Christian leaders across denominations have compromised with Darwinian evolutionary theory, which has caused havoc of faith for millions. Many Christian leaders argue that God used evolution to create all life. This position is neither biblical nor scientific and opens the door for utter ridicule and disrespect. If Darwinian macro-evolutionary theory is true then any belief in God is nothing more than blind faith because God is not necessary for the process.

The Bible teaches that God began with a perfect creation where there was no suffering and death. There was death of plant life but not life possessing “soul” (i.e. animals and humans). There was even perfect peace and harmony between animals. There were no meat-eating animals in the beginning (Genesis 1:30). Animal and human death did not occur until after man sinned. There was no struggle and survival-of-the-fittest among animals or man in the beginning. Man and all creation, which was placed under man, fell to imperfection, struggle, suffering, and death because of the sin of Adam and Eve, mankind’s first parents. All this is opposite to what Darwinian macro-evolutionary theory teaches. Unlike the Bible, the theory of evolution teaches the world was never perfect and the animal kingdom always existed with struggle and suffering and death (extinction). Scripture teaches these conditions came into being after the fall of man – not before!

You cannot mix Darwinian macro-evolution and the Bible. To say God used evolution to create man is in direct contradiction to the doctrine of the Fall of Man because the process of evolution involves struggle, pain, suffering, and death. God did not begin with these or with half-evolved fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, etc. God created a perfect world with complete, fully-functioning, and fully-formed species from the very beginning (i.e. complete fish, complete amphibians, complete reptiles, complete birds, complete mammals, etc.). How could a partially-evolved species survive anyway? It would be unfit for survival. Survival-of-the-fittest wouldn’t allow for partially-evolved species with partially-evolved tissues, organs, and biological functions and structures to survive!

More and more evolutionary scientists are abandoning the theory of gradual macro-evolution and are adopting a new theory, “Punctuated Equilibrium” which teaches that life forms changed suddenly, not gradually, by chance from one kind to another as a result of massive random genetic mutations caused by massive random radiation from the environment.

The reason for this big change among evolutionists is because they realize that species cannot survive in a partially evolved state with incomplete traits, tissues, organs, and body functions. A reptile with scales in the process of turning to feathers would not have the function of either trait.

The problem with punctuated equilibria, however, is that it is contrary to what we know about the nature of mutations and radiation. Punctuated equilibrium is nothing more than blind faith.

In Genesis 1, God says 10 different times that all living things must reproduce after their own “kind,” not into other kinds! A dog must reproduce a dog. Different varieties of dogs are possible genetically, but they will all still be dogs and not something else.

God placed within the “kinds” the genetic ability for variation and change to adapt to changing environments, but this is not the same as evolution from one kind into another kind as Darwinian macro-evolutionary theory teaches.

All the biological similarities between species are because of a common Designer (God) Who designed similar functions for similar purposes in all the various forms of life, not because of a common ancestry as evolutionists teach.

Many often wonder how all the varieties or “races” of people could come from the same original human ancestors. Well, in principle, that’s no different than asking how children with different color hair (i.e. blond, brunette, brown, red) can come from the same parents who both have black hair. Just as some individuals today carry genes to produce descendants with different color hair and eyes, humanity’s first parents, Adam and Eve, possessed genes to produce all the variety and races of men. You and I today may not carry the genes to produce every variety or race of humans, but humanity’s first parents did possess such genes.

All real evolution in nature is limited and is nothing more than an expression, over time, of already existing genes within a biological “kind”. For example, you may be a tall person carrying genes for producing short people that won’t be expressed in your descendents until generations later.

Many people have wrong ideas about evolution. For example, in November of 2004, articles appeared in major U.S. newspapers saying that running may have contributed to the evolution of man.

The simple fact is that physical traits and characteristics are determined and passed on by genes – not by running or any other form of exercise. Traits or characteristics which are acquired from the environment simply cannot be passed on to offspring (i.e. a woman who loses her finger will not cause her baby to be born with a missing finger; changing the color and texture of your hair will not affect the color and texture of your children’s hair. Even if an ape ever did learn to walk and run upright it still would not be able to pass on this trait to its offspring. Only the changes that occur in the genes (genetic information) of reproductive cells (i.e. sperm and egg) can be passed on to offspring. That is a simple fact of biology.

What about mutations? Mutations only produce more variations of already existing genes. For example, mutations in the gene(s) for human hair may change the gene(s) so that another type of human hair develops, but it’ll still be human hair!

Because mutations are accidents in the genetic code, caused by radiation and other environmental forces, they’re almost always harmful. Most biological variations are from new combinations of already existing genes and not mutations. Even if a good mutation occurred for every good one there would thousands of harmful ones with the net effect, over time, leading to the extinction of a species – not its progressive evolution!

What about natural selection? Natural selection doesn’t produce biological traits. Natural selection only “selects” from what is produced. It’s a passive process. If a biological variation occurs that helps a species survive in its environment then that species will survive (be “selected”).

Genetic information, like other forms of information, doesn’t happen by chance. That’s why we have genetic engineering!

What about “Junk” DNA? The latest science shows that “Junk DNA” isn’t junk after all! It’s we who were ignorant of how useful these segments of DNA really are. Recent scientific research published in scientific journals such as Nature has revealed that the “non-coding” segments of DNA are essential in regulating gene expression (how, when, and where genes are expressed) and various important intracellular activities. Just because these segments of DNA don’t code for proteins doesn’t mean that they don’t code for anything else!

Because of Christ’s death to pay for our sins and His resurrection from the grave, God will one day restore the earth to its original perfection!

What about the fossils, the age of the earth, and other evolutionary issues? These issues are covered at the author’s website www.religionscience.com and also there are many excellent articles supporting creation and refuting macro-evolution written by Master’s and Ph.D degreed scientists which may be accessed at the Institute for Creation Research site www.icr.org. Go to their site and just type in the “Search” box your topic of interest and the relevant articles will come up.

