Phantoms and Monsters

Christian TV networks prepare for live coverage of Jesus Christ’s return

Should the body of the Christian deity figure’s son somehow drop down from outer space and suddenly appear hovering in the sky over Jerusalem, America’s two leading Christian television networks are prepared to cover the holy event live. You’ll even be able to watch it on your iPad.

According to The Los Angeles Times, both Daystar TV and the Trinity Broadcasting Network have set up cameras in studios overlooking the Mount of Olives, where scripture says the Christian Messiah will touch down one day. Both networks recently acquired studio space in Jerusalem as part of a miniature dust-up in their niche industry over who is doing more to preach the gospel to Jews.

Daystar in particular has been very aggressive in deploying their messaging on Israeli airwaves, having launched the first 24-hour Christian network in the country back in 2006. The network’s website also features a live video stream from the Mount of Olives that’s compatible with a host of mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, Androids and Blackberries — just in case viewers need to catch the Messiah’s return on the go.

Many evangelical Christians believe that the final battle for mankind will take place in Jerusalem, and that once it ends all the Jews will come to worship Jesus. But in the meantime, evangelicals have fostered a friendly relationship with Israelis believing that they gain favor with their deity figure by supporting the Jews, who they see as God’s chosen people.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life said in 2011 that 78.4 percent of Americans consider themselves to be Christian, but just 26.3 percent identifiy as evangelical. A wide majority of evangelical leaders also said they believe their influence on American society is waning.

Nevertheless, there will almost assuredly be a market for Armageddon-themed media going forward: a Reuters/Ipsos poll published in May found that 22 percent of Americans believe the world will end in their lifetime. - rawstory

The Second Coming: Signs of Christ's Return and the End of the Age

The Return of Jesus Christ: The Return of Jesus Christ, Its Purposes for the Church, Israel and the World

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Black mamba venom is 'better painkiller' than morphine

A painkiller as powerful as morphine, but without most of the side-effects, has been found in the deadly venom of the black mamba, say French scientists.

The predator, which uses neurotoxins to paralyse and kill small animals, is one of the fastest and most dangerous snakes in Africa.

However, tests on mice, reported in the journal Nature, showed its venom also contained a potent painkiller.

They admit to being completely baffled about why the mamba would produce it.

The researchers looked at venom from 50 species before they found the black mamba's pain-killing proteins - called mambalgins.

Venomous species inflict poisonous wounds by stinging, scratching or biting their victims and injecting the toxin.

Dr Eric Lingueglia, from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology near Nice, told the BBC: "When it was tested in mice, the analgesia was as strong as morphine, but you don't have most of the side-effects."

Morphine acts on the opioid pathway in the brain. It can cut pain, but it is also addictive and causes headaches, difficulty thinking, vomiting and muscle twitching. The researchers say mambalgins tackle pain through a completely different route, which should produce few side-effects.

He said the way pain worked was very similar in mice and people, so he hoped to develop painkillers that could be used in the clinic. Tests on human cells in the laboratory have also showed the mambalgins have similar chemical effects in people.

But he added: "It is the very first stage, of course, and it is difficult to tell if it will be a painkiller in humans or not. A lot more work still needs to be done in animals."

Dr Nicholas Casewell, an expert in snake venom at the University of Liverpool, has recently highlighted the potential of venom as a drug source.

Commenting on this study he said: "It's very exciting, it's a really great example of drugs from venom, we're talking about an entirely new class of analgesics."

Dr Lingueglia said it was "really surprising" that black mamba venom would contain such a powerful painkiller.

Dr Casewell agreed that it was "really, really odd". He suggested the analgesic effect may work in combination "with other toxins that prevent the prey from getting away" or may just affect different animals, such as birds, differently to mice. - BBC

Black Mamba (Killer Snakes)

Black Mambas: Sudden Death! (Fangs)

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Thieves steal mummified 'perjury-hand' from church

The “perjury-hand” had been safe in a wooden box above the font in St Brigida church, Legden, North Rhine-Westphalia, since 1905.

The legend is that the hand was chopped off a liar, but it had always been a mystery as to who the liar had been – and what the lie was that led to such a punishment.

Its disappearance has left the congregation, and indeed many Legden's inhabitants “deeply saddened,” said cultural society member Alfred Janning.

Police are hunting for the hand but are at a loss to who took it, or why. It was first noticed missing on Sunday. “Who would do such a thing?” asked Janning.

The Legden cultural society had just raised enough money to send the hand to Düsseldorf University for tests to find out how old it was and if it belonged to a man or woman.

It was originally found during the demolition of an old fortified tower in 1907, having been preserved in the chalky limestone which was disturbed during the work. It has been in St Brigida since then. - thelocal

The Oxford History of the Prison: The Practice of Punishment in Western Society

The Thief, the Cross and the Wheel: Pain and the Spectacle of Punishment in Medieval and Renaissance Europe

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Abduction in the Desert

Here's an interesting piece by Rick Stokes - Abduction in the Desert...A very interesting read!

Aliens Among Us : 2 Documentary Set - UFO's , Alien Abductions , Government Cover-Ups - 226 Minutes

UFO Abductions: A Global Phenomenon

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Phantoms & Monsters: Cryptid Encounters - Customer Reviews

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