Bob Thiel's Blog, page 1241

California drought the worst in 1200 years?

COGwriter A new report concludes that California’s drought is the worst in 1200 years: December 5, 2014 2014 Dec 5 (Reuters) – A combination of record high temperatures and sparse rainfall during California’s three-year drought have produced the worst conditions in 1,200 years, according to a study accepted for publication by the American Geophysical Union [...]

China now recognized as world’s largest economy, but . . .

Maglev train in Shanghai COGwriter An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report shows that the economy of the People’s Republic of China has surpassed that of the U.S.A.: China overtakes the US as world’s largest economy December 4, 2014 The U.S. no longer boasts the world’s largest economy. China, the world’s most populous country, has overtaken [...]

NYC protests Garner death; Cleveland police found to use excessive force

Al Sharpton and Mrs. Eric Garner at protest (photo by Thomas Altfather Good) COGwriter There were protests in New York City and elsewhere related to the death of Eric Garner and others related to police actions: December 5, 2014 New York City Police arrested 223 people in overnight protests, the second consecutive night of demonstrations [...]

Are men and women different?

COGwriter Science is figuring out that men and women have differently wired brains: It turns out that men’s brains may literally be wired differently than those of women. Researchers say the differences could explain why the sexes seem more suited to certain types of tasks than their counterparts. For example, women seem to be hardwired [...]

More governments interfering with, and spying on, the Internet

Ukrainian poster (Борис У.) COGwriter Voice of America (VOA), a U.S. government news agency, reported the following: December 4, 2014 WASHINGTON—A growing number of nations are increasingly censoring parts of the Internet and passing laws to allow for greater surveillance of what people do and say online, according to a new report issued by Freedom [...]

Putin defends Crimea annexation; Moldova’s election seemingly points to EU

Vladimir Putin signing annexation of Crimea documents COGwriter Russia’s Vladimir Putin strongly defended the annexation of Crimea today and made accusations against the U.S.A. and its allies: December 4, 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his country’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and accused the West of using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext [...]

Do Seventh-day Adventists realize that they got Christmas from the worship of the sun-god Mithras?

James and Ellen White COGwriter While no one in the Continuing Church of God celebrates Christmas, many Adventists (SDAs) now do. While in the CCOG, we have long cited Jeremiah 10 and other scriptures as proof that Christmas trees are not appropriate for Christians, in the late 1800s Ellen White had a different view: God would [...]

Europe agrees to develop Ariane 6 rocket

European Ariane 5 Rocket (Philippe Semanaz) COGwriter 20 European nations have agreed to develop a new generation of the Ariane rocket: December 3, 2014 Hoping to keep up in the global commercial space race, the 20-nation European Space Agency (ESA) has set its sights on a last-minute deal to provide funding for development of a [...]

Pope Francis speaks on his plans to re-establish full communion with the Eastern Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis of Rome COGwriter Pope Francis spoke of his meeting with Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew today as well as more about his recent trip to Istanbul: December 3, 2014 The following is the translation of the Pope’s catechesis:… Today I would like to share with you some things on [...]

Zephaniah: ‘Gather together’

Imagined Depiction of Zephaniah (center) Speaking COGwriter December 3rd had traditionally been a date some have honored the prophet Zephaniah, who Catholics tend to call Sophonias (a Latinized form of his name). “The prophet Zephaniah lived and wrote about 630 B.C.” (Armstrong HW. The Proof of the Bible, 1958). The Catholic Encyclopedia notes: The date [...]