Long dormant volcano Tongariro erupts suddenly; Scientists: "It was a total surprise"

We had a good first day back at school. It was a good but tiring day, mostly due to the furniture we moved around getting our classrooms back together. Overall it was a great re-introduction for my body to get used tot he rigors of working an 8-hour day after literally laying around all summer. Each day this week will get more demanding, until Thursday night's Open House with parents, and Friday when the kids return to school. You know, whoever wrote about 'The Endless Sumer' was seriously misinformed. LOL.

Meanwhile, much to my amazement, the world news kept right on happening while I was away from my computer. Here is some of the more interesting (to me) headlines:

The Hormuz Strait is the world's chokepoint for exported oil. Iran could easily close it, even though Oman 'owns' half the strait. And if Iran does, oil prices would go through the roof. The reason that Iran is discussing this again is because the economic sanctions placed upon Iran by the UN which kicked in in Feb., are starting to have a real and devastating effect. Of course, this economic strangulation has not pushed back the Iranian progress on nukes one inch, but it has made them mad. Hence the talk about closing Hormuz.

MPs, admirals to discuss Strait of Hormuz
"TEHRAN – During a meeting on Sunday, the MPs sitting on the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee and the commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Naval Force and the Iranian Navy will discuss the latest developments in regard to the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz, between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, is a strategic 20-mile-wide link for Persian Gulf oil-exporting nations and the shipping lanes to oil-importing nations."

I think it is extraordinary that Rumsfeld openly admits that the US is acting traitorously toward Israel, our ally. His statement is remarkable if you think about it.

Rumsfeld: Israel needn't notify US about strike
Rumsfeld further criticized the pattern of leaks emerging from White House concerning Iran, and said that "If I were in the Israeli government, I don't think I would notify the United States government of any intent to do anything about Iran. So my guess is, given the pattern of leaks out of the White House, that any prime minister of Israel would not call the United States and give clear intentions as to what they plan to do."

The next news excerpt is a great article on the silliness of the unsaved's thinking. Romans 1:21 says of the reprobate, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

The word foolish here means without comprehension; foolish because incoherent; failing to "put facts together", "lacking synthesis"; & describes a person failing to structure information in a meaningful way, and therefore unable to reach necessary conclusions. And they call us ignorant morons. We see here what God really thinks of the intellectual capacity of the unsaved. The definition goes on to say, this person is illogical because they're unwilling to use good reason.

Peter is more directly blunt. Of those who "and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority," (2 Peter 2:10), "What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire." (2 Peter 2:22).

Homosexuals Demand that Chick-Fil-A Stop Serving “Gay Chicken”
"I must admit I don’t get around much, so I didn’t even know the reliably left-leaning Huff ’n’ Puff Post had a “Gay Voices” section. But yesterday, I read an article from there that covered a recent petition (with a whopping 1,500+ signatures!) that demanded that Chick-Fil-A be consistent with their “anti-homosexual” values and stop serving “homosexual” chicken at their restaurants. As the petition explains, some male chickens will mount other male chickens, so Chick-Fil-A cannot be consistent with their values until they make sure that none of the chicken meat they are serving comes from “homosexual” chickens. Wow. I’ve read some really, really stupid petitions in my life. But that one… Where do you even start?"

While Jesus raises us up day by day, Satan finds a way to make everything a little more depraved than he did the day before. (John 10:10).

The next big gaming accessory: shock collars?
"A pair of masochistic French gamers has created a unique and terrible console modification. By attaching shock collars to the controllers and binding certain game events to their activation, they've made these classic Genesis games even more punishing than they used to be."

This zombie thing is getting out of hand. Anyway, if you click on the link, warning, it's graphic. The makeup they used is realistic, and more gross than any other I've seen. And finally, I simply ask...why? Why do this?

Zombie invasion sparks terror in NY
"AMC teamed up with viral marketing agency Thinkmodo to unleash a horde of supremely gross zombies (expertly created by makeup artist Sue Lee) on the streets of Manhattan, dressing them up as paramedics and mailmen and filming bystanders' reactions to the undead invasion. And the clip has been a huge success, racking up more than 2.5 million views in less than a week. Thinkmodo co-founder Michael Krivicka gives us the inside scoop on the shoot: "We shot this video over the course of eight days in various parts of Manhattan with 13 different zombie characters. The challenge was to keep the zombies hidden and have them pop up at the right moment to scare people and crowds."

Ho-hum, yet another long dormant volcano suddenly rumbles to life, taking scientists completely by surprise... This one's in New Zealand. This article calls the situation "Code Red". The article below calls is a total surprise.

Mt Tongariro erupts for first time in over 100 years
"A total surprise"
 LATEST: Volcanic activity at Mt Tongariro could continue for weeks, months or even years after Tongariro rumbled to life after being dormant for more than 100 years last night. Last night's eruption was a total surprise, so "we have to expect the unexpected", GNS volcanologist Michael Rosenberg said. The mountain erupted at 11.50pm, sending ash across roads and prompting a potential threat warning for central North Island regions. The eruption threw rocks and spewed ash from the Te Mari craters, near Ketetahi hot springs, on the northern side of the mountain, GNS Science said."

There is so much more going on, like the top Syrian Prime Minister defected yesterday, and three Parliament men with him. Palestinians blame Israel for two trees that fell at the Temple Mount, the wildfires in Oklahoma, another shooting (Not the Sikh shooting that killed 6, that was so yesterday, I mean the woman who opened fire on the crowd debarking from the Detroit Princess Riverboat today).

The spaceship Curiosity landed on Mars last night. That's all well and good, but I don't know why people don't just trust Jesus for the pardon of their sins, and after the resurrection go visit Mars in person...

Till next time, if there is one,
Elizabeth