance mandate cannot be separated from the rest of the statute and therefore the entire law must be voided.
"There are simply too many moving parts ... for me to try and dissect out ... the able-to-stand-alone from the unable-to-stand alone," he wrote.
Even as he struck down the statute as a whole, Vinson rejected the plaintiffs' arguments against the part of the law that will expand Medicaid, the public insurance program for the poor and disabled that is jointly funded by the states and the federal government. The states contended that the expansion, to begin in 2014, infringes on their sovereignty. Vincent sided with the federal government, which argued that there is no infringement because states have the choice whether to participate in Medicaid. The Virginia case did not address the Medicaid issue.
Still, the decision bolsters Republican efforts to overturn the law through the courts. All but one of the state officials who brought the suit are Republican.
The case is one of 25 challenges that have been filed in federal courts since the law was enacted last March. Four suits have now been decided on their merits - two rulings upholding the law and, with Monday's decision, two finding all or part of it unconstitutional. The law's constitutionality is widely expected to ultimately be settled by the Supreme Court.
Vinson stopped short of granting an injunction, as the plaintiffs requested, to prevent the law from going forward while the case is appealed. He said such a step was unnecessary because of a "long-standing presumption" that the federal government adheres to rulings of this type.
That part of Vinson's ruling triggered an immediate dispute about the practical effects of the opinion.
David Rivkin, a conservative lawyer in Washington who represents the plaintiffs, said that the 26 states that are party to the lawsuit are no longer subject to any of the law's requirements - unless the federal government obtains a stay of Vinson's order from an appeals court. White House officials firmly rejected that view. "Implementation will proceed apace," one senior White House official said in a background briefing for reporters.
If the plaintiffs prove right, the provisions that could be thrown in doubt at least temporarily include some that are already in effect, such as one prohibiting states from saving money by tightening their eligibility standards for Medicaid.
The law's requirement that individuals purchase health insurance - the issue at the center of the lawsuit - will not take effect until 2014; nor will other important elements of the law, including the requirement that states set up "exchanges," or marketplaces, through which individuals and small businesses will be able purchase private insurance with federal subsidies.
"All of that is dead with regard to these 26 states," Rivkin said.
White House aides declined to discuss the opinion for attribution. But two senior officials, speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity, disparaged the judge's ruling, repeatedly calling it an "outlier." One of the officials said, "The analysis on the whole is, to put it charitably, very unconventional."
Asked by several reporters whether the ruling could give states that oppose the law permission to stop work on putting it into practice, the officials were adamant that it would not. "He is one court," one of the officials said. "I don't think you should view this as the opening of the government shutting down implementation."
The Justice Department immediately announced that it plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
A Justice spokeswoman, Tracy Schmaler, also said in a statement, "We are analyzing this opinion to determine what steps, if any - including seeking a stay - are necessary while the appeal is pending" in order to continue implementing the law.
David Engstrom, a Stanford Law School faculty member, said that he does not interpret the opinion as preventing the law from going forward. "The issue that the court has ruled on has been specifically contradicted by two other district courts," he said. "So, the idea that the Obama administration should somehow stand down from implementing the act, based on a fourth district court, doesn't have any basis in law."
In his 78-page opinion, Vinson, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, offered the most lengthy consideration to date of the legal questions at issue. Specifically, he agreed with the states' argument that a person's refusal to buy health insurance does not amount to economic activity and is therefore beyond Congress's power to regulate under the Constitution's commerce clause.
Attorneys for the government have argued that since virtually everyone will need health care at some point and that, because hospitals cannot turn away patients who cannot pay for emergency care, people who do not obtain insurance are effectively making an economic decision about how and when they will pay for that care. Instead of paying now through insurance premiums, they are choosing to pay later, either out of their own pocket, or by passing the cost on to hospitals, governments or paying patients. Because this decision, when taken in the aggregate, has enormous impact on the health-care and insurance markets, the government contends that Congress is entitled to regulate it.
But Vinson held that this line of reasoning "is without logical limitations."
"Every person throughout the course of his or her life makes hundreds or even thousands of decisions that involve the same general thought process that the defendants maintain is 'economic activity,' " he wrote.
Vinson also rejected the government's argument that Congress also was justified in imposing the insurance mandate under the clause empowering Congress to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carrying out its enumerated constitutional powers.
The government maintains that, without the insurance mandate, many of the law's regulations on insurers would not be feasible - most notably its prohibition against insurers denying insurance or charging higher rates to those with preexisting conditions. If individuals could wait until they were on their way to a hospital before buying insurance, and insurers were forced to accept them, the companies would go bankrupt or be forced to raise their rates to unsustainable levels.
Once again, Vinson found no logical limit to the government's argument.
"Rather than being used to implement or facilitate enforcement of the Act's insurance industry reforms, the individual mandate is actually being used as the means to avoid the adverse consequences of the Act itself," Vinson wrote. "Under such a rationale, the more harm the statue does, the more power Congress could assume for itself under the Necessary and Proper Clause."
aizenmann@washpost.comgoldsteina@washpost.comhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/31/AR2011013103804_pf.html

