CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY
A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries
News selected and edited by Ray Mossholder
Thursday, January 23, 2014
IRAN SAYS IT HAS NEVER PROMISED TO DISMANTLE ITS NUCLEAR POWER
(CNN) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted Wednesday that the Obama administration mischaracterizes concessions by his side in the six-month nuclear deal with Iran, telling CNN in an exclusive interview that “we did not agree to dismantle anything.”
Zarif told CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto that terminology used by the White House to describe the agreement differed from the text agreed to by Iran and the other countries in the talks — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.
“The White House version both underplays the concessions and overplays Iranian commitments” under the agreement that took effect Monday, Zarif said in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum.
As part of the accord, Iran was required to dilute its stockpile of uranium that had been enriched to 20%, well above the 5% level needed for power generation but still below the level for developing a nuclear weapon. In addition, the deal mandated that Iran halt all enrichment above 5% and “dismantle the technical connections required to enrich above 5%,” according to a White House fact sheet issued in November after the initial agreement was reached. Zarif accused the Obama administration of creating a false impression with such language.
“The White House tries to portray it as basically a dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program. That is the word they use time and again,” he said, urging Sciutto to read the actual text of the agreement. “If you find a single, a single word, that even closely resembles dismantling or could be defined as dismantling in the entire text, then I would take back my comment.”
He repeated that “we are not dismantling any centrifuges, we’re not dismantling any equipment, we’re simply not producing, not enriching over 5%. You don’t need to over-emphasize it,” Zarif said of the White House language. A separate summary sent out by the White House last week did not use the word dismantle.
In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani echoed Zarif’s statement, saying the government will not destroy existing centrifuges. However, he added: “We are ready to provide confidence that there should be no concern about Iran’s program.”
Responding to Zarif’s comments to CNN, a senior administration official said “we expected that the Iranians would need to spin this for their domestic political purposes, and are not surprised they are doing just that.” Iranian and U.S. officials have tried to sell the nuclear agreement to domestic opponents in their respective countries who could scuttle it.
Iranian officials have called the interim pact a victory and said it failed to halt the nation’s nuclear development program, while U.S. officials say the agreement essentially froze Iran’s nuclear program and rolled back some capabilities.
Zarif noted the political pressure facing both sides, which includes a push in Congress for more sanctions against Iran that Tehran warns would destroy any chance for success in talks on a long-range nuclear agreement intended to prevent development of an Iranian nuclear weapon.
“All of us are facing difficulties and oppositions and concerns and misgivings,” he said, noting he had been summoned Wednesday to Iran’s parliament to answer questions. Asked about his relationship with Secretary of State John Kerry, Zarif called it “very difficult because we’re both going into these negotiations with a lot of baggage. Progress has been made, he said, but “it’s yet too early to talk about trust.”
Zarif and Rouhani traveled to Switzerland for annual gathering of world political and business leaders in Davos as a new round of Syrian talks started in Montreux before moving to Geneva.
Iran, a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was invited to the Syrian talks by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, then disinvited under pressure from the United States because Tehran refused to endorse conditions in a previous agreement setting up the talks. “We do not like the way Iran was treated,” he said, adding “it did not enhance the credibility of the United Nations or the office of the Secretary General.”
He explained Iran’s support for the Syrian government, a longtime ally, by saying “Iran finds itself in a situation where we see the very prominent and serious danger of terrorism, extremism, sectarian tension being fed from outside and creating a very dangerous environment in Syria.”
To Zarif, an agreement among Syrians that brings a democratically elected government is the only solution, and he dismissed concerns that a free and fair vote would be impossible with al-Assad in power and running as a candidate.
Kerry said earlier Wednesday in Montreux that there was “no way” al-Assad will be part of a transitional government sought by the Geneva talks.
“Why don’t we talk about it?” Zarif asked. “And why don’t we allow the Syrians to talk about how they can conduct a free and fair election? Why do people need to set an agenda and impose their agenda on the Syrian people?”
Sciutto also asked Zarif about his visit last week to lay a wreath at the grave of Hezbollah leader Imad Mugniyah in Lebanon. The United States condemned the gesture, saying Mugniyah was “responsible for heinous acts of terrorism that killed hundreds of innocent people, including Americans.”
Zarif responded that his visit should be seen in the same context as the U.S. delegation that attended the recent funeral of Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli leader who was defense minister when mass killings occurred at refugee camps under his command in 1982. “It’s a decision based on national perceptions and national beliefs,” he said, describing Mugniyah as a revered figure for resisting Israeli occupation while calling Sharon responsible for the massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese in the Sabra and Shatila camps.
“I believe Sabra and Shatila were crimes against humanity,” Zarif said.
CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto reported this story from Davos, Switzerland. It was written by CNN’s Tom Cohen in Washington. CNN’s Faith Karimi, Reza Sayah and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
UKRAINE CAPITAL CITY DANGEROUSLY UNDER PROTEST
KIEV, UKRAINE – Thick black smoke from burning tires is engulfing the downtown Ukrainian snowy capital as an ultimatum issued by the opposition to the president to call early election or face street rage. The three main opposition leaders urged protesters late last night to refrain from violence for 24 hours until their ultimatum to President Viktor Yanukovych expires.
The largely peaceful protest against Yanukovych’s decision to shun the EU and turn toward Moscow in November descended into violence Sunday when demonstrators marched on official buildings.
For days protesters hurled fire bombs and stones at police, which retaliated with stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets. The deaths of two protesters Wednesday and hundreds of protesters injured fueled fears of more violence. Vitali Klitschko, leader of the UDAR party, accused Yanukovych’s government of having the blood of protesters on its hands. The ministry said 195 police officers had been injured and 84 hospitalized since the situation turned violent Sunday.
In a statement Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf condemned the growing violence, particularly against journalists and peaceful protesters. “Increased tensions in Ukraine are a direct consequence of the Ukrainian government’s failure to engage in real dialogue and the passage of anti-democratic legislation on January 16,” Harf said. “We urge the Government of Ukraine to take steps that represent a better way forward for Ukraine, including repeal of the anti-democratic legislation and beginning a national dialogue with the political opposition.”
“We did not receive any answers,” Klitschko told demonstrators after a three-hour meeting with Yanukovych, the meeting he and three other protest leaders had attended. The protesters asked at that for snap elections and the resignation of the government. “When we talked about canceling the new laws that make each of us here a criminal, we heard that maybe this can be a point of negotiations.” He added, “I will be with the people. If I have to fight, I will fight. If I have to go under bullets, I will. I will stand up for the people, because I want to live in a different country. He added, amid the chants of supporters: “If tomorrow the President does not make a step forward, we will attack.”
EASTERN STATES REMAIN BITTERLY COLD
(CNN) – Dangerous cold and treacherous driving conditions left millions of Americans along the Eastern Seaboard stuck at home Wednesday.
And there’s no relief in sight. More than 1400 flights were again canceled.
At most of the airports, weary travelers spent a restless and sleep-deprived night on airport chairs and cold floors. Flight cancellations put hotel rooms in short supply.
The storm system that dumped record-breaking piles of snow — including 18-inch snowdrifts in Plymouth, Massachusetts — is moving off the coast, and remaining blizzard warnings are expiring. But “Another clipper will reinforce the cold air already in place, so any snow on the ground is expected to hang around,” CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons said. And “more surges of cold Arctic air are on tap for next week,” added CNN meteorologist Sean Morris. “New York stays well below freezing for the foreseeable future — possibly holding until the end of the month, though there’s a chance they could briefly rise above 32 degrees Saturday afternoon. Washington, D.C., isn’t expected to rise above freezing until Saturday when it will be a balmy 37 degrees. But there’s more cold and snow on the way early next week.”
Some have ventured out with deadly consequences. The deaths include two men — ages 67 and 87 — who were out shoveling, and a 92-year-old woman who had wandered outside her home. Governors in Delaware, New Jersey and New York issued states of emergency.
On Facebook Dan Evans wrote,“There is a silver lining to this storm. Beer stays cold without refrigeration.”
THE WEST IS HAVING A HEAT WAVE! HAWAII IS WAVING.
In California, some cities are tying records — for heat.
And in Hawaii, The biggest waves in a decade are forecast to be rolling toward that state. But most surfers are set to miss out on the chance to ride them.
The National Weather Service in Hawaii said it expects waves 40-to-50-feet high to hit the north shore of Oahu on Wednesday, driven by “a giant northwest swell.”
Hawaii hasn’t experienced waves that large since 2004, said Sam Houston, a forecaster with the weather service.
A high-surf warning is in effect for much of the state until Friday morning and forecasters say “giant breaking surf,” dangerous currents and significant “coastal inundation” are highly possible.
PRO LIFE MARCH AT SUPREME COURT WENT ON AS SCHEDULED
(CBN) WASHINGTON — January 22 marked the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Although Washington temperatures were near zero. Thousands and thousands of marchers filled the streets in the bitter cold, knowing huge battles loom on every side of the abortion issue.
For instance, abortion opponents encourage pregnant women to go to pro-life pregnancy centers rather than abortion clinics. In response, the clinics and their allies have been trying to regulate such centers out of business.
