Cool Stuff

The Wayfarers trilogy by author Jim Yackel

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

Milwaukee Red Cross Told To Prep For Chicago Evacuation During NATO Summit

CHICAGO (CBS) – Is there a secret plan to evacuate some residents of Chicago in the event of major trouble during the NATO summit next month? CBS 2 has uncovered some evidence that there is. It comes from the Milwaukee area branch of the American Red Cross.

CBS 2 News has obtained a copy of a Red Cross e-mail sent to volunteers in the Milwaukee area.




It said the NATO summit “may create unrest or another national security incident. The American Red Cross in southeastern Wisconsin has been asked to place a number of shelters on standby in the event of evacuation of Chicago.”

According to a chapter spokesperson, the evacuation plan is not theirs alone.

Continues here

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Friday, April 20, 2012

Does PayTag mean the end of cash in your pocket?


"Save the Pound” was the cry when we feared Tony Blair was about to sacrifice our ancient currency for membership of the new-minted euro. Having seen off that challenge, those who prefer their money in traditional form face an equally sinister threat from the forces of banking technology. “Save the Pound Note” might have been our slogan if that paper denomination had not been withdrawn from circulation as long ago as 1988: “Save the Tenner” will have to suffice.


The end of the cash economy is nigh. Millions of Barclaycard Visa cardholders are about to find they can make “contactless” payments of up to £15 (and from June, £20) by means of a sticker called a PayTag on the back of their mobile phones, which will merely have to be waved over a reader device without need of a signature or a PIN.



Hardly the end of civilisation, I hear you say: what’s so sinister? Like the Oyster Card and pay-by-phone parking, any electronic application that removes the need to carry a pocket full of change – or scuttle to find some when you’re in a hurry and it’s pouring with rain – is surely to be welcomed.

Technophobia can be irrational, and is overcome by familiarity: some of us resisted hole-in-the-wall cash dispensers long after they were introduced, on the grounds that PIN numbers were hard to remember, the machines were in exposed places and often out of order, and we preferred to be handed cash by a polite cashier who addressed us by name. But the technology became more reliable, PINs and passwords became basic tools of existence, and we realised that bank staff no longer knew or cared who we were. So the ATM became part of the furniture of life, with no accompanying sense of unease.

Continues

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Monday, April 16, 2012

Drought may last until Christmas: Environment Agency


Official drought zones have been declared in a further 17 English counties, as a warning came that water shortages could last until Christmas.

The Environment Agency said dry weather over the past few months had left some rivers in England exceptionally low.

It has now extended its "drought map" into the Midlands and the South West.

Officials say public water supplies are unlikely to be affected by the continuing drought, but are reiterating calls for water to be used wisely.

England's South West and the Midlands have moved into official drought status after two dry winters "left rivers and ground waters depleted", the agency said.

Drought restrictions were already in place in south-east England, East Anglia, parts of the South and Yorkshire.



The Environment Agency said the dry weather was taking its toll on the environment and farmers.

And BBC Midlands Environment Correspondent David Gregory said the impact on farmers was one of the reasons the Midlands was being regarded as a drought zone.

"Although the Midlands now joins the South East and other parts of the UK in drought, the reasons behind the Environment Agency's decision are slightly different," he said.

"For the parched South East it is ordinary consumers who are affected. But in the Midlands that is not the case. Water companies there are all confident there will be no need to introduce a hosepipe ban for customers this year.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test


PYONGYANG/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed on Friday, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt.

The isolated North, using the launch to celebrate the 100th birthday of the dead founding president Kim Il-sung and to mark the rise to power of his grandson Kim Jong-un, is now widely expected to press ahead with its third nuclear test to show its military strength.

"The possibility of an additional long-range rocket launch or a nuclear test, as well as a military provocation to strengthen internal solidarity is very high," a senior South Korean defense ministry official told a parliamentary hearing.




The two Koreas are divided by the world's most militarized border and remain technically at war after an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953.

The United States and Japan said the rocket, which they claimed was a disguised missile test and the North said was to put a satellite into orbit, crashed into the sea after travelling a much shorter distance than a previous North Korean launch.


Its failure raises questions over the impoverished North's reclusive leadership which has one of the world's largest standing armies but cannot feed its people without outside aid, largely from its only powerful backer, China.