Other helpful sites are: www.creationscience.com, www.AnswersInGenesis.org, and www.ChristianAnswers.net.

The author, Babu G. Ranganathan, has his bachelor’s degree with concentrations in theology and biology and has been recognized for his writings on religion and science in the 24th edition of Marquis “Who’s Who In The East”.

Source

Related posts:

• No Real Evidence for Dinosaur to Bird Evolution
• UK PM calls for a Christian fightback over attempts to ban wearing crosses
• Scientists decode key to spider web strength
• Surgeon says human body did not evolve
• Paul the Appalling Movie

Archaeologists have discovered ancient houses as well as precious artifacts and jewels from a buried kingdom, beneath the volcanic ash in Indonesia.

The excavated remains were found on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa near the foot of the Tambora volcano known for its largest eruption in recorded history.

“Based on the unearthed remains, particularly the many bronze objects and jewels, evidence suggests the site was once inhabited by the wealthy or elite who had grown prosperous through trade,” said a member of the investigative team and a PhD candidate with Bristol University in UK Emma Johnston.

“We know from the excavations and deposit stratigraphy that the houses were mostly inhabited when the accumulating pumice fall led to the collapse of the houses, trapping and killing those inside,” she explained.

The design and decoration of the discovered artifacts suggest a link between the Tamboran culture and that of Vietnam and Cambodia, the experts claimed.

The Tamborans historically were known in the East Indies for their honey, horses, red dye and sandalwood.

In 2004, an archaeological team discovered pottery fragments and bones that belonged to the Tamboran culture in the volcanic area near the little village of Pancasila.

The recent excavation is in continuation of the 2006 project under the leading of Dr M. Geria of the Bali Institute for Archaeology.

The experts hope to learn more about the buried kingdom, with an estimated population of about 10,000 people, and gain more data about the flow of events that led to their death.

Source

Related posts:

• Debris of Sukhoi Superjet-100 found, no sign of survivors reported
• Russian jet goes off radars in Jakarta, hijacking not ruled out
• 8.9 Quake Hits Indonesia, Tsunami Warning Issued
• Sumatran Elephant on brink of Extinction
• Southeast Asia home to 200 new species

Where the eurozone crisis heads will depend not on whether Greece leaves the union, but on how the situation in the region affects debt-troubled Italy and Spain, Aleksey Bachurin, head of Russian Cash Equity Trading at Renaissance Capital, told RT.

­“The important thing is not Greece itself: it’s relatively small and the investments in Greece are already written down by most banks. But the potential contagious effect on Italy and especially Spain – this is a real danger,” Bachurin said.

Indeed, as the Greek crisis entered a new phase with the country’s party leaders failing to form a government, Italian and Spanish borrowing costs surged and banking declined.

Late on Monday, Moody’s rating agency downgraded the debt rating of 26 Italian banks, including giants UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. Ten of them were lowered to so-called junk status, while some saw their ratings cut by as much as four notches. Meanwhile, Spain announced a consolidation of four major banks aimed at creating a lender with assets of 270 billion euro.

Though some European politicians insist the eurozone would survive even without Greece, some economists say it might be the end of the game. The deterioration in Greece could result in “huge withdrawals from Spanish and Italian banks, as depositors try to move their money to Germany,” Paul Krugman, renowned US economist, wrote in his column in the New York Times.

In this case Germany would be left with two options, according to Krugman. The first would be to “accept huge indirect public claims on Italy and Spain, plus a drastic revision of strategy.”

“To give Spain in particular any hope you need both guarantees on its debt to hold borrowing costs down, and a higher eurozone inflation target to make relative price adjustment possible,” the expert says.

The second would be – to give up the euro.

Meanwhile not everyone is so pessimistic on the euro’s future. Banks across Europe are already preparing for the possibility of Greece’s exit, discussing probable legal and practical problems with a possible return of the drachma, but a total return to national currencies is not, it seems, on the agenda.

Source

Related posts:

• Europeans Leave En Masse Amidst Crisis
• French Politician: Eurozone is Exploding!
• Thousands of European protesters mark May Day
• US exempts 10 EU states plus Japan from Iran sanctions
• European Commission: Eurozone faces deeper recession in 2012

A bizarre Foreign Ministry report circulating in the Kremlin today states that this Friday past (11 May) Russian Envoy Vladimir Vinokurov, the Consulate General of San Francisco, was approached near his hotel room during a visit to Los Angles by an agent of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identifying himself as Stephen Ivens [photo top right] who warned that he and a former FBI agent named Donald Sachtleben had uncovered evidence of an impending terror attack on US soil stating that those behind the attack were “all insane.”

Before Ivens was able to finish his “message,” this report says, the three American Diplomatic Security (DS) agents, who trail all Russian diplomats in the US, began to “surge” towards Ivens causing him to flee.

According to US news sources, Special Agent Ivens, after leaving downtown Los Angeles, returned to his home in Burbank whereupon he then fled into the rugged Verdugo Mountains after which a massive manhunt for him ensued involving 100 FBI agents, 40 sheriff’s department rescuers and a dozen local police officers.

FBI officials stated to the local media that Ivens was “distraught” and “might be suicidal” adding that they believed he had in his possession his service weapon. At no time, however, did anyone ever state as to why Ivens would be in such a state.

According to other US news sources, Special Agent Ivens graduated from Braintree High School in Massachusetts 18 years ago and was selected by his fellow students as “shyest” in his class. He was further described by FBI colleagues as well liked, a devoted agent with no history of disciplinary action on the job, and according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller “Married with a one-year-old child, he has been working for the FBI for the past three years in the national security area. Prior to that, he worked as a Los Angeles police officer for eight years.”