Peggy Hartshorn is president ofHeartbeat International, which represents some 1,800 pro-life centers. “Abortion clinics are closing in the United States at the highest rate ever,” she told CBN News. ‘We had about 1,700 abortion clinics. We’re down to just over 500 now. But pregnancy centers are multiplying. We have more than 2,000.”
The theme of this year’s March focused on fighting for the adoption option. Five years ago an unwed and pregnant Whitney Wall was planning to abort her unborn child. But after receiving help and support from a pregnancy center, Wall decided to form an adoption plan rather than abort. She now encourages other women to do the same, not only for their own peace of mind and to save the baby, but because so many childless couples are anxious to adopt.
“I just remember when I had decided to make the adoption plan for my son, the boxes and boxes and boxes of profiles that I got of couples that were waiting for a family,” Wall said. “It’s just amazing to think of all the people that are relying on these women to make the right decision.”
One battle inside the pro-life movement is whether to use gruesome images of aborted babies to ram the reality of the practice into the public’s consciousness. That’s what Mark Harrington, executive director ofCreated Equal, was doing during this at year’s march: displaying such gruesome images on a JumboTron along the marchers’ route. “America’s complicit in abortion. You have to see it to understand it,” Harrington said in defense of showing the bloody photos. “A picture’s worth a thousand words and nobody can explain it with words alone. “That’s the problem: it’s all a bunch of rhetoric. Once you see the victims, you understand the injustice,” he said.
Pro-Life Action LeagueExecutive Director Eric Scheidler marched in Chicago with many other abortion opponents on Sunday, Jan. 19. He said one battleground is just getting people to realize a human life is a net positive for the world. “Many people believe that when a new child comes into the world, it’s a big cost — a cost for the parents; a cost for society. But we’re finding that’s simply not the case,” Scheidler said. “In fact, a new study’s just come out showing every child born on average contributes $217,000 to the national economy.”
Scheidler pointed out polls show a growing number of Americans are turning pro-life. Now he’s imploring those people to take action. “The only way we’re going to be victorious in the end is if every single person who recognizes the unborn child as valuable is willing to step outside their comfort zone and share that message with others,” Scheidler said.
In the 41 years since Roe v. Wade led to legalized abortion, some 56 million babies have been aborted in America.
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION FOR SUICIDE BOMBERS
JERUSALEM, Israel — Last week, 13,000 high school students in the Gaza Strip graduated paramilitary training camps under the auspices of the Hamas government’s education and interior ministries. “This generation is a sapling from Allah on earth. It will harvest the enemies of Allah and be the pride of all nations,” Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad told participants, The Times of Israel reported.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called the high school students from grades 10 to 12 “a generation that knows no fear. It is the generation of the missile, the tunnel and the suicide operations,” Haniyeh said, noting that females “oversee the training of young women to follow in the footsteps of female suicide operatives.”
Islamic law forbids mixing genders in schools and other venues as well.
Last year, 5,000 teens graduated from the training camps, bringing the total of potential teenage jihadists to 18,000.
“We are the pioneers of liberation,” the Hamas Interior Ministry quoted one graduate on its website. “We are coming to purify you from the Zionists.”
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER OFFERS TOTAL SUPPORT TO iSRAEL
JERUSALEM, Israel — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged unflinching support of Israel. “Canada supports Israel because it is the right thing to do,” Harper told Israeli lawmakers on Monday. “It is a Canadian tradition to stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether it is convenient or popular.”
Harper’s speech prompted a comparison byJerusalem Post political correspondent Herb Keinon to Knesset addresses by U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande, whose friendly remarks precipitated criticism.
“His [Harper"s] was not a ‘yes, but’ speech; his was a ‘yes, yes’ speech,” Keinon wrote.
Harper called Israel “the only country in the Middle East that has long anchored itself in the ideals of freedom, democracy, and rule of law. These are not mere notions,” he continued. “They are things that over time and against all odds have proven to be the only ground in which human rights, political stability, and economic prosperity may flourish.”
Knesset members gave Harper a standing ovation after Arab MKs Ahmed Tibi and Taleb Abu Arar shouted accusations of apartheid and walked out.
“Through fire and water, Canada will stand with you,” Harper affirmed.
EIGHT-YEAR-OLD HERO DIES IN FLAMES
(CNN) – In his final moments, 8-year-old Tyler Doohan managed to rescue six people — including two younger children — from a burning mobile home in upstate New York, authorities said. A last-ditch effort, however, to save his disabled grandfather cost the boy his life. His body was found next to his grandfather, whom Tyler considered a best friend.
“It makes me really proud, it really does, but I just want him back,” Tyler’s mother, Crystal Vrooman, told CNN affiliate WHAM.