THE BURDEN OF EGYPT

Isaiah 19:1-4  The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the
Lord, the LORD of host


More than 102 dead and thousands of prisoners on the loose in Egypt as 30,000 stranded Britons struggle to leave the country

• Cameron and Obama hold crisis talks, both calling for 'political reform'
• Death toll reaches 102 and at least 2,000 have been injured
• Thousands of prisoners escape from jails as riots go into sixth day

Around 30,000 British tourists were stranded in Egypt today as army planes buzzed low over Cairo on the sixth day of uprisings.
At least 102 people have been killed, more than 2,000 are injured and there were calls for a multi-party democracy to emerge as President Hosni Mubarack's grip on power loosens.
Gangs of armed men attacked at least four jails across Egypt before dawn today, helping to free hundreds of Muslim militants and thousands of other inmates as police vanished from the streets of Cairo and other cities.

Now scroll down to see the video

Show of strength: Egyptians surround an army tank during protests in central Cairo on the sixth day of action

Last night a handful Brits that managed to board flights returning back from Cairo described their relief at escaping the riot-torn country.
They told how vigilantes were protecting neighbourhoods at night after police withdrew from the streets.
Several Britons arrived home on an Egyptair flight at London's Heathrow Airport.
Brendan Keating, 49, an oil worker from Purley, Surrey, who lives in Maadi, in southern Cairo, said: 'Last night the local people organised themselves into groups to protect property because there's no police.
'This morning I had to break the curfew to get to the airport, and had to go through about a dozen roadblocks set up by these people.'
Geoff and Heather Booth, from Dronfield, Derbyshire, whose planned near two-week holiday was cut to just four days because of the chaos.
Mr Booth, 74, said: 'We weren't in the worst part but it was still quite bad. The main thing is that we are home safe.
'We were there for four days, but most of it was spent in the hotel under strict instructions not to go out.
'The holiday company has brought us home and frankly we just wanted to get back.'

Looters stand outside Abu Zaabel prison in thLooters stand outside Abu Zaabel prison in the Egyptian capital Cairo after a mass breakout by convicts amid a nationwide revolt

Helicopters were yesterday hovering over Cairo and trucks appeared in a central square where protesters were gathered.
It was the latest show of military might on Sunday in an apparent effort to send protesters back to their homes before a 4pm curfew.
The warplanes flew over the city several times. At least a dozen troop trucks and extra tanks drove towards the square as more protesters gathered in defiance of the curfew.
'The planes are out there to scare the people. It's time for the curfew and no one is going home," a 45-year-old engineer who was protesting in the main Tahrir square said.
'It's clear to me that the army is here to protect Mubarak.'
Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, said on Sunday he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge in Egypt but could not say how soon that might happen.
Meanwhile David Cameron and US President Barack Obama called for an 'orderly transition' to a democratic government in Egypt.
As the crisis threatening to unseat Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak escalated, the two leaders held talks and agreed that a 'comprehensive process of political reform' was needed.

