A Boom Year For the Legendary Draconid Meteors in 2011?

“For the next few nights, Draco the Dragon will be spitting out ‘shooting stars,’ also known as meteors. The Draconid shower is predicted to produce the greatest number of meteors on the night of October 8, 2011. Watch for them starting at nightfall. Unfortunately, the waxing gibbous moon will wipe many of these meteors from view, and oftentimes the hard-to-predict shower doesn’t offer much more than a handful of languid meteors per hour.

However, this shower produced major displays in 1933 and 1946 – with thousands of meteors per hour seen in those years – but since then has been so spotty that the tried-and-true Observer’s Handbook – source of so much wonderful sky info – lists a ‘?’ for the rate of meteors expected at the peak of the Draconids. This year, however, some astronomers are calling for a Draconid meteor shower to burst into storm in 2011, with rates of 1,000 meteors per hour.

The forecast calls for the peak to occur between 17:00 and 18:00 Universal Time on October 8, 2001. If the prediction holds true, that means Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East will get to watch the Draconids at their peak.” Read more.

‘The Geomagnetic Storm That Just Won’t Go Away’ – Massive Solar Flare Larger Than Earth Poses Threat to Communication Systems

By Vincent Funaro – “A massive solar flare erupted on the sun at the weekend and has continued to light up the Earth’s skyline throughout the week with watchers in Asia and Europe enjoying the display.

This 62,000 mile sun flare named AR1302 is gigantic, and the Earth pales in comparison when it comes to size.

The flare has produced electromagnetic storms which caused unique light displays in the sky on Earth’s Northern Hemisphere.

But these types of occurrences on the sun can also affect communication systems on the planet.

The flare was deemed ‘the geomagnetic storm that just won’t go away,’ by Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center out of Boulder, Colorado on its Facebook page.

The actual blasts emitted from the flare have not posed a threat to the Earth thus far.

‘None of the blasts have been squarely Earth-directed, but this could change as the sunspot turns toward our planet in the days ahead,’ says NASA. ‘AR1302 is growing and shows no immediate signs of quieting down.'” Read more.

“180” Movie – Changing The Heart For Life

Isaiah 1:18a, “Come now, and let us reason together …”

Source

Report: Iranian Navy Announces They Will Send Military Warships Close to the US Atlantic Coast

“TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran raised the prospect on Tuesday of sending military ships close to the United States’ Atlantic coast, in what would be a major escalation of tensions between the long-standing adversaries.

‘Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders,’ the head of the Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, Sayyari gave no details of when such a deployment could happen or the number or type of vessels to be used.

The declaration comes just weeks after Turkey said it would host a NATO early warning radar system which will help spot missile threats from outside Europe, including potentially from Iran. The decision has angered Tehran which had enjoyed close relations with Ankara.

And it comes a few months after Iran sent warships through the Suez canal, after the fall of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the first time the Islamic Republic had deployed navy vessels in the Mediterranean.” Read more.

Iran just months away from nuclear bomb – “IRAN may be just six months away from developing a nuclear bomb, despite international attempts to thwart the program through sanctions and cyber attacks. Two years after an underground installation in the city of Qmo was revealed in a joint press conference by US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former British prime minister Gordon Brown, Iran has significantly advanced its uranium enrichment program at the site… ‘We believe if Iran broke out now they could have a bomb in six months,’ said David Albright, a former weapons inspector who runs the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington. ‘They’ve done this right in front of our faces.’” Read more.

Israel Hits Back at Turkey as Tensions Soar, Foreign Minister Says Erdogan is a ‘Radical Islamic Extremist’

The fact that attacking Israel is a major, central feature in all of Erdogan’s speeches during his tours of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia speaks volumes in terms of why this man is as popular as he is …

By Abraham Rabinovich – “REPLYING for the first time to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s almost daily tongue lashings of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday termed Mr Erdogan’s latest accusation – that Israel has killed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians — ‘outrageous’.

Israel’s outspoken Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, waded into the fray by declaring that Mr Erdogan’s administration was ‘a radical Islamic extremist leadership that supports and develops terror’.

Mr Erdogan’s attacks on Israel, which have included warnings of naval confrontations, ostensibly stem from Mr Netanyahu’s refusal to apologise for the killing of nine Turkish militants aboard an aid flotilla that attempted last year to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Mr Netanyahu expressed sorrow for their deaths but declined to apologise for the use of force by Israeli naval commandos against men who attacked them with knives and metal staves as they descended from a helicopter.

He also rejected Mr Erdogan’s demand for a lifting of the blockade, which is intended to prevent rockets reaching Gaza by sea.

The Turkish leader began venting his fury after a UN committee, headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, issued a report a month ago finding that, contrary to Turkey’s position, the Israeli blockade was legal, as was its boarding of the flotilla on the high seas. It faulted Israel for using excessive force, but acknowledged that the commandos who boarded the vessels were obliged to use force when attacked by the militants.

