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GOD MELTED MY GUITAR STAND

by firstfridays

Originally printed at http://www.wbng.com/younews/52019512.html

GOD MELTED MY GUITAR STAND
On June 5th 2009

On Friday Night at First Fridays Revival meeting on June 5th, I had a strange thing that happened. After the intense meeting I went to pack up my equipment. I noticed that my guitar stand was melted. Yes my guitar stand melted. The rubber part on top of my guitar stand was all melted. Also I noticed that the metal part was rusted. It looked like it been through heavy fire. I showed it to several people at the church to witness, this. They were all in shock. "I guess you were really hot play tonight" joking in amazement. After all that excitement, what about my guitar. I went to check out my guitar. I notice that my guitar was fine. No damage. Some how my guitar stand was the only thing melted, but my guitar was not. Now that is a miracle.

What is God doing!! I don't know. But what ever he wants to do It's all right, He is God. Signs and wonders. Unexplainable I say.

God Bless, Sam

http://www.wbng.com/younews/52019512.html

Press Release: GOD MELTED MY GUITAR STAND

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! OPPOSE NATIONAL HEALTH CARE BILL!

This is from Rick Joyner
SPECIAL BULLETIN


NATIONAL HEALTH SCARE

By Rick Joyner


When I read the brief on what was contained in the National Health Care bill that is now being presented before Congress, I could not believe I was reading something that was actually being considered in the United States of America. This is not about money or government mismanagement—this is about something far more diabolical than that. As incomprehensible as it may seem, this is about euthanasia, the power to determine who lives or dies in America. Hitler and Stalin would have loved to have had a means such as this for dispatching the millions they killed—it would have made their job much easier, and probably given them the ability to kill many more than they did. THIS BILL IS THAT SINISTER. This is not a joke—this is actually the nature of what is being proposed in the National Health Care legislation, and it is the obvious reason why the Obama Administration wants to ram it through Congress before anyone gets a chance to read it.

I have resolved to always be as generous as I can toward people with opposing views of my own. I do this because I believe it is the mandate of I Corinthians 13 to always believe the best about people, rather than the worst. I know this opens me up to be misled by some, but I consider that a small price to pay to not become cynical. I also do it because I think it is wise to always try and understand the position of my opponents—to be open to consider their positions and not be too rigid or inflexible to change because we all “see in part,” and “know in part.” Because of this, I have been chided for being too generous by giving those I do challenge grace by believing that they had not thought through the consequences of their proposals, or had other good intentioned reasons for doing what they were doing. However, after reading the brief on this health care bill, I don’t see how anyone could not see that there is profound evil and evil intent at work here. I just do not see any way to be any more generous with those who proposed this bill than that. It is that bad.

This bill is obviously designed to put the authority to determine who lives and dies in America into the hands of government bureaucrats. As outrageous as that seems, it is true—you can read it yourself. It even gives the government access to all of your accounts, and the authority to make withdrawals. I know this is hard to believe, but you can read it yourself.

Do you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your mother or father can receive treatment, even in life and death cases? Would you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your child, or you, could receive treatment, even when it means life or death? Think of the best experience that you ever had working with a government bureaucrat, and then think about them having the power to make a potentially life or death choice for your child, your parents, or for you. This is actually what is being proposed.

Add to that chilling thought the fact that this bureaucrat does not have to know one thing about medicine to be in that position. In fact, this bill proposes letting the government define what quality health care is and impose that definition on health care workers. Nowhere does it even specify what training, expertise, or qualifications this all-powerful government bureaucrat has to have to be placed in the position to make such ultimate decisions for the health, well-being, and even the lives of Americans.

Am I being too hard on bureaucrats, or the Obama Administration’s intentions? Certainly there are many bureaucrats who are sincere and true public servants. I agree that such are deserving of our appreciation and respect. The modern world could not exist without them. Think of the most noble and conscientious there are. What kind of position would we be putting them in to have to go to work every day and decide who is going to get treatment, who is going to have to go on a waiting list and for how long, and who are they going to have to just let die?

Who could live with such a job? There are many who could, who would just see it as paperwork, and those are the ones who would be in that position because the truly noble ones could not endure it. Hitler found many who could dispatch thousands each day, and then go home and enjoy their own families at night. There are people with that kind of moral disconnect. These jobs will be filled and by the very ones we would never want in such positions.