Tyler, an East Rochester resident, was staying at the home of relatives in the nearby town of Penfield on Sunday night when he noticed a fire in the single-wide trailer, said Penfield Fire Chief Chris Ebmeyer. As firefighters and sheriff’s deputies responded to 4:45 a.m. emergency call, Tyler was able to wake six other people in the small trailer, including two more children, ages 4 and 6, the fire chief said.
Then Tyler went back into the blaze to help his grandfather, who was disabled and would have been unable to get out of the home on his own, Ebmeyer said.
“By that time, the fire had traveled to the back of the trailer,” said Ebmeyer. “Unfortunately they both succumbed to heat and smoke.”
The pair were found together on a bed in the back room. It appeared that the boy was trying to lift his grandfather from the bed when he was overcome by the smoke and fire, the fire chief said.
THERE COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN ANOTHER CAMPUS SHOOTING YESTERDAY
PHILADELPHIA, N.Y. – Authorities say quick actions by a teacher averted a potential shooting at a northern New York high school where a 15-year-old student had a rifle concealed in a case wrapped in a blanket.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says police were called to Indian River High School in the small town of Philadelphia, about 140 miles northwest of Albany, shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a student with a rifle.
Deputies say the teen sneaked the weapon into school and began opening the case containing the rifle at the end of a class. Officials say a teacher noticed and immediately secured the weapon. Police were called as the school went into lockdown. The student was taken into custody.
TEXAS EXECUTES COP MURDERER IN SPITE OF MEXICO’S PROTEST
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS – A Mexican national was executed last night in Texas for killing a Houston police officer, despite pleas and diplomatic pressure from the Mexican government and the U.S. State Department to halt the punishment.
Edgar Tamayo, 46, received a lethal injection for the January 1994 fatal shooting of Officer Guy Gaddis, 24.
Asked by a warden if he had a final statement, he mumbled “no” and shook his head. As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began taking effect, he took a few breaths and then made one slightly audible snore before all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 17 minutes after the drug was administered, at 9:32 p.m. CST.
Tamayo never looked toward Gaddis’ mother, two brothers and two other relatives who watched through a window. He selected no witnesses of his own. There were several dozen police officers and supporters of the slain patrolman were revving their motorcycles outside of the prison before witnesses were let inside the death chamber.
The execution, the first this year in the nation’s most active death penalty state, came after the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts rejected last-day appeals and Texas officials spurned arguments that Tamayo’s case was tainted because he wasn’t informed, under an international agreement, that he could get legal help from the Mexican consulate after his arrest for the officer’s slaying.
Attorneys had also argued unsuccessfully that Tamayo was mentally impaired, making him ineligible for execution, and that the state’s clemency procedures were unfair. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday had rejected Tamayo’s request for clemency.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” said Lucy Nashed, spokeswoman for Governor Rick Perry. “If you commit a despicable crime like this in Texas, you are subject to our state laws, including a fair trial by jury and the ultimate penalty.”
Tamayo’s lawyers, Sandra L. Babcock and Maurie Levin, issued a statement after the Supreme Court’s ruling, saying Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott “ignored promises they made to our nation’s leaders that they would ensure review of Mr. Tamayo’s consular rights violation.”
Gaddis, who had been on the force for two years, was driving Tamayo and another man from a robbery scene when evidence showed the officer was shot three times in the head and neck with a pistol Tamayo had concealed in his pants. The car crashed, and Tamayo fled on foot but was captured a few blocks away, still in handcuffs, carrying the robbery victim’s watch and wearing the victim’s necklace.
Secretary of State John Kerry previously asked Abbott to delay Tamayo’s punishment, saying it “could impact the way American citizens are treated in other countries.” The State Department repeated that stance Wednesday. But Abbott’s office and the Harris County district attorney opposed any delays.
The Mexican government said in a statement after Tamayo’s death that it “strongly opposed” the execution.
POPE FRANCIS AND PRESIDENT OBAMA
HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON
DAVOS, Switzerland (CNNMoney) -
Pope Francis has challenged the world’s business elite to do more to help the poor and vulnerable. In an address read by Cardinal Peter Turkson at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics said it was intolerable that thousands die each day from hunger.
The Pope urged leaders to adopt a new “political and business mentality” and to put their skills to work for the benefit of those living in dire poverty. “I ask you to ensure humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it,” he said.
The event sees global leaders congregate to discuss pressing world issues. Heads of state, central bankers and CEOs such as Yahoo’s Marissa Meyer and Coca-Cola’s Muhtar Kent are attending. The annual forum is also a highly exclusive gathering for the global elite to network and party.
