CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY
A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries
News selected and edited by Ray Mossholder
Friday, January 10, 2014
“DON’T DRINK THE WATER!”
(CNN)– Nearly 200,000 people in West Virginia awoke this morning to stark warnings about their tap water: Don’t drink it. Don’t cook with it. Don’t even brush your teeth or take a shower in it.
The reason? – a chemical spill in the Elk River in the central and southwestern parts of the state. The news sent shock waves through the region. The advisory also extends to restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes and other establishments that use tap water.
The federal move came shortly after Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency Thursday when the spill from Freedom Industries hit a river and a nearby water treatment plant.
“The emergency rooms became packed once the order came out. People had been drinking and bathing in this stuff,” said Kent Carper, president of the Kanawha County Commission. “Then there was a run on bottled water, cups and bowls at every grocery and convenience store in every county.” “It was chaos, that’s what it was,” cashier Danny Cardwell said.
The leak came from a 48,000-gallon tank at Freedom Industries, a chemical storage facility about a mile upriver from the American Water Co. facility.
Officials weren’t sure when the pipes would be cleared and the water safe to drink again. There’s lots of plumbing in the nine-county area. “You’ve got 60 miles of this system, and it’s full of this water,” Carper said. “And people can’t use the water.”
“I don’t know if the water is not safe,” said water company president Jeff McIntyre. “Until we get out and flush the actual system and do more testing, we can’t say how long this (advisory) will last at this time.”
Karlee Bolen, 16, of Charleston, said her family, including her parents, two sisters and brother, were considering the possibility of heading to her grandmother’s home in Braxton County, where tap water was unaffected, an hour to the northeast.
“I kind of want to shower and brush my teeth,” she explained.
CNN’s Marlena Baldacci, Kevin Conlon and Dave Alsup contributed to this report
CHRIS CHRISTIE SUDDENLY SURROUNDED BY SCANDAL
(CNN) It may have seemed like a teenage prank at the time, but the blockage of George Washington bridge traffic as a possible act of partisan political revenge has put New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in the middle of a serious legal scandal. And the fire underneath it is just beginning to heat up for the Republican presidential possibility as the Democrat state assembly has posted online 907 pages of documents today that are related to the case. New Jersey residents have already filed a lawsuit.
“I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team,” Christie said Thursday while facing reporters during a two hour press conference where Christie was not his old blatant self but was humble and seeking forgiveness for something he says he didn’t know had been done. “I am responsible for what happened. am sad to report to the people of New Jersey that we fell short,” he added.
Christie had previously assured the public that his staff had nothing to do with lane closings last fall that caused major backups at the George Washington Bridge. But after e-mails revealed Wednesday that members of his administration intentionally caused the traffic jam to exact political retribution, the governor fired a top aide, Bridget Anne Kelly and his chief political adviser
One thing is certain. The legislative inquiry into the alleged misdeeds that led to the traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge is just getting into gear.
What happened to begin with?
It was September and Christie was full steam into his re-election bid — which he won two months later. Wildstein, who Christie appointed to a high position at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,ordered the closing of two of the three lanes of traffic leading to the George Washington Bridgein Fort Lee. “This was no fun and games for people who sat tormented for hours in traffic and missed important appointments,” legal analyst Alan Dershowitz told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin. It did real damage.It held up motorists trying to make it into Manhattan and caused days of massive traffic jams in Fort Lee, where the Democratic mayor Mark Sokolich had declined to endorse Christie for re-election. The closing of the bridge caused havoc for thousands of vehicles and many in the areas surrounding the closed sections got few customers during that time. The people were irate.
Democrats speculated that the mayhem was political retaliation against Sokolich. Hearings ensued, and Wildstein resigned under pressure. Then came Wednesday’s revelation that a top Christie aide, Bridget Anne Kelly had e-mailed Wildstein before the closures, telling him, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” “Got it,” Wildstein replied back. He e-mailed a comment that the parents of children stuck in school buses in the traffic jams were Democratic voters.
