CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION NEWS

More than 500 people slaughtered in machete 'revenge' attacks on Christian villages in Nigeria

Rioters armed with machetes have slaughtered more than 500 people in a revenge attack following religious clashes near Nigeria's city of Jos. The violence in three mostly Christian villages appeared to be reprisal attacks following the January unrest in Jos - when most of the victims were Muslims. There is a long history of local tension between Muslims and Christians.

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Russia tests submarine-launched missile

The Russian military successfully tested a strategic missile from a submarine in the Arctic, Russia's federal space agency said. "A Sineva missile was launched on March 4 at 7:50 am Moscow time (0450 GMT) from the Tula rocket-carrying submarine in the Barents Sea. The launch was successful," the agency said in a statement. The Sineva is an intercontinental missile capable of carrying up to 10 nuclear warheads, according to the website GlobalSecurity.org.

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North Korea on combat alert as U.S., South hold drills

The drills, seen by Pyongyang as nuclear war maneuvers, last for about two weeks and are aimed at testing the allies' defense readiness. They draw fiery rhetoric from the North each year that fuels tensions on the Korean peninsula, though they have been held for decades without major incident. "The units of the three services of the KPA (Korean People's Army) should keep themselves fully ready to go into action in order to blow up the citadel of aggressors once the order is issued."

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Pakistan detains American-born Al-Qaida

Two Pakistani officers and a government official said that an American charged with treason for working with Al-Qaida had been captured, a development that could deliver another significant blow in the US-led battle against the terror network.

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Iran's Ahmadinejad: Sept. 11 attacks a 'big lie'

Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks a "big lie" used by the US as an excuse for the war on terror, state media reported. Ahmadinejad's comments, made during an address to Intelligence Ministry staff, come amid escalating tensions between the West and Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.

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'Iran developing massive launch site'

Iran is building a new rocket launch site with North Korean assistance, Israel Radio quoted. The new launcher, constructed near an existing rocket base in the Semnan province east of Teheran, is visible in satellite imagery, according to the report. The defense intelligence group said the appearance of the launcher suggests assistance from North Korea, and that it may be intended to launch the Simorgh, a long-range Iranian-made missile unveiled in early February and officially intended to be used as a space-launch vehicle (SLV). SLV’s can be converted to be used as long-range ballistic missiles for military purposes.

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Facing new sanctions, Iran admits oil shortages

A senior Iranian oil official said that increased gasoline rationing imposed late last year has failed to reduce domestic demand, an acknowledgment that reflects the OPEC nation's economic struggles as it faces possible new sanctions.

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Rep. Paul Broun not sure if Obama is citizen

Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) said that he does not know if President Barack Obama is either a citizen or a Christian. Broun made the claim during an interview with Sirius XM host Pete Dominick. Asked if he thought the president is an “American citizen and a Christian,” Broun first responded, “I’m not going to get involved in that.” But pressed on whether he thought Obama is a citizen, he said “I don’t know.” “Is he a Christian?” Dominick then asked.

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National debt to be higher than White House forecast

President Obama's proposed budget would add more than $9.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, congressional budget analysts said. Proposed tax cuts for the middle class account for nearly a third of that shortfall. The 10-year outlook released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is somewhat gloomier than White House projections, which found that Obama's budget request would produce deficits that would add about $8.5 trillion to the national debt by 2020.

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Fannie, Freddie Ask Banks to Eat Soured Mortgages

annie Mae and Freddie Mac may force lenders including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. to buy back $21 billion of home loans this year as part of a crackdown on faulty mortgages.

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Cash-Strapped States Delay Paying Income-Tax Refunds

This year, more Americans and businesses may be asking: Where's my tax refund? That’s because cash-strapped states such as North Carolina, Alabama and Hawaii have been forced to slow down issuing income tax refunds to individuals and businesses because of a lack of funds in their budget. Kansas has hinted that a delay might be possible, and processing paper refunds in Iowa has slowed because the state doesn’t haven’t enough employees to get them processed faster.

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Proposal for European Monetary Fund Wins EU Support

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has suggested setting up a European monetary fund to enable the euro zone to tackle debt crises such as that seen in Greece without resorting to the IMF. EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn has welcomed the idea. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has won support from EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn for a proposal to set up a European monetary fund to tackle debt crises such as the one in Greece.

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Beijing hints at severing peg to US dollar

China's central bank chief laid the groundwork for an appreciation of the renminbi at the weekend when he described the dollar peg as temporary, striking a more emollient tone after months of tough opposition in Beijing to a shift in exchange rate policy. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, gave the strongest hint yet from a senior official that China would abandon the unofficial dollar peg, in place since mid-2008. He said it was a "special" policy to weather the financial crisis.

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Cyberwar declared as China hunts for the West’s intelligence secrets

Urgent warnings have been circulated throughout Nato and the European Union for secret intelligence material to be protected from a recent surge in cyberwar attacks originating in China. The attacks have also hit government and military institutions in the United States, where analysts said that the West had no effective response and that EU systems were especially vulnerable because most cyber security efforts were left to member states.

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Strong Earthquake Of 6.5 Magnitude Strikes Off Sumatra Coast

A strong earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale struck the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Friday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake struck shortly after 11 pm local time at a shallow depth of 13.7 miles, with its epicenter located some 100 miles west of Bengkulu in Sumatra.

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New digital signs target people by age and gender

Using technology from top Silicon Valley companies such as Cisco and Intel, advertisers are creating a new breed of digital signs that can be customized depending on a viewer's age and gender. Already starting to appear in selected malls and other spots around the country, the signs have the potential to revolutionize the retailing industry, but their intrusiveness has led to criticism from privacy advocates and nervousness from some in the marketing industry itself. "The vast majority of people walking in stores, near elevators and in other public and private spaces have no idea that the innocent-looking flat screen TVs playing videos may be capturing their images and then dissecting and analyzing them for marketing purposes," the nonprofit, Southern California-based World Privacy Forum warned in a report it issued on digital signs in January. "Controls need to be put in place now, before this technology runs amok."

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Florida chill puts tomato prices up the vine

Because of frigid temperatures in Florida, you might have to enjoy a BLT without the T. Freezing winter weather in the Sunshine State has wiped out nearly 70% of its tomato crop, sending prices soaring in many parts of the country and forcing fast-food restaurants to ration supplies of the plump, popular fruit. In California, with a $363-million fresh tomato crop last year, the Florida freeze is being felt to a degree.

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UK Don’t mock my lentils: vegans to get discrimination rights

VEGANS and teetotalers are to be given the same protection against discrimination as religious groups, under legislation championed by Harriet Harman, the equalities minister. Members of cults and “new religions” such as Scientology, whose supporters include the film stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta, would also be offered protection, as would atheists.

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Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse

Fifty-six years after its founding by the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986, the church is fighting off calls by former members for a Reformation. The defectors say Church of Scientology members were repeatedly beaten by the church’s chairman, David Miscavige, often during planning meetings; pressured to have abortions; forced to work without sleep on little pay; and held incommunicado if they wanted to leave. The church says the defectors are lying. The defectors say that the average Scientology member, known in the church as a public, is largely unaware of the abusive environment experienced by staff members. The church works hard to cultivate public members — especially celebrities like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Nancy Cartwright (the voice of the cartoon scoundrel Bart Simpson) — whose money keeps it running.

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Iceland Voters Reject Repayment Plan

Iceland’s voters expressed their outrage on Saturday against bankers, the government and what they saw as foreign bullying, overwhelmingly rejecting a plan to pay $5.3 billion to Britain and the Netherlands to reimburse customers of a failed Icelandic bank, Sarah Lyall reported.

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Anti-Lobbyist" Obama Administration Recruited Lobbyists to Sell Bogus "Green Jobs"

After two studies refuted President Barack Obama’s assertions regarding the success of Spain’s and Denmark’s wind energy programs, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals the Department of Energy turned to George Soros and to wind industry lobbyists to attack the studies.