Tourists and Egyptians hoping to escape the country were sleeping in the departure area at the international airport

An Egyptian fighter jet flows over Cairo in a display of military strength as protests entered their sixth day

Earlier U.S. embassy officials called for Americans to get out of the country as soon as possible - and advised citizens not to travel because of the unrest, violence and on-going demonstrations.
The warning is an escalation in the assessment of the situation by the U.S. government, which previously had advised against non-essential travel to Egypt.
Britons trapped in the country were told by the Foreign Office yesterday to stay clear of the nationwide violence and abide by a 4pm curfew ordered by President Hosni Mubarak.
The British Government also advised against all non-essential travel to Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria and Suez as all flights from the UK to Egypt were cancelled.
One BMI flight en route to Cairo from London was turned around at 30,000ft as the situation worsened yesterday.
British Airways chartered an extra aircraft to rescue stranded tourists from Cairo as its airport witnessed chaotic scenes, with tourists desperately trying to flee the violence.
Yesterday mummies in the country's national museum were destroyed by looters attempting to steal the treasures of King Tutankhamun.
Soldiers were positioned at the Pyramids and Cairo’s Egyptian Museum – the holding place for Tutankhamun’s priceless golden mask and other artifacts – on the fifth day of anti-government demonstrations in the country’s capital.
The military deployment came amid an almost complete collapse of law and order, with the violence escalating outside the capital. Residents in Alexandria, north-west of Cairo, were forced to stand guard outside their homes armed with sticks as gangs rampaged through the city.
The death toll was estimated to have reached 74 yesterday, with at least 48 of those being killed since Friday and 2,000 people suffering injuries.
President Mubarak also gave the first indication of a succession plan when he announced that his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, had been appointed his deputy, a position last filled by the president himself 30 years ago.
The latest wave of violence has been most notable for the widespread looting, indicative of the scale of the breakdown in law and order.

Egyptian men try to protect the Arcadia shopping centre from looting. It was already damaged and partially set on fire

Alleged looters were captured and tied to the floor by Egyptian soldiers. Citizens from Suez to Cairo had formed neighbourhood defence groups overnight to protect their families and property

Nine men broke into the Egyptian Museum in the early hours of yesterday, taking advantage of damage caused to the building’s security by a fire in the neighbouring headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party.
They were caught by police and a crowd of civilians while carrying out the skulls of two mummies and two statues estimated to be more than 2,000 years old.
One statue, believed to be of Tutankhamun, was broken into two pieces by the thieves, although officials said they hoped to be able to repair it.
Zahi Hawass, chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said: ‘They tried to attack and rob from the showcases of King Tut, but they failed. These people are criminals, they are not true Egyptians. The nine men were caught carrying skulls and two statues, one of which was broken. But the army are now guarding the museum and all the museums are now safe.’
The Egyptian military closed tourist access to the Pyramids as tanks and armoured personnel carriers sealed off the site at Giza, normally packed with visitors.
Clashes have also occurred in Suez, and eight prisoners were killed during an attempted mass escape from Abu Zaabal prison, north-east of Cairo.

 

Pledge: President Mubarak made a TV address in which he called for dialogue to prevent further protests. Right, U.S. President Barack Obama urged him to take steps to improve the rights of Egyptian people

Tour operators said that most British tourists in Egypt were in ‘peaceful’ areas of the country, such as the resort of Sharm-el-Sheik.
However, at Cairo airport a group of holidaymakers who had booked through Thomas Cook told of their anger after being stranded when they landed yesterday.
They said that when they boarded their flight they had followed the advice of the Foreign Office that travel to Egypt was safe but had been amazed to discover the state of the country on arrival.

Alleged looters were captured and tied to the floor by Egyptian soldiers. Citizens from Suez to Cairo had formed neighbourhood defence groups overnight to protect their families and property

Istanbul: Turkish Muslims burn a picture of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as they protest against his regime in front of the Egyptian consulate

Lesley Scyan, from Crawley, West Sussex, who had travelled to Cairo with two friends to celebrate her 60th birthday, said: ‘I am stamping with rage. There was no information for us when we landed. We followed Foreign Office advice which said it was safe to travel, and then we get here and because of the curfew no one is around to help. We don’t know what to do.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said the advice given to passengers had been correct when it was issued.
A Thomas Cook spokesman said that their customers would be returned home this morning.
British Airways said it had rearranged flights in order to avoid take-offs during the curfew.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said: ‘President Mubarak spoke last night of his commitment to take new steps towards greater democracy. We call on him to listen urgently to the aspirations expressed by the Egyptian people.’
President Mubarak has fired his cabinet in response to the violence but has refused to stand down.