Since taking up his post in March 2013, Pope Francis has been outspoken about the problem of income equality, a central topic of this year’s conference. The papal address comes on the heels of an Oxfam report that found the world’s 85 richest people now own as much wealth as the poorest 50% of the population.
Pope Francis said tackling inequality would require action to achieve a better distribution of wealth, create jobs and “an integral promotion of the poor which goes beyond a simple welfare mentality.”
President Obama is due to visit the Pope on March 27. The White House said President Obama was looking forward to discussing “their shared commitment to fighting poverty and growing inequality.”
Pope Francis has given the Vatican a public relations boost, inspiring widespread admiration with deeds such as inviting homeless men to his birthday meal and taking a teenage boy with Down syndrome on a ride on his Popemobile.
“It’s been like a springtime for all of us,” Cardinal Turkson told CNN. “He’s breathed new life into Church leadership. Visits to the Vatican roughly tripled last year as people flocked to see him.”
- Copyright 2014 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.
JUSTIN BIEBER ARRESTED
(CNN) – Pop star Justin Bieber was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and drag racing this morning, Miami Beach police Detective Vivian Hernandez said. Further details about the arrest weren’t immediately available.
Bieber, 19, flew to Miami on Monday. This is the first time the teen singer has been arrested, although he is under investigation for allegedly egging his California neighbor’s home.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies used a felony search warrant to raid Bieber’s mansion in the felony vandalism investigation on January 9 and found cocaine openly displayed on a table.
Deputies have also investigated reports by his neighbors that he raced his expensive sports car down the streets of the exclusive Oaks community of Calabasas, California, but no charges ever resulted.
CNN en Español’s Adriana Hauser contributed to this report.
SAN DIEGO PASTOR AN EMBEZZLER
SAN DIEGO – A man who went from teenage millionaire to convicted con artist to professional fraud fighter and pastor was convicted Wednesday of cheating his San Diego church congregation out of some $3 million.
Barry Minkow pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the San Diego Community Bible Church, a U.S. attorney’s statement said. He was already serving a five-year sentence for a securities fraud conviction in Florida and could get five additional years when he is sentenced for the new conviction April 7.
Under the plea, Minkow admitted that he opened unauthorized church bank accounts, forged signatures on checks and used member donations for personal benefit.
GOOGLE DIDN’T KNOW NSA WAS SPYING ON THEIR USERS
Google’s executive chairman has insisted he had no knowledge of the United States National Security Agency’s tapping of the company’s data, despite having a sufficiently high security clearance to have been told.
He said that he and other members of the search company were outraged by the tapping carried out by the NSA and the UK’s that was first revealed in the Guardian last June – and that they had “complained at great length” to the US government over the intrusion. Google had since begun encrypting internal traffic to prevent further spying, he said.
Speaking in a private session atthe Guardian, Schmidt, 58, said: “I have the necessary clearances to have been told, as do other executives in the company, but none of us were briefed. “Had we been briefed, we probably couldn’t have acted on it, because we’d have known about it. I’ve declined briefings [from the US government] about this because I don’t want to be constrained.”
But Schmidt, who was Google’s chief executive from 2001 to April 2011, was equivocal on the question of a pardon for Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked the documents that led to the revelations. “Had this information not come to light, we would not have been able to [stop the NSA spying]. I can understand the position he felt.” But on the question of whether Snowden should be pardoned or jailed, he said: “I don’t think it’s so obvious one way or the other.” He said that the broad debate about the level of oversight there should be on government surveillance was “a luxury problem” compared with countries such as China, which operate strict censorship of internet use.
Schmidt predicted that China’s adoption of smartphones and social networks such as Weibo and WeChat, which have around 300 million users each, would eventually overwhelm its government’s ability to censor online discussion there. “You can’t heavily censor that many people all the time. They don’t understand the power of empowering a hundred million Chinese, no matter how brutal they’re going to be with the bloggers.”
Schmidt also acknowledged that his “humanitarian mission” to North Korea in January 2013 could be seen as controversial. But he indicated that he was under no illusions about his welcome there. “Everyone you meet, everyone you see in the street, is an actor,” he said.
But the reality of the desperation of North Korean life was evident from the efforts people made to contact the outside world by heading to its frontiers with smuggled mobile phones to get a signal and make calls. “They know that the penalty for being caught is that they will persecute your family for three generations,” he said. “Yet they do it because it is so important to them to communicate.”
RARE HUGE DIAMOND DISCOVERED IN SOUTH AFRICA
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) A rare blue diamond has been unearthed at a South African mine famed for being the source of some of the most valuable gems ever found. Reuters reported that the 29.6-carat acorn-sized stone was discovered earlier this month at the Cullinan Diamond Mine near Pretoria. The mine, owned by the Jersey-based firm Petra Diamonds since 2008, is most famous for being the place where the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond was discovered in 1905. Still the largest rough gem diamond ever found, the Cullinan diamond was eventually cut into nine pieces, the largest two of which — the Great Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa — are among the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, held in the Tower of London.
More recently, the mine was also where a 25.5 carat blue diamond was found last year and sold for $16.9 million. In 2008, a diamond known as the Star of Josephine was also found at the mine and sold for $9.49 million. Petra Diamonds chief executive Johan Dippenaar told Reuters that the latest discovery could be worth even more.
“By some margin … this is probably the most significant stone we’ve ever, in terms of blue stones, recovered,” Dippenaar said. “The stones in the last year or so are selling well above $2 million per carat. That’s not my quote, that’s updates in the market.” Dippenaar said that the company would decide what to do with the diamond within the next week.
TOYOTA MOST POPULAR AUTOMOBILE WORLDWIDE
TOKYO – Toyota remains the top automaker in global vehicle sales for the second year in a row, beating U.S. rival General Motors by some 270,000 vehicles in 2013. Toyota Motor Corp. says Thursday it sold 9.98 million vehicles worldwide last year, up 2 percent from the previous year, when it bounced back from an earthquake that devastated northeastern Japan in 2011.
Toyota plans to sell 10.32 million vehicles globally in 2014. No automaker has ever topped global annual sales of 10 million.
General Motors Co. sold 9.71 million cars and trucks worldwide last year, outselling Volkswagen AG of Germany at 9.5 million.
SMALL AMERICAN CARS VERY DANGEROUS
Many of the smallest cars sold in America did very poorly in a challenging crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Of 11 subcompact and minicars subjected to the Institute’s small overlap crash test only one, General Motors’ GM’s Fortune 500 Chevrolet Spark did reasonably well.
Six of the cars earned the Institute’s lowest rating of “Poor.” Those were the Nissan Versa, Toyota Prius , Hyundai Accent, the Mitsubishi Mirage, Chrysler’ss Fiat 500, and theHonda Fit.
The Mazda2, Kia Rio, Toyota Yaris and Ford Fiesta were deemed Marginal, the second-worst of four possible ratings.
Most of these cars have done well in the Institute’s other crash tests and in government tests. The Insurance Institute is a private organization financed by auto insurers.
The Spark earned a rating of Acceptable. None of the cars earned the top rating of Good.
ANNUAL CONDOM FASHION SHOW TO BE HELD AT MONTANA STATE
Montana State University (MSU) will host its fifth annual “Latex and Lace Condom Fashion Show” next month, in which about 30 students will model outfits made out of condoms. A family and public policy expert condemned the event as a distraction and discussed three sexual cultures that can be found on Americas college campuses today.
Janice Crouse, Executive Director and senior fellow at Concerned Women for America told The Christian Post, “Such publicity stunts avoid addressing the real challenges facing young people – including the desire for authentic, meaningful relationships.”
MSU sexual health educator Ashlyn Alsberg told The Daily Caller that the show is meant to be an educational opportunity for students to learn about sexual health. “We want the audience and models to learn about sexual health in a very interactive and fun way. We want condoms to be not so much of a taboo thing to talk about. This is just another way for today’s college student population to feel they are avant-garde in blasé sexuality,” Crouse explained.
CWA Crouse also relates the fashion show to three distinct sexual cultures found on college campuses, starting with the Sexual Revoultion of the 1960s.
1. The Sexual Revolution
“Adults long ago abandoned their leadership role on campus, leaving undergraduates to set the tone and cultural climate of student interactions,” said Crouse about the Sexual Revolution. In the 1960s, campus activists rebelled against the classical and Christian understanding of sexuality, as it restricted sex to marriage between one man and one woman. The premise of the Sexual Revolution was “if it feels good, do it,” and “make love, not war.” This new freedom was meant to unleash sexual energy long kept dormant by traditional family structures.
2. Campus sexuality
Instead of new energy, however, the movement found boredom. Today, Crouse explained, “crudity, junior-high-type of behavior prevails with objectification of girls and unfettered sex.” But “college students seem to find it challenging to dream up titillating new innovations to spice up their events and feel risqué.”
“Sexual freedom degenerated into sexual license,” Crouse commented, noting that “each successive generation of students pushes the envelope even further.” Slowly, discovery, adventure and excitement have disappeared in the wake of sexual indulgence. “There are few frontiers of sexual crudity left,” Crouse explained, leaving the “pioneers” with nothing to discover, and an increasing sense of boredom.
3. A new Christian sexual culture
“Young people are seeing their friends destroyed by the drinking and drug scene; they are seeing the damage of drink-fueled, meaningless sex,” she said. Among these damaging effects, Crouse listed abortion, rape and hooking-up, which, she believes, hurts people by taking the human connection out of sex.
In response to these negative effects, a Christian culture of sexually-restrained fun is re-emerging on college campuses. “Strong Bible study groups and Christian para-church organizations are providing support, training and good, clean fun,” said Crouse, who predicts that these organizations will bring some of the meaning back into sex, and some healing to the damage caused by the “hook-up culture.”
NEW JELLY BELLY FLAVOR – BEER!
For more than 100 years, Jelly Belly has been a leading name in the jelly bean industry, with flavors like Buttered Popcorn, Toasted Marshmallow and Bubble Gum. And now? Beer. The new flavor is nonalcoholic but tastes just like “a Hefeweizen ale.”
BILL COSBY RETURNING TO NBC
(CNN) – Bill Cosby is returning to NBC with a new sitcom, a network rep told CNN on Wednesday night. The comedian will play the patriarch of a multi-generational family.
The show brings the 76-year-old comedian back to the same network were his ground-breaking 1980s sitcom “The Cosby Show” had an eight-year run.
Cosby’s career is in its fifth decade. He started out performing stand-up comedy in small clubs in Greenwich Village in New York. He eventually landed a pivotal co-starring role in the 1960s television series “I Spy,” where he was the first-ever African-American lead in a weekly dramatic series. Cosby won three Best Actor Emmy Awards for the role of undercover CIA agent Alexander Scott.
Cosby received Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He most recently received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which is awarded to performers who use comedy to influence American society.
SONG JONI EARAKSON TADA SINGS IN MOVIE
IS NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR
Like David versus Goliath, an upstart Christian film has shocked the world by winning an unlikely victory in the form of an Academy Award nomination. Only this time, the crowds aren’t cheering for David. Instead, mainstream-media Oscar reviewers across the nation have blasted the Academy for choosing the hymn-like testament to God’s presence over hits by pop artists like Jay-Z and Taylor Swift.
“I can’t figure any of this,” an unnamed competitor told the Hollywood Reporter after learning his or her song was beaten out by “Alone Yet Not Alone,” the title song from the faith-themed movie of the same name.
“It is difficult to understand why ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ snagged an Oscar nomination over more acclaimed and high-profile competitors,” the Hollywood Reporter wrote, claiming multiple people whose songs were snubbed by Academy’s music branch wonder how “a song that has been heard by virtually no one outside the branch from a film that hardly anyone has seen” secured an Oscar nomination.
Across the country, dozens of Hollywood-watching publications were quick to heap criticism on “Alone But Not Alone.”Ty Burr of the Boston Globe penned a blog post about “Alone Yet Not Alone” titled “The Oscar nomination that stinks to heaven.”
“Its inclusion is questionable, and evidence that strides still need to be made when it comes to the Oscar song field,” reads a particularly pointed criticism from the Los Angeles Times.
NewNowNext, a division of Viacom’s LGBT channel LogoTV called it “a clunky song from an obscure Christian movie score” and blasted the movie for having an “anti-gay connection” because of endorsements from Rick Santorum and James Dobson, among others. “It’s crammed with sappy Christian aphorisms,” writes NewNowNext’s Dan Avery of the song, “and over-produced to within an inch of its life.”
But it’s not as though the song has no pedigree nor business securing a nomination. As WND reported, “Alone Yet Not Alone” was performed by Christian author, singer and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada and was written by Dennis Spiegel and Bruce Broughton, who had already received an Academy Award nomination for his score for “Silverado” and who boasts nine Emmy Awards for his musical compositions on television.
“Songs are highly subjective,” explains George D. Escobar, who served as a producer, co-director and co-writer on the film “Alone But Not Alone.” “The fact that some people do not like it is perfectly reasonable and acceptable. Others absolutely love the song. Comparing ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ against the popularity of other Oscar contenders is natural. But we should also compare it to the message it conveys,” he continued. “It’s the only song that is about God’s faithfulness during our times of affliction and persecution. Most of the other songs are about rebellion and self-reliance. Isn’t it nice to have some contrast in the marketplace?”
Escobar also warned critics to beware masking another motive in criticizing the nomination of the song. It shouldn’t matter whether this movie is a ‘Christian film’ or not. That’s equivalent to someone criticizing another movie for being a ‘black film’ or a ‘white film.’ It’s hypocritical to impose a double-standard like that,” Escobar said. “I would ask audiences and critics to give the song fair consideration for its intent within the movie and how it supports the story being told. That’s a key eligibility criteria from the Academy itself.”
