Michio Kaku, world famous physicist and nimble ice skater, wrote a fascinating book called Parallel Worlds upon which the documentary of the same name is based. Both book and television special explore theoretical notions of creation from a humanist perspective. And therein lies the fault. All calculations lead back to the instant of the so-called ‘big bang’, but nothing can break through the instant before the big bang. 

Sad, isn’t it? String theory, membrane theory, and parallel universes tickle the brains of men and women like Kaku, but in their zeal to unravel mysteries, they miss what lies at the end of the ‘string’. The Creator. The One who came before.

In the beginning, God….Once you accept Him, then everything makes sense. God created our universe, so He gets to make the rules.  What I find the most amazing is that He provided His own Son as our Salvation — because WE broke HIS rules.

Wow. 

When I studied opera back in Nebraska, Beverly Sills was among my top ten favorite female artists. Beyond her remarkably light soprano, she possessed an incomparable drive to succeed. She took opera out of its dusty old box and presented it to the Muppet generation.  

Sills never once smoked, so her death from inoperable lung cancer is all the more tragic.

If you’re a fan, then you’ll also enjoy this finale concert from 1980, when ‘Bubbles’ retired from a 25 year performance career at the Met. Be warned, her fittingly poignant ‘finale’ is a Portuguese folk song of ‘farewell’ that left me weeping.  
   

This isn’t anything new, of course. We’ve all read the story of European soldiers bringing smallpox to “the New World” native population. In 1520, Hernando Cortez and his men introduced smallpox to the natives Mexico during their assault on the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan. In the years that followed, almost 90% of the population of the New World was killed by smallpox.A well-known example of an ‘emerging disease’ is hantavirus, a negative-sensed, single-stranded RNA viron first discovered in the 1950s in Korea. In 1993, a new species of hantavirus emerged in the four-corners area of New Mexico. Exposure to this nasty, rodent-vectored bug resulting in cardiovascular and pulmonary dysfunction.

In Africa, hemorrhagic diseases such as Marburg and Ebola ravage entire villages; each outbreak a mere plane ride away from major world cities. In India, Dengue Fever and Chikungunya have infected as much as 45% of the population — again advanced travel means these viruses will eventually take a trip to Europe or the US.

Now, those who know me, or who have listened to PID Radio for a while, know that I keep a small and very stylish tinfoil hat on my desk, just in case I need it when considering happenings in the world that just don’t add up. I’ll admit, that I’ve used that aluminum ‘thinking cap’ while considering a new and emerging disease now being reported in Texas, California, and Florida: Morgellons.

If you’re unfamiliar with Morgellons disease, you’re not alone. In fact, even medical professionals admit ignorance whenever this very new, very distrurbing disorder is mentioned. According to the Morgellons Research Foundation, victims of this mystery ailment complain of fibrous or filmentous structures that actually seem to be growing from their skin. In addition, patients report the presence of seed-like granules and black speck-like material associated with their skin. Patients report crawling, itching, stinging sensations as well as skin lesions that refuse to heal. Not only do patients find little remedy from their doctors, but the depression and neurological sensations sometimes lead to suicidal thoughts.

If you do a web search for ‘Morgellons’, you will find many articles claiming patients are imagining symptoms or even inventing them. What you won’t find is a cure — and you might well find articles written by physicians, scientists, or other so-called experts claiming Morgellons is nothing more than a psychosomatic illness. As a sufferer of Fibromyalgia, I sympathize with anyone who presents with persistent, debilitating symptoms, only to be told ‘it’s all in your head’. That, however, is what many Morgellons victims hear — visit after visit, doctor after doctor, until they must begin to doubt their own sanity.  

The cause of Morgellons is arguable, but I would look to chemical pollutants in our soil, in our skies, and in our food. My genetics professor knew what he was talking about — God bless him.  But Jesus told us two thousand years ago that we’d see a rise in plagues during the countdown to the ‘end of the age’. Mystery illnesses will continue to emerge, doctors will wag their collective heads in puzzlement, and the world will continue to spin.

For now. But the ‘end of the age approaches’ — hoofbeats resound in nightly newscasts. Mystery illnesses, poverty, war, famine, and a chilling coldness of heart permeate our daily lives.

Do you know Christ as your Savior? If not, what’s keeping you from making the ultimate choice for Life?  

Romans 13:11 says this: 

…now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.      

Humanists like to think the world is getting better and better. I’m not so sure. In my own lifetime, attitudes and actions prove otherwise. Riders raise dust on the horizon. Are you ready?