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Geraldo Rivera brings on Alex Jones to dissect the Pentagon shooter's connection to 9/11 truth, giving more mainstream credibility to the so-called leader of the 9/11 truth movement.

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Romney Obama's words support 9/11 truthers abroad

By speaking to Muslim countries, the president gives support to those who don't believe the official account of 9/11, says former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

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Large Hadron Collider 'performing well'

A detailed check of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) running at a low energy has showed that it is "performing well," the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said on its website. The world's most powerful atom smasher was restarted Saturday. The first protons were injected into the LHC following a pre-New Year technical shutdown and traveled in both directions successfully. "The circulating beams marked the end of a 10 week particle-free hiatus for the world's largest particle accelerator, during which LHC scientists and engineers have prepared the machine for its biggest challenge yet, particle collisions at an energy of 7 trillion electron volts (TeV). The beams also mark the beginning of the LHC's first long run, expected to last until at least mid-year 2011

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'Spoon-fed' teenagers failing to read books

Teenagers are increasingly relying on a small number of textbooks scripted by exam boards to pass tests instead of using a wide variety of sources, it was claimed.

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Once-in-a-century storm hits Melbourne

A once-in-a-century thunderstorm swept across the southern Australian state of Victoria, raining hailstones the size of lemons which ripped a hole in a train station roof, caused flash flooding in the capital of Melbourne and left 100,000 homes without power.

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FBI Says U.S. Hasn't Confirmed Arrest Of Adam Gadahn

The U.S. hasn’t confirmed the arrest of Adam Gadahn, the U.S.-born spokesman for the al-Qaeda terrorist network, Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman William Carter said.

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IMF suggests how to raise climate change funds

The head of the International Monetary Fund proposed a plan for the world's governments to pool together to raise money needed to adapt to climate change, a rare step for an organization that normally does not develop environmental policies.

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President To Defend NASA Aim

The White House is launching a political counterattack to fend off escalating congressional criticism of its proposals to outsource U.S. manned space missions to private industry.

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Somali group added to Canada's terror list

The Canadian government has declared a Somali al-Qaida-linked group a terrorist organization, the public safety minister said in Ottawa. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the Islamist al-Shabab, or "Youth" group would now be subject to having its finances and assets seized.

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Republicans, Dems polarized on abortion

Republicans and Democrats have become increasingly polarized on whether abortion should be illegal, a U.S. poll suggests. The issue is important because congressional passage of healthcare reform could hinge on language over abortion funding, Gallup said in a report. Since 1975, two years after the Supreme Court approved constitutional protection for abortion, Gallup has polled U.S. residents annually on whether they believe abortion should be legal or illegal.

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Bulgarian doctors begin pay-protest strike

Doctors in two Bulgarian towns began a strike that was set to expand nationally over non-payment of fees by the federal health ministry. The National Association of General Practitioners warned of the strike during the weekend, saying its members hadn't been paid for their work in January. The strike is scheduled to expand to the capital Sofia and other cities. The doctors are also calling for health care reform to streamline the process of obtaining permission to refer patients for further treatment, the report said. The union said anyone requiring medical care should visit a hospital emergency department, but they would have to pay cash for treatment.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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WORLDWIDE EVENTS

QUAKES

5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION

5.0 STATE OF YAP, MICRONESIA

5.0 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.1 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.2 LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.4 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.5 LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.8 BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.9 EASTERN TURKEY

6.3 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE

TURKEY - A strong 5.9 earthquake shook eastern Turkey, with the death toll rising to 11 people. The quake struck at 4:32am (1:32pm AEDT) with an epicenter near the Karakocan town in Elazig province. Several aftershocks were felt in the region. Deadly earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by several active fault-lines. Two powerful tremors in the heavily populated northwest claimed about 20,000 lives in August and November 1999.

JAPAN is bracing itself after dozens of RARE giant oarfish - traditionally the harbinger of a powerful earthquake - have been washed ashore or caught in fishermen's nets. The appearance of the fish follows Saturday's destructive 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile, the January 12 tremors in Haiti and the 6.4 quake in southern Taiwan.

This rash of tectonic movements around the Pacific "Rim of Fire" is heightening concern that Japan - the most earthquake-prone country in the world - is next in line for a major earthquake. Those concerns have been stoked by the unexplained appearance of the fish that is known traditionally as the Messenger from the Sea God's Palace.

The giant oarfish are very rarely above 200 meters from the surface. In recent weeks, 10 specimens have been found either washed ashore or in fishing nets off Ishikawa Prefecture, half-a-dozen have been caught in nets off Toyama Prefecture and others have been reported in Kyoto, Shimane and Nagasaki prefectures, all on the northern coast.

According to traditional Japanese lore, the fish rise to the surface and beach themselves to warn of an impending earthquake - and there are scientific theories that bottom-dwelling fish may very well be susceptible to movements in seismic fault lines and act in uncharacteristic ways in advance of an earthquake - but experts here are placing more faith in their constant high-tech monitoring of the tectonic plates beneath the surface. "In ancient times Japanese people believed that fish warned of coming earthquakes, particularly catfish. But these are just old superstitions and there is no scientific relationship between these sightings and an earthquake."

HEAVY RAINS, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES

AUSTRALIA - Victoria was warned to brace for more extreme weather Monday after ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE STORMS SEEN IN YEARS smashed into Melbourne Sunday. Heavy rain was falling as a storm 'super cell' moved south after hitting north-east and central Victoria. Deniliquin has already recorded its MONTHLY MEAN RAINFALL (30mm) in ONE HOUR, and 18mmm in ten minutes, and Murchison recorded 36mm in 30 minutes. Hailstones as big as four centimeters have been reported in Numurkah. Many Melbourne landmarks are still trying to deal with the damage from Sunday's downpour. Many areas of the roof of Southern Cross station have not yet been secured, leading to the possibility of disruptions to the train system if heavy rains again fall in central Melbourne. A humid and very unstable atmosphere meant Victoria faced the same ingredients that delivered Sunday’s incredible weather.

SPACE WEATHER -

The sun is blank for the second day in a row - no sunspots. But astronomers are monitoring a pair of dark magnetic filaments on the sun. The largest filament, which is curling over the sun's northeastern limb, stretches at least 50,000 km from end to end. SOHO has been monitoring the plasma-filled behemoth for more than three days. How long can this filament hold itself up? If it collapses and hits the stellar surface, the impact could produce a powerful Hyder flare. [Generally Hyder flares are not associated with energetic particle emission or geomagnetic storms. However, this is not always the case. At this stage in solar physics we do not really know what produces a flare.]

HEALTH THREATS

RECALLS & ALERTS:

-Creative Contract Packaging Corporation is recalling HERB-OX Bouillon Products Because of Possible Health Risk. This action is being taken after Basic Food Flavors, Inc. issued a recall for all Hydrolyzed Vegetable protein ("HVP") dry powder manufactured by Basic Food Flavors on or after September 17, 2009, due to a positive test result for Salmonella in a production lot.

-National Pretzel Company of Lancaster, Pa. is recalling all Honey Mustard Onion flavored pretzels produced since December, 2009 because an ingredient used in the seasoning has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

-McCormick & Company, Incorporated is initiating a recall of products manufactured with HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein) because the ingredient has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

-Fresh Food Concepts, Inc. announced, it is voluntarily recalling certain production codes of Delicioso, De la Casa, Rojo’s and Fresh Food Concepts brand Spinach Dips and Fresh Food Concepts Spinach Dip with Yogurt because an ingredient used in those products has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

-Brockton, MA-Concord Foods Inc is recalling certain production codes of Concord Foods Vegetable Dip Seasoning mix that is generally sold in the produce department of supermarkets because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

-The Estrella Family Creamery of Montesano, Washington, is recalling a production of Old Apple Tree Tomme cheese because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

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Spanish hotels under attack from Vampire bed bugs

Authorities in Madrid have declared war on a growing and formidable enemy --Vampire bed bugs that are infesting hotel rooms throughout the country at an alarming rate.