Late yesterday, after the massive manhunt failed to find any trace of Ivens, his wife Thea Ivens issued an urgent public appeal stating: “Steve, if you are out there listening right now, your wife wants to let you know, ‘Babe, we are in this together for better or for worse. I love you, no matter what happens.’ Your child wants you to know, ‘Daddy’s work? Daddy home?’”

Even more bizarre about this case, this report continues, is that the retired FBI agent named Donald Sachtleben mentioned by Ivens, who also knew about this impending “plot,” was arrested within hours of Ivens disappearing and charged with trading child pornography.

Most important to note about Sachtleben was, aside from his being an over 25-year veteran of the FBI, he was a special agent bomb technician before retiring in 2008 who specialized in counterterrorism and bombing investigations and whose most important case was the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York City.

According to US news reports about Sachtleben’s arrest, this most knowledgeable of FBI agents openly traded child porn using the e-mail address ‘pedodave69@yahoo.com’ in an act so stupid for one of the United States most highly trained intelligence agents it defies belief.

The practice of US intelligence services charging their most feared dissidents with child pornography and/or sex charges is well known, with the most celebrated case being against the former UN weapons inspector William Scott Ritter, Jr. who warned about the lies being told to the American people in the run-up to the Iraq War only to find himself sent to prison on trumped up charges involving a minor girl.

To exactly what kind of false flag plot Agents Ivens and Sachtleben had uncovered this report doesn’t say, other than to note that the credibility of this information should not be dismissed due to how fast and hard US intelligence agencies are acting to cover their tracks should any additional information come forth.

Grimly to be noted is the use of false flag operations by the United States and their political elite classes are well known and well documented, the most famous of them being Operation Northwoods.

Operation Northwoods was a series of false-flag proposals that originated in 1962 within the United States government, and which the Kennedy administration rejected. The proposals called for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or other operatives, to commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities and elsewhere. These acts of terrorism were to be blamed on Cuba in order to create public support for a war against that nation, which had recently become communist under Fidel Castro. One part of Operation Northwoods was to “develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington.”

Operation Northwoods proposals included hijackings and bombings followed by the introduction of phony evidence that would implicate the Cuban government. It stated: “The desired resultant from the execution of this plan would be to place the United States in the apparent position of suffering defensible grievances from a rash and irresponsible government of Cuba and to develop an international image of a Cuban threat to peace in the Western Hemisphere.”

Several other proposals were included within Operation Northwoods, including real or simulated actions against various U.S. military and civilian targets. The plan was drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed by Chairman Lyman Lemnitzer and sent to the Secretary of Defense. Although part of the U.S. government’s Cuban Project anti-communist initiative, Operation Northwoods was never officially accepted; it was authored by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but then rejected by President John F. Kennedy.

As the events of Oklahoma City and 9/11 prove, however, the appetite for false flag operations against the American people by their own government is far from sated, with the next one, undoubtedly, being the worst of them all.

Source

Related posts:

• Planned US Internet Blackout On March 8 Raises Concerns
• Massive US Troop Movements In California Raise Russian Concerns
• TSA lets rapper keep his weed
• US Troops surround Syria on the eve of Invasion
• Octopus heave itself from the Water and Walk on Dry Land

A series of documents released through a Freedom of Information Act submitted by the Electronic Freedom Foundation shows that homeland security plans to collect data from children, possibly younger than 14.

The documents appear to show the DHS planning to line up with existing regulations put out by the DOJ which already call for the collection of all arrested citizens over age 14.

An article published by the EFF after they received the documents, details the plans and the slippery slope we now find ourselves in.

The proposal appears to be working its way through DHS in the wake of regulations from the Department of Justice that require all federal agencies—including DHS and its components such as ICE—to collect DNA from individuals arrested for federal crimes as well as “from non-United States persons who are detained under the authority of the United States,” whether or not they have been involved in criminal activity.

While the law specifically exempts a few classes of “aliens,” the documents we received show DHS may start DNA collection from anyone it fingerprints. Currently, that’s any child over 14 who’s detained, but we also found records that show ICE could lower that age even more.

DHS estimates that as many as 1 million people who are subject to administrative detention or arrest annually could now be subject to DNA collection. But it’s important to note that many of these people are not involved in criminal activity.

Collecting DNA from anyone detained by the government for any number of non-criminal reasons—especially juveniles—seems to be yet another step on the slippery slope to collecting DNA from everyone in the United States, no matter their status.

Shifting through the documents, it soon became clear that homeland security may actually already be carrying out DNA collection of American children under a pilot program that was scheduled to start in 2010.

When the DOJ expanded its DNA collection regulations in 2009, it specifically required agencies to collect DNA from all populations they fingerprint.

DHS regulations allow the agency to collect biometrics from aliens coming into the US who are 14 and older, so DHS can currently collect DNA from kids this age as well. However, the agency may also be considering collecting biometrics from kids younger than 14.

A slide presentation from March 2011, titled “Working Group on Expanding the Biometric Age Range” notes that some DHS programs are already collecting biometrics from kids younger than 14 and proposes expanding the age range for more DHS entities (including ICE).

Because of the DOJ regulations, this would mean that DHS could collect DNA even from very young kids.

These collection practices seem to be another form of the police state takeover currently headed up by DHS, with plans to fully takeover and control the American people in the very near future.

As the EFF noted in their article, DHS is far from the only agency collecting DNA, essentially the entire U.S. government is collecting our DNA at startling levels that in the past would be considered a conspiracy theory.

Source

Related posts:

• DHS To Release Bacteria In Boston Subway System
• Incurable mystery Virus kills 19 kids in Vietnam
• Green Police? DHS Launches ‘Environmental Justice’ Units
• Cyber Czar wants Homeland Security to patrol America’s Internet borders
• Wyoming Prepares “Doomsday Bill” For Martial Law Scenario

An Iranian oil tanker

The South Korean Economy Ministry says Seoul and Tokyo have asked the European Union to extend insurance contracts on tankers carrying Iranian crude after the bloc’s oil embargo comes into effect on July 1.