A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. — Ezekiel 5:12.And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. — Revelation 6:8

PESTILENCE is a Biblical word meaning disease or plague. The term ‘pestilence’ is rooted in the Latin word pestis based on the Latin verb pestare, meaning ‘to grind or pound’ (certainly disease can wear you down). In fact, the word ‘pestle’ once used by pharmacists is also based on ‘pestare’.Before the invention and convenience of electric grinders, an ancient apothecary (pharmacist) would use this stone or marble instrument to pound and grind ingredients to a fine powder or paste within a stoneware bowl called a ‘mortar’ (interesting how the word mortar sounds like mortal, isn’t it?).The Hebrew word translated as pestilence is deber, a masculine noun referring to disease or plague. Some believe that the mystical word Abracadabra is derived from a combination of ha-brachah, Hebrew for ‘the blessing’ or in magic rites “the curse”, and deber meaning ‘pestilence’.Is it a coincidence that peste, mortar, and deber all relate to death, pharmacology, and magic?Revelation 9:20-21 tells us this:

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

The Greek word translated ‘sorceries’ is pharmakeia, a feminine noun upon which our modern word ‘pharmacy’ is based. Starting to see a connection?A search through the King James translation of the Bible will turn up 49 occurrences for ‘pestilence’ (that word count includes the plural form). Often the word follows, ‘sword’, and ‘famine’. Note that in Revelation 6, e find four horsemen released in the breaking of the first four seals. These four riders represent a False Christ, War, Famine, and Pestilence/Death. Clearly, we should take seriously all verses that inlude ‘pestilence’ for these verses indicate God’s judgment upon humanity — Sword, Famine, and Pestilence.But are such 21st illnessess created by God or simply permitted by God? Evidence strongly suggests a human hand behind the new ‘drug-resistant’, ‘mutant’ disease forms. Could there be a dark agenda at work in such ‘pharmakeia’, such ‘sorceries’? Is there a ‘Plan’ to reduce world population by 90%? Could pathogens be genetically programmed to strike only certain groups? Is Big Pharma merely profiting from emergent pathogens, or is the industry’s involvement deeper, more sinister?Only time will tell, but in the meantime, you might want to take stock of your medicine cabinet. Depending on the winds, you might find yourself depending on it.

Our first suspicions

As Derek and I watched the first reports spinning around the cable stations, we suspected something amiss. First of all, why would a sick man want to take an extended vacation? If he was truly ill with TB as suspected, why wasn’t he in treatment? Considering the past SARS scare, why wouldn’t an alert airline employee note a ‘coughing man’ and report it?

What we now know is that Andrew Speaker was asymptomatic — in fact, all signs of TB ended in January or possibly February. (Note: Asymptomatic patients generally do not spread the infection. Contagion occurs during active stages of the disease via aerosolized mycobacterium particles contained within cough ‘spray’ or, in rare cases, after touching a surface contaminated by an infected person — XDR-TB can remain on surfaces for several weeks unless cleaned with a strong disinfectant)

Robert Cooksey issued a public statement today saying he gave his son ‘fatherly advice’ not to travel. He also claims it had never occurred to him that his daughter might be at risk. Cooksey also denied any connections between his son-in-law’s infection and his own job at the CDC.

California Outbreak in 2005

At this juncture, let me remind readers that a small cluster of XDR-TB emerged in California in 2005, infecting seven low-income men in San Francisco, five of whom lived in the same hotel. According to Dr. Masae Kawamura, director of TB control for the city’s Department of Public Health:

[A]fter the first case was identified as drug resistant, all of the patients who have subsequently been diagnosed with the strain have been treated with more than four antibiotics and have not developed additional resistance. That includes a hotel resident from Russia who had been sick for nearly a year before he came in for treatment and apparently carried the drug-resistant strain from Siberia.

You’ll notice in the San Francisco Chronicle article that a carrier from Siberia is mentioned. Why is no one in the press asking the big question: Who is the initial source for Andrew Speaker’s XDR-TB infection? Is there a ‘patient zero’ yet to be identified?

Andrew Speaker’s life reflects that of a healthy, athletic young man. He attended the Naval Academy as an undergraduate and joined the highly secretive Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity (aka PIKE) at University of Georgia. (Well known ‘Pikes’ include Karl Rove, Strom Thurmond, Former WH Chief of Staff Donald Regan, Bill McCartney of Promise Keepers, Pat Robertson of CBN, Ted Koppel, Rick Dees, Fess Parker, and Congressman Pete Sessions, to name but a few).