The government for the Madrid region has published a manual to make people and businesses more aware of the tiny pests and how to get rid of them.

The number of bed bugs actually declined in Spain in the 1950s and 60s.

But "today the situation seems to have completely changed, the declared number of cases has risen, in some cases quite significantly, approaching the level of an epidemic," said the manual

As their name suggests, bed bugs are primarily found in mattresses and become active at night when they gorge on the blood of sleeping humans who are blissfully unaware that they are providing an impromptu midnight feast.

Until the next morning that is, when red welts show up on the victim's skin.

The flat, oval, brownish-red creatures, which measure about five millimeters, do not transmit any diseases.

But they leave traces of blood and feces on the pillows and sheets, and an infested room can have a unpleasant, pungent smell.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Egyptian court acquits Muslim who beheaded Christian

Killers fired 31 bullets into victim's head before decapitating him

An Egyptian court in the southern city of Assuit acquitted four Muslims accused of killing 61-year-old Farouk Attallah.

In broad daylight and in full view of witnesses, the killers fired 31 bullets to his head before beheading him, in the busy village market place of Attaleen, near Dairout, 313 kilometers south of Cairo.

The dead body was then dragged in the street, accompanied by shouts of victory. Free Copts website published a video of the disfigured body

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Korean couple let baby starve to death while caring for virtual child

An internet-obsessed Korean couple allegedly allowed their infant daughter to starve to death while they cared for their virtual child, police said

Kim Yoo-chul, 41, and his partner Choi Mi-sun, 25, fed their three-month-old baby only on visits home between 12-hour sessions at a neighborhood internet cafe, where they were raising an avatar daughter in a Second-Life-style game called Prius online

Leaving their real daughter at their home in a suburb of Seoul to fend for herself, the pair, who were unemployed, spent hours role-playing in the virtual reality game, which allows users to choose a career and friends, granting them offspring as a reward for passing a certain level.

The pair became obsessed with nurturing their virtual daughter, called Anima, but neglected their real daughter, who was not named.

Eventually, the couple returned home after one 12-hour session in September to find the child dead and called police.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Germany's Roman Catholic Church has revealed charges of priests beating and sexually abusing boys in at least three schools in Pope Benedict's native Bavaria, one linked to a renowned choir once led by his brother.

Reverend Georg Ratzinger, 86, who led the choir from 1964 to 1994, told Bavarian Radio he knew nothing of any abuse at the choir, which regularly performs on tours in Germany and abroad.

The charges at the cathedral choir in Regensburg, the Benedictine monastery school at Ettal and a Capucian school in Burghausen came to light after abuse cases revealed at Jesuit schools around the country shocked the country last month.

The diocese of Regensburg, where the pope taught theology at the university from 1969 to 1977, said there were no current abuse cases and it would investigate all charges from the past.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Additional US airports to get Big brother full-body scanners, feds say

Backscatter" scanners see through clothes, producing an image of a traveler's body.

The federal government is starting to deploy full-body scanning machines to 11 airports across the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced

Forty body-imaging machines already have been put into use at 19 airports nationwide as part of a field test, according the Department of Homeland Security.

The Transportation Security Administration expects to deploy 450 units by the end of this year.

"By accelerating the deployment of this technology, we are enhancing our capability to detect and disrupt threats of terrorism across the nation," Napolitano said in a statement.

The first of the new units are being installed Friday at Boston's Logan International Airport, according to a DHS statement.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

Senate Debates Indefinite Detentions

Civil liberties advocates and U.S. constitutional law scholars lost no time in condemning proposed legislation introduced in the Senate that would hand the government the power to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects without charge and to conduct trials through military commissions only.

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Shuttle flights would continue under new proposal

The measure would delay the shuttle’s planned retirement in 2010 until NASA is confident that a replacement spacecraft is ready or that the shuttle and its massive payload bay is no longer needed to keep the International Space Station afloat through 2020.

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Fallujah doctors report rise in birth defects

Doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the US after the Iraq invasion. The city witnessed fierce fighting in 2004 as US forces carried out a major offensive against insurgents. Now, the level of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than in Europe. The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area.

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CBO Says White House Underestimates Deficits

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Friday that based on the Obama administration's budget proposal, deficits over the next decade would be $1.2 trillion higher than the White House estimated. A preliminary analysis of the president's budget by the CBO forecasts a $1.43 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2011, $75 billion higher than the White House projection. The CBO also estimated deficits from 2011-2020 would be more than $9.7 trillion, compared with $8.5 trillion projected by the administration.

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Burial chamber of ancient Egyptian queen unearthed

French archaeologists announced the discovery outside Cairo of the burial chamber of a mysterious queen from Egypt's Old Kingdom more than 4,000 years ago.

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UK Pound More Unloved Than Zimbabwe Dollar

It says something about your currency when foreign exchange dealers are even prepared to swap it for the Zimbabwean dollar. Yet this was the pitiful fate of sterling as it suffered its biggest rout on the currency markets for more than a year.

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DEMOCRAT Congressman Accused of Harassment Resigns

Representative Eric J. Massa, a freshman Democrat from upstate New York who faces an investigation after being accused of harassing a male aide, said that he would resign next week. Mr. Massa was reported to the House ethics committee last month after a member of his Congressional staff accused him of harassment, according to a senior Congressional official who would speak only on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. Mr. Massa, who represents New York’s 29th District, abandoned his re-election campaign, after the accusation became public, saying then that he would retire at the end of his term. In a statement that announced he would resign Monday, Mr. Massa expressed resentment at the handling of the accusation against him.

***WATCHMAN...The accusation was of a HOMOSEX nature...

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Boston's Big Brother Camera Grid

The $500,000 intelligence hub, known as the Real Time Crime Center, is the latest in the department’s efforts to combine shoe-leather police work with technological savvy to monitor and thwart criminals.

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U.S. Lawmakers Launch Push To Repeal NAFTA

A small group of U.S. lawmakers planned to offer legislation to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement in the latest sign of congressional disillusionment with free-trade deals

***WATCHMAN...DO NOT BET ON IT....

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Egypt, China pledge closer military cooperation

The commander-in-chief of Egyptian armed forces met in Cairo with visiting Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ma Xiaotian, pledging to strengthen bilateral military ties. Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, who is also Egyptian Minister of Defense, said during the meeting that the two countries have seen close cooperation in military, political and economic fields in recent years, which serves both countries' interests as well as regional and world peace and stability.-"The Chinese side is willing to make joint efforts with the Egyptian side to consolidate the traditional friendship and push forward the in-depth cooperation between the two militaries," Ma said.

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Is There A Quota System For New Mexico's State Police?

The news in new Mexico has uncovered documentation that indicates some police officers have been mandated to write a certain number tickets per month or face possible punishment.

***WATCHMAN... so what the US quietly has done that for years...

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Papal aide, Vatican men's choir in gay prostitution ring

According to police, Balducci regularly contacted Chinedu Ehiem Thomas, a Nigerian man who sings in St. Peter's Cappella Giulia, to engage the sexual services of young male members of the choir, along with seminarians and undocumented immigrants seeking residency status.

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Russian president demands quicker pace of military modernization

President Dmitry Medvedev urged Russia's armed forces to speed up the upgrading of their aging military arsenal as the country tries to build a modernized army. The number of Russian soldiers had been reduced to 1 million since the military reform was launched in 2008, said Medvedev at a meeting with Defense Ministry officials, adding that the current priority was to build a promising army.

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Police partner with license plate readers

A growing number of police departments are turning to mobile camera systems to fight motor vehicle theft and identify unregistered cars. The cameras read license plates of parked and moving cars — hundreds per minute — and check them against vehicle databases. Departments in Denver and Colorado Springs; South Portland, Maine; Gwinnett, Douglas and Cherokee counties in Georgia; and Clinton, Conn., are planning to deploy or have already added License Plate Recognition (LPR) systems this year, officials from those agencies said. Also, about 40 law enforcement agencies in the Washington, D.C., metro area are deploying LPRs this year, according to Nate Maloney, a spokesman for their supplier, ELSAG of Brewster, N.Y. The district has had them since 2005, he said.

