Hatch: Obamacare Reg Would Force Religious Employers to Provide Abortifacients

By Erick Hamme

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), said Tuesday that a regulation the Obama administration has proposed under the new health-care law enated last year would require religious employers to provide their workers with abortifacients, which are drugs that kill an unborn child.

He also said that what he perceived as Obamacare's threat to individual liberty was "one of the most serious issues we’ve ever seen in the history of this Republic. ”

At an event sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, CNSNews.com asked Hatch: “The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops came out recently and made the statement that [Health and Human Services] Secretary [Kathleen] Sebelius’s proposed regulations, that would require all private health plans to cover sterilizations, and all FDA-approved contraceptives that include even abortions--they claimed that this was an unprecedented attack on religious liberty. Would you agree with that?”

Hatch responded: “This administration has imposed upon religious beliefs and religious employers provisions that literally would lead to having to give abortifacients, and it is very ambiguous on that point, and also other matters that many religious institutions are opposed to. And government shouldn’t be doing that.”

“If you’ll notice, there seems to be an erosion of First Amendment rights, especially religious rights," said Hatch. "I don’t want to see us erode the rights of free people to believe the way they want to, and to worship the way they want to, and to support religious institutions the way they want to.”

“These are very important issues,” Hatch said. “And I have to say that there is such a desire to force their [the administration’s] will on everybody, with regard to abortion, that they’ll do it by hook or crook. And that [regulation] would be by crook, as far as I’m concerned.”

Hatch was at the Heritage Foundation to deliver a speech entitled, “Why Obamacare is Harming, Not Helping, Our Health Care System and Our Economy.”

Hatch listed a range of reasons why he believes Obama's health-care law must be overturned. These included the unconstitutionality of the “individual mandate” that all Americans must purchase a government-defined health insurance plan; the economic burden the plan would place on individuals and businesses; and the increased control over people’s lives that the government would exercise under the plan.

Hatch called for total repeal of Obamacare. He described the potential threat posed by the plan as “one of the most serious issues we’ve ever seen in the history of this Republic. ”

Feast of Tabernacles draws thousands of Christian pilgrims

By LOREN MINSKY/ ITRAVELJERUSALEM.COM TEAM

The Feast of Tabernacles begins Thursday evening at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center with delegations from countries that include Australia, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and the United States. The event is the largest solidarity mission to Israel this year, injecting an estimated $15 to $18 million into the local economy.

Pilgrims will come to pray for peace in Jerusalem and to extend their blessings to Israel. They believe that commemorating the feast is a step towards the fulfilment of the prophecy of Zecharia, which anticipated that "the nations shall go [to Jerusalem] every year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Succot."

Int'l Christian Embassy welcomes 6,000 Christian pilgrims from over 80 countries to Jerusalem for its annual week-long celebration of the Christian celebration of Succot.

The first feast took place in September 1980 and was organized by mainly local pro-Israel Christian leaders. Around 1,000 pilgrims from 40 nations attended and as a result, the Christian Embassy was established to express year-round support with Israel. This was at a time when the last remaining thirteen national embassies had just left Jerusalem for Tel Aviv.

This year, the celebration includes an interesting roster of speakers, headed by Angus Buchan, a South African farmer-turned-evangelist, whose tale is told in the book and movie, Faith Like Potatoes. Another fascinating speaker is Pastor Werner Oder, the son of an Austrian Nazi war criminal, who is today a Christian minister in England and an outspoken friend of Israel.

Israeli dignitaries expected to address the gathering in person include Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon, Deputy Minister Gila Gamliel, MK David Rotem, Chairman of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, and Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov will greet the delegation by video.

Celebrations include a huge variety of activities, music, worship, performances, outdoor events and seminars, all of which culminates in the grand finale evening celebration and the Jerusalem March. “Most pilgrims love being part of the march,” says David Parsons, Media Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. “It allows them to go into the streets of Jerusalem and express their love and support directly to the Israeli people.” Also popular is the outdoor event at Ein Gedi.

“The feast is very challenging for those of us who organize it each year, as it is a huge undertaking to host so many people from so many different countries,” says David. “But it is a very rewarding and memorable time to see old friends each year and new faces as well, while also experiencing the "joy" of Succot. This is truly a week where we can sense the joy of God's presence like in the age to come”.

Near-Perfect Young Dinosaur Fossil Found in Bavaria

German paleontologists have discovered what they believe is the best-preserved dinosaur skeleton ever found in Europe. Some 98 percent of the fossil found in the southern state of Bavaria is intact, and it will soon be placed on display for a short time in Munich.