I found a website that listed Speaker as a runner in the 2002 Gulf Coast Triathalon (his time was 5:42:47). He is heavily involved in community activities (Rotary Club, Brookhaven Boys and Girls Club, Shepherd Spinal Center, and he (and his new bride) both raise Great Danes (my internet search found both their names listed in a local Great Danes club). In other words, Speaker lived an upwardly mobile, active lifestyle. He appears to be thoughtful, well-educated, and responsible. Why would such a man take off for Europe knowing he might be spreading disease not only to fellow passengers but also to his new bride? And — if the CDC and Robert Cooksey considered his infection such a high risk, why wasn’t Speaker put into isolation prior to his wedding?

Summing it all up

For me, the more I learn, the less I know. Each new bit of information raises a dozen questions, and I’m not liking the picture that appears to be forming.

In short, this has all the hallmarks of a ‘test’, a ‘setup’, an excuse for raising public fears, passing more stringent health and travel laws, and perhaps providing healthy human test subjects for TB experiments. What, you ask? Didn’t I mention the recent completion of clinical trials on simians for a new recombinant therapy for XDR-TB? Silly me. The ‘inventor’ of the method is from UCLA — in California. Remember those cases in San Francisco?

Then again, this is all speculation, right?

Here’s what I found. According to an expert quoted in the linked article:

You can obtain a firearm if you are a resident alien and present proof of residency 90 days prior to a purchase. Usually a utility bill for 3 months prior to the day the RA attempts to purchase the firearm bill must match your state DL or ID address. The RA also must must fill out 4473 form and pass a background check. But on a student VISA? No way! Those guns had to be stolen or he fooled the system some how!

So, if the guns were stolen (both guns’ serial numbers had been filed), why the receipt? And why would a shooter keep the receipt for a weapon he intended to use in such a manner? Clearly, the shooter planned the carnage — doors at Norris Hall had been chained — most people don’t carry chains on campus on a normal day. ABC News reported that “sections of chain similar to those used to lock the main doors at Norris Hall, the site of the second shooting that left 31 dead, were also found inside a Virginia Tech dormitory.” This rampage was planned.

He left a note.
Although details are sketchy, police say they’ve found a ‘disturbing note’ in the shooter’s dorm room. Some claim the note is signed ‘Ismail-AX’ in red ink — but the Chicago Tribune reports today that ‘Ismail-AX’ was found on the shooter’s inner arm. The note included ‘rambling accusations’ against ‘rich kids and debauchery’ and ‘deceitful charlatans’. He is said to have set fire to a dorm room and stalked women.

The solitary English major appears to fit the classic description of a ‘lone gunman’. His body was recovered along with those of the victims at Norris Hall. Police report that Seung-Hui’s status as a ‘resident alien’ offers them a thick file for perusal, and that they intend to use fingerprints from the file to compare to those on the weapons. Question: Why can’t police simply fingerprint Seung-Hui’s body? Reports say his face was damaged — presumably by a self-inflicted shot to the head — nowhere does it mention any damage to his hands.

Medication for Depression
Media analysts are now emphasizing that Seung-Hui is reported to have been taking prescribed medication for ‘depression’.

Bomb Threats
April 2 and April 13, Virginia Tech campus received bomb threats that could have been intended as tests for campus police response. Talking heads are attributing this to the careful planning of a loner, but this activity is also typical of terrorist planning. A bomb threat allows terrorists to ascertain response abilities and time, and it reveals locations of any special ops teams (derived by following the SWAT and other special ops vehicles back to their storage locations).

So, what am I saying?

• Two incidents happened yesterday — at 7:15, a ‘domestic dispute’ in a freshman dormitory. During one of several press conferences yesterday, campus police said the description of the West Ambler-Johnston shooter did not match the Norris Hall shooter (when reporters pushed this, the police spokesman denied he had said anything about a description). In fact, police claimed to have a man in custody following this incident — a man who ‘knew the victim’. What about this ‘person of interest’?
• As of last night, police had identified a ‘Chinese national’ who entered the US recently via San Francisco. Seung-Hui is a S. Korean ‘resident alien’ who came to the US at age 8.
• The rampage was clearly planned, so the shooter must have known such an event would surely end in his own death. So, why put a receipt in his backpack (how helpful)?
• What does ‘Ismail-AX mean? Is it a poorly spelled reference to Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son? Islamic tradition considers Ishmael the legitemate heir to Abraham and God’s promises. Was Cho Seung-Hui muslim? I Googled ‘Ismail-ax’ and found several Russian and French blogs with photos — no one looks like Seung-Hui, but there are references to the “Ax Crew”. I Googled that and found various references to hip-hop. This may have no connection, but who can tell yet?
• Police began searching a residence in Virginia, presumably Seung-Hui’s parents’ home, last night — so where did the ‘Chinese national’ story come from?