It is beyond anything I thought I would ever see in my lifetime that such a bill could ever be seriously considered in the U.S. Congress. This bill has the potential for totalitarian control to be imposed on America to a degree that Hitler and Stalin could not have even imagined. With the technology available now, totalitarian control can very quickly be imposed to a degree far beyond what was attained by either the Nazis or the Communists, and this bill has provisions in it for just that. It mandates the sharing of all of your personal information, from just about every conceivable source, with the new health care bureaucracy being set up to implement this national health care system. The penalties for trying to escape this web are serious. This would actually make America into a national concentration camp, and we can be sure that ultimately it will be a national death camp. You do not have to take my word for it—read it for yourself. Below I will include a brief on this bill so that you can look it up, chapter and verse.

I am a pastor and a watchman, and I therefore have a mandate to watch out for the people, and to sound the alarm when I see a threat. I have never seen one like this before. Even so, I have prayed for restraint and calm as I address this, and do not want to exaggerate anything. In spite of this terrible evil that is manifesting itself through the Obama Administration, I am resolved to pray for our government leaders, and I try to pray for the President every day. My sincere hope is for a spiritual awakening for him and for those in every government position, and for the Lord to give them wisdom and help for the most difficult task they have. However, with all due respect (and I mean this), what is coming out of the Obama Administration is evil, more evil than anything I thought I would ever see in America. It is time to call it what it is.

In the early 1990s, myself and a few other prophetic friends were all shown separately, but at the same general time, that the same evil that gained access to Germany in the 1930s was going to seek access to America. I have shared this often since then, and have made many trips to Germany to seek to understand what happened there. Col. Eugene Bird became one of my dearest friends, and I spent many days with him listening to what he had learned about this, which was considerable. Col. Bird was the U.S. Commandant of the Spandau Prison that held the Nazi war criminals, and ultimately became the one many considered to be the foremost authority on Nazi Germany. Bird’s insight into how evil can gain entry into the human soul and into governments was remarkable, but I always had trouble seeing a connection that would allow what happened there to actually happen in America. Bird often chastised me for this, warning that it could easily happen in America (Col. Bird lived most of his life in Germany, where he became loved and esteemed by that nation, but he remained a patriotic American to the end). Bird often explained how the evil spirit of death that took over Germany gained entry through its health care system. Now it is easy to see what he was talking about in what is being proposed by the Obama Administration.

In Germany, the National Socialists (Nazis) gradually desensitized the nation to death beginning with abortion. Then they quietly, seemingly with the most noble intentions, rounded up the retarded and insane, claiming that the state could take much better care of them, but no one ever saw or heard from them again. Then they did the same with the elderly. As word slipped out that they were being euthanized, it was explained that war made it necessary to eliminate all of the “useless eaters” so that the troops could be fed, as well as those who worked for the war machine. By that time, the grip of control was too strong for anyone to protest or they would also be sent to the camps. Life became cheaper and cheaper, people became more and more depraved, and millions were slaughtered in the death camps.

America is following a parallel course. If Hitler had a tool such as the health care bill that is being proposed by Congress, along with the technology of control now available, it would have made his task much easier and more effective, and probably resulted in many millions more having been easily murdered.

I have had Presidents, candidates, senators, and congressmen and congresswomen from both parties tell me they have read and appreciated my writings. I have maintained for many years that an eagle needs both a left wing and a right wing to fly, and believe that there are excellent men and women of true conviction in both parties. I realize that by writing with this tenor, I risk being considered an extremist, and maybe risk many relationships, but I cannot be concerned about that. With such an extreme evil threatening our country, I would have a difficult time standing before the Lord on that great judgment day if I did not speak up as boldly, as clearly, and as loudly as I can. Call me an alarmist and I will agree with you—I am going to do my best to sound the alarm against evil in every way that I can, and I don’t think I have ever seen anything with the potential for evil like this national health care bill.

I pray that senators and congressmen from both parties who have courage and conviction will stand up against this terrible impending holocaust and stop this bill. I expect that it will be hard for many who read and understand what this Democratic Administration has proposed not to refer to the Democratic Party as the Death Party from now on, but let’s wait and see how the Democrats in Congress respond to this before condemning them, too. This bill is criminal—it opens the door for a crime against humanity on a level that could easily surpass what happened in the last century. We must hold accountable all who have written, proposed, and sided with this bill—and determine that with all the resources we are given, they will never be elected again for anything.