Thousands of protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo as the army send out hundreds more troops and armored vehicles onto the streets

‘Pharaoh’ and his half-Welsh wife are worth £25 billion

Big bucks: President Hosni Mubarak with his wife Suzanne, who is half-Welsh and has a British passport

Dubbed ‘the Pharaoh’ for his 30-year iron rule, President Hosni Mubarak is said to have amassed a fortune of £25 billion for his family.
Mubarak, 82, his half-Welsh wife Suzanne and sons Gamal and Alaa are seen in Egypt as symbols of nepotism and corruption with properties and business interests worldwide, including London.
The First Lady keeps a firm grip on Egypt’s leading social circles and is often pictured at diplomatic and charity events in stylish outfits alongside dignitaries’ wives including Carla Bruni.
Her charity donations total millions of pounds a year, though rumours have swirled that some of this money has found its way into her bank accounts. As her profile in the state-controlled media has soared, critics have likened her to French Queen Marie-Antoinette.
Critics say the closest their sons have got to ordinary Egyptians was when they were driven past them in limousines. Both sons have been linked to arms-dealing.
Mubarak has survived at least six assassination attempts and fears have also been growing that he plans to groom the more political Gamal to inherit the throne.

Will first family flee to London (and Selfridges)?

When a Cairo newspaper claimed on Tuesday
that members of President Mubarak’s family had fled, speculation spread that they were on their way to Britain.
The newspaper reported that Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son and possible successor, had boarded a private jet bound for London, taking his family and 97 pieces of luggage with him.
Egyptian baggage handlers at Heathrow were also quoted as saying that they had seen President Mubarak’s wife Suzanne, who is half-Welsh and holds a British passport, at the airport.

UK links: Gamal Mubarak (left), son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and his wife Khadiga have previously lived in west London (below)

Though the claims were denied by Egyptian diplomats in London, there have since been other apparent sightings, with one member of the public claiming on an internet site that she had seen Mrs Mubarak shopping in Selfridges in Oxford Street.
The Foreign Office would not confirm last night whether Mrs Mubarak and her sons Gamal and Alaa had British passports.
The family, who have relatives in Britain, are regular visitors and Gamal, 47, once lived and worked in London, initially for Bank of America before, in 1996, he set up his own investment vehicle, Medinvest Associates.
He lived in a five-storey Georgian townhouse in Knightsbridge, on the same street as the five-star Berkeley Hotel and a stone’s throw from Hyde Park. The most recent similar property to sell on the street went for £5.59 million.
The offices of Medinvest Associates are based a five-minute walk away, above expensive boutiques in the centre of Knightsbridge.
Suzanne Mubarak was born in Upper Egypt in 1941, but her mother Lily May Palmer was a nurse from Pontypridd, Wales, who married an Egyptian paediatrician, Saleh Sabet in
1934.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351826/Egypt-protests-Over-102-dead-30k-stranded-Britons-struggle-leave.html

SIGNS OF THE ENDTIMES

Saturday, Jan 08 2011 12AM  1°C 3AM 1°C 5-Day Forecast

Mystery of mass animal death epidemic deepens after 8,000 turtle doves fall dead in Italy with strange blue stain on their beaks

By Wil Longbottom
Last updated at 5:56 PM on 8th January 2011

• Blue stain believed to be sign of poisoning or hypoxia - lack of oxygen that is precursor to altitude sickness
• Cold weather and overbreeding blamed for deaths of two 2million fish in Chesapeake Bay
• Disease behind deaths of 100,000 fish in Arkansas River
• At least nine incidents of mass animal deaths across the globe
• Hundreds of confused birds plummeted to their deaths in multiple locations in the U.S.
• Rapid movement of Magnetic North Pole towards Russia may have caused bird deaths

Thousands of dead turtle doves rained down on roofs and cars in an Italian town in the latest in a growing spate of mass animal deaths across the globe.
Residents in Faenza described the birds falling to the ground like 'little Christmas balls' with strange blue stains on their beaks.
Initial tests on up to 8,000 of the doves indicated that the blue stain could have been caused by poisoning or hypoxia.

Mystery: 8,000 turtle doves fell to the ground dead in Faenza, Italy, and were found to have a blue stain around their beaks

Shock: Residents described seeing individual doves fall from the sky, before groups of 10 or 20 began hitting roofs and cars

A witness told www.examiner.com: 'We have no idea why this happened all of a sudden.
'The doves just started falling one-by-one then in groups of 10s and 20s.'
Hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, is known to cause confusion and illness in animals. It is also a common precursor to altitude sickness.
Experts said results from tests on the doves will not be available for at least a week.
They said that cold weather could have caused the birds' deaths as the flock was swept into a high-altitude wind storm before falling to the earth.
It comes after two million dead fish were found to have washed up on shores in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.
The alarming find is being blamed by authorities in Maryland on the stress caused by unusually cold water and overbreeding among spot fish.