Christie fired Kelly after the scandal broke.
State lawmakers questioned David Wildstein yesterday. David Wildstein has invoked the the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination. The New Jersey Court where he was to testify then charged him with contempt.
In addition to the legislative inquiry and the U.S. attorney’s office investigation, Christie is facing a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday against the governor, Kelly, Wildstein and another former Port Authority official, Bill Baroni. The lawsuit argues the lane closures caused traffic jams that made them late to work and caused lost wages. If Christie was telling the truth at that marathon press conference yesterday he may be able to step out of this chaos. But things could change. If any of it doesn’t jibe with other peoples’ stories, information provided in documents, or clues that pop up, experts say Christie could get dragged into civil and criminal lawsuits. And if lawmakers decide to go after Christie, they could offer either witness, Wildstein or Kelly, immunity if they will testify against the governor. They could decide to save themselves at his expense.
Anyone Christie fired may also try to get revenge. Chris Christie is a Republican governor in a heavily Democrat state. Most Democrats would love to derail him of any possibility to run for president in 2016. This morning they posted 907 documents that they say shines light on the whole occurrence.
Oxford University historian Timothy Stanley wrote in an opinion piece for CNN.com “Christie is a resourceful politician and it’s still many months before campaigning starts in earnest,” Stanley wrote. “But now, his opponents have a stick to beat him with.”
CNN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell, Ben Brumfield, Adam Aigner-Treworgy, John King, Shimon Prokupecz, Chelsea J. Carter, Paul Steinhauser, Peter Hamby, Ray Sanchez, Catherine E. Shoichet and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.
THE GOVERNMENT OF AFGHANISTAN DEFIES AMERICA AGAIN
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the country is going to release all but 16 of 88 prisoners considered a security threat by the United States.
In a statement Thursday, Karzai says that a review of the prisoners’ cases by Afghan intelligence and judicial officials turned up no evidence of wrongdoing for 45 of the detainees. Karzai says there was insufficient evidence on another 27 and that they must be released.
The U.S. is strongly opposed to their release because it says the prisoners have been involved in the wounding or killing of U.S. and coalition troops, Reuters reported. You know what.
The issue has been a sticking point in Afghan-U.S. relations as the two sides struggle to agree on a framework for the withdrawal of American and allied forces by the end of next year and the aftermath. Last week, a group of U.S. senators met Karzai in Kabul to warn him that release of the 88 detainees from the Parwan Detention Facility “would be a major step backward” for U.S.-Afghan relations.
A review of the prisoners’ cases by Afghan intelligence and judicial officials turned up no evidence of wrongdoing for 45 of the detainees, and there was insufficient evidence on another 27, so they must be released, Karzai said in a statement. He gave no details on when the release will take place.
The remaining 16 detainees will stay in custody until their cases can be reviewed further, the statement said. The U.S. wants all 88 to face trial in Afghanistan. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki insisted the 72 detainees were “dangerous criminals” and there was “strong evidence linking them to terror-related crimes,” including roadside bombs.
An Afghan panel last week ordered the release of 650 detainees from Parwan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
REPUBLICANS CLAIM THE INVESTIGATION OF THE IRS SCANDAL
IS SCANDALOUS
Republicans claim the Justice Department’s investigation of the IRS targeting scandal is “compromised,” after revealing that it’s being led by one of President Obama’s political supporters. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the lawmakers said they’ve learned trial attorney Barbara Kay Bosserman is leading the probe. They detailed federal campaign finance records showing she’s given more than $6,000 to Obama’s two presidential campaigns — and urged Holder to remove her from the case.
“By selecting a significant donor to President Obama to lead an investigation into inappropriate targeting of conservative groups, the Department has created a startling conflict of interest,” Representative Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in the letter. “It is unbelievable that the Department would choose such an individual to examine the federal government’s systematic targeting and harassment of organizations opposed to the President’s policies.