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'Iran developing massive launch site'

Iran is building a new rocket launch site with North Korean assistance. The new launcher, constructed near an existing rocket base in the Semnan province east of Teheran, is visible in satellite imagery, according to the report. The defense intelligence group said the appearance of the launcher suggests assistance from North Korea, also that it may be intended to launch the Simorgh, a long-range missile unveiled in early February and officially intended to be used as a space-launch vehicle (SLV).

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DoD Requires Hacker Certification

Official government cyber defenders are now required to have the skills of a hacker according to a mandatory certification approved this week by the Department of Defense.

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One in three killed by US drones in Pakistan is a civilian, report claims

The report, by the Washington-based New America Foundation, will fuel growing criticism of the use of unmanned drones in the fight against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, who use Pakistan as a base for attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan.

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Barack Obama: I'll steamroll health reforms through Congress

President Obama declared for the first time that he was prepared to steamroller his troubled health reform legislation through Congress with only Democratic support; a move Republicans denounced as the “nuclear option”.

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Radical feminist movement finds friend in Obama

The Obama administration is pushing for a new United Nations super-agency dedicated to radical feminism.

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Feds weigh expansion of Internet monitoring

Homeland Security and the National Security Agency may be taking a closer look at Internet communications in the future.

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Police to be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners

Every police force in England and Wales will be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners to check the identity of suspects in the street.

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Anti-Gay Lawmaker Reportedly at Gay Club Before DUI Arrest

A California state senator who reportedly has voted against every gay rights measure since he took office eight years ago was charged with driving under the influence, reportedly after leaving a gay nightclub in Sacramento.

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US agrees to supply Pakistan with jets and bomb kits for raids on tribal regions

The United States is to deliver a thousand laser-guided bomb kits to Pakistan this month. The deal, which also includes the delivery of 18 new F16 fighter jets and a dozen surveillance drones later in the year, is an apparent pay-off for greater co-operation against al-Qaeda and the Taleban.

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Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist, Says Federal Reserve System 'Corrupt'

One of the world's leading economists said that the very structure of the Federal Reserve System is so fraught with conflicts that it's "corrupt."

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US cyber crime chief wary on provoking China and Russia

Countries accused of harboring criminal computer hackers are victims themselves, the new US cyber security policy chief said yesterday, suggesting that the US would not take a more confrontational tack against China and Russia. "There's a perspective that the government is somehow protecting bad guys in one place or another. I don't know that's the case," Howard Schmidt, who took up his post as White House cyber security co-ordinate in January, told. "All the governments are struggling with this," he said.

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Feb natural disasters to cost insurers billions

February's combination of natural catastrophes, including one of the biggest earthquakes by magnitude in history, will cost re-insurers and insurers billions, said reinsurance broker Aon Benfield. The magnitude-8.8 earthquake which struck central Chile on February 27 was the seventh strongest on record, and affected more than 1.5 million homes, buildings and other structures. The disaster follows the Haiti earthquake on January 12, which to date has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

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German MPs suggest cash-strapped Greece should sell islands

"The Greek state must sell stakes in companies and also assets such as, for example, unpopulated islands," Frank Schäffler, a member of parliament for the pro-business Free Democrats, said. Marco Wanderwitz, an MP for Merkel's own conservative Christian Democrats, said Athens should provide collateral for any money it receives from the European Union to help it out of its debt crisis. "In this case, certain Greek islands also come into question," added Wanderwitz.

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CCTV will cover 90% of Abu Dhabi capital

Crime-fighting in the capital is increasingly widening its scope with sophisticated closed-circuit television cameras. And while privacy is a concern, officials are focusing on their ability to deter lawbreakers. As much as 90 per cent of Abu Dhabi Island is expected to fall under the public eye within the next 18 months, according to security analysts. Abu Dhabi Municipality already has 153 outdoor closed-circuit (CCTV) cameras in the city center, with 83 at junctions feeding live footage to traffic and police authorities.

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Syria: Israel trying to frame us

Fiercely backed by allied Iran, Syria denied hiding nuclear activities from the world and said Israel was the source of suspicious uranium particles found at a Syrian desert complex, allegedly bombed two years ago by IAF jets. The Syrian and Iranian comments to the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors came in response to Western demands that Damascus stop stonewalling IAEA attempts to investigate suspicions that it ran covert nuclear programs — some with possible weapons applications.

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Man dumped money while fleeing police

Authorities in Georgia said a man threw $76,656 from a duffel bag while fleeing sheriff's deputies on foot. The Clayton County Sheriff's Tactical Operations unit said Torian Shahun Sharpe, 33, fled on foot when deputies attempted to pull him over for making an improper lane change and driving on the wrong side of the road. Authorities said the money is being considered abandoned property and may be donated to a program for unclaimed drug proceeds.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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WORLDWIDE EVENTS

QUAKES

5.0 BATAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES

5.0 OFFSHORE O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.0 WESTERN MONGOLIA

5.1 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.1 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.2 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA

5.3 LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.8 LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.8 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE

6.1 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

6.6 KEP. MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

6.6 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

VOLCANOES

ICELAND - An earthquake measuring more than three points on the Richter scale hit the area below Eyjafjallajökull glacier in south Iceland early Friday morning. A series of smaller earthquakes rattled the region for the past 24 hours. A geologist was on watch to monitor the developments around the glacier and the response group of the Civil Protection Department and employees of the volcanic department of the Icelandic Metrological Office were called in for a meeting. The Civil Protection Department has a response plan in case of an eruption in Eyjafjallajökull. The first part of the plan has already been set in action - increased research and monitoring. However, the department emphasizes that the current unrest won’t necessarily lead to an eruption. Eyjafjallajökull last erupted in 1821-1823 and in 1612 before that. The eruptions have not been disastrous. They start slowly and then increase gradually. In 1994 and 1999 a series of earthquakes were sensed in the area. It is believed that a magma intrusion occurred deep inside the volcano but didn’t reach the surface.

TAIWAN - Government geologists and scientists in research institutes have stepped up monitoring of the Datun volcanoes in northern Taipei following the strike of a strong earthquake in southern Kaohsiung County. Officials said there is no need for people to panic over possible immediate volcanic eruptions. But researchers at the CGS, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications as well as the academic institutions agreed that they cannot rule out new eruptions of volcanoes in the Datun Mountain right in the northern area of Taipei City. The group of dormant volcanoes, which were estimated to have last erupted some 5,000 to 200,000 years ago, have long been a key geothermal source for the hot springs in northern Taipei. But they are presently still defined as “potential live volcanoes” with possibility of new eruptions in view of their relatively young age and the existence of high-temperature lava underground. Except for the locations of geothermal sources and hot springs, the whole area is now covered by thick plants and the mountains show no signs of bulging. These indicate that there is no immediate danger of new eruptions.

TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES / RISING SEA LEVELS

TASMANIA - 3/7/10 - A lobster fisherman has drowned off Tasmania's west coast after his boat was hit by a freak wave early today and he was thrown into the sea. The 63-year-old man and a companion had gone to check lobster pots when their boat was hit by the wave near Couta Rocks, south of Arthur River. "One of the men has drowned and the other male was picked up by another vessel in the area some time later".

HEAVY RAINS, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES

AUSTRALIA - They've been hit by A ONCE-IN-A-CENTURY FLOOD, but the southwest Queensland town of St George looks to have narrowly averted a potentially ruinous river level peak of 14 metres.

The Balonne River crested at 13.39 meters at 6am (AEST) this morning and then began to recede slowly. The isolated community had been preparing for it to reach 14 metres last night, which would have inundated 80% of the town. But the level was subsequently downgraded to 13.5m - still THE HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE RECORDINGS BEGAN IN 1890. However, the threat of more rain persists with clear skies not expected to return until midweek. Meanwhile, authorities are now turning their attention to the town of Theodore in Central Queensland where flood waters were expected to rise to 13.2m today - levels not seen since the 1983 flood of Dawson Creek.