Mystery: Experts said they believed the blue colouration around the doves' beaks may indicate poisoning or lack of oxygen

Littering the beach: The bodies of two million spot fish have washed up on the shores of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, after unusually cold weather

Carnage: Thousands of dead fish have washed up on the shores of Spruce Creek, Florida

That investigation comes just days after the deaths of an estimated 100,000 fish in northwest Arkansas, which is being blamed on disease.
A statement by the Maryland Department of the Environment said: 'Natural causes appear to be the reason.
'Cold water stress exacerbated by a large population of the affected species (juvenile spot fish) appears to be the cause of the kill.'
Preliminary tests of the water in Chesapeake Bay have showed the quality was acceptable, officials said.
The statement added: 'The affected fish are almost exclusively juvenile spot fish, three to six inches in length.
'A recent survey showed a very strong population of spot in the bay this year. An increased juvenile population and limited deep water habitat would likely compound the effects of cold water stress.'

bird in Falkoping, Sweden. Dozens of jackdaws were found dead on the strThe plot thickens: Rescue chief Christer Olofsson holds a dead eet

Gruesome: New Year revellers watched in horror as the birds rained down on houses and cars in Beebe

Mystery: Officials initially blamed high-altitude hail or lightning hitting the birds. Then preliminary lab tests concluded they had died from multiple blunt force trauma

Mystery: A starling lies along the Morganza Highway in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. Experts said hundreds of birds may have died after hitting power lines

Mass winter deaths among spot fish have occurred twice before in the Maryland area - in 1976 and 1980.
The incident is the latest mass animal death to hit the headlines in the last two weeks.
These include:

• 450 red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles and starlings found littering a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• 3,000 blackbirds on roofs and roads in the small town of Beebe, Arkansas
• Thousands of 'devil crabs' washed up along the Kent coast near Thanet
• Thousands of drum fish washed along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River
• Two million small fish in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
• Thousands of dead fish found floating in warm Florida creek
• Hundreds of snapper fish found dead in New Zealand
• Scores of American Coots found dead on Texas highway bridge

Experts have speculated that New Year fireworks, thunderstorms, cold weather, parasites and even poisoning may be behind the deaths.
But conspiracy theorists have also speculated on the internet that secret government experiments could be behind them, with some even claiming it was a sign of a looming Armageddon at the end of the Mayan calendar next year.
Another theory is that the rapid movement of the Magnetic North Pole towards Russia may have affected the birds' innate navigation systems.

Creepy: Thousands of dead drum fish were also discovered just miles away lining the shores of the Arkansas River

Inbuilt navigation systems in birds and fish is believed to be affected by magnetism.
Scientists have said the Magnetic North Pole is shifting at an average of around 25 miles a year.
With birds and fish relying on it to travel to breeding grounds and warmed climes, there are fears that the shifting pole could be confusing the animals which means they do not migrate in time to avoid cold weather.
Tests are being carried out on the dead birds and fish, but results are not expected for several weeks.
Scientists have been baffled by the sudden deaths of hundreds of birds which have plummeted to the ground seemingly simultaneously in several locations.
Two hundred American Coots were found dead on a highway bridge crossing Lake O' the Pines in Big Cypress Creek, Texas.
They are believed to have been hit by passing vehicles while walking or apparently trying to roost on the bridge.
Swedish experts blamed the shock of New Year fireworks for the unexplained deaths of 50 jackdaws found on a street in Falkoping, Sweden.
Many of the birds are believed to have died from stress or as a result of being run over while disoriented.
The largest incident took place in Beebe, Arkansas, were horrified revellers witnessed around 3,000 blackbirds crashing to their deaths into homes, cars and each other as they celebrated New Year.
Another 450 birds were found strewn along a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after apparently hitting overhead power lines.
In both cases, the birds are believed to have become confused and were flying at a lower height than usual.
The deaths of tons of fish across the globe is being attributed to unusually cold water.
Thousands of Brazilian fishermen have been left struggling to make ends meet after the sale of seafood was temporarily suspended when masses of fish were discovered in Paranaguá, Antonina and Guaraqueçaba Pontal do Paraná.
Fish were also discovered rotting and floating in Spruce Creek, Florida, after another period of cold weather.
100,000 drum fish were found strewn along the shore of the Arkansas River.
And the cold snap has been blamed for the deaths of 40,000 Velvet swimming crabs - known as 'devil crabs - found littering beaches in Thanet, Kent.