“To the EU members, we explained the problems that could be caused to non-EU members by the EU insurance embargo,” the ministry said in a Monday statement. “In close cooperation with Japan, we are in the process of discussing this with the EU.”

On January 23, the European Union approved new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors. The sanctions are meant to prevent EU member states from buying Iranian crude or doing business with its central bank. The sanctions will come into force as of July 1.

Additionally, the embargo banned European companies from transporting, purchasing or insuring crude and fuel originating in Iran and intended for anywhere in the world.

Jae-do Moon, the deputy minister for international affairs at the Korean Economy Ministry said Seoul would take steps to avert a possible disruption in Japan’s imports of Iranian crude oil from July 1, but gave no details.

“It will be hard to find entities to provide alternative insurance coverage to European P&I (protection and indemnity),”Moon said on Monday.

South Korea and Japan are major Asian importers of Iran’s oil.

Iranian crude accounted for 8.8 percent of the total Japanese oil imports in 2011, while South Korea imports around 10 percent of its crude from Iran.

Earlier in March, under pressure from Asian oil importers, the EU agreed to provide some insurance on Iranian oil shipments.

The agreement allows buyers outside the EU to purchase third-party and environmental insurance on their shipments from European insurers, who cover most of the world’s tanker fleet.

Source

Related posts:

• US exempts 10 EU states plus Japan from Iran sanctions
• 15 European countries apply for Tehran’s oil show despite sanctions
• EU Adopts oil Embargo on Iran
• Japan will Ignore US Oil Sanctions on Iran
• Europeans entered talks to buy Iranian oil

Street lights that can spy installed in some American cities

America welcomes a new brand of smart street lightning systems: energy-efficient, long-lasting, complete with LED screens to show ads. They can also spy on citizens in a way George Orwell would not have imagined in his worst nightmare.

­With a price tag of $3,000+ apiece, according to an ABC report, the street lights are now being rolled out in Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh, and may soon mushroom all across the country.

Part of the Intellistreets systems made by the company Illuminating Concepts, they have a number of “homeland security applications” attached.

Each has a microprocessor “essentially similar to an iPhone,” capable of wireless communication. Each can capture images and count people for the police through a digital camera, record conversations of passers-by and even give voice commands thanks to a built-in speaker.

Ron Harwood, president and founder of Illuminating Concepts, says he eyed the creation of such a system after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Hurricane Katrina disaster. He is “working with Homeland Security” to deliver his dream of making people “more informed and safer.”

“The system represents Big Brother on steroids,” commented the website InfoWars.com, which sees Intellistreets as a major threat to privacy.

Source

Related posts:

• New Street Lights To Have “Homeland Security” Applications
• Chicago police prepare for NATO Summit with riot gear and sound cannon
• Red Cross prepares Chicago for mass exodus during NATO Summit
• Pentagon wants spies sneaking through offices around the globe
• US Building Mega Domestic Spy Lab

The virus-based electrode produced a small current enough to flash "1" on a liquid-crystal display.

A team of US researchers in California have used viruses to build tiny devices that gather energy from mechanical forces and convert it into electricity.

“More research is needed, but our work is a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators, actuators for use in nano-devices, and other devices based on viral electronics,” said Dr. Seung-Wuk Lee of the University of California, Berkeley.

Lee and his colleagues built a generator that works by tapping a finger on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with specially engineered viruses.

According to the report published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the team used genetic engineering to add four negatively charged molecules to one end of the corkscrew-shaped proteins that coat the M13 bacteriophage virus.

Scientists say the advantage of using viruses is their “self-assembly” ability which helps them arrange themselves into an orderly film that enables the generator to work.

They enhanced the system by stacking 20 single layers of the virus on top of each other.

Researchers claim their finding could help create tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from the vibrations of everyday tasks such as shutting a door or climbing stairs.

Source

Related posts:

• FBI Agent Fleeing Massive Manhunt Warns “They’re All Insane”
• Firefox creators Mozilla attack Congress; denounce CISPA
• US scientists: Wind turbines cause Global Warming
• Massive Radioactive Wave from Japan Approacing US West Coast
• US City Plans to Outlaw Smoking in Apartments

The Japanese town of Ohi has deemed it necessary to restart its two nuclear reactors, citing imminent power shortages. But Robert Jacobs, a professor of nuclear history, told RT the move is meant to avert investment losses in the nuclear sector.

The Ohi town assembly defended the decision to put the reactors back online, citing potential damage to the local economy and the rise in unemployment the prolonged halt of the reactors could cause. The decision will become official when the assembly convenes on Monday.

However, activists argue that a transfer to greener energy sources would boost local economies and create far more jobs in the long-term.
Japan is facing serious energy shortfalls this summer after the decision to shut down the last of its 53 reactors on May 5.

In response to the potential crisis, the Japanese central government has been trying to convince towns hosting atomic stations to approve their reactivation.

But Robert Jacobs, a professor of nuclear history and culture at the Hiroshima Peace Institute, told RT the push to reopen the plants is the perfect example of a government putting money before human health.

RT: Greenpeace has called the government’s push to restart nuclear plants “reckless.” Are these reactors safe to reactivate?

Robert Jacobs: No, these reactors are not safe to restart. Japan remains the most active seismic nation on Earth and there are many earthquake faults under or nearby many of the reactors, and many others are in tsunami zones. Additionally, there have been repeated and blatant disregard for safety procedures at many Japanese nuclear plants. None of these issues have been addressed during the shutdowns, and in fact the worst of these (seismic activity and tsunami threats) cannot be addressed or improved. In order for nuclear power plants not to pose a threat they must be in a secure location and operated flawlessly. The first of these criteria cannot be achieved, and the second has not.
­
‘The Japanese government is going to push as hard as it can to restart the reactors.’

RT: Is it necessary for Japan to restart these two reactors in the face of this summer’s predicted energy shortages?

RJ: No. Japan can meet these predicted shortages through a combination of conservation and other sources of energy. Many Japanese companies have taken steps to reduce power usage in ways that should have been practiced all along. These have significantly reduced demand and allowed the companies to continue to operate at current levels while reducing their power needs. Currently Japan is importing more coal and gas to make up for shortfalls in nuclear power production. So there is no short term crisis in terms of meeting the demands of power customers.

RT: Do you think this will be the beginning of a domino effect, and the government will begin to reactivate other stations?

RJ: The government of Japan and the power companies are dedicated to restarting the reactors. This is primarily for two reasons. First, they believe that the longer the nuclear plants remain offline, the harder it will be to eventually restart them. So they are determined to restart the reactors just to keep them viable. This is a political choice. The second reason is because the power companies have invested so much money into the nuclear power plants (half of their assets for some of them) that they do not want to see those investments become worthless. So to preserve the value of their assets, they will push very hard to restart the nuclear reactors, whether they are safe or not. This is an economic choice. But the people of Japan are almost entirely against restarting the nuclear plants and that is why they remain offline. They don’t believe the assurances of the government, the power companies, and also the media. Also, they see that the nuclear power plants are all offline and the world has not come to an end as many in the government and power companies said would happen.

RT: Given that Japan relied on nuclear energy for 30% of its power prior to the Fukushima disaster, is a nuclear-free future viable?

RJ: Yes. This would be the case eventually anyways, even if Fukushima had never happened. The nuclear power industry has been in its death throes for some time now. No new plant has been built for a long time. They are not actually very profitable investments. So if no new plants were to be built, sooner or later all of the current plants would shut down and Japan would have entered a non-nuclear future regardless. The meltdowns have just hastened the inevitable. The current debate is about whether or not to focus on maximizing the return to the power companies on their investments before this happens. But at the cost of public safety this is a ridiculous choice to make.
­
‘Previously most Japanese people had faith in the wisdom and honesty of authorities such as the government, larger corporations and the media, that faith has been broken…”

RT: What do you think the government’s mixed energy program, due to be unveiled this summer, will entail?

RJ: On this I am not well-informed, but my guess is that they will attempt to soften the push to restart the reactors by couching it in a larger “mixed” energy program. There is no choice but to include several sources of energy, so there is already a mixed program. But when they formally introduce such a program, it will be a way to include restarting the nuclear power plants being made to seem like a small part of the program – when it is the entire purpose of this repackaging of the image.

RT: What is the Japanese government doing to allay the fears of a nuclear-weary population?

RJ: The Japanese government is going to push as hard as it can to restart the reactors. They have already been doing this. They claim that Japan will become a Third World nation if it does not restart the reactors. They claim that there will be widespread blackouts and that corporations will leave the country if the plants are not restarted. But there has been a big change here in Japan. Whereas previously most Japanese people had faith in the wisdom and honesty of authorities such as the government, larger corporations and the media, that faith has been broken and the Japanese people are no longer so easily swayed by such doom and gloom pronouncements and will not be easily manipulated. This is going to be a very contentious standoff.

Source

Related posts:

• 14,000 U.S. Dead in 14 Weeks After Fukushima Meltdown
• Fukushima Reactor 2: Radiation Comparable to What We See in Space
• Radioactive water spills from Fukushima nuclear plant into ocean
• Fear Of Radiation Treated as “Psychiatric Disorder” In Fukushima
• Evacuate Tokyo and All US Forces From Japan

The Netherlands has become the first EU member country to pass into law new net neutrality regulations, following in the footsteps of Chile, which became the first country in the world to make net neutrality laws back in July 2010. The new Telecom Law was approved unanimously by the Dutch Senate and is set to ensure that access to the internet remains neutral and unfiltered.

The move follows plans announced last year by Dutch telecoms provider KPN to increase mobile broadband prices and make allowance changes in the wake of increased data consumption for certain services over 3G, such as Skype and Whatsapp. KPN noted that the increased usage of these apps was reducing their average revenue per user and hurting profits.

Passing net neutrality regulations into law will mean that wireless operators will not be allowed to throttle or block any individual’s internet services or price them differently according their internet usage. ISPs will still be allowed to throttle traffic in order to reduce congestion or protect their network, but they will be required to treat all traffic equally. Also, traffic can no longer be blocked unless it’s absolutely necessary in order to protect the integrity and security of the network or users’ computers.

Interestingly, there is one notable exception to this, with the inclusion of a clause that allows internet users to request their ISP to filter their connection as well as block certain services and applications based on religious or ideological grounds. Despite this, Dutch politicians remain concerned that the clause, added to the proposed law last year at the request of the Reformed Political Party, will open the doors to internet censorship. It’s therefore unsurprising that they want to see it removed in a “repair amendment” set for May 15.

“Bits of Freedom, the Dutch digital rights movement which campaigned for these provisions, applauds the new law. It considers this a historical moment for internet freedom in The Netherlands and calls on other countries to follow the Dutch example,” the Dutch privacy group, Bits of Freedom said in a statement on their blog.

Also included in the newly approved law is the requirement for websites to ask internet users for permission to store cookies in their browsers before they can be used, although these provisions won’t go into effect until 2013 as the EU requires time to address issues surrounding user tracking.

Source

Related posts:

• Dutch Prime Minister resigns after Austerity talks fail
• EU suspends ACTA ratification, refers treaty to court
• ACTA is worse than SOPA
• Secret ACTA Agreement Leaked!
• Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet

Congressman Ron Paul has announced that he will no longer be using resources to campaign in primary states, instead focusing all of his efforts on delegate-selection events as he vows to continue to vie for GOP nomination for presidential candidate.

Rep. Paul (R-Texas) issued a statement on his official website on Monday announcing that he will immediately begin to concentrate on collecting delegates at state conventions in lieu of traditional campaigning in states where he will have to compete in GOP presidential primaries.

“Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process. We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates, and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that liberty is the way of the future,” reads the statement.

“Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have.”

Following the bowing out of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich in recent weeks, Rep. Paul has become the most likely opponent to Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in terms of taking the GOP nomination. Both men are vying for the Republican Party’s nod so that they can challenge incumbent President Barack Obama during this November’s election.

In Monday’s statement, Paul suggests that by continuing to accumulate delegates, he stands to give Romney a run for his money come the RNC later this summer in Tampa, Florida.

Paul says he will continue to try to accumulate delegates, a strategy that has been considered unorthodox by many but has so far proved to be mostly successful.

“I hope all supporters of Liberty will remain deeply involved – become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions. I will be right there with you. In the coming days, my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help, so please stay tuned,” says the congressman.

CNN reports that, as of April 1, the Ron Paul for President campaign has roughly $1.8 million in the bank—quite an accomplishing statistic given that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suspended his campaign while $4.5 million in debt.

Last month Paul’s campaign manager, Jesse Benton, told reporters, “I am not going to try to deceive you, and say that Romney doesn’t have some advantages…But until he has 1,144 delegates, we are going to press on with our campaign.”

Source

Related posts:

• Gingrich drops out from US presidential race
• Mitt Romney Arrested for Disorderly Conduct
• Romney Operatives Caught Handing Out Fake Ballots In Nevada and Maine
• Obama unleashes negative barrage on Romney
• Ron Paul wins first caucus, mainstream media calls it for Romney

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has pointed to the possibility of calling in the army to deal with the violent protests in the country over the government’s economic policies.

Monti raised alert levels on Sunday at some sensitive sites across Italy to handle the recent violence that has hit the country.

Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri also said on Sunday that she was considering bringing in the army to defend certain locations.

“There have been several attacks on the offices of Equitalia (the agency handling tax collections) in recent weeks. I want to remind people that attacking Equitalia is the equivalent of attacking the State,” she said.

“The army could be used to guard buildings which could be the target of violent protest. The danger of an escalation exists. It’s a situation which demands drastic action,” she added.

On Saturday, two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the offices of Equitalia in Livorno, Tuscany, and severely damaged the front of the building after they blew off. Moreover, a letter bomb, which did not blast, was sent to the organization’s offices in Rome on Friday.

Earlier this month, a senior executive of state-controlled nuclear engineering group Ansaldo Nucleare was shot in the leg, with an Italian rebel group claiming responsibility for the attack.

Italy has faced a fresh wave of attacks in the last six months since Monti took office as prime minister and introduced a harsh austerity package to save the country from bankruptcy. The three-year austerity and growth package includes budget cuts, pension reforms as well as tax hikes worth 30 billion euros.

Italy, one of the biggest eurozone economies, fell into recession after its economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the third quarter and by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The Italian government has been urged to implement economic reforms and budget cuts to reassure investors concerned about the country’s debt.

Italy’s debt ratio in the eurozone is second only to Greece.

Source

Related posts:

• Italian labor unions protest pension overhaul
• Italians to go on strike over budget cuts
• Italian Unions to Protest Budget Cuts
• Hundreds of protesters clash with police in Naples, Italy
• Prosecutors want to jail Berlusconi for 5 years

Americans in record numbers are doing what was once considered unthinkable – renouncing their US citizenship. In numerical terms, at least 1,788 Americans officially gave up their US citizenship in 2011 – more than the combined totals from 2007, 2008 and 2009 – and 2012 promises to be another record breaking year, with 461 Americans already taking this action in the first quarter of the year, according to US Treasury Department figures. Although these numbers may seem like a small percentage of the US population, the fact that there are a record number 6.3 million US citizens working abroad, and that a record number of them are renouncing their citizenship, is worthy of further consideration.

Additionally, these numbers don’t account for those émigrés who come to the US on visas, but then decide of their own volition not to pursue permanent residency or citizenship, and instead to return home.

An oft-cited reason for giving up one’s US passport is the US law known as Facta, or the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, passed into law in 2010 and to be implemented in 2013, which is a draconian expansion of America’s already uniquely onerous tax laws for expatriates. It is worth noting that the United States is the only nation within the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that taxes its citizens regardless of nation of residence, in essence requiring that Americans living abroad pay income taxes to both their nation of residence and to the IRS, albeit subject to partial exemptions based on income level. Moreover, the high cost of compliance with Facta has led many banks and hedge funds in Asia to turn away all American clients, creating insurmountable barriers to banking and investment for numerous American expatriates living and working in Asia.

Finally, if this were not sufficient reason to change one’s citizenship, there is also the comparative difference in income tax rates, for example, a flat rate of 13% in Russia according to the Russian Tax Code, a flat rate of 12% in Belarus according to the Belorussian Tax Code, and a flat rate of 15% in Ukraine according to the Ukrainian Tax Code, compared with a combined federal-state rate of up to 46% now, and up to 50% starting in 2013, in such US states as California and New York, according to The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 mandates that the name of every American who renounces their citizenship be published in the Federal Register, based on the premise that individuals who do so are unpatriotic tax dodgers who deserve to be publicly shamed. However, the motivations for Americans exchanging their citizenship for that of another country, particularly that of Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine, are often far more complicated and intertwined. Among the reasons cited by Americans for moving to Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine, and in many cases giving up their US citizenship, are, in addition to taxation, employment, education, religion, culture, foreign policy, marriage to a foreign national, and more.

Take for example the case of an Eastern Orthodox parish just south of San Francisco, California, which has already lost nine families – all of them returning to either Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine. Among the reasons cited by parishioners for returning home include “the American legalization of immorality via the gay movement and abortions for minors without their parents’ consent, and the atrocious level of American education.” As one parishioner told the parish rector: “Only the naïve believe that upon legalizing gay marriages America will put a period. It will continue, gradually imposing gays upon the educational system, upon job providers, upon private organizations such as churches, upon the military, thus destroying it, upon Hollywood and other forms of entertainment; it will not stop because it cannot stop – that is the nature of this disgusting beast. We are moving out, because we have small children, and we don’t want them corrupted”.