I pray that every Christian will wake up and rise up to take their stand against what is happening in our country now. If we do, we can stop this. If we don’t, we will have to stand before the Judge having let this happen on our watch. We can expect persecution and even death for standing against such a bold and obvious attack of the spirit of death, but no Christian should fear death, and no Christian will want to live in the world that is now taking shape if we do not become the salt and light we are called to be.

We are in need of the courage and resolve of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, who stood before the huge and terrible Balrog demon and declared—“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” The demon was stopped, and even though it was able to grab and drag Gandalf down with it, Gandalf returned with a new level of authority. It does not matter what the consequences are for standing for truth, as Christians we must stand because it is our basic duty. As the first apostles demonstrated, to be persecuted and to suffer shame for our God and His truth is one of the greatest honors. However, we must do it for more than honor—we must also do it for our children and their children.

Last night on Fox News, a former Clinton Administration council to the President stated courageously that this bill was not just about money, it was about euthanasia. The money part does not make any sense at all, but now that the real evil that is driving this can be clearly seen, we can understand that the Administration really does not care about saving money or providing health care for everyone; rather it is about control. There is already talk about this being about saving money by being able to euthanize the baby boomers so they will not have to be paid social security, or weigh down the health care system with their needs. I’m not ready to go that far, but that is obviously why the Florida congressman declared that this bill was a death sentence for the elderly. That is true.

The only commandment with a promise that it will go well with us, and that we may live long, is the commandment to honor our fathers and mothers. This commandment is found in both the Old and New Testaments (see Ephesians 6:2-3). Killing them when they can no longer be productive, as Hitler and Stalin resolved to do, is the most dishonorable thing we could ever do, and we can be sure will bring the opposite to the blessing promised. As you read the bill, and see how excessively long they stay on the point of being able to determine what and if any care is given to the elderly, you will see it really is chilling. It is obvious this is a primary purpose of those who wrote this bill. I know this sounds far-fetched, and I would not have believed it myself a few days ago, but just read it for yourself.


The following is a brief outline of this bill put together by Mat Staver of the Freedom Foundation and Liberty Counsel (contact info is at the end). The comments by the brief are Mat’s, except where I have noted my own by putting them in italics. The bold is also mine.

After reading, please do not wait to contact your representatives to protest this. If you don’t get through, keep calling, send emails, but do not stop until you know your voice has been heard.

Obama Health Care Plan Details

HR 3200 currently under consideration in the House of Representatives


Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit the books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!

Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your benefits for you. You have no choice!

Pg 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

Pg 58HC Bill – Gov’t will have real-time access to individual’s finances & a National ID Health care card will be issued!

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access to your banks accts for electronic funds transfer.

Pg 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring priv HC plans under Govt control.

Pg 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private Health Care plans in the Exchange

Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

Pg 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services.

Example - Translation for illegal aliens.

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan

Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members - Your Health Care WILL be rationed

Pg 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Individual will be automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

Pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue Govt on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Govt Monopoly.

Pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make.

Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public opt plan. NO CHOICE

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Employer w/ payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll

Pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt provide public opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Pg 170 Lines 1-3 Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay).

Pg 195 Officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans financial and personal records.

Pg 203 Line 14-15 HC - “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that. Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.

Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, it does not matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same.

Pg 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr’s time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.

Pg 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.

Pg 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

Pg 272 SEC. 1145. Treatment of certain cancer hospitals – Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions. (Incentives for hospital to not treat and release.)

Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission-Govt will penalize you.

Pg 317 L 13-20 PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.

Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand.

pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can you say ACORN?!!

Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates established of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing.

Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans (Part B), HMOs, etc. Forcing people into Govt plan.

Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people!

Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Committee. HC by phone/Internet?

Pg 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance [Death] Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life.

Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!

Pg 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Gov’t provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death.

Pg 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Gov’t has a say in how your life ends.

Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An “adv. care planning consult” will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

Pg 429 Lines 10-12 “adv. care consultation” may incl an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV

Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life

(NOTE FROM RJ: The above really does give the government the authority to determine who lives and dies, and when. A government bureaucrat really will be making this decision for you and your loved ones.)



Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Svcs here!!?

Pg 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment to a community-based org. Like ACORN?