Thousands of them: Crabs washed up at Palm Bay, Margate, are thought to have died of hypothermia

 

Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Deuteronomy 18:10  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

Numbers 23:23  Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!



Wednesday, Dec 08 2010 6PM  -2°C 9PM -4°C 5-Day Forecast

Pagan prisoners given time off to worship the Sun God

By Jack Doyle
Last updated at 10:06 AM on 7th December 201 

Hundreds of criminals are to be given four days a year off prison work - to celebrate pagan festivals.
Prison governors have been issued with a list of eight annual pagan holidays and told pagan inmates can choose four to celebrate.
The festivals include Imbolc - The Festival of the Lactating Sheep - which falls on February 1 and is dedicated to the goddess Brighid.

Jail celebration: Prisoners can get time off work to mark pagan festivals such as the Summer Solstice, being celebrated here at Stonehenge, Wiltshire

Celebrating the summer solstice at Stonehenge. New guidelines entitled 'Religious Festival dates for 2011' state that all prison staff must be made aware of the pagan festival dates

Another is the festival of Beltane, which falls in early May, devotees are urged to celebrate the Sun God with 'unabashed sexuality and promiscuity'.
The Yule festival involves pagans 'casting spells' and dressing up as ghosts. 
Pagan inmates may even be allowed special food and drink on their days off.
Traditional pagan food include Ewe's milk for Imbolc, Simnel Cake and eggs on Spring Equinox and Roast Goose on Autumn Equinox.
On Samhain - celebrated on Halloween - pagans by tradition go apple bobbing.
It is the latest in a series of rulings to protect convicts' rights and ensure equality among different faiths.
New guidelines entitled 'Religious Festival dates for 2011' state that all prison staff must be made aware of the pagan festival dates.
It states: 'The Prison Service is committed to ensuring that prisoners from all religious faiths are given the opportunity and facilities to practise their religions.'
It lists the eight main festivals before adding: 'Most Pagans celebrate the eight festivals set out, but depending on the particular tradition would attach particular significance to certain days.'
'Because of variations in emphasis between different Pagan traditions it has been agreed with the Pagan Federation that prisoners may choose four festivals on which they should not be required to work.'

Rights: Prison governors have been issued with a list of eight annual pagan holidays (file picture)

Prisons are told they must prepare specific foods if it is a requirement of a prisoner's religion. But the guidance states the food should be prepared inside prison kitchens and the cost must be 'proportionate to the number of prisoners involved'.
Paganism was first recognised by the Prison Service as a religion more than nine years ago.
The number of prisoners declaring themselves as pagan has tripled in six years to 366 last year.
Worshippers are allowed to keep tarot cards, a hoodless robe and a twig to use as a wand in their cell.
They can also keep incense, a piece of jewellery and rune stones.
Skyclad, or naked worship, is banned.
Pagan inmate Mark Stewart, who is serving a three year term for drug dealing at HMP Elmley in Kent, wrote to prisoners' newspaper Inside Time this month to complain about how Pagans are treated.
He claimed Pagans had been 'sidelined' and 'marginalised' in favour of more popular religions.
He wrote: 'There is a perception amongst most people that Pagans are devil worshippers, etc, but that is so far from the truth.
'I am an earth loving person who thanks Mother Earth, spirits and ancestors for what I have today.
'I do practise witchcraft, but only for good.'
Sources said there was ‘no question’ of prisoners being served roast goose or boar.
A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘The Prison Service issues annually a list of religious festival dates for the year ahead – this includes key dates on which prisoners registered in that affiliation can be excused from work.’
It comes a day after it emerged that an underworld crime boss jailed for the murder of two grandparents has won the right to be called ‘Mr’ by prison guards.
Colin Gunn complained that he was not treated with sufficient respect and, under guidelines introduced by Labour, prison officers are required to address inmates as they wish.