This parishioner is not exaggerating. In recent years, while Russia was re-introducing Orthodox Christian culture into its school curriculum, including history from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, California was instead introducing revisionist history into its school curriculum, including the alleged contributions of Americans with homosexual proclivities, even declaring “Harvey Milk Day” in commemoration of the middle-aged homosexual activist who had a passion for sex with teenage boys. The parish rector at the Eastern Orthodox parish in California emphasizes that his parishioners who are giving up their US citizenship are “quality citizens, the kind you want in your country, the kind you want as your neighbors. These are not people looking for an easy life, or for accumulation of material goods. I am not aware of a single criminal or felon among these people. In our parish they were the best parishioners – always willing to work, to donate, to participate. Nor are they the elderly, suffering from romantic nostalgia.”

George, an American citizen from New York who moved to Russia over a year ago, states, “I left America with the intention of never returning; not because I am not American, but because I believe America no longer exists. Instead it has been replaced with a Godless oligarchy bent on exploiting its citizens to satisfy the inexhaustible whims of an elite few. Were this alone not enough, I have found myself every year more disgusted by how America accuses other nations of the sins it is most guilty of. America insists it spreads democracy, criticizing nations with dozens of parties of being un-democratic, while the American two party system prevents democracy completely. America employs totalitarian tactics against protesters, having now authorized using microwave beam weapons to prevent protest; a right guaranteed by the American Constitution. Many Americans have already left and there soon will come a day when too few remain to call the land on which America was founded America.”

Further to George’s comments on US foreign policy, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has, in the past, condemned NATO’s war of aggression against Serbian Orthodox Christians, stating that “several countries, being sure they have the right to determine world’s fate, united to impose their will on a nation”, and has warned that the fate of Christians in the Middle East and Africa has been worsened by foreign intervention in the affairs of sovereign nations in these regions. In addition, President Vladimir Putin has reiterated Russian’s intent of fulfilling its historical role of protecting the world’s Christian communities from violence, and on Victory Day this week emphasized that “strict adherence to international norms, respect for national sovereignty and self-selection of each nation – is one of the absolute guarantees that the tragedy of the last war will never happen again.”

Regarding American foreign policy particularly towards Russia, American expatriates in Moscow are increasingly demanding an end to the US’s funneling of $200 million through the State Department’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to opposition leaders in Russia seeking to foment civil unrest or even revolution, and an end to NATO plans to surround Russia with offensive ballistic missiles to complement the US and NATO bases already surrounding Russia – both in direct violation of US President Ronald Reagan’s promise to USSR Premier Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand eastward. The US Government would be wise to heed Patriarch Kirill’s warning, “The Russian Orthodox Church is against violent revolutions, be it in Syria, Lebanon, or anywhere else. In any country, any disputes between the government and the opposition must be solved only by talks, the Russian Church believes – otherwise, there is a risk of the sorry scenario of the Russian Bolshevik revolution of 1917 being repeated.”

Not all American expatriates living in Russia are quite ready to give up their US passport. Elina, a native of Russia who became a naturalized American citizen, moved back to Russia a few years ago with her American husband, Ken, and their children. Elina says that “in spite of draconian US tax laws, neither Ken, nor I, nor our children, plan to renounce our US citizenship. We all remain dedicated to the course of bringing our people together and uniting the efforts of the Russian and US people against the corporate fascism that is expanding in the world. Besides, we plan to visit the USA since Ken has his family there whom we dearly love and care about. I never renounced my Russian citizenship while getting my US citizenship, and my country did not take my citizenship away in spite of my second citizenship. We all love American people who are not at fault for the international aggression that is implemented by the Iron Triangle of the military complex, banks, and the US government.”

George and Ken are actually two of many thousands of elite foreign specialists who have come from the US and the EU to work in Russia, including 10,000 in Moscow alone since 2001, according to the Head of Moscow’s Department of Migration Service, Fyodor Karpovets. That number is likely to increase, based on Russia’s liberalized immigration laws, Russia’s WTO accession, and increased Government and foreign direct investment in Russia’s innovation and modernization initiatives.

Some American expatriates in Russia were reluctant to go on the record, presumably because of fear of reprisals from US authorities. It is worth noting that both the US and Russian Governments allow dual citizenship, although the US State Department has tried to end this practice many times over the past 50 years, each time eventually being overruled by the Supreme Court. The only times in which the US State Department has prevailed in stripping a dual citizen of US citizenship have been in cases where a US citizen living abroad made public statements of an intent to renounce his US citizenship, only to later attempt to re-enter the US.

Moving abroad and renouncing one’s US citizenship is a dramatic step that is not for everyone. However, those who have made such a move to Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine consider it one of the best decisions they have ever made.

Source

Related posts:

• Americans renounced their citizenship in record numbers in 2011
• West has betrayed Christianity, Russia will save it – Orthodox Church official
• Putin, Obama Square Off As Russian Troops Mass To Counter US Attack On Iran
• Russia Threatens Preemptive Strike if NATO Builds Missile Defense Shield
• Top Obama Aide Warns Russia “End Of World” Near

Countries of the “Russian world” are capable of changing the globe within ten years, believes top cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church Vsevolod Chaplin.

­By the “Russian world” he means states with a historically strong tradition of Orthodox Christianity which, apart from Russia, include Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Romania and several others.

“Our Orthodox civilization may not be that large, but today it has a key role in the world as it knows how to find a way to a better life for the whole world and especially Europe,” Chaplin said on Monday during a videoconference between Moscow, Kiev and Minsk.

The West has betrayed the ideals of Christianity, which Emperors Constantine and Justinian merged with Roman law, Chaplin says. In his opinion, the Europe, which was based on these principles, no longer exists.