Pg 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. They will insert Government into your marriage. Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svcs

PG 502 Sec 1181 Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research Established. – Hello Big Brother – Literally.

Pg 503 Lines 13-19 Gov’t will build registries and data networks from YOUR electronic med records.

Pg 503 lines 21-25 Gov’t may secure data directly from any depart or agency of the US including your data.

Pg 504 Lines 6-10 The “Center” will collect data both published & unpublished (that means public & your private info)

PG 506 Lines 19-21 The Center will recommend policies that would allow for public access of data.

PG 518 Lines 21-25 The Commission will have input from HC consumer reps – Can you say unions & ACORN?

PG 524 18-22 Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund set up. More taxes for ALL.

PG 621 Lines 20-25 Gov’t will define what Quality means in HC. Since when does Gov’t know about quality?

Pg 622 Lines 2-9 To pay for the Quality Standards, Govt will transfer $$ from to other Govt Trust Funds. More Taxes.

PG 624 “Quality” measures shall be designed to assess outcomes & functional status of patients.

PG 624 “Quality” measures shall be designed to profile you including race, age, gender, place of residence, etc

Pg 628 Sec 1443 Gov’t will give “Multi-Stake Holders” Pre-Rule Making input into Selection of “Quality” Measures.

Pg 630 9-24/631 1-9 Those Multi-stake holder groups incl. Unions & groups like ACORN deciding HC quality.

Pg 632 Lines 14-25 The Gov’t may implement any “Quality measure” of HC Services as they see fit.

PG 633 14-25/ 634 1-9 The Secretary may issue non-endorsed “Quality Measures” for Physician Services & Dialysis Services.

Pg 635 to 653 Physicians Payments Sunshine Provision – Gov’t wants to shine sunlight on Docs but not Govt.

Pg 654-659 Public Reporting on Health Care-Associated Infections – Looks okay.

PG 660-671 Doctors in Residency – Gov’t will tell you where your residency will be, thus where you’ll live.

Pg 676-686 Gov’t will regulate hospitals in EVERY aspect of residency programs, incl. teaching hospitals.

Pg 686-700 Increased Funding to Fight Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. You mean like the Gov’t with an $18 million website?

PGs 701-704 Sec 1619 If your part of HC plan isn’t in Gov’t HC Exchange but you qualify for Fed aid, no payment.

PG 705-709 SEC. 1128 If Secr gets complaints (ACORN) on HC provider or supplier, Gov’t can do background check.

PG 711 Lines 8-14 The Secretary has broad powers to deny HC providers/ suppliers admittance into HC Exchange. Your doctor could be thrown out of business.

Pg 719-720 Sec 1637 ANY Doctor who orders durable med equip or home med services MUST be enrolled in Medicare.

PG 722 Sec 1639 Gov’t MANDATES Doctors must have face to face with patient to certify patient for Home Health Svcs.

PG 724 23-25 PG 725 1-5 The same Gov’t certifications will apply to Medicaid & CHIP (your kids)

PG 724 Lines 16-22 Gov’t reserves rt to apply face to face certification for patient to ANY other HC service.

Pg 735 lines 16-25 For law enforce. proposes the Secretary-HHS will give Atty General access to ALL data.

PG 740-757 Gov’t sets guidelines for subsidizing the uninsured (Thats your tax dollars people)

Pg 757-762 Fed gov’t will shift burden of payments to Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) to States. (Taxes)

Pg 763 1-8 No DS/EA hospitals will be paid unless they provide services without regard to national origin

Pg 765 Sec 1711 Gov’t will require Preventative Services including vaccines. (Choice?)

Pg 768 Sec 1713 Gov’t – Nurse Home Visitation Svcs (Hello union paybacks)

Pg 769 11-14 Nurse Home Visit Svcs include-economic self-sufficiency, employ adv, school-readiness.

Pg 769 3-5 Nurse Home Visit Services - “increasing birth intervals between pregnancies.” Govt ABORTIONS anyone

Pg 770 SEC 1714 Fed Gov’t mandates eligibility for State Family Planning Services. Abortion & State Sovereign.

Pg 789-797 Gov’t will set, mandate drug prices, controlling which drugs brought to market. Bye innovation.

Pgs 797-800 SEC. 1744 PAYMENTS for graduate medical education. The government will now control Drs’ education.

