Friday, June 22, 2012

Examiner 06-22-2012: Phoenix pastor faces jail time for holding religious services at his house

Michael Salman, pastor of Harvest Christian Community Church, who caused quite an uproar in 2008 by conducting religious services at his house in a northwest Phoenix neighborhood, is now facing jail time.

Read here to catch up on the whole story.

Last week, Salman lost on his appeal in the 2008 case in which he claimed his religious freedom was infringed upon. He has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years probation due to being found guilty of 67 violations of city building and safety codes.

According to the Phoenix New Times, last Saturday he surrendered himself to the jail but was turned away at the time. However, he is currently scheduled to return to court on June 28, at which time he may be ordered to go to jail.

Continue reading...

Friday, June 15, 2012

Examiner 06-15-2012: Arizona's young illegals to benefit from President's new immigration policy



An Executive Order handed down by President Obama will allow the children of illegal immigrants to stop being deported.

On June 15, 2012, the immigration debate came to a head once again when the President announced his new Executive Order that will allow children who were brought here illegally before the age of 16 to not be deported. However, they must meet the following requirements:

•They must be under 30.
•They must not be a criminal or security risk.
•They must have graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained their GED or served in the military.
•They must have lived in the U.S. continuously for at least 5 years.

If the applicants meet these requirements then they will be eligible for a 2-year deportation deferral and will be able to apply for a work permit that can be renewed without limitation.

To read more click here and here.

This Executive Order has caused quite a stir nationwide and even more so for Arizonans who have been embroiled in their own recent heated immigration debates and are currently awaiting a Supreme Court decision on their controversial law, SB1070.


To continue reading...


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Examiner 06-13-2012: U of A researcher finds support for extraterrestrial life



A University of Arizona researcher has found evidence of a lake located in a desert-like region of Saturn's moon, reviving hope that life may be found outside of planet Earth.


According to a journal article published in Nature, a team of researchers, led by University of Arizona Planetary Scientist Caitlin Griffith, discovered evidence of a tropical lake, consisting of liquid methane, located on Titan's equatorial region. Titan is Saturn's largest moon (Yes, that's right, Titan is back in the news this month, although this time it has nothing to do with Peyton Manning).

In recent years, lakes have been discovered in the polar regions of Titan's northern and southern hemispheres, but the latest discovery of this tropical lake by the University of Arizona research team is unique because it is located in a dry area with little rain. This may provide further evidence that life outside Earth is somehow possible.

Read more.

JOURNAL: Strange Bedfellows: Cannibalism and the Olympics

According to Google Trends, the term "cannibal" has risen in popularity over the past few weeks, no doubt due to the May 27, 2012 incident involving Rudy Eugene, who has been nicknamed the South Beach Cannibal.

Since then there have been a few other unrelated instances of cannibalism:

Moreover, interestingly, the term cannibal has even become synonymous with the term Zombie.  In fact, the South Beach incident which has been the de facto event that has started this recent zombie craze occurred on the 1-year anniversary of the CDC's Zombie Apocalypse Campaign and approximately 1 month after a Castle episode with an eerily similar plot line.

In light of the foregoing, I was reading an article yesterday in the Guardian regarding the 2012 London Olympics and came across the following:

[The director Danny] Boyle had already revealed that the three-hour opening ceremony would be titled Isles of Wonder, a title based on a speech by Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest that will be referenced throughout the four ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.


I wanted to find out why this speech by a character named Caliban was being used as the title of the Olympics opening ceremony, so I checked out the Wikipedia entry for Caliban and here is what I found:

Caliban is the son of Sycorax by (according to Prospero) a devil.

Further...

The name is an anagram of the Spanish word canibal (Carib people), the source of cannibal in English.

I'm not sure what it means, but I find it definitely strange that there is a seeming connection between the Olympics and all the cannibal/zombie stories that have been surfacing a month prior to the Olympics.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Examiner 06-08-2012: Arizona losing real hunger games


Arizona is above the national average when it comes to kids going hungry according to a recent report. Feeding America, a National organization committed to feeding America's hungry released their report this week which shows Arizona has tied with Oregon for last place in feeding its hungry kids. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, 29 percent of Arizona children suffer from what is referred to as food insecurity, defined by the USDA as those with "limited or uncertain access to adequate food.”

Unfortunately, this percentage rate has slightly increased from the 2009 Report. In stark contrast, the national average of hungry kids is at 21 percent, which has actually decreased from 23 percent in 2009. Moreover, it appears that kids are not the only people going hungry. The overall hunger rate in Arizona is at 19 percent while the national average is at 16 percent. The Phoenix Business Journal goes on to surmise that what may be a contributing factor in this food crises may be due to the high unemployment and poverty rate in Arizona.

The Bible Prophecy Connection

The book of Revelation warns that in the End Times the world will face a food shortage and resulting famine that will make this crisis in Arizona pale in comparison. In Revelation 6, the last two horsemen of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, show that food will be in short supply and that it will result in famine, and ultimately, death.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” 7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
Although we have already been seeing a gradual increase of food prices in the past several years, the black horse reveals that there will be a sharp increase of food prices during the End Times. This will eventually lead to increases in the occurrences of famine which will be one way the pale horse will bring death to the world's inhabitants.

WAKE UP!

It's time to WAKE UP and realize that hunger is not a game and this crisis is not just relegated to third world countries anymore but it is becoming a real issue in our country and even our state. Unfortunately, according to the Bible this crisis will continue to increase until Jesus comes back. However, it shouldn't stop us from continuing to do whatever we can to help feed people's mouths with food and feed their hearts with the gospel.

NOTES: Research on Regent University - A Global Christian University

Founded by Pat Robertson in 1978 http://www.regent.edu/about_us/ President Dr. Carlos Campo Member of the Council on Foreign Relations: ...