Welcome to Sunday.

Revelation 1:7
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.

Hunt for icon peers into black market

ATHENS, Greece - She first noticed the slivers of glass. Strange, the nun thought, we always sweep the floors after the last pilgrims and miracle-seekers are ushered out before dusk. Then it all became terribly clear.

A smashed window. Candles toppled over. And an arch-shaped hole where the Elona Monastery's greatest treasure had been pried from its cradle of pine and resin.

The Mother Superior ran to the Greek Orthodox priest assigned to the monastery for the busy week around the Aug. 15 feast day of the Virgin Mary — when thousands come to see the 700-year-old icon of the Madonna and Child that some believe has graced their mountainous patch of southern Greece with miraculous powers.

"It's gone," she gasped. "Our icon is gone."

Professional Widow

Mother Mary
china white
brown may be sweeter
she will supply
Mother Mary
china white
brown may be sweeter

~tori amos

That Christian way is just not cutting it.

The Apocalypse is all about Karma.

God says "Thou Shall Not Judge"

And all the Vatican or Christian Organizations do is Judge.

Killing people over religion for centuries.

Priests are all celibate and molesting children.

Trying to tell people that gay is wrong.

Love is Love is Love.

No one has any right to Judge any one else.

Thou Shall Not Judge.

God is the Judge.

Wildfire devastates Calif. sheep ranch

ZAMORA, Calif. - For four generations, the Slavens have heard the bleating of ewes giving birth and the cries of newborn lambs on their family ranch in October. This year, the only sounds are of grief.

A wildfire that tore through the family's rolling land last month decimated the Slavens' herd. Seventy-five percent of their 1,200 sheep died.

For the past two weeks, the Slavens and veterinarians from the University of California, Davis, have endured a wrenching daily ritual.

They examine the surviving sheep and divide those that stand a chance of living from those too badly injured to survive. Most of the dead are being dumped into a burial pit in a remote corner of the ranch.

"I don't know where it's going to lead to," said Mike Slaven, who co-owns the ranch with his parents, Bill and Joan. "Even with the sheep that are left, to me, it's a total loss."

Minor quake strikes near Mount Rainier

SEATTLE - A magnitude 4.5 earthquake rattled homes east of Mount Rainier on Saturday night, but no injuries or damage were immediately reported.

The quake struck just before 8 p.m. about 7 miles east of the mountain's summit, said Tom Yelin of the University of Washington Seismology Laboratory.

Yelin said he did not think the quake was associated with any volcanic activity.

Residents in Packwood, Maple Valley, Enumclaw and Renton reported feeling the earthquake, which was followed by two smaller aftershocks.

Rains drench central Va., forces some evacuations

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Up to 9 inches of rain soaked parts of Virginia, forcing the evacuation Saturday of a six-block section of the city and causing scattered flooding in the southeastern part of the state.
The bodies of two fishermen were found Saturday in the Poquoson River one day after they cast off in a 17-foot skiff, the Coast Guard reported. Their boat was found capsized Friday night amid "terrible weather conditions" of 50 mph wind gusts and seas of up to 5 feet, Petty Officer Kip Wadlow said.

The Virginia Department of Transportation temporarily suspended the Jamestown-Scotland ferry because of heavy rain and high waters on the James River. Emergency officials in Isle of Wight County advised against travel because of flooded roads and reported three dozen evacuations. Smithfield High School was opened as a shelter.

"We have more roads out than we can keep track of," said Don Robertson, a spokesman for the county. "We have some bridges that are out (and) a lot of flash flood conditions."

The National Weather Service said rainfall since Friday ranged from 4 to 9 inches as a storm stalled over the state and a band of rain drenched central Virginia to Hampton Roads. Rain was forecast to taper off later Saturday.

Hail, flooding cause damage in parts of central and southern Ohio

Eric Watson could only shake his head in disbelief Thursday as he surveyed the side of his house in eastern Franklin County.
Holes — perhaps hundreds of them — had been punched into the vinyl siding by a violent hailstorm that raced through central Ohio Wednesday night. The thunderstorms and lightning also brought flooding to southern Ohio, forcing some homes to be evacuated and two school districts to close because of impassable roads.

The hail, up to the size of a quarter, shattered windows, dented cars and riddled homes with holes.

"When I got here last night, it looked like somebody just came by with a machine gun and just peppered the whole house," Watson said.

High winds, rain and hail from severe thunderstorms Wednesday Oct. 4 damaged a mobile home in Pataskala, Ohio.

Pakistanis mourn on quake anniversary

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Pakistan united in mourning on Sunday in memory of about 73,000 people killed in an earthquake exactly a year ago, while survivors vented frustration over the pace of reconstruction.

A week into Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, Pakistan's mosques have been even more crowded than usual. On Sunday, worshippers prayed in unison for the dead and survivors alike to mark the first anniversary of the nation's worst disaster.

"This day has revived my sorrows because I have lost many loved ones," said Abdul Rahim in Muzaffarabad, one of the worst affected areas.

"May God give courage to our new generation to rebuild this city," said Rahim, 65, as he waited for a commemoration ceremony to begin at a stadium near the Pakistan Kashmiri capital's ruined university.