VICTORIA will batten down for another bout of wild weather today with large hailstones between the size of golf balls and tennis balls expected to fall somewhere in the state. Crews from the NSW State Emergency Service have been drafted in to help their Victorian counterparts clean up the damage caused by the mini-cyclone storm that lashed the city yesterday. The storm cell unleashed itself on Melbourne at 2.40pm (AEDT), dumping 26mm of rain in less than an hour. There is more nasty weather forecast for today, with downpours expected to be up to 100mm in some areas. The mixture of tropical weather and a low pressure system moving in from the west were responsible for Saturday's havoc. Yesterday, wind gusts exceeding 100km/h lashed Melbourne Airport and Southern Cross train station was evacuated as rain tore a hole in its roof and a deluge splashed down on the train platforms. The storm caused severe flooding in suburban streets.

HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD

FLORIDA - Thursday morning saw Vero Beach fall to 33 degrees, BREAKING THE OLD RECORD LOW of 37 set in 1999. It was in the 30s all around the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee and southern Brevard counties just before dawn. Palm Beach International Airport registered 39 degrees, BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD LOW of 40 degrees set in 1971. The record-breaking-cold weather is brought on by a high pressure system to the west that is pulling down colder air. That system is causing high temperatures to run about 10 degrees colder than normal high of the mid 70s.

EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE

CANADA has had its WARMEST, DRIEST WINTER ON RECORD.

HAWAII - Big Island areas have reached the most intense drought classification. It marks the first time since the inception of the drought monitor in 1999 that an area in Hawaii has received the D4 designation. South Kohala and leeward North Kohala are the hardest hit. Less severe drought conditions plague other parts of the state, with only Oahu without areas under a drought classification. The weather service attributed the dry weather to ongoing El Nino conditions that are producing dry and stable weather conditions through the heart of Hawaii's normal wet season. "Several gauges indicated the lowest February rainfall totals since 2000, and most were lower than the January 2010 totals." In all, more than 75 percent of Hawaii is under at least a moderate drought classification. Forecasters are predicting below-normal rainfall for Hawaii through spring.

A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the findings of an international research team. The permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, long thought to be an impermeable barrier sealing in methane, is perforated and is leaking large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Release of even a fraction of the methane stored in the shelf COULD TRIGGER ABRUPT CLIMATE WARMING. “The amount of methane currently coming out of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is comparable to the amount coming out of the entire world’s oceans." Methane is a greenhouse gas more than 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Earth’s geological record indicates that atmospheric methane concentrations have varied between about .3 to .4 parts per million during cold periods to .6 to .7 parts per million during warm periods. Current average methane concentrations in the Arctic average about 1.85 parts per million, THE HIGHEST IN 400,000 YEARS. Concentrations above the East Siberian Arctic Shelf are even higher. The methane is not only being dissolved in the water, it is bubbling out into the atmosphere. The East Siberian Arctic Shelf, in addition to holding large stores of frozen methane, is more of a concern because it is so shallow. In deep water, methane gas oxidizes into carbon dioxide before it reaches the surface. In the shallows of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, methane simply doesn’t have enough time to oxidize, which means more of it escapes into the atmosphere. That, combined with the sheer amount of methane in the region, could add a previously uncalculated variable to climate models. “The release to the atmosphere of only one percent of the methane assumed to be stored in shallow hydrate deposits might alter the current atmospheric burden of methane up to 3 to 4 times. The climatic consequences of this are hard to predict.”

SPACE WEATHER

The most active part of the sun is not visible from Earth. Sunspot complex 1052-1053 continues to spit coronal mass ejections into space from its location behind the sun's western limb. These far side eruptions pose no threat to our planet.

HEALTH THREATS

WHO says H1N1 continues decline in most areas - The pandemic H1N1 virus continues to circulate in temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere but is at low levels and continuing to decline in most areas. The most active areas include Thailand, Myanmar, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, and Moldova. Activity is very low in North America, but Mexico and Peru have seen a slight increase in respiratory disease. Several countries in western Sub-Saharan Africa are reporting H1N1 cases.

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The Rise and Fall of a Female Captain Bligh

Women are so common in the upper ranks of the U.S. military these days that it's no longer news when they break through another barrier. Unfortunately, the latest benchmark isn't one to brag about: being booted as captain of a billion-dollar warship for "cruelty and maltreatment" of her 400-member crew.

According to the Navy inspector general's report that triggered her removal — and the accounts of officers who served with her — Captain Holly Graf was the closest thing the U.S. Navy had to a female Captain Bligh.

A Navy admiral stripped Graf of her command of the Japan-based guided missile cruiser U.S.S. Cowpens in January.

The just-released IG report concludes that Graf "repeatedly verbally abused her crew and committed assault" and accuses her of using her position as commander of the Cowpens "for personal gain."

But old Navy hands tell us that those charges, substantiated in the IG report, came about because of the poisonous atmosphere she created aboard her ship.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Iran's Ahmadinejad calls Sept 11 "big fabrication"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the September 11 attacks on the United States a ‘big fabrication’ that was used to justify the U.S. war on terrorism, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West and Israel, made the comment in a meeting with Intelligence Ministry personnel.

It came amid escalating tension in the long-running dispute between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear program, with the United States pushing for new U.N. sanctions against the major oil producer.

Ahmadinejad described the destruction of the twin towers in New York on September 11, 2001 as a ‘complicated intelligence scenario and act,’

He added: ‘The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging an invasion against Afghanistan.’ He did not elaborate.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington, which were carried out by al Qaeda operatives.

In January, Ahmadinejad termed the September 11 attacks ‘suspicious’ and accused the West of seeking to dominate the Middle East.

Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, was re-elected in a disputed presidential vote last June that stirred the largest display of internal unrest in the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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'Iran developing massive launch site'

Iran is building a new rocket launch site with North Korean assistance, Israel Radio quoted.

The new launcher, constructed near an existing rocket base in the Semnan province east of Teheran, is visible in satellite imagery, according to the report.

The defense intelligence group said the appearance of the launcher suggests assistance from North Korea, and that it may be intended to launch the Simorgh, a long-range Iranian-made missile unveiled in early February and officially intended to be used as a space-launch vehicle (SLV). SLV’s can be converted to be used as long-range ballistic missiles for military purposes.

Both the missile and the launch pad, which according to Jane’s is large enough to accommodate it, point to cooperation from Pyongyang.

Tal Inbar, head of the Space Research Center at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, said shortly after the unveiling of the Simorgh that the rocket is a worrisome development since the missile could one day be adapted into an ICBM, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

After analyzing images of the missile, Inbar said that it appeared to currently be powered by liquid fuel, but could one day be configured to work with a solid fuel propellant, a technology that the Iranians have already begun using in their Sajil ballistic missile, which has a range of around 2,500 km.

‘This is a major technological breakthrough and could mean that the Iranians are on their way to obtaining an ICBM,’ he said

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Islamic nations will back Iran strike

An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be quietly supported by a wide coalition of Islamic nations, including a number of extremist states, Deputy Minister of the Negev and Galilee Ayoub Kara said Saturday.

Kara, speaking at a Beersheba event, said that though none of them would admit to it publicly, Islamic nations had conveyed messages to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that they would back military action against Iran by Israel and the US.

Kara said that Israel would strike ‘if there is no option

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

Virgin Galactic's Spaceship Readies For Commercial Flights

Will Whitehorn, the company's president, claim that Virgin had secured funding for its "space line" operations and would be turning a profit in as little as two years after launching its first commercial flight.

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Despite deaths, Army awards $2.8b contract to KBR

Defense juggernaut KBR Inc. was awarded a contract potentially worth $2.8 billion for support work in Iraq as U.S. forces continue to leave the country, military authorities said.