Continues here



Friday, April 13, 2012

The Ring Of Fire Is Roaring To Life And There Will Be Earthquakes Of Historic Importance On The West Coast Of The United States


Does it seem to you like there has been an unusual amount of seismic activity around the world lately?  Well, it isn't just your imagination.  The Ring of Fire is roaring to life and that is really bad news for the west coast of the United States.  Approximately 90 percent of all earthquakes and approximately 75 percent of all volcanic eruptions occur along the Ring of Fire.  Considering the fact that the entire west coast of the United States lies along the Ring of Fire, we should be very concerned that the Ring of Fire is becoming more active.  On Wednesday, the most powerful strike-slip earthquake ever recorded happened along the Ring of Fire.  If that earthquake had happened in a major U.S. city along the west coast, the city would have been entirely destroyed.  Scientists tell us that there is nearly a 100% certainty that the "Big One" will hit California at some point.  In recent years we have seen Japan, Chile, Indonesia and New Zealand all get hit by historic earthquakes.  It is inevitable that there will be earthquakes of historic importance on the west coast of the United States as well.  So far we have been very fortunate, but that good fortune will not last indefinitely.


In a previous article, I showed that earthquakes are becoming more frequent around the globe.  In 2001, there were 137 earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater and in 2011 there were 205.  The charts and data that I presented in that previous article show a clear upward trend in large global earthquakes over the past decade, and that is why what happened this week is so alarming.




On Wednesday, a magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia and that was rapidly followed by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia.  Fortunately those gigantic earthquakes did not produce a devastating tsunami, but that doesn't mean that those earthquakes were not immensely powerful.

Normally we only see about one earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or greater per year.  The magnitude 8.6 earthquake was the most powerful strike-slip earthquake in recorded history.  If that earthquake had happened in the United States, it would have probably been the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

Continues

Thursday, April 12, 2012

John McTernan's Insights: As the World Has Done to Israel

John McTernan's Insights: As the World Has Done to Israel



Isaiah 26:9-With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments [are] in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 

Commentary from John Mcternan: Last night I could feel the judgments hovering over America. It was almost palatable, and I was very upset in my spirit. Something is going on with Obama and Israel behind the scene that we are not fully aware of. Maybe Obama is getting ready to sellout Israel? I just could not go to bed but was researching and reading. I posted the Earthquake Warning early this morning.

After making the posting, I still was restless and continued to research and the Lord God of Israel led me to an amazing correlation of events! What a warning that He is issuing, not only to the United States, but to the entire world! The entire world is now on a direct collision course with the God of Israel over the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. The covenant is over the land of Israel and Jerusalem. The world is trying to break the covenant and the LORD God of Israel is about to break the world.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

New Microchip Knows Your Location To Within Centimeters


The development of a new microchip for cell phones that knows the user’s location to within a few centimeters confirms the fact that contrary to biblical fears about mandatory implantable microchips, people have willingly exchanged their privacy for convenience and that the cell phone itself is the de facto “mark of the beast”.

“Broadcom has just rolled out a chip for smart phones that promises to indicate location ultra-precisely, possibly within a few centimeters, vertically and horizontally, indoors and out,” reports MIT Technology Review.



“In theory, the new chip can even determine what floor of a building you’re on, thanks to its ability to integrate information from the atmospheric pressure sensor on many models of Android phones. The company calls abilities like this “ubiquitous navigation,” and the idea is that it will enable a new kind of e-commerce predicated on the fact that shopkeepers will know the moment you walk by their front door, or when you are looking at a particular product, and can offer you coupons at that instant.”

Over 82% of Americans own cell phones, with around half of these being smart phones. In the near future, the majority of Americans will own smart phones that will have the ability to track their location down to a few centimeters.

Continues

Comments, Hate Mail, and News Sources

Russia Massing Troops on Iran's Border

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Monday, April 9, 2012

2012-Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars-Just The First 3 Months





What is going on? This is just the first 3 months of 2012, What else is to come?


2012-Signs (Pt 2) in the Sun, Moon, and Stars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OnY3ICB1co&feature=plcp&context=C43e3...


2012 ( Pt. 3) Signs in the Sun, Moon, & Stars- Setting Up The Great Deception:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IUvJ5BYwDE&feature=plcp&context=C4599...

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Ice shelf in Antarctica has shrunk by 85%


A vast ice shelf in the Antarctic peninsula, a hotspot for global warming, has shrunk by 85 percent in 17 years, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Thursday.

Images taken by its Envisat satellite show that the so-called Larsen B ice shelf decreased from 11,512 square kilometres (4,373 square miles) in 1995, an area about the size of the Gulf state of Qatar, to only 1,670 sq km (634 miles) today.
Larsen B is one of three ice shelves that run from north to south along the eastern side of the peninsula, the tongue of land that projects towards South America.