PG 801 Sec 1751 The Govt will decide which Health care conditions will be paid. Say RATION!

Pg 810 SEC. 1759. Billing Agents, clearinghouses, etc req. to register. Gov’t takes over private payment sys.

Pg 820-824 Sec 1801 Govt will identify individ. ineligible for subsidies. Will access all personal financial information.

Pg 824-829 SEC. 1802. Govt Sets up Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund. Another tax black hole.

PG 829-833 Gov’t will impose a fee on ALL private health ins. plans incl. self insured to pay for Trust Fund!

PG 835 11-13 fees imposed by Gov’t for Trust Fund shall be treated as if they were taxes.

Pg 838-840 Gov’t will design & implement Home Visitation Program for families with young kids & families expect kids.

PG 844-845 This Home Visitation Prog. includes Gov’t coming into your house & telling you how to parent!!!

Pg 859 Gov’t will establish a Public Health Fund at a cost of $88,800,000,000. Yes that’s Billion.

Pg 865 The Gov’t will MANDATE the establishment of a National Health Service Corps.

PG 865 to 876 The NHS Corps is a program where Drs. perform mandatory HC for 2yrs for part loan repayment.

PG 876-892 The govt takes over the education of our Med students and Drs.

PG 898 The Govt will establish a Public Health Workforce Corps to ensure supply of public health prof.

PG 898 The Public health workforce corps shall consist of civilian employees of the U.S. as Secretary deems.

PG 898 The Public health workforce corps shall consist of officers of Regular & Reserve Corps of Service.

PG 900 The Public Health Workforce Corps includes veterinarians.

PG 901 The Public Health Workforce Corps WILL include commissioned Regular & Reserve Officers. HC Draft?

PG 910 The Govt will develop, build & run Public Health Training Centers.

PG 913-914 Govt starts a HC affirmative action program thru guise of diversity scholarships.

PG 915 SEC. 2251. Govt MANDDATES Cultural & linguistic competency training for HC professionals.

Pg 932 The Govt will estab Preventative & Wellness Trust fund- initial cost of $30,800,000,000-Billion.

PG 935 21-22 Govt will identify specific goals & objectives for prevention & wellness activities. Control YOU!!

PG 936 Govt will develop “Healthy People & National Public Health Perform. Standards” Tell me what to eat?

PG 942 Lines 22-25 More Gov’t? Offices of Surgeon General -Public Health Svc, Minority Health, Women’s Health

PG 950- 980 BIG GOV’T core pub health infrastructure including workforce capacity, lab systems; health info sys, etc

PG 993 Gov’t will establish school based health clinics. Your kids won’t have a chance.

PG 994 School Based Health Clinic will be integrated into the school environment. Say GOVT Brainwash!

PG 1001 The Govt will establish a National Medical Device Registry. Will you be tracked?

Mathew D. Staver*
Founder and Chairman Dean and Professor of Law
Liberty Counsel Liberty University School of Law
Offices in Florida, Virginia and the District of Columbia, Lynchburg, Virginia
(800) 671-1776 - Telephone (434) 592-5300 - Telephone
www.LC.org
www.law.liberty.edu

*Licensed in Florida and the District of Columbia


Now do you understand why we have to stand up today against this bill and declare with all of the courageous souls who are sounding the alarm and let us say to the bill—



“YOU SHALL NOT PASS.”

June 20, 2009

This June 20, 2006 photo provided on Monday, June 8, 2009 and taken by Jane AP ; This June 20, 2006 photo provided on Monday, June 8, 2009 and taken by Jane Wiggins from a downtown Cedar ;
By MICHAEL J. CRUMB, Associated Press Writer Michael J. Crumb, Associated Press Writer; Thu Jun 11, 4:40 pm ET

DES MOINES, Iowa ; Looking out the 11th floor window of her law office, Jane Wiggins did a double take and grabbed her camera. The dark, undulating clouds hovering outside were unlike anything she'd seen before.

"It looked like Armageddon," said Wiggins, a paralegal and amateur photographer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "The shadows of the clouds, the lights and the darks, and the greenish-yellow backdrop. They seemed to change."