Bearing this in mind, the Eastern Christian civilization should not follow in the steps of either the “weak-willed West” or the “intellectually weak East, ” he says.

“We do not need to be led… we have to reunite mind and will, traditions and innovations, faith and living, the spiritual and the secular. Our duty is to change the world in ten years, and we are able to do so,” he concluded.

Source

Related posts:

• Cold spell kills 83 in Europe
• Russia to deploy S-400 air defense systems in joint drills with Belarus
• Ukraine’s ex-PM Tymoshenko arrested
• Putin: Russia-Belarus Merger ‘Possible’ And ‘Desirable’
• Belarus power dimmed from midnight on unpaid bill

Barely a week after the American President Obama’s top national security aide, Thomas Donilon, warned President Putin in the Kremlin that the “world may about to end,” Russia’s leader abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting with his US counterpart and stated he would not attend the G-8 Summit over fears the United States is about to launch an all-out global war, according to the latest Foreign Ministry bulletins.

In a quick ‘tit-for-tat’ retaliation, according to US news reports, the Americans than announced that Obama would not attend the major annual summit of Asia-Pacific nations in Vladivostok in September. The Kremlin, however, did announce today that they would send a high-ranking Russian diplomat to attend the NATO Summit in Chicago on 20-21 May, the same day (curiously) that Russian and US military forces start their first joint anti-terror war games on American soil in history, and as we had previously reported on in our 24 April report titled “US Calls For Russian Airborne Troops To “Take And Hold” Denver Airport”.

Tensions between Russia and the US, the world’s two largest holders of nuclear weapons, accelerated even further today as talks between Iran and the ‎International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) got underway with the Iranians warning the West that additional pressures upon them could collapse the current dialogue entirely.

Important to note are that the American people are not being told the truth about Iran and its nuclear rights and goals and are, instead, being “lied into war” again like was done to them when they launched an unprovoked invasion of Iraq that caused former US President George W Bush and several members of his administration to be found guilty in absentia of war crimes by a tribunal in Malaysia this past Saturday.

Equally important to note is that the United States “plan for war” has nothing at all to do with human rights and/or democracy, but rather is due to their insatiable desire to capture all of the world’s last remaining energy supplies for themselves and their Western allies, and is evidenced by their own documents proving their plans for global domination through conflict going back to the late 1990’s.

General Wesley Clark, last May, revealed the US plan to invade and take over 7 countries, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran, before the Americans even invaded Afghanistan. The first part of the plan, according to General Clark, was revealed 10 days after 9/11 and was expanded to include the other nations. General Clark is quoted as saying the invasion wasn’t based on links to Al-Qaeda or any other intelligence reports, but just because the US has an army that is great at taking over other nations.

The United States current “master plan” involves one of the largest military buildups in modern times that exceeds those of both of their previous Gulf Wars and is targeting Iran, and the Obama regime pushing the US Senate to quickly ratify the stalled, since 1982, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas which the Pentagon says would give Washington a new tool to combat Iran, China, and Russia.

In a bid to counter the unprecedented aggression of the Obama regime and its Western allies Russia’s Chief of General Staff Nikolay Makarov warned nearly a fortnight ago that Moscow “reserved the right” to preemptively strike European missile defense systems if the US refuses dialogue.

In some of his last acts as President, Medvedev, also, accelerated Russian war moves by replacing both of Russia’s top naval and air force commanders who are tasked with building up Russian military forces near the Iranian border in anticipation of a combined US-EU-Israeli attack.

The Russian military anticipates that an attack will occur on Iran by the summer and has developed an action plan to move Russian troops through neighboring Georgia to stage in Armenia, which borders on the Islamic republic, according to informed Russian sources.

Russian Security Council head Viktor Ozerov said that Russian General Military Headquarters has prepared an action plan in the event of an attack on Iran.

Dmitry Rogozin, who recently was the Russian ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, warned against an attack on Iran. “Iran is our neighbor,” Rogozin said. “If Iran is involved in any military action, it’s a direct threat to our security.” Rogozin now is the deputy Russian prime minister and is regarded as anti-Western. He oversees Russia’s defense sector.

Russian Defense Ministry sources say that the Russian military doesn’t believe that Israel has sufficient military assets to defeat Iranian defenses and further believes that U.S. military action will be necessary.

The implication of preparing to move Russian troops not only is to protect its own vital regional interests but possibly to assist Iran in the event of such an attack. Sources add that a Russian military buildup in the region could result in the Russian military potentially engaging Israeli forces, U.S. forces, or both.

Informed sources say that the Russians have warned of “unpredictable consequences” in the event Iran is attacked, with some Russians saying that the Russian military will take part in the possible war because it would threaten its vital interests in the region.

The influential Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper has quoted a Russian military source as saying that the situation forming around Syria and Iran “causes Russia to expedite the course of improvement of its military groups in the South Caucasus, the Caspian, Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.” This latest information comes from a series of reports and leaks from official Russian spokesmen and government news agencies who say that an Israeli attack is all but certain by the summer.

Because of the impact on Russian vital interests in the region, sources say that Russian preparations for such an attack began two years ago when Russian Military Base 102 in Gyumri, Armenia, was modernized. It is said to occupy a major geopolitical position in the region. Families of Russian servicemen from the Russian base at Gyumri in Armenia close to the borders of Georgia and Turkey already have been evacuated, Russian sources say.

To if the American people will awaken before the catastrophe of total war engulfs us all it is not in our knowing, other than to point out the obvious that the web of deceit and propaganda that surrounds them appears to be stronger than ever.

Source

Related posts:

• Any conflict on Iran is a direct threat to Russia’s security
• Russia Threatens Preemptive Strike if NATO Builds Missile Defense Shield
• Russian FM warns of catastrophic consequences of Iran attack
• Invading Iran is invading Russia, China
• Top Obama Aide Warns Russia “End Of World” Near