From 1995 to 2002, Larsen B experienced several calving events in which parts of the shelf broke away. It had a major breakup in 2002 when half of the remainder disintegrated.
Larsen A broke up in January 1995.

"Larsen C so far has been stable in area, but satellite observations have shown thinning and an increasing duration of melt events in summer," the agency said in a press release.
Ice shelves are thick floating mats of ice, attached to the shore, that are created by the runoff into the sea from glaciers.


Read more here

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Texas Tornadoes, Weird Weather, Watch Out





Jim talks about powerful tornadoes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, abnormally warm weather in the Northeast, the Anti-Christ and the real Christ.

PENTAGON ACTIVATES MISSILE DEFENSES FOR NORTH KOREAN LAUNCH


The Pentagon recently activated its global missile shield in anticipation of North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile, according to defense officials.

The measures include stepped-up electronic monitoring, deployment of missile interceptor ships, and activation of radar networks to areas near the Korean peninsula and western Pacific.

Three interceptor ships near Japan and the Philippines, as well as U.S.-based interceptors, are ready to shoot down the North Korean missile if space-, land-, and sea-based sensors determine its flight path is targeted at the United States or U.S. allies, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

AP Images


The Obama administration will regard any launch by North Korea as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions regardless of whether the North Koreans claim the rocket test is for space launch purposes, the officials said. The technology and rocketry used for a space launch is nearly identical to that used with ballistic missiles that carry a warhead, they said.

Also, because the payload or warhead of the test launch cannot be determined prior to launch, the Obama administration decided to activate the missile defense system.

According to U.S. officials, current intelligence assessments indicate the North Korean missile will be launched from a base called Tongchang-ri, located on a west coast peninsula north of Pyongyang between April 12 and April 15.

More here

Monday, April 2, 2012

Email and web use 'to be monitored' under new laws

The government will be able to monitor the calls, emails, texts and website visits of everyone in the UK under new legislation set to be announced soon.

Internet firms will be required to give intelligence agency GCHQ access to communications on demand, in real time.

The Home Office says the move is key to tackling crime and terrorism, but civil liberties groups have criticized it.





Tory MP David Davis called it "an unnecessary extension of the ability of the state to snoop on ordinary people".

Attempts by the last Labour government to take similar steps failed after huge opposition, including from the Tories.


'Unprecedented step'

A new law - which may be announced in the forthcoming Queen's Speech in May - would not allow GCHQ to access the content of emails, calls or messages without a warrant.

But it would enable intelligence officers to identify who an individual or group is in contact with, how often and for how long. They would also be able to see which websites someone had visited.

In a statement, the Home Office said action was needed to "maintain the continued availability of communications data as technology changes".


Continue reading

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Jesus, Sharpton, MLK, Civil Unrest

Coins, paper money, plastic cards soon to be historic relics?


The timeline futurists have predicted for the arrival of a cashless society came into sharp focus March 22 when financial industry experts briefed members of Congress on the rapid development and public adoption of mobile payment devices.

During the first of three hearings the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit says it plans to conduct on the future of money, technology experts noted that the ability to use handheld devices — smart phones — to access financial services in-store and online has already opened up channels of transactions that were not possible just a few years ago.



And, amazingly, the experts said that within the next five years smart phones are likely to become the primary way most Americans pay for goods and services, no matter the size of transactions.

Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard Worldwide, in his prepared testimony noted that while 85 percent of today’s transactions are still being conducted using cash and checks, smart phones and the Near Field Communication technology now used in them and tablets such as iPads provide such convenient and secure environment that their use will rapidly displace not only coins and paper money, but credit and debit cards as well.

Many in the numismatic community will likely be skeptical of such a rapid march to jettison traditional forms of money, especially in the United States, where we’ve spent more than 30 years trying to replace the $1 Federal Reserve note with a dollar coin and failed, despite logic and costs clearly pointing to the wisdom of such a change. Many researchers say the biggest obstacle to changing to dollar coins has been the “convenience factor.”

If convenience is truly the reason the small dollar coin has failed in the United Stares, then the financial technology experts are likely right on target. Smart phones and tablets are convenient and their use is growing by leaps and bounds. (The experts told Congress that wireless subscriber connections now exceed the total U.S. population and almost one out of three are smart phones or wireless enabled Personal Communications Digital Assistants.)

More Here