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

U.S. Confirms First Death From Swine Flu

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/med_swine_flu/2009/04/29/208621.html?promo_code=2A89-1

Monday, April 27, 2009

How To Limit The Spread of Swine Flu

Dr. Peter Hibberd: How To Limit The Spread of Swine Flu

Monday, April 27, 2009 7:18 PM

By: Jim Meyers Article Font Size

Newsmax medical columnist Dr. Peter Hibberd says we are currently up against the wall in treating the outbreak of swine flu because it is largely resistant to a commonly used flu drug.

Dr. Hibberd, an M.D. and board-certified emergency medicine physician, also tells Newsmax what people can do to limit the spread of the disease, which threatens to become the first worldwide influenza epidemic in nearly half a century.

Newsmax.TV Ashley Martella asked Dr. Hibberd what swine flu is and what are its symptoms.

See Video: Newsmax medical columnist Dr. Peter Hibberd tells what you can do to limit the spread of swine flu - Click Here Now

Very simply, the swine flu is, at present, a resistant strain of flu that is not a component of our regular flu shots, Dr. Hibberd explained.

It causes similar symptoms initially sore throat, congestion, muscle aches, often gastrointestinal complaints, high fevers.

In patients who have difficulty with their immunity generally, or who are otherwise compromised, death can ensue.

Martella asked how physicians treat swine flu.

At the moment I think were up against the wall, Dr. Hibberd said, noting that swine flu is a member of a group of influenza viruses known as Type A that has been somewhat resistant this year.

Last year we always used Tamiflu. In fact the government has stockpiles of Tamiflu precisely for epidemics of this type.

However, before last year we started to see an increase in resistance, up to 10 to 12 percent last year, and this past year we saw up to 90 percent of our flu strains becoming resistant to Tamiflu. So as a result many of us resorted to using Relenza, which is an inhaled product, not a pill, and that been useful. However, it not the catmeow at all.

Dr. Hibberd added that none of us yet really know how these drugs are going to pan out in this particular epidemic.

Martella asked if the disease is spread only from animal to human or can it be spread from human to human.

We were initially complacent with swine flu because it appeared swine flu itself stayed in swine, just as bird flu stayed with birds, and we saw little transfer once a human got it from the swine,Dr. Hibberd responded.
It was generally contagious to other humans. We saw that with the initial cases of swine flu back in the 70s.

They re now finding this particular strain is able to be transmitted to humans from other humans, so it very different from the other strains of swine flu in that it is transmissible and the other ones previously were rarely transmissible between humans.

To prevent the spread of swine flu, Dr. Hibberd urged social isolation in cases where we have somebody who has the flu. We want to keep them out of school, out of work, and home away from contact with others.

And generally, hand-washing is very good because these viruses can sit on inanimate surfaces for extended periods.

Asked what people should do in regard to swine flu, Dr. Hibberd told Martella the emergency shouldnt affect us, you and I, or anyone else, on a regular day-to-day basis, in a state that hasnt got reported cases or a city or a school that doesnt have reported cases.

We should follow our routine health and hygiene measures, encourage our kids to wash their hands well, and encourage them when theyre sneezing or coughing to cover up and prevent others from getting contact.

I believe at the moment it at a level where we need to be aware of it. We need to keep up with the media to see where this is spreading. Is it in our community? Is it at our school?

Let anticipate this as potentially something that we might need to take action on in our communities. Most communities do not need to do any more than be aware of this, and [people] can talk to their doctor if they have health conditions now to see if there something else they need to be taking.

There are preventive medicines and preventive doses of flu vaccines available, and I suggest patients ask their doctors individually on that.

Dr. Hibberd also stated that this is not a time to travel if you dont need to.

See Video: Newsmax medical columnist Dr. Peter Hibberd tells what you can do to limit the spread of swine flu - Click Here Now

© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Swine Flu

Is Swine Flu 'The Big One' or a Flu That Fizzles?

Monday, April 27, 2009


A boy and girl in Mexico wear face masks as an outbreak of swine flu sweeps across the country

ATLANTA As reports of a unique form of swine flu erupt around the world, the inevitable question arises: Is this the big one?

Is this the next big global flu epidemic that public health experts have long anticipated and worried about? Is this the novel virus that will kill millions around the world, as pandemics did in 1918, 1957 and 1968?


The short answer is it's too soon to tell.

"What makes this so difficult is we may be somewhere between an important but yet still uneventful public health occurrence here with something that could literally die out over the next couple of weeks and never show up again or this could be the opening act of a full-fledged influenza pandemic," said Michael Osterholm, a prominent expert on global flu outbreaks with the University of Minnesota.