Sirens sounded across the nation to start a minute's silence.

Guatemala survivors homeless year after mudslide

PANABAJ, Guatemala, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A year after a mudslide wiped out the Guatemalan village of Panabaj, killing hundreds, Maya Indians are still living in precarious camps dangerously close to the disaster site.

More than 300 families huddle in dirt-floored huts with communal latrines in a camp just feet (metres) from where thousands of tonnes of mud and rock buried the lakeside village.

Critics are furious at the government's failure to do more to find them new, safe homes. A report by independent watchdog Citizen Action said less then half of some 7,900 families whose land was washed away in the storm have been relocated.

HONORING THE DEAD

At 4 a.m., the time the mudslide began a year ago on Thursday, a memorial procession passed a cemetery and then marked the disaster at Panabaj, declared a mass grave because rescue workers could not dig out most of the victims.

Hundreds of townspeople carrying candles, flowers, palm fronds and pictures of lost loved ones held Roman Catholic and Protestant masses and Mayan ceremonies to mark the day.

Eduardo Aguirre, who heads the government reconstruction effort, says negotiations to purchase land to rebuild the village are frustrated by property owners trying to sell lots at quadruple the market price, beyond his budget.

No one knows exactly how many people died in the tragedy but it appears to be fewer than first feared.

Firefighters put the initial toll at 1,400, but later estimates were that about 1,000 died. Panabaj's mayor says 600 bodies are still under the mud but forensic anthropologists due to excavate the site in November say the number is nearer 300.

No official records exist of how many people lived in Panabaj at the time of the tragedy.

Other victims of last year's storm feel even more forgotten.

Philippines faces another violent storm

As a new tropical storm bears down on the Philippines, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is launching a preliminary emergency appeal for 5.7 million Swiss francs ($4.6 million USD/€3.6 million) to support the Philippines National Red Cross (PNRC) in assisting over 126,000 people affected by last week's Typhoon Xangsane, known locally as "Milenyo".

The typhoon, which reached top wind speeds of up to 185 kilometers per hour, left a path of death and destruction in its wake across South-East Asia, where it caused massive flooding and landslides in both the Philippines and Vietnam.

At least 72 people were killed and over 89,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed in the Philippines, while tens of thousands of people had to be evacuated in Vietnam.

"This storm caused more widespread destruction than anticipated," said the head of the International Federation's delegation in Manila, Roger Bracke. "One of the major hurdles has been damage to communication networks, which makes getting an accurate picture of the situation very difficult."

The International Federation's appeal aims to provide the Philippines National Red Cross with the financial and logistical support needed to help over 25,000 of the most vulnerable families during the emergency phase of the relief operation there.

Fire Devastates Villages in the Philippines

Silver Spring, Maryland—When a fire swept through several densely populated villages in Tacloban City, Philippines, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) responded immediately, providing aid to residents left homeless by the blaze.

Nearly 2,000 families from five neighboring villages, called "barangays," in the East Visayas region of the Philippines lost their homes in a quick-moving fire that started the afternoon of September 12.

ADRA responded with aid for 200 families from Barangay 36, the hardest-hit neighborhood. Each family, composed of an average of five members, received an emergency kit containing a tarpaulin, a blanket, a kettle, six plates, a pail, and clothing.

China's Water Woes

Pollution, drought and vast deserts are all signs the country is struggling to manage its most basic resource.

Visions of Green

After decades of rapid economic growth, Asia's environment is at a tipping point. A Special Report on the scale of the crisis—and how to confront it.

Windy conditions fan bushfire in north-east Vic

Firefighters are battling a blaze at Cheshunt near Benalla in Victoria's north-east.

The fire started as a burn-off, which is believed to have been left unattended and has now covered 10 hectares.

Fifty Country Fire Authority (CFA) firefighters are dealing with windy conditions and steep, bushy terrain.

They have the fire currently burning within containment lines.

Six burn-offs have got out of control on Sunday because of strong winds in central and north-east Victoria.

Rain, snow, wind Interior West tomorrow

Lettuce recalled over E. coli concerns

SAN FRANCISCO - Less than a week after the Food and Drug Administration lifted its warning on fresh spinach grown in California's Salinas Valley, a popular brand of lettuce grown there was recalled Sunday over concerns about E. coli contamination.

The lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses, the president of Salinas-based Nunes Co. Inc. said.

The lettuce scare comes amid other federal warnings that some brands of spinach, bottled carrot juice and recent shipments of beef could cause grave health risks — including paralysis, respiratory failure and death.

Hundreds of Iraq police fall ill at meal

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of Iraqi policemen fell sick from poisoning Sunday at a base in southern Iraq after the evening meal breaking their daily Ramadan fast, and officials said they were investigating whether the poisoning was intentional.

An official with the Environment Ministry said 11 policemen had died. However, the governor of Wasit province — where the poisoning took place — denied any deaths, though he said some of the victims were in critical condition. There was no immediate explanation for the contradictory reports.

Some of the policemen began bleeding from the ears and nose after the meal, said Jassim al-Atwan, an inspector for the Environment Ministry, who was serving as a liaison in the investigation between the Health Ministry and the base, located in the town of Numaniyah.