The discovery of young, unnamed dinosaur fossils is rare, but on Wednesday researchers in southern German state of Bavaria announced they had uncovered an almost perfect specimen. The flesh-eating member of the theropod subgroup, which walked on its hind legs, is among the best preserved specimens of its kind worldwide, said Oliver Rauhut, conservator of Bavaria's state paleontological and geological collections (BSPG) in Munich.

The fossil found in the central Bavarian community of Kelheim is about 98 percent complete, and also includes preserved bits of skin. "The around 135-million-year-old fossil is of outstanding scientific importance," dinosaur expert Rauhut told the German news agency DPA.

A number of similar fossils have been found in China, he said, but they are not as well-preserved. "From far away they often look complete," he said. "But up close one sees that the bone preservation is not that great."

On Display in Munich

Though the 72-centimeter juvenile dinosaur is preserved in stone, a number of anatomical details remain. "The best-preserved Tyrannosaurus we have are about 80 percent preserved, and that is already terrific," said Rauhut, comparing the two theropods, which are among the rarest dinosaur fossils.

Most of the fossils in this group exist in only fragments, said Dan Ravasz, spokesman for the upcoming mineral exhibition, The Munich Show, a trade fair dedicated to minerals, germs, jewellery and fossils that runs for four days starting on Oct. 27.

The experts aren't certain just how old the dinosaur was when it died, though they estimate that a freshly hatched Tyrannosaurus would have been about the same size. They were able to determine that the specimen is young by measuring the size of its skull, body proportions and the bone surface. Learning more about young dinosaurs is important for scientists to understand more about their evolutionary process.

The fossil, discovered between one and two years ago, has been registered as a German cultural asset, giving it a status that drastically lowers its monetary worth, but ensures the artefact will remain in the country. Ravasz declined to reveal the exact location of the discovery or its owner, but said it would later be loaned to a museum.

USGS Reports Record Number Of Strong Earthquakes In 2011

By Mark Dunphy

The number of dangerous earthquakes recorded worldwide so far in 2011 has reached record new levels, according to research conducted by iWeather Online (IWO).

By analysing data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), IWO was able to determine that earthquake activity (6.0-9.9 magnitude) during the period 01 January to 12 October 2011 reached its highest level in 20 years. The 2011 data was compared with data for the corresponding period in each of the 19 previous years since 1992.

A total of 177 earthquakes in the range 6.0 to 10 magnitude on the Richter Scale have been recorded so far in 2011, compared to 149 for the same period in 2010 and 119 in 2009.

Recent earthquakes exceeding 6 magnitude on the Richter Scale have occurred in Tonga (08 Oct), northern Argentina (06 Oct), India/Nepal (18 Oct), Cuba (15 Sept), northern Sumatra (05 Sept), Vanuatu (03 Sept), Alaska (02 Sept), and East Timor (30 Aug).

Interestingly, the total number of earthquakes (magnitude 0-9.9 magnitude) recorded in 2011 is dramatically lower than the previous four years since 2007.

The highest number of earthquakes recorded in the period 01 January to 12 October during these years was 23,980 (2008). Only 9,506 earthquakes have been detected by the USGS in 2011 to date.

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Trichet warns eurozone crisis is threat to global stability

Europe's top financial watchdog warned on Tuesday that the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis has become systemic and threatens global economic stability unless decisive action is taken urgently.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet issued the dramatic warning as chairman of the European Systemic Risk Board, created to avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, amid growing fears that Greece will default on its massive debt.

"The crisis is systemic and must be tackled decisively," Mr Trichet told a European Parliament committee in his final appearance before retiring at the end of the month.

"The high interconnectedness in the EU financial system has led to a rapidly rising risk of significant contagion. It threatens financial stability in the EU as a whole and adversely impacts the real economy in Europe and beyond."

European banking regulators meanwhile asked banks across the continent to provide updated data on their capital position and sovereign debt exposures to help reassess their need for recapitalisation.

Germany and France, the leading powers in the 17-nation euro zone, have promised to propose a comprehensive strategy to fight the debt crisis at an EU summit delayed until October 23.

But they must first resolve differences over how to recapitalise banks, whether to force a Greek debt restructuring or stick to a voluntary deal with private bondholders and how to use the eurozone's rescue fund.

Many analysts see the rush to recapitalise European banks as a prelude to an enforced write-down of 50pc or more on their Greek debt holdings