Ok. So I'm watching CN”Spin's” specials last week they did on what they called “God's Warriors” with Christiane Amanpour. She did three nights with each night being two hours long starting with the Jews and their faith, the next night was islam and their religion then the Christian faith rapping up this documentary/in depth study. There were some criticisms I had about the representation of the Christian part of the study but since that part is not my main criticism – I'll leave that on the back burner.
One of my biggest problems about this whole study (that I actually found pretty interesting) happened during the first night with the Jewish segment. An hour into this two hour segment, a comment was made on the relationship – past and present apparently – between Christians and Jews that not only came from Amanpour herself but from a pastor (Pastor Gary Cristofaro – of whom I've never heard until this tv special). Basically this pastor and his congregation invited a Jewish speaker who was/is raising money to support Jewish settlements in Israel. No. That's not my problem. The problem came when Amanpour said, “some say Jews and evangelical Christians make strange bed fellows especially given the history of antisemitism in the church.”. That comment was then (for some reason I still can't understand) supported by Pastor Cristofaro who stated that “because of this doctrine of a Jew being a “Christ killer”, so much hatred and antisemitism has been propagated throughout the earth.”. I went over and over the myth tv recording of this special to make sure I quoted both Amanpour and pastor Cristofaro correctly. Now, here's my problem...I don't know WHERE they're getting this from! AND this is the second time I've heard this accusation of antisemitism in the past year and a half (the first time was when I visited another “blog” so to speak and on that blog someone had just stated Christians – period)! I wasn't even aware that Christians HAD that reputation in some minds. Seriously, it's pretty hard to shock me. In this day and age where anything goes, I just expect – well – anything. However, when I first heard this comment on another blog, I was as stunned as if a life long friend would have taken me to the top of an 8 story building and then pushed me off. However, now I'm annoyed and offended by this remark.
Now, whether some like it or not, the Bible DOES indeed clearly state that it was the Jews who asked for Jesus death then the Roman soldiers who carried it out. However, we were ALL responsible for the death of Christ. As we are all apart of the human race. That doesn't mean we Christians as a whole look down on the Jews and hate them. Look, there was one specific church that I went to off and on as a kid. I even attended the private school that was started by and taught out of that church. This denominational church was (still is) very evangelical and unfortunately, very judgmental, condemning, self righteous and even arrogant in the “my views are right and your views are wrong” thinking. Trust me. If ANY church that I've attended in my life would have encouraged antisemitism – it would have been this one. As many bad things as I could say about this church (and trust me – I have a list a mile long), I must say that instead I was left with the message that the Jews are God's chosen people. Also that Israel was – and still is promised to them and belongs to them. Not to mention Jesus IS a Jew. Doesn't exactly sound like antisemitism teaching now does it? Besides, it's kind of hard to have antisemitism for a group of people that gave birth to our Savior. Of course, I'm not naïve. I do realize there MUST be some goof ball Christians out there who do look down on the Jews for Christ's crucifixion - but honestly? As far as I know, I've never personally met them. I don't hate nor look down on Jews for asking for Christ's death anymore than I hate the Germans (and I DON'T) for carrying out the evil against millions of Jews through the horrifying and despicable holocaust last century. Besides, if it were not for the Jews, who knows how Christ's crucifixion would have come about. A crucifixion that was need as sacrifice for the redemption of the world.
Putin reviewed the first Russian-Chinese joint exercise on Russian soil before announcing that 20 strategic bombers had been sent far over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans; showing off Moscow's muscular new posture and its growing military ties with Beijing.
"Starting today, such tours of duty will be conducted regularly and on the strategic scale," Putin said. "Our pilots have been grounded for too long. They are happy to start a new life."
Putin said halting long-range bombers after the Soviet collapse had hurt Russia's security because other nations, an oblique reference to the United States, had continued such missions.
"I have made a decision to resume regular flights of Russian strategic aviation," Putin said in nationally televised remarks. "We proceed from the assumption that our partners will view the resumption of flights of Russia's strategic aviation with understanding."
One big cup of crazy for Mr. Putin, with a side order of world domination. (hold the mayo)
Anyone else think the Russian people gave up on a democratic society too soon?
Iraqi Kurdish officials expressed deepening concern yesterday at an upsurge in fierce clashes between Kurdish guerrillas and Iranian forces in the remote border area of north-east Iraq, where Tehran has recently deployed thousands of Revolutionary Guards.
Jabar Yawar, a deputy minister in the Kurdistan regional government, said four days of intermittent shelling by Iranian forces had hit mountain villages high up on the Iraqi side of the border, wounding two women, destroying livestock and property, and displacing about 1,000 people from their homes. Mr Yawer said there had also been intense fighting on the Iraqi border between Iranian forces and guerrillas of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Iranian Kurdish group that is stepping up its campaign for Kurdish rights against the theocratic regime in Tehran.
Hrmm... Iran shelling Iran and not ONE peep from the U.S. news about it.
Perhaps it's not about news here after all but what provides lift for your agenda??
Just a thought.
Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.
Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from the next generation of tennis rackets to super-insulated space suits for a manned mission to Mars.
It is expected to rank alongside wonder products from previous generations such as Bakelite in the 1930s, carbon fibre in the 1980s and silicone in the 1990s. Mercouri Kanatzidis, a chemistry professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, said: “It is an amazing material. It has the lowest density of any product known to man, yet at the same time it can do so much. I can see aerogel being used for everything from filtering polluted water to insulating against extreme temperatures and even for jewellery.”
Aerogel is nicknamed “frozen smoke” and is made by extracting water from a silica gel, then replacing it with gas such as carbon dioxide. The result is a substance that is capable of insulating against extreme temperatures and of absorbing pollutants such as crude oil.
I found this utterly fascinating myself.
Finally a wonder product NOT made from crude oil. :)
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A powerful undersea earthquake has hit Indonesia's West Java island, a telephone text message from the country's Meteorological agency said on Thursday.
The agency did not give a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but the quake caused panic in parts of the densely inhabited Java island.
Let's all pray the coffee crops are ok. (said the coffee addict)
Economic researchers from Florida State University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found the weight of the average woman rose by 20 pounds (9.2 kilograms) or 13.5 percent between 1976 and 2000 -- but their ideal weight also edged up.
In 1994 the average woman tipped the scales at 147 pounds but she wanted to weigh only 132 pounds -- but less than a decade later the average woman weighed 153 pounds but said her desired weight was 135 pounds,
"This is a social force that we are trying to document because the rise in obesity has occurred so rapidly over the past 30 years," Frank Heiland, an assistant professor of economics at Florida State University, said in a statement.
Anyone who has seen what people buy in the popular grocery stores saw this coming. Combine this with the forced acceptance of being fat by the thought police from the "your ok, I'm ok it's all ok" camp and we have a tidal wave of blubber.
Now I'm not totally ignorant, I realize some people have a defect in the receptors in the brain that tell you to stop eating, but that is not everyone.