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Geithner stresses need for consumer protections

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the administration will not accept a bill overhauling financial regulations that does not contain strong protection for consumers. Treasury issued a statement after Geithner met with about 30 representatives of consumer organizations on stressing the importance the administration placed on getting Congress to upgrade consumer protection in any overhaul legislation it passes.

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Extra small condoms for 12 year-old boys go on sale in Switzerland

Called the Hotshot, the condom has been produced after government research showed 12 to14-year-olds did not use sufficient protection when having sex.

***WATCHMAN...most 12 year olds do not have enough sex sense to use one - will this encourage MORE promiscuity - SURE IT WILL...

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New Ghost Towns: Industrial Communities Teeter On The Edge

Whether it’s textiles in the Carolinas, paper in New England or steel in the Midwest, most industrial cities and mill towns “are on pins and needles,” says Donald Schunk, an economist at Coastal Carolina University. “Day to day, week to week, any manufacturing facility seems vulnerable. People don’t know if they’ll be there.”

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'Revolution' warning over bailout

A revolution will erupt if billions of euros more in taxpayers' money is handed over to Anglo Irish Bank, Enda Kenny has warned.

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Smart Grid: The Implementation of Technocracy?

Sustainable consumption? Reconfiguring businesses, infrastructure and institutions? What do these words mean? They do not mean merely reshuffling the existing order, but rather replacing it with a completely new economic system, one that has never before been seen or used in the history of the world.

***WATCHMAN...666??????????????????????

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Demand rising in China for weather modification

China will step up weather modification in key regions to help relieve drought, the director of the China Meteorological Administration has said.

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Microsoft exec pitches Internet usage tax to pay for cyber security programs

A top Microsoft executive suggested a broad Internet tax to help defray the costs associated with computer security breaches and vast Internet attacks, according to reports.

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Breathtaking Devastation: Chile, Days Later

Days after one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded struck the South American nation of Chile, the massive extent of the damage is becoming clearer, and the number of known victims has climbed to 802 deaths so far, many thousands still missing, and nearly 2 million displaced. World governments made immediate pledges of aid after Chilean President Michelle Bachelet requested mobile bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electrical generators, disaster assessment teams, water purification systems, field kitchens and restaurants, UN officials said. Collected here are recent photos from areas in Chile damaged by Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

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European Court Set to Give Public Figures Chance to Gag Press on Damaging Stories

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is currently fast-tracking a landmark case, brought by Max Mosley, to tighten UK privacy laws. Mark Stephens, a lawyer acting for a group of media and free speech organizations opposing Mr. Mosley in court, believes that the extraordinary pace with which it is proceeding suggests that the judges are about to rule in the former Formula One boss’s favor. That would mean a change in the law that would force the press to contact anyone that they are intending to run a story about to warn them if it could potentially breach their privacy, giving public figures a chance to gag newspapers before publication.

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Transport Canada investigating reports of ‘blue ice’ fell from sky

Transport Canada investigators were still trying to determine the source of two pieces of falling ice, one of which crashed into a home in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond late last month damaging a patio roof. The other landed near a man and his young son in their driveway.

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Killer 26ft Wave Smashes Into Cruise Liner

A Greek coast guard statement says another six people suffered minor injuries on board the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty. It says the accident occurred near the French Mediterranean port of Marseilles, as the ship was sailing from Barcelona to Genoa in Italy with 1,350 passengers and 580 crew. The victims have been identified only as a German and an Italian man. Louis Cruise Lines spokesman Michael Maratheftis said the ship was hit by three "abnormally high" waves up to 26ft high that broke glass windshields in the forward section. The cruise ship was safely heading back to Barcelona.

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Birmingham International Airport has introduced new facial recognition border gates

THE first passengers have stepped through new state-of-the-art facial recognition border gates at Birmingham International Airport. The brand new gates measure points on a person’s face and compare them to the digital photograph inside the passport. The gates, which are now at eight UK airports at a cost of £1.2 billion, also read the holder details from a chip inside the passport and check the holder against security watch-lists. The microchips have been fitted to new passports since 2006 and should be in the hands of every UK passport holder by 2016.

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Pilot 'with fake license' is arrested as he prepares to take off with 101 people

A pilot accused of flying with a fake license for 13 years was arrested yesterday as he prepared to fly 101 passengers to Turkey. The 41-year-old Swede was at the controls of a Boeing 737 when he was held by police at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

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Italian police smash 'Iran weapons smuggling gang'

Seven people were arrested on suspicion of supplying explosives and hi-tech military equipment to Tehran, including alleged Iranian secret service agents. Investigators said the two Iranians and five Italians were involved in a plot to export tracer bullets, precision sights and explosives to Iran via third countries, including Britain, Romania and Dubai.

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Top US officer says military too dominant in foreign policy

The US military still plays too dominant a role in American foreign policy and Washington needs to place a higher priority on diplomacy and "soft power," the top American officer said. The military is a vital tool of national power but "should never be the only tool," Admiral Mike Mullen said in a speech at Kansas State University.

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Strong earthquake hits Taiwan; 12 people injured

A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan, terrifying residents, disrupting communications and triggering at least one large fire. Twelve people were injured, the National Fire Agency said. No tsunami alert was issued. The quake was centered in the same mountainous region of rural Kaohsiung county that endured the brunt of the damage from Typhoon Morakot, a devastating storm that killed about 700 people last August.

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Life extending cancer drug to be banned on NHS as too expensive

People with rare cancers of the blood and bone marrow, including two forms of leukemia, will not be given a new drug on the NHS even though it has been proven to extend their lives by nine months. The National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has said at £45,000 per patient it is too expensive. Campaigners have said people were being penalized for having the 'wrong' type of cancer and the system was failing people with rare conditions.

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HIV/Aids is leading killer of women of reproductive age worldwide

One of the most significant factors contributing to the spread of the deadly illness is that up to 70 per cent of women worldwide are forced to have unprotected sexual intercourse, UN Aids said. The UN Aids agency and Annie Lennox, the Scottish singer, unveiled a five-year action plan amid a two-week conference in New York.

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Starbucks Sticks to Gun Rights Policy at Stores

Coffee chain Starbucks Corp. is sticking to its policy of letting customers carry guns where it's legal and said it does not want to be put in the middle of a larger gun-control debate. The company's statement, issued stems from recent campaign by some gun owners, who have walked into Starbucks and other businesses to test state laws that allow gun owners to carry weapons openly in public places. Gun control advocates have protested.

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Ethiopia famine aid 'spent on weapons'

Millions of dollars in Western aid for victims of the Ethiopian famine of 1984-85 was siphoned off by rebels to buy weapons, an investigation finds. Former rebel leaders said that they posed as merchants in meetings with charity workers to get aid money. They used the cash to fund attempts to overthrow the government of the time. One rebel leader estimated $95m (£63m) - from Western governments and charities including Band Aid - was channeled into the rebel fight.

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NATO plans military exercises near Russian border

NATO has announced it will hold military exercises involving fighter planes over the Baltic Sea this month, the first in a series of military drills to be held this year near the Russian border. The Baltic Region Training Event training mission will take place over the former Soviet republics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and will involve French Mirage 2000C, Polish F-16, and Lithuanian L-39 Albatross fighters, along with U.S. aerial tankers.

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Fear and loathing as the hedge funds take on the euro

Fears of a hedge fund "conspiracy" to destroy the euro gathered pace when the American authorities ordered some funds not to destroy records of their trading in the single currency. The move comes after the US Federal Reserve promised to probe claims that the use of credit derivatives by Goldman Sachs had, ironically, helped Greece enter the euro zone a decade ago.

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Drought affects 6 million in southern China

Workers have begun tapping into underground water reserves to help the nearly 6 million people who have been affected by the worst drought to hit China's southern province of Yunnan in 60 years, a local official said. Severe water shortages for crops and livestock prompted the local government to send dozens of teams out to six major drought-hit regions around Yunnan to pump water from underground sources, said a director at the Yunnan Land Resources Bureau, who would give only his surname Ma.