“At the very least, Ms. Bosserman’s involvement is highly inappropriate and has compromised the Administration’s investigation of the IRS.”
The letter comes amid questions over the status of the criminal case, which has not yet produced any public results.
It has dragged on for months, ever since the IRS last May first acknowledged that it had slow-walked the applications of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice responded to the allegations, saying in a statement that it was against department policy and “a prohibited personnel practice under federal law to consider the political affiliation of career employees or other non-merit factors in making personnel decisions.“
“Additionally, removing a career employee from an investigation or case due to political affiliation, as Chairmen Issa and Jordan have requested, could also violate the equal opportunity policy and the law.”
INDICTED, NOW GO HOME!
Devyani Khobragade, the Indian envoy accused of lying about how much she paid her housekeeper, was indicted on criminal counts Thursday but later left the U.S. after being given clearance by the State Department and a federal court, authorities said.
Devyani was indicted earlier Thursday of visa fraud and making false statements, and later was given immunity and left the country by plane. Her father, a retired bureaucrat, said in a televised news conference Friday that she had been vindicated.
The developments indicate the Obama administration is trying to find a resolution to ease diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and India, despite the federal allegations against Khobragade. Her arrest last month sparked outrage in India after revelations that she was strip-searched and thrown in a cell with other criminal defendants before being released on $250,000 bail.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
IN 2013 MORE THAN 100 MILLION CHRISTIANS
WERE PERSECUTED FOR THEIR FAITH
Open Doors, a nondenominational group in Netherland supports persecuted Christians worldwide. They have released documentation of 2,123 “martyr killings” and that the the total number of Christians killed for their faith around the world doubled in 2013 from the year before, with Syria accounting for more than the whole global total in 2012.
The organization said this is a “very minimal count” and only based on media reports and what they can confirm. Other Christian groups believe the total estimated figure could be as high as 8,000.
Open Doors reported that North Korea is the most dangerous place for Christians to live, a position it has held since its annual survey began 12 years ago. The report said there is now “a strong drive to purge Christianity from Somalia.”
The organization reported an increase in violence against Christians in Africa and said radical Muslims were the main source of persecution in 36 countries on its list. “Islamist extremism is the worst persecutor of the worldwide church,” it said.
According to a survey by the U.S. based, Pew Forum on Religious Life, Christianity is the largest and most spread out faith in the world, with 2.2 billion followers, or 32% of the world’s population. But it faces restrictions and hostility in 111 countries; Muslims face harassment and other limitations in 90 countries, it said.
A spokesman for Open Doors told journalists Jan. 8 that failing states with civil wars or persistent internal tensions were often the most dangerous for Christians. He spoke of a “war against the church” continuing in the “shadow” of the conflict in Syria. Although only about 10% of Syrians are Christians, many have become targets of Islamist rebels, who see them as supporters of President Bashar Assad.
After Syria, the next highest number of killings took place in Nigeria, with 612 cases last year, down slightly from 791 in 2012. Pakistan was third, with 88, sharply up from 15 in 2012. Egypt ranked fourth, with 83 deaths, after 19 the previous year.
Open Doors has no numbers of martyrs in North Korea, but it bases its assessment on the fact that at very least 70,000 people live in political prison camps. “The godlike worship of the rulers leaves no room for any other religion,” the report said. “Even if they find a person holding a Bible it means an automatic prison sentence. And the person arrested is not the only one who goes to prison. So does their family which often consists of grandparents as well as children.”
Open Doors also pointed out that killings were only the most extreme examples of persecution and that Christians also face attacks on churches and schools, discrimination, threats, sexual assaults and expulsion from countries.
The organization estimates that, last year, about 100 million Christians around the world suffered persecution for their faith.
On December 26, the feast of the Church’s first martyr, St. Stephen, Pope Francis spoke of “a great many Christians who suffer in these ways — more even than in the time of the first Christians.”