"We have no clue right now where we are between those two extremes. That's the problem," he said.

Health officials want to take every step to prevent an outbreak from spiraling into mass casualties. Predicting influenza is a dicey endeavor, with the U.S. government famously guessing wrong in 1976 about a swine flu pandemic that never materialized.

"The first lesson is anyone who tries to predict influenza often goes down in flames," said Dr. Richard Wenzel, the immediate past president of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.

But health officials are being asked to make such predictions, as panic began to set in over the weekend.


The epicenter was Mexico, where the virus is blamed for at least 100 deaths and an estimated 1,600 cases in the country since April 13. Schools were closed, church services canceled and Mexican President Felipe Calderon assumed new powers to isolate people infected with the swine flu virus.

April 22 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/22/barack-obama-middle-east-peace

To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/22/barack-obama-middle-east-peace

Barack Obama begins push for Middle East peace
? Invitations issued to key regional leaders
? Effort comes against backdrop of Gaza war
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Wednesday April 22 2009
The Guardian


Barack Obama is to invite Israeli, ?Palestinian and Egyptian leaders to the White House within the next two months in a fresh push for Middle East peace.

Obama, speaking at the White House yesterday, said there was a need to try to rise above the cynicism about prospects for peace. The decision appeared to mark the end of a debate within the Obama administration between those who argued in favour of devoting time and energy to trying to resolve the conflict and those who argued it was a blind alley.

Meeting King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House yesterday, Obama said he hoped "gestures of good faith" would be made "on all sides" in the coming months. He did not say what these ?gestures, intended as confidence-building ?measures, would amount to.

The three leaders are being invited for separate talks rather than round-table negotiations. The aim is to complete all three visits before Obama goes to France for the D-Day anniversary on 6 June.

The chances of a deal in the short term appear slim and Obama yesterday acknowledged that circumstances in Israel and the Palestinian territories were not conducive to peace. "Unfortunately, right now what we've seen not just in Israel, but within the Palestinian territories, among the Arab states, worldwide, is a profound cynicism about the possibility of any progress being made whatsoever," he said.

"What we want to do is to step back from the abyss, to say, as hard as it is, as difficult as it may be, the prospect of peace still exists, but it's going to require some hard choices."

His push comes against a background of the devastation of Gaza by Israeli forces last year and continued infighting among Palestinian factions. The hardline Israeli coalition that emerged from the February elections includes as foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who opposes ?swapping land for peace.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said the meetings were likely to take place before the president goes to France. "With each of them the president will discuss ways the United States can strengthen and deepen our partnerships with them, as well as the steps all parties must take to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Arab states," Gibbs told a news conference

Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has been pencilled in for a visit to the White House in the middle of next month. Netanyahu, since becoming prime minister, has refused to acknowledge the right of the Palestinians to a state of their own, as his predecessor had. But Obama yesterday stated firmly his commitment to the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is to make a separate visit, as is the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. Egypt has been acting as a go-between between Abbas, who controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls Gaza.

The White House meetings could amount to the start of the biggest US push for peace since a half-hearted one by George Bush, who held a conference at Annapolis, Maryland, in 2007 and Bill Clinton's belated effort at the Camp David summit in 2000 and Taba in Egypt in 2001.The US has failed to achieve any major peace agreement in the Middle East since Jimmy Carter brokered the Israeli-Egyptian treaty in 1979.

Obama appears to have come round to the view of advisers that the US will ?effectively have to impose much of any deal on Israel and the Palestinians rather than wait for one to emerge from the two sides. He said yesterday: "I agree that we can't talk forever, that at some point steps have to be taken so that people can see progress on the ground. And that will be something that we will expect to take place in the coming months.

"My hope would be that over the next several months, that you start seeing ?gestures of good faith on all sides. I don't want to get into the details of what those gestures might be, but I think that the ?parties in the region probably have a pretty good recognition of what intermediate steps could be taken as confidence-building measures."

In a symbolic move intended to show that he seeks to be more of an honest broker than Clinton or Bush, Obama, on his first day in office, phoned Abbas before he phoned Ehud Olmert, then Israeli prime minister. He was also demonstrating that he was prepared to become involved from day one rather than, as his predecessors had done, leaving the issue to the tail end of his presidency.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2009

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