Shake ‘n’ bake: Quakes, volcanoes in sudden eruption spree

ecuador-earthquake-1A flurry of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions wreaked havoc around the globe in the past week and reignited widespread interest in the natural time bombs beneath humanity’s feet.

A volcanic eruption near Mexico City on Monday and an earthquake in Ecuador on Saturday followed a pair of earthquakes that rocked Japan last week. In short, Mother Nature dealt millions of victims five days terror that involved collapsed buildings, soot-filled streets, tsunami warnings and emergency workers searching through rubble.

Filerma Rayo, 33, told Reuters she spent five hours trapped under debris in Pedernales, Ecuador, after Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Nearly 300 people and at least 2,000 were injured. Hundreds of corpses were consolidated at a nearby stadium to be identified. Source

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Utah ceremonially declares porn a ‘public health crisis’

utah-banning-porn2__optUtah Gov. Gary Herbert wants the world to know the state’s position on pornography: It’s a public health crisis.

“We realize this is a bold assertion and there are some out there who will disagree with us,” Herbert said at a Tuesday news conference. “We’re here to say it is, in fact, the full-fledged truth.”

Herbert ceremonially signed the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, Tuesday at the Utah State Capitol.

But that resolution has no real or practical effect.

It “is non-binding: we’re not spending money and we’re not banning anything,” Weiler said.

Weiler said kids as young as 12 are being exposed to porn in places such as the library and McDonald’s, using their unprotected, free Wi-Fi.

He previously has said he would like the government to work with Internet providers to allow pornography only on an opt-in basis.

For now, though, Weiler’s not advocating action by the government.

“I’m asking businesses and governmental agencies that cater to children to do the right thing,” he said.  Source

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Unusual quake cluster worries Japan

20180418_quake1_article_main_imageTOKYO — Seismic activity in southern Japan is mystifying geologists and keeping the nation on edge.

The island of Kyushu has been struck by a series of significant earthquakes, with the epicenters moving progressively further inland. The cluster started with the deadly quakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture last Thursday and Saturday. Temblors subsequently rocked the Mount Aso region and neighboring Oita Prefecture.

There is a known concentration of faults in the area. Still, experts say it is highly unusual to have a string of quakes measuring around magnitude 6 and stretching over such a vast area. The epicenter of the Oita jolt was about 100km away from the first Kumamoto quake.

“I don’t quite understand what is happening with the recent earthquakes, because it’s an unfamiliar phenomenon,” said Yoshihisa Iio, a professor at Kyoto University’s Research Center for Earthquake Prediction.  Source

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Pentagon misled lawmakers on military sexual assault cases

James A. Winnefeld, Jr.WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon misled Congress by using inaccurate or vague information about sexual assault cases in an effort to blunt support for a Senate bill that would make a major change in how the military handles allegations of sexual misconduct, an Associated Press investigation found.

Internal government records that summarized the outcomes of dozens of cases portrayed civilian district attorneys and local police forces as less willing than senior military officers to punish sex offenders. The documents buttressed the Pentagon’s position that stripping commanders of their authority to decide which crimes go to trial – as the Senate legislation proposes – will mean fewer victims will get justice because there will be fewer prosecutions. Source

 

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Pope hailed as savior for opening Vatican to refugees

web-pope-mytilene-getPope Francis, during a trip to the Greek island of Lesbos, chose 12 Syrian refugees to come live at the Vatican – all clean-cut, two-parent families with children, one of which is headed by a microbiologist and another, by a tailor and teacher.

NBC News reported one of the families, Hasan and Nour Essa, are simply like any other in the world, hoping to find a decent preschool for their son, 2, Riyad, and are thankful for the pope’s intervention.

“What’s happening with us, it’s like a dream,” said Nour Essa, who’s a microbiologist, to NBC News. “It’s like a beautiful dream.” She later called Francis a “real human being” who’s “more important than any Muslim religious mans,” the news outlet reported.

The pope, in what he described as a “last minute decision,” let the Essas and two other Syrian families join him on his flight back to Rome over the weekend. Vatican officials say the three families were chosen simply because their papers were in order.  Source

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Electronic ‘Tattoo’ Transforms Skin Into a Screen

wearable-technology-electronic-skin-tattoo-e-skinResearchers have taken the concept of wearable technology to a whole new level by developing an electronic patch that transforms skin into an LED screen.

The flexible display, created by scientists at the University of Tokyo, is as thin as cling film and is described as electronic skin, or “e-skin.”

“The advent of mobile phones has changed the way we communicate,” said Takao Someya from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering. “While these communication tools are getting smaller and smaller, they are still discrete devices that we have to carry with us.  Source 

Also read here.

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

How US covered up Saudi role in 9/11

crash_trade_centerIn its report on the still-censored “28 pages” implicating the Saudi government in 9/11, “60 Minutes” last weekend said the Saudi role in the attacks has been “soft-pedaled” to protect America’s delicate alliance with the oil-rich kingdom.

That’s quite an understatement.

Actually, the kingdom’s involvement was deliberately covered up at the highest levels of our government. And the coverup goes beyond locking up 28 pages of the Saudi report in a vault in the US Capitol basement. Investigations were throttled. Co-conspirators were let off the hook.

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Powerful Ecuador earthquake kills 238

1460876061053
QUITO, Ecuador –  The strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades killed at least 238 people and injured more than 1,500 others Sunday as damage stretched for hundreds of miles to the capital and other major cities.

The magnitude-7.8 quake was centered on Ecuador’s sparsely populated fishing ports and tourist beaches, 105 miles northwest of Quito, the capital.  Source

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Catholic fans chant ‘You killed Jesus’ during basketball game

church-sign-saying-jews-killed-jesus-2873765_289753_ver1-0_640_480Catholic high school students chanted, “You killed Jesus” at a basketball game against a predominantly Jewish high school in a Boston suburb on Friday night.

During the playoff contest between Catholic Memorial School and the public Newton North High School, fans of the latter began shouting, “Sausage fest!” at the opposing team, an off-color reference to the fact that CMS is an all-boys institution.

In response, the Catholic fans repeated, “You killed Jesus, you killed Jesus,” spectators at the event said.

The Catholic fans’ cheer was a reference to Jewish deicide, the charge that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Source

Posted on by Gospel Order 0

Judge: Can’t force Catholic hospitals to abort babies

st-patricks-cathedral-catholic-churchA federal judge has rejected an ACLU demand that he order Catholic hospitals to perform abortions in violation of church teaching.

The victory for religious rights was announced by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which intervened on behalf of the Catholic Medical Association, the Christian Medical and Dental Associations and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“No American should be forced to commit an abortion – least of all faith-based medical workers who went into the profession to follow their faith and save lives, not take them,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot.

“No law requires religious hospitals and medical personnel to commit abortions against their faith and conscience, and, in fact, federal law directly prohibits the government from engaging in any such coercion. As we argued in our brief to the court, the ACLU had no standing to bring this suit and demand this kind of government coercion.”  Source

Posted on by Gospel Order 0