After pausing to lead the faithful in praying the Hail Mary on their behalf, he said in unscripted remarks: “In martyrdom, in fact, violence is overcome by love, death by life. The Church sees in the sacrifice of the martyrs their ‘birth’ into heaven. So [on this day] we celebrate the ‘birth’ of Stephen, which springs from the depths of the birth of Christ. Jesus turns the death of those who love him into the dawn of new life.”
Open Doors, which began with brother Andrew, known as “God’s Smuggler” in the 1950s, who smuggled Bibles into communist states is now working in more than 60 countries, estimated last year that about 100 million Christians around the world suffered persecution for their faith. Here, in order, are the 27 countries Open Doors lists as the most extreme persecutors of all:
1.North Korea
2.Somalia
3.Syria
4.Iraq
5.Afghanistan
6.Saudia Arabia
7.Maldives
8.Pakistan
9.Iran
10.Yemen
11.Sudan
12.Eritrea
13.Libya
14.Nigeria
15.Uzbekistan
16.Central African Republic
17.Ethiopia
18.Vietnam
19.Qatar
20.Turkmenistan
if you I’m just about was21.Laos
22.Egypt
23.Myanmar (Burma)
24.Brunei
25.Colombia
26.Jordan
27.Oman
PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR
“PROMISE ZONES”
On the fiftieth anniversary of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Prosperity” plan, President Obama plans announced yesterday’s plan to help poor neighborhoods through five new “Promise Zones.” The project is part of the president’s effort to address income inequality.
Under the proposed zones the federal government will partner with local governments and businesses to provide tax incentives and grants to help combat poverty. Selected communities will be eligible for assistance designed to create jobs and improve education, housing, and public safety.
Obama first announced the initiative during last year’s State of the Union but is just now revealing the first cities where they will be implemented.
The first Promise Zones will be located in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Southeastern Kentucky, the Chocktaw Nation of Oklahoma.
CONGRESS = MILLIONAIRES!
WASHINGTON — Millionaires occupy the majority of seats in Congress for the first time since ethics laws mandated personal financial disclosures, according to a new Center for Responsive Politics report. Out of 534 members of Congress — there was one vacant seat — 268 have an average net worth of more than $1 million.
Because senators and representatives are required to report their personal finances only within ranges (such as $100,001 to $250,000), the Center for Responsive Politics calculated net worth as an average of the highest and lowest possible total.
“Despite the fact that polls show how dissatisfied Americans are with Congress overall, there’s been no change in our appetite to elect affluent politicians to represent our concerns in Washington,” Sheila Krumholz, the center’s executive director, said in a statement.
It’s true that Congress has long been filled with the wealthy, but this millionaire milestone comes as the country faces a growing income inequality gap not seen since the Gilded Age. In the past few decades, and particularly during and after the Great Recession, the super rich has seen their incomes and network skyrocket while both the poor and middle classes have seen stagnation or regression.
A growing body of research around the views of the affluent and how those views dominate U.S. politics has revealed that the wealthy have different economic policy priorities than the poor and middle class, and those priorities receive far more attention in the government then the priorities of other economic classes.
Recent research by Nicholas Carnes, a political science professor at Duke University, has found that the economic background and affluence of U.S. legislators greatly impacts economic policymaking.
YOU’RE GETTING WARMER
Computer models estimated that the national average daily temperature for the Lower 48 states dropped to 17.9 degrees on Monday, it was the first deep freeze of that magnitude in 17 years, according to Greg Carbin, warning meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
That stretch – from January 13, 1997 to Monday - is by far the longest the U.S. has gone without the national average plunging below 18 degrees, according to a database of daytime winter temperatures starting in January 1900.
In the past 115 years, there have been 58 days when the national average temperature dropped below 18. There have been 27 distinct cold spells like the one just passed in all that time.
Between 1970 and 1989, a dozen such events occurred, but there were only two in the 1990s and then none until Monday.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Bad news is one of God’s signals to pray.
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Friday, January 10, 2014