Right now, we all want answers. We need to find a reason for the unreasonable. Did Seung-Hui commit this horrible crime? Quite possibly. Did he plan it in advance? The evidence suggests that. Was there a second shooter? We’re told the answer to that is ‘no’ — that one of the weapons used at Norris was also used at West Ambler-Johnston. If true, then who were the police questioning for two hours from 7:30 to 9:30? Who is this ‘person of interest’? Is he still in custody?

Here’s what I can tell you: Something feels wrong. In retrospect, it’s clear from current reports that Seung-Hui sent out signals that he was near a breaking point — what caused it? Surely, we’ll learn much more in the hours, days, and weeks to come.

As you hear the latest, be sure to check each new ‘fact’ against the raw information. As with the Holocaust survivors who met yesterday to mourn and remember, Americans need more than just a name for the ‘monster’ — we need the truth.

TODAY is Palm Sunday, and all over the world, church congregations are celebrating with uplifted voices and uplifted palm leaves. They celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as Messiah — an event that quickly turned sour, as Christ’s ‘followers’ sobered to the truth that Jesus would not immediately seize control and roust Rome, but that He intended to die.

That auspicious day began with a visit to a resurrected Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. No doubt, the people in the area knew the story well — this Nazarene raised Lazarus from the dead! Surely, he will use his powers against the Romans! — and so the news apread to Jerusalem that the ‘miracle worker’ was coming to town for Passover.

Imagine the thoughts in the minds of Jesus’ disciples when He commanded them to secure a colt! These men knew well the prophecy contained in Zechariah 9:9:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Whispers, rumors, speculation and exhultation flew from house to house, rooftop to rooftop. Could this be the moment foretold by the prophets? Could the Nazarene be the Messiah? Would he enter through the Eastern Gate?

Neh. 3:29 “…the gate that looketh toward the east: And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.”

The ‘Eastern Gate’ is known today as the Golden Gate — no, not the one in San Francisco. This beautifully arched double gateway is the only one of eight gates that is not open in Jerusalem. Fearing the prophecy in Nehemiah, Arabs long ago sealed up this gate (called Sha’ar harachamim in Arabic). By doing so, they inadvertently fulfilled scripture:

Ezekiel 44:1-3 “Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. And he said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”

How sad that the glorious day that began long ago — a day when Jesus offered himself as Messiah — ended in rejection by God’s chosen people. Since that day, the hearts and minds of the Jewish people have been as closed and shut as the Golden Gate. However, God has promised to open their hearts — and He will again turn His face toward Jerusalem. The King will re-enter that gate — perhaps His very presence will blast it open! — and the world will enter the Millennial reign of Christ.

That sealed gate in Jerusalem represents the closed-mindedness not only of the Jewish people but of the entire world. But God’s ‘door of salvation’ is open — if you choose to believe. Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? If not, please seek Him today! That door will not always remain open.

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Jesus Christ died for you and for me just days after entering that Eastern Gate on Palm Sunday. And He rose again — praise God! Without that resurrection, we would have nothing. Jesus Christ will return — soon — and He will again walk through the Eastern Gate, only this time He will claim His rightful inheritance as King.

Consider Christ this week — get to know the Redeemer personally by asking Him into your heart. He has put before us an open door to Salvation — walk through before it closes.

Now, assuming you have heard any of this in your local newscasts, I’m betting you didn’t hear this next part. The so-called ‘incident’ took place near the city of Abadan (an interesting name to say the least — see Revelation 9:11). While I won’t go into the entire history behind the British government and the nation of Iran, let me center on the important dots to connect regarding today’s incident. Abadan is a very small coastal city whose main – some might say only — function is serving as home to the British built Abadan oil refinery.BP Oil (British Petroleum) grew out of several ‘root’ companies. One of those companies started in 1909 with the discovery of a huge oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. The D’Arcy Concession was a 60-year oil lease between the Shah of Iran (Mozzafar al-Din Shah Qajar, a leader said to be of Turkish descent and hated by Iranians) and William Knox D’Arcy This concession formed one root of today’s BP Oil company in the form of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC).

