The Internet phenomenon of "blogging" has mesmerized the world.  The term is a contraction of "web log," and each day millions of bloggers are transforming the way people obtain news and information, forcing the mainstream media to adjust to the changing times. 

Our world is awash in violence.  Consider the California man dressed as Santa and accused of a murderous shooting spree.  Police report that he began by shooting an innocent eight-year-old girl in the face and then shot at least nine people before killing himself (CNN.com, December 25, 2008). 

In the days before good ventilation, coal miners never entered a mine without a canary in a cage. Canaries sing constantly, and if the canary ceased singing (and passed out), it signaled immediate evacuation of the mine, due to buildup of deadly carbon monoxide and methane gases.

America remains at the center of an economic and moral meltdown.  As we have long warned, our moral meltdown will cause our economic meltdown, and without real repentance our sins will ultimately contribute to our prophesied destruction.  Even well known "Wall-Street insiders" are now beginning to make this connection!  When famous hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt spoke at the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit, his condemnation of a nation without a "moral compass" was scathing and largely accurate.

In 2008, an epochal event passed mostly unnoticed.  For the first time in history, more than 50% of humanity now lives in cities.  What are some issues and some predictions for our growing cities, and for civilization as a whole?