"Hundreds of soldiers were poisoned after taking food and water in the iftar," Wasit Gov. Hamad al-Latif told the Associated Press, referring to the meal that breaks the sunrise-to-sunset fast during the Islamic holy month. "Investigations are under way to determine the cause."

Samples of the food and water were being tested "to determine the substance in them" and will be sent to Baghdad for further tests, al-Latif said.

Sunni insurgents who have targeted police and military forces with bombings and shootings have not been known to use poisoning as a weapon. But the suddenness and severity of the sickness raised speculation that the incident could be a new attack. The division is mainly made up of Shiites.

Between 600-700 policemen were affected to varying degrees, and 11 who had the heaviest amount of the food had died, al-Atwan told The Associated Press.

Young Indian women march to reclaim streets of fear

NEW DELHI, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Late at night, a posse of young Indian women walk down a dark city street wearing spaghetti-strap tops and body-hugging outfits, defying the stares of onlookers in a country where a woman is raped every 29 minutes.

Around two dozen women took part in the demonstration to highlight the dangers for women walking on Indian streets by heeding organisers instructions to wear "something they always wanted to (wear) but could not" during their late night protest.

"If I was not in a group, God only knows what would have happened," Amrita Nandy Joshi, a 31-year-old Oxford graduate said as the group made its way down a dimly-lit New Delhi road after 10 p.m., a walk normally done only with a male escort, if at all.

"We call this direct public intervention against street sexual harassment," said Jasmeen Patheja, a gutsy 26-year-old photographer working in the southern IT hub of Bangalore who brought the novel protest to the capital.

"I was fed up with being teased every day. One day I reached a threshold and decided to take action," she said.

Patheja formed Blank Noise, a movement that rallies for safer streets for Indian women.

Since setting up Blank Noise about three years ago, Patheja has organised "night actions" in four other cities, inviting women through her blog (www.blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com) to meet at a designated place at night and then set out on a walk.

Along the route, they spray messages on the road that describe the abuse that many young Indian women encounter daily in the hope that they will be read the next morning by pedestrians and create awareness.

"Mansi, 14, 4.45 p.m. -- A stranger whispered continuously into my ear, asking me to sleep with him."

"Pinki, 11, 8 a.m. -- A hand touch my behind. I was scared."

"Mohini, 19, 9 a.m. -- A stranger rubbed his private parts against me."

Patheja said that while the names had been changed, the incidents were real and reported by people through her blog.

MOST UNSAFE CITY

According to the latest official figures, a woman is raped every half-hour in India. Last year, there were more than 18,000 rapes in the country, and these are only the reported cases.

Activists suspect the number is much higher as many women don't report attacks to police, fearing harassment or social stigma.

"The actual figure (for rapes last year) would be around 30,000. The situation is even worse in the rural and semi-urban areas where police refuse to lodge cases," said Aparna Bhat, a lawyer running a government 'Rape Crisis' programme.

New Delhi is one of India's most dangerous cities for women, according to the figures. Last year, more than 30 percent of the rape cases reported in India's 35 major cities took place in New Delhi.

Less violent forms of sexual harassment -- verbal taunts, groping at women in anonymous crowded markets or on public transport -- occur all the time.

Most of the women taking part in the protest said they had repeatedly been at the receiving end of what the Indian media often refers to as "Eve-teasing", a term the female protesters say fails to describe the trauma suffered by the female victims.

"One day I was walking with a friend near my college in the evening when a man on a scooter stopped near us," said Joshi.

"We turned into another street but he chased us. He finally managed to grab us and groped us all over before running away. He left us numb," she said.

Saumya Agarwal, in her early 20s, said her experience traumatised her for days.

"I was walking back from college when this man came next to me, unzipped his trousers and started masturbating," she said. "He kept walking with me and masturbating. I was bloody scared and I randomly kept calling all the numbers on my mobile."

SPREADING THE MESSAGE

Patheja knows her short night walk is merely symbolic due to poor policing in India's main cities and chauvinistic attitudes that run deep through conservative Indian society and which, some say, are reinforced by popular culture.

But she is unfazed.

"Slowly things will change," she said. "I remember when we started off in 2003, there was this street railing which had become a sort of a 'lech point' where men would hang out and make lewd comments at women passing by.

"One day we took over the railing. A bunch of us girls just took over the railing and stood there for hours, chatting and having fun," she said referring to one of the first Blank Noise protests in Bangalore.

The southern city is home to thousands of young women away from home for the first time to work in its booming technology industries.

"Why can't a woman just stand against a street railing and look at people? Why does she have to be on the phone or show she is waiting for someone? Why can't she simply be on the street?"

Patheja is collecting clothes worn by women on occasions when they were harassed.

"Women immediately look at the clothes they wore when they are harassed, wondering if they 'asked' for it," she said.

"We are collecting 1,000 such clothes and we will exhibit them at public places with the slogan: 'I didn't ask for it'."

As the walk ended, some of the girls were ferried home in taxis, while others set out with male friends or family members.

Blank Noise Project