Thursday, February 17, 2011

Architect Forced To Remove Crosses From School

Architect to remove ‘crosses’ from TPS elementary school: foxtoledo.com

TOLEDO, Ohio - An architect is removing a design element from a new elementary school that looked liked the Christian cross.

"I actually have not noticed a cross," said Mona-Mae Mitchell. "Is that a light pole?"

Some have never noticed the design at the Toledo Public Schools' new Beverly Elementary School construction site at the corner of Glanzman Road and Detroit Avenue, the former location of old Bowsher High School.

Others say the designs look like Christian crosses.

A photo shared on FOX Toledo News media partner's Toledo Free Press Facebook page on Jan. 23 by David Eichenberg showed what appeared to be a cross design on the exterior gymnasium walls of the new Beverly Elementary that is under construction.

MORE: Architect to remove ‘crosses’ from TPS elementary school (Toledo Free Press)

James Gant, chief business manager for TPS, told Toledo Free Press during a telephone interview that the cross design was not part of the original plans, and that the design was to have been what could be described as a plus sign.

"As soon as we found out there were issues we got a copy of the plan design and talked to the architect about it, it was not the intent of the plan at all."

"I was also surprised to be honest with you that these looked like crosses," Gant added. "I appreciate the concern that was brought up and it does look that way and we need to be careful about that process of what we're doing. It's a legitimate concern, and it was not the intended design."

The architect on this project is going to change the alleged cross designs sometime in the spring at no cost to the school district, Gant said.

Read More: http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/Architect-to-remove--crosses--from-TPS-elementary-school

Bahrain Protests Get Heated

MANAMA, Bahrain – Troops and tanks locked down the capital of this tiny Gulf kingdom after riot police swinging clubs and firing tear gas smashed into demonstrators, many of them sleeping, in a pre-dawn assault Thursday that uprooted their protest camp demanding political change. Medical officials said four people were killed.

Hours after the attack on Manama's main Pearl Square, the military announced a ban on gatherings, saying on state TV that it had "key parts" of the capital under its control.

Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa justified the crackdown as necessary because the demonstