News and Prophecy Staff

Actions in the UN last week forced discussions about a future Palestine.  Since Palestinian president Abbas made his request, five EU nations, including France, have pushed to “upgrade” Palestinian territories to “full-membership” in the UN.   Three other EU nations have joined the UK and U.S.

Professor Richard Dawkins is well known for his philosophical conjecture that life came into existence by chance evolutionary processes.  As a scientist, Dr. Dawkins prefers to lecture on philosophy, ridiculing people for their “irrational” belief in God.  He usually “… declines to talk in San Francisco and New York; these cities are too gloriously godless, as far as he is concerned.  ‘As an atheistic lecturer, you are rather wasting your time,’ he says.  He prefers the Bible Belt, where controversy is raw.”

Last month, hundreds of thousands of Roman Catholic youth from around the globe met in Madrid for World Youth Day (WYD) and to hear Pope Benedict XVI speak.  WYD is designed to reach Roman Catholic youth and bring “meaning” to their beliefs.  “The general consensus from those who have done research on them [WYD youth] is that World Youth Days tend to combine young people’s taste for stars and big events with a spiritual dimension.”

Much of Oklahoma has had no significant rainfall in more than a year, resulting in zero crop growth.  As a consequence, there is virtually no local food for cattle and it must be imported at great cost.  Ranchers are selling entire herds that have taken a decade or more to build because they have no other choice.

“Italy confirmed it held talks with Chinese officials amid speculation Rome is looking to persuade Beijing to buy its bonds or invest in its companies, while premier Silvio Berlusconi flew to Brussels Tuesday to discuss the market turmoil.”  While Berlusconi met with the EU President about Italy’s debt, his government was apparently seeking bailout help from China.  The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times both reported that Italian talks took place last week with the chairman of China Investment Corp.