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UN Expert Warns of Looming World Food Crisis

Conditions in the world's grain markets today are similar to those during the food price crisis of 2007-2008, according to the head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. FAO chief Jacques Diouf tells VOA another food price crisis is possible. Riots broke out in Kenya and more than 30 other countries in 2007 and 2008 because people could not afford to buy food. Experts say record high energy prices, growing demand for bio-fuels, low grain reserves and bad weather in producing countries helped push up prices beginning in 2007.

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China's investments in U.S. up sharply

Made in China now has a fast-growing sibling: Bought by China. Beijing is using its accumulation of billions of American dollars to step up its investments around the globe. In the last year, Chinese acquisitions in the U.S. have ranged from a relatively obscure theater in Branson, Mo., to stakes in such famous brands as Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson.

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Global banks warn on rates and house prices

Mortgage rates will rise, home prices will fall and the supply of credit will diminish when the US Federal Reserve and other central banks wind down emergency program, a group of global banks warned. In a stark prediction for the fallout of the end to the Fed’s program of purchasing mortgage-backed securities, the Institute of International Finance’s Market Monitoring Group cautioned that there would be “considerable repercussions for mortgage rates and home prices”.

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US Job Market Could Worsen As Stimulus Money Dries Up

Snow in February is not the last of the stormy weather for the US labor market. The weak rebound in the services sector will be a drag on job creation in the near term. And stubbornly high budget deficits at many states will bring more job cuts as federal stimulus spending declines significantly next year. Congress’ latest bill to extend unemployment benefits and contingency health insurance coverage for several hundred thousand people also underscores the need to stabilize the situation.

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U.S. to top banks: Send more loans!

Washington's quest to get big banks to make more loans only seems to get more challenging. After repeated calls by lawmakers over the past year, regulators now appear to be picking up the baton, demanding that top lenders help cover the credit shortfall, particularly as small banks have become increasingly preoccupied with managing their commercial real estate losses. "I do think that larger banks do need to do a better job of stepping up to the plate here," Federal Deposit Insurance Chairman Sheila Bair said last week.

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Vicars could be sued if they refuse to carry out gay marriages

Traditionalists fear vicars could be taken to court and accused of discrimination if they rejected requests to hold civil partnership ceremonies on religious premises. The warning follows a landmark vote by peers that would allow the ceremonies to be held in places of worship. It is also feared that the changes would blur the line further between marriage, which churches say must be between a man and a woman, and civil partnerships.

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Military to Review Sodomy Ban

The Pentagon's chief legal counsel said a nine-month study on gays in the military will likely review rules for troops on sodomy and oral sex. The Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits sodomy and oral sex, even among consenting adults and married couples. Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson, who is helping to lead a study on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, said he planned to review all related aspects of the military legal code.

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U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Order to Remove Religious Materials From Manchester Post Office Counter

The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand an appellate ruling last summer that settled a dispute in Manchester involving government and religion. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals had ordered a small, church-operated post office in Manchester to clear its postal counter of religious materials such as prayer cards and a collection box supporting an outreach mission among the poor. The ruling was limited to the small, storefront post office on Main Street operated, under contract with the United States Postal Service, by the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church.

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Obama tries to remain calm during political storm

The president who so famously rejects drama and derides political theater walked into the East Room at 1:45 p.m. during one of the wildest political stretches in recent memory. In the past few days, a White House spokesman was forced to defend Obama's pugnacious chief of staff and his departed social secretary. A Republican senator held a spending bill hostage, despite protests within his own party. A Democrat considered resigning as chairman of a major House committee, then vowed to stay on, and then announced he would take a leave of absence.

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Texas-based refiners pledge to fund fight against California's global warming law

Two Texas-based refinery giants have pledged as much as $2 million to fund signature gathering for a ballot initiative to suspend California's landmark global warming law, according to Sacramento sources. The companies, Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., own refineries in California that would be forced under the law to slash emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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WORLDWIDE EVENTS

QUAKES

5.0 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.0 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA

5.0 OFFSHORE ARAUCANIA, CHILE

5.0 OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE

5.1 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.2 ADMIRALTY ISLANDS REGION, P.N.G.

5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS

5.3 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.5 OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE

5.6 TAIWAN

6.4 TAIWAN

6.0 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

6.0 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

CHILE - Strong aftershocks have hit areas devastated by last week's earthquake in central Chile, triggering brief panic. The tremors of magnitude 5.5 and higher were felt in several cities, including Santiago. They prompted tsunami warnings, but these were later lifted.

Nearly 800 people are known to have died in last Saturday's 8.8 magnitude quake and the tsunami it generated.

There are reports of many people still missing in the coastal town of Constitucion. There have been complaints that the number of deaths could have been lower if the government had moved more quickly immediately after the earthquake struck before dawn on Saturday.

An admiral said Chile's navy was partially to blame for the lack of a clear tsunami warning, but said the natural disaster agency should share the blame. "The information that the head of the [oceanographic service] gave to the president, undoubtedly stopped the [government natural disaster agency], under instructions from the president, from declaring an alert." The head of the natural disaster agency said an earlier alert would not have helped save lives because there was no system in place to tell people in time. About two million Chileans are believed to have been affected by Saturday's earthquake, the seventh most powerful on record and THE WORST DISASTER TO HIT CHILE IN 50 YEARS. About 1.5 million homes in Chile have been damaged.

Quake threatens important Chile fish, wine sectors - The tsunami that hit the coastal city of Talcahuano sent 50-ton fishing boats crashing onto land and demolished its port - wiping out the $40 million in business from the annual anchovy and sardine catch. Less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, Chile's economy took another beating as the mammoth quake downed bridges and opened up vast crevices on the nation's only north-south highway, paralyzing the export lifeline for the nation's renowned farm-raised salmon industry. And Chile's telecommunications system was still badly out of whack Wednesday - four days after the quake. The quake has forced tens of thousands into unemployment with no end in sight in the nation's south-southwest area and will almost certainly mean higher salmon prices at U.S. supermarkets. It also translates into higher wine production costs for an industry already hurt by the declining value of the U.S. dollar. Chile's copper industry, which supplies a third of the world's copper, wasn't badly affected because most operations lie north of Santiago.

TAIWAN - A 6.3 earthquake in southern Taiwan has disrupted power supplies in the capital, Taipei, and caused the high speed rail service to be suspended. There have been no reported deaths but several injuries from falling objects. Four years ago a 6.7 magnitude quake in the area severed undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet service throughout Asia. Several fires broke out after the latest quake. Subway service in the city of Kaohsiung was temporarily disrupted.

Telephone service in some parts of Taiwan was patchy. Buildings swayed in the capital when the quake struck. The quake's epicenter was near the town of Jiashian, in the same area where the devastating typhoon Morakot struck last August. Some temporary housing in the town collapsed as a result of the quake.

TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES / RISING SEA LEVELS -

SPAIN - 3/3/10 - A huge wave has slammed into a cruise ship carrying almost 2000 people in the Mediterranean, leaving two people dead and six injured. The FREAK WAVE "smashed windows in the lounge area" of the ship. The accident occurred on Wednesday evening off the coast of Spain's northeastern Catalonia region as the vessel was en route for the Italian port of Genoa. After the accident the captain rerouted the ship to the Spanish port of Barcelona, where it arrived late on Wednesday to evacuate the dead and injured. Five people were slightly injured while a 62-year-old woman was in serious condition with her both her legs broken. The rogue waves were 26ft (8m) high. Three "abnormally high" waves broke windows in the front of the ship. "A wave broke the glass in the area of the saloon and water was taken on board." There had been winds of more than 100km/h (60 mph) in the area.

[This is the latest in a rash of huge waves striking ships and coasts around the globe.]

TROPICAL STORMS -

No current tropical cyclones.

HEAVY RAINS, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -

UGANDA - More than 80 bodies have been recovered from the mud which engulfed villages on the slopes of Mount Elgon. Mudslides swept away three villages near the eastern town of Bududa. At least 250 people are still missing. In one village, schoolchildren took shelter in a health centre later engulfed by the mud. In the village of Nametsi, rescuers struggled to search through a wall of mud some 16ft (5m) high, which had buried most structures. The landslides were triggered by several days of unusually heavy rain. At least a month more of heavy rain is forecast, so analysts say the authorities are expecting things to get worse before they get better.