Joni Eareckson Tada told The Hollywood Reporter she’s delighted and surprised her song has been given this honor. “I’m the least likely candidate to record a song for a movie, I’ll tell you that up front. So it’s amazing.”
“It’s amazing enough that a family-friendly movie with a Christian theme is nominated in any category for an Academy Award. Besides ‘The Blind Side,’ which was wonderful, it’s just not the norm.”
“I so resonate with the words, with the tune, the melody,” Eareckson Tada said of “Alone Yet Not Alone.“ Maybe it’s because I’m a quadriplegic, maybe because I sit down in a ‘stand up’ world and sometimes I can feel a little alone. And so to sing it from the heart and to sing it with that kind of personal passion, I hope does the melody and the lyrics proud.”
Joni has been a quadriplegic since a diving accident when she was 17, has no professional training as a singer, and her accident has left her with just half the lung capacity of what it ought to be. In fact, The Reporter reports, her husband needed to push on her diaphragm while she recorded the Oscar-nominated song to give her enough breath to hit the high notes.
“This is such an out-of-left-field thing,” she said. “The God of the Bible delights in using ill-equipped, unskilled and untrained people in positions of great influence, everyone from Joseph to David. It’s all to show that it’s not by human prowess or brassiness, but all by God’s design. I don’t know if that’s what he’s doing here, but it’s worth giving pause and considering.”
Many who have heard the song are beginning to agree it’s wonderful. Asked which title should win the Best Original Song category, over 70 percent of respondents have answered “Alone Yet Not Alone,” while the widely perceived front-runner, “Let It Go” from the film “Frozen,” has garnered less than 20 percent of the vote.
An Academy Award nomination is sure to put a spotlight on “Alone Yet Not Alone” according to Enthuse Entertainment, which made the film, it’s not the first indication the movie may soon gain even more attention. The movie’s limited theatrical release, Enthuse reports, boasted one of 2013′s highest grossing film-opening weekends in terms of per-screen average (combining theater ticket sales with Seatzy ticket sales), reaching $13,396 per screen.
“This per-screen average dwarfed the screen average of most other wide release movies, including ‘Enough Said’ (which did $9,238 per screen) and ‘Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2′ (which did $8,439 per screen),” Enthuse stated, “ranking ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ as one of the highest per-screen average independently released faith-based films to date.”
“Alone Yet Not Alone” is scheduled for nationwide release June 13, 2014.
Escobar, who also serves as WND’s Vice President of Film and Television, is co-founder of the Advent Film Group and has directed several top documentaries for WND Films, including,“the Isaiah 9:10 Effect”and “The Rabbi Who Found The Messiah.”
A sneak peak behind the making of the now Oscar-nominated song sung by Joni Erackson Tada can be seen on the web at reachmorenow.com A preview of the movie is also there. Joni’s beautiful book and life story which I narrate–The God I Love – is there too.
“Alone Yet Not Alone” is scheduled for nationwide release June 13, 2014.
HERE’S THE THIRD FILM NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD
This is the one movie that is worthy of an Oscar. Sandra Bullock’s performance is astounding. The whole movie is totally unique and portrays a lost soul lost in space and could be shown in a church. George Clooney is great too. That’s just about the whole cast with Sandra carrying it most of the way. One last thing, this movie reviewer is absolutely right. It belongs on a theater screen. Anything smaller will shrink it’s greatness. Go see it. It’s out once again for a very limited run. Ray
GRAVITY
Director, Alfonso Cuaron; Rated PG-13
“Demands superlatives for its visual presentation; it should be seen on a large screen, in 3D, to be fully appreciated… Gravity‘s most poignant moment comes when Stone, sure she’s facing imminent death, says no one will mourn for her, and no one will pray for her soul. She doesn’t know how to pray. Is there Anyone out there that can hear her? she wonders. Forced to confront her own mortality, Stone is shaken out of her lingering sorrow over her daughter’s death to consider the idea that there might be Someone who cares about the dire situation in which she finds herself.” ~Christian Hamaker
DUCK DYNASTY INSPIRING PRAYER IN SCHOOLS
Reality TV show “Duck Dynasty” is inspiring students to pray in schools across the country, according to 16-year-old “Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson. Sadie said students are now forming “Duck Dynasty Clubs” to pray before lunch at schools.
WAKE UP, CHRISTIANS!
A letter from David Green, founder and CEO Of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
“The wisdom that comes from above is first, pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruit, without uncertainty or insincerity.” James 3:17
When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God’s word.
From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.
We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest.
We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance.
Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.
Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running.
Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right.
I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief.
So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.
My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American and no American business should have to make.
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church.
Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on to all your contacts.
Sincerely,
David Green
CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Christians never meet for the last time.
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Thursday, January 23, 2014