The Turkish leader ordered the termination of extensive defence contracts and other dealings with Israeli firms and recalled his ambassador to Tel Aviv. He also threatened to send warships to dispute Israeli claims to gas-rich underwater tracts in the eastern Mediterranean. No less ominous were his warning to send warships to protect Turkish aid vessels running Israel’s blockade of Gaza, an almost certain scenario for war, at least at sea.

In a tour of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, his attacks on Israel were a central feature of all his talks.” Read more.

Indonesia: Suicide Bomber Attacks Packed Indonesian Church, Victims Respond … With Forgiveness

“Jakarta – A suicide bomber attacked a packed Indonesian church Sunday wounding at least 27 people, some critically, and sending terrified worshippers rushing out into the streets in panic.

The morning bombing in the city of Solo, in Central Java, was the latest in a spate of attacks on minority religious groups in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Solo, a city of 500,000, is the home of militant Islamist spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir, who was jailed in June for 15 years for funding a terrorist group that was planning attacks against Westerners and political leaders.

Kristanto, a worshipper, said he and his wife were getting ready to leave at the end of the service at the Bethel Injil Church when the bomb rocked the building.

‘I was about to head home when a very loud explosion shocked me. A crowd of people from inside the church rushed to the streets,’ he told AFP.

‘They were screaming and very hysterical. The peaceful Sunday has quickly become a chaotic situation.'” Read more.

Victims of suicide attack respond by forgiving bomber – “… Paul Estabrooks with Open Doors says the reasons behind the attacks may be complicated, but essentially it’s a matter of Muslim extremist agendas. ‘The strong Muslim community — and especially the extremist group among them — wants to establish Sharia law throughout the island,’ explains Estabrooks. ‘They see the church as the biggest stumbling block in the way of their plan.’ … Believers are traumatized and in need of prayer for healing, but just two days later some are already responding with Christ’s grace. One of the injured victims, Hari Daniel Restono, told Open Doors that he forgives the bomber. ‘A young, 17-year-old injured victim of this terrible explosion says that he’s already forgiven the bomber because he thought that what he was doing was the right way to practice his religion,’ says Estabrooks. This kind of forgiveness may open doors to share Christ’s love and the message of salvation.” Read more.

Iran’s Watch on Christians Intensifies, Says Open Doors USA

By Alex Murashko – “The Iranian government’s tracking of Christians in Iran has intensified over the last several months, according to Open Doors USA, an organization that provides help to persecuted believers in Jesus worldwide.

In Iran, Christians gather in house churches, which are being increasingly discovered. Members are then subjected to various forms of harassment, including imprisonment, job termination and separation from family.

Open Doors estimates that there are 350,000 Christians from a Muslim background living in Iran. The country’s current regime lost credibility following the turmoil of the 2009 elections, and in an effort to distract attention from continuing protests, it is increasingly lashing out against Christians, Open Doors USA leaders say.

Michael Wood, an American who works in the Middle East office of Open Doors USA, told The Christian Post that the house church movement in Iran is one of the fastest growing in the world. However, the Iranian government is doing its best to squelch the movement, he said.

‘Over the last few months they have made a really strong attempt to undermine what’s going on in the house church movement. They are tearing apart meeting places. If they find out somebody has been involved in a house church group they are arrested or really intimidated,’ Wood said. ‘They are listened to on their cell phones. Houses will be broken into and Bibles and Christian material will be confiscated.'” Read more.

Iran: Imprisoned Christian Pastor Will Not Return to Islam and Renounce Christ, Execution Set For As Early As September 29

Hebrews 13:3, “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

Sahih Bukhari 52:260, “… The Prophet [Mohammed] said, ‘If somebody discards his [Islamic] religion, kill him.” (Hadith)

John 16:2b, “… the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.”

By Stefan J. Bos – “RASHT, IRAN (Worthy News) – A young pastor of Iran’s largest house church movement has told an Iranian court he will not ‘recant’ his faith in Christ despite facing execution as early as Thursday, September 29, for abandoning Islam, church sources said.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani of the Church of Iran was asked by the Gilan provincial court in the city of Rasht to ‘repent’ ahead of his next hearing Tuesday, September 27. However Nadarkhani declined, according to comments obtained by BosNewsLife.

‘Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?,’ the 34-year-old church leader asked during his first hearing Sunday, September 25.

When the court told him to return ‘to the religion of your ancestors, Islam’ Nadarkhani replied: ‘I can not.’

The Court said however that Youcef Nadarkhani, whose first name is also spelled as Yousef, has ‘Islamic ancestry’ and therefore ‘must recant his faith in Jesus Christ,’ trial observers said.

Yet, fellow Christians following the trial described Youcef Nadarkhani as ‘being happy [with] his faith strong.'” Read more.