HAITI - Thirteen dead. Submerged houses. Some 3,000 people evacuated from their homes. Fields and banana plantations waterlogged. Drowned livestock. Impassable roads. Fresh trauma for quake-displaced thousands. This is the plight of Les Cayes, a city on Haiti’s south coast, after an unseasonable deluge. And hurricane season is not far off. Rains hit the area on 27-28 February. On 2 March many homes still had standing water. “People are used to dealing with floods, just not this early.” The rainy season proper usually starts in the beginning of April and peaks in May. "We face an almost unique set of circumstances generated by a catastrophic quake, a rainy season, and a hurricane season, one after the other in rapid succession."

EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE

THAILAND - Severe drought has dropped the Mekong River to its LOWEST LEVEL IN NEARLY 20 YEARS, halting some cargo traffic and boat tours on the waterway that is the lifeblood for 65 million people in six countries. The decrease was caused largely by an early end to the 2009 wet season and low rainfall during the monsoons. The river level in southwestern China is THE LOWEST IN 50 YEARS, with only half the volume that would be normal in February. Levels at mainstream measuring stations in Laos and northern Thailand are below those in 1992. River tour operators have stopped services on stretches of the river in Laos and cargo vessels have been halted in China's Yunnan province. The water scarcity has sparked fears of food shortages, lack of access to clean water and impoverishment in some of Southeast Asia's poorest regions.

HEALTH THREATS

College indicators show no sustained flu wave - Flu-like illness activity at US colleges decreased slightly last week, and although disease incidence was higher than it was between mid December and mid February, the American College Health Association sees no evidence of a third pandemic wave. The attack rate for the week ending Feb 26 was 3.3 cases per 10,000 students, down 20% from the previous week. Southeast and Gulf Coast schools showed slight increases in disease activity, with levels still lower than November's.

Pandemic waning in China - The country's H1N1 pandemic has passed its peak. The proportion of H1N1 among all flu cases dropped from 36.6% in January to 11.1% in February. 793 Chinese have died of the illness, including 18 in February. Officials estimated that 30% of the population has immunity to the virus and said a major new wave of cases is unlikely in the near term, but added that localized outbreaks in crowded settings remain possible.

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Earthquake expert: Big quakes are coming

In the wake of devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, seismic experts say exceptionally large seismic events are unusual -- but not unexpected.

John Rundle of UC Davis runs the earthquake forecasting website openhazards.com, offering people information on the probability of earthquakes happening in areas around the world.

Rundle said because more and more cities are popping up on active fault lines, the world could see more damage from earthquakes.

"These major events that destroy cities like Haiti and the one in Chile right now, they happen typically once every 1 to 200 years," said Rundle.

"Unfortunately, we're probably going to be seeing a major city destroyed around the world once every five to 10 years now. That's simply because people move into those at-risk areas.

It isn't necessarily because earthquakes are happening more and more frequently. It's because the exposure is growing."

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Serious Drought in Eastern Syria Has Affected up To 1.3 Million People

A serious drought in eastern Syria means thousands of people have either fled the area to seek food or have stayed in the area with food scarce.

This is the third consecutive year of drought in the region, which is the poorest part of the country. The consequence has been widespread food insecurity.

About 65,000 families left the region between early 2009 and August 2009, and those who have remained face chronic food shortages, according to a United Nation's report.

In addition, up to 1.3 million people have been affected by the drought, with 800,000 people severely affected, according to U.N. and government figures.

The drought is expected to break this year, but people affected by the drought will reportedly need food assistance until the drought has broken and new crops have matured.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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In D.C., gay couples line up to make it legal

Sinjoyla Townsend was at a courthouse and in tears. And she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Ms. Townsend and her partner, Angelisa Young, were the first same-sex couples in line to apply for a marriage license at the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse.

The tears rolled down Ms. Townsend's face as the resident of the District of Columbia basked in silent joy, overcome by the emotion of the day.

"No matter where I go in the world now, when I say I'm married, somebody else will truly understand exactly what I'm talking about," Ms. Young said.

"It's not gay, it's not lesbian, it's just a human right of being able to share love and enjoy each other. That's basically all we're asking for and we got it today."

Ms. Young, 47, and Ms. Townsend, 41, joined dozens of other couples at the courthouse - on the first day gay marriages were allowed in the District.

Same-sex couples could apply for marriage licenses and then wait the standard processing period of three full business days for the licenses to be issued.

Tuesday was the first day same-sex marriage ceremonies can be performed and recognized.

***WATCHMAN... I have nothing against them as individuals but to get married and do perverted acts is just plain WRONG

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Some Dems Wary of Obama's Final Health Push

Rank-and-file Democrats in Congress remain wary of health care legislation in spite of President Barack Obama's closing argument for overhauling the system, well aware that success is far from assured and political perils abound.

"I think he has succeeded in prying open a window of opportunity, but it's a very narrow window," said first-term Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.

"And he and the leadership here had better clamber through that narrow window while they can." In a speech at the White House, Obama called on lawmakers to end a year of legislative struggle

and angry public debate and enact legislation ushering in near-universal health coverage for the first time in the country's history.

He called for an "up-or-down vote" within weeks under rules denying Republicans the ability to block the bill with a filibuster.

"At stake right now is not just our ability to solve this problem, but our ability to solve any problem," the president said.

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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Iran making new smart bombs

With defense and acrimony building in the Persian Gulf, Iran announced plans to test a new laser-guided bomb.

Iran's Fars News Agency reported that a prototype of the 2,000-pound smart bomb would be tested ‘in the near future,’ the country's air force commander Brig. Gen Hassan Shahsafi said.

He said the smart bomb, dubbed Qassed-2, had a longer range and better vision than its earlier version, the Qassed-1. That weapon made its debut four years ago and has since then been in mass production. Qassed is interpreted as ‘messenger.’

It was not immediately clear how advanced the prototype is and whether it would be available for mass production.

Western military experts seemed skeptical of the announcement, saying the Islamic Republic had a history of declaring military advancements prematurely as a means of saber-rattling.

Others speculated that ‘the announcement of the Qassed-2 is a move of brinkmanship to discourage the Gulf emirate states of Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates from participating in the expansion of the United States' Patriot missile defense system,’ the Threat Matrix reported

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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U.S., EU urge Syria to drop nuclear secrecy

The U.S. and the European Union are urging Syria to stop stonewalling attempts by the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate its nuclear activities.

A U.S. statement to the IAEA's 35-nation board said Syrian nuclear sites that seem to be intended for non-peaceful purposes are matters of serious concern. The EU statement expressed similar sentiments.

The board did not take any formal action, such as issuing a resolution condemning Syria, as diplomats said that the IAEA was still in the process of seeking further inspections.

Nuclear inspectors had asked to visit Syria on February 23, but were denied due to scheduling problems.

Syria insists it has nothing to hide but has turned down repeated IAEA requests to visit suspicious sites and provide satisfactory explanations for unusual traces of uranium at those locations

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!

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U.S. lifts lid on top-secret plan for internet security

The White House has declassified parts of a top secret plan outlining how government will protect the nation's computer networks from cyber warfare.

The announcement by cybersecurity tsar Howard Schmidt was made at the world's biggest security event.

The move is aimed at encouraging greater co-operation between academia, government and the private sector.

‘We have to fully recognize the importance cybersecurity has in our lives,’ Mr Schmidt said.

‘We must continue to seek out innovative new partnerships - not only within government, but also among industry, government and the American public,’ he told delegates at the event, hosted by the security company RSA in San Francisco.

It was his first major speech to industry peers since being appointed to the job in December 2009.

The Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) was introduced in 2008 by then-President George W Bush

The Last Days Signs - The End Times - Are Upon The Earth!