Through the ensuing decades, oil rights became a tug-of-war rope between Britain and Iran. Disagreements over percentages, pricing, and property came and went with each new set of politicians. The Brits built a massive oil refinery at the pipeline terminus, in the small city of Abadan. This refinery continues to operate today despite a number of attacks throughout the decades.

Following World War II, interference by the Soviet Union in Iranian politics (despite Iran’s stance of remaining neutral at all times) along with rising anti-Shah sentiments culminated in the Abadan Crisis in 1951, when Iranian rebels toppled the monarchy and nationalized the oil fields. Though Truman refused to assist Britain in regaining the fields and the precious oil, Dwight Eisenhower agreed, and in 1953, Operation Ajax restored the Shah to power, and oil revenues once again flowed into western pockets.

Do you think Iranians still remember British intervention in local politics? Is it possible the ‘incident’ in the Persian Gulf near Abadan was meant as a warning to both UK and US oil companies?Keep an eye on the gas pump. Oil will soon be heading up again.

“Freedom isn’t free.”

Thus spake Queen Gorgo to the Spartan Council. “I represent mothers — those without a voice.” And so she stands, embodiment of Liberty — a lone voice crying against the roar of political wolves.Derek and I rarely see films in their initial theatrical releases, preferring to view them at our leisure at home, where we can rewind and take notes. However, we did venture out to our local 14-Plex, where we swam upstream through college student waves in search of the perfect spot down front. (I like to immerse myself in a film — Derek is very indulgent).

Why would we subject ourselves to sticky floors, stale air, and distasteful previews? I could give you ’300′ reasons.

For those who managed to remain awake during ancient history class, the Battle of Thermopylae should sound familiar — even resonant. Certainly it resonated with Frank Miller, who penned a graphic novel about this remarkable battle back in 1998. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the telling of ’300′ stretched over five installments: Honor, Duty, Glory, Combat and Victory.

With the success of Miller’s innovative and stylish Sin City, it isn’t surprising that Hollywood would get behind ’300′, but a close viewing of this artistly beautiful epic reveals a connection on the east coast rather than the west. While I won’t reveal so much as to spoil the film (history buffs might find the storytelling a tad ‘embellished’), I can point out a few parallels to prophecy and politics that should knock you over the head when you see the film.

1. Xerxes represents the typical view of ‘AntiChrist’ — He is clearly a Nephilim — or at least a giant (around ten feet tall, I’d say). He claims to be “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”, and he rules the ‘civilized’ world (or so his minions say) with ‘kindness’ (to quote Xerxes). He’s effeminate and arrogant (“He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.” — Daniel 11:37), and he surrounds himself with depravity and hybrid creatures (we saw a particularly odd, goat-headed man in one scene). In other words, this man represents the slavery of religion — in the embodiment of a self-proclaimed ‘god’.

2. King Leonidis (lion-like or ‘son of a lion’) represents the leader of the Free World, who stalwartly faces Evil even though the rest of the western world abandons him. Leonidis is the descendent of Hercules, which also makes him part god, but he uses his powers of ‘reason’ and dauntless bravery for the betterment of men rather than for selfless means. As the warrior/leader of ‘free men’, Leonidis and his ’300′ select Spartans march into the mouth of a wolf to offer up their blood to keep men free.

3. Queen Gorgo remains behind, keeping the home fires burning. She is seen twice in a field of wheat — staff of life and part and parcel of Virgo (why Gorgo is close to Virgo, isn’t it?), who is pictured in the constellations as bearing a spike of grain in one raised hand. In this respect, Gorgo also stands for Lady Liberty, who must defend the homeland against the politicians who would sell her to the highest bidder (once you see the film, you’ll get my meaning there). She is the Mother of the future, Regina Coeli — she is Isis, wife of the dying god Osiris, mother of Horus.

Have I gotten your attention yet? I could go on, but more might spoil the film for those who haven’t yet ventured out. That said, Miller’s ’300′ is a genuine feast for the eyes, but its cinematic beauty belies a sinister message: Freedom isn’t free. Need I mention Iraq, Iran, Bush, Neocons, Homeland Security, et al? I thought not.One more thing — pay close attention to the final position of Leonidis. It reveals who he represents — Osiris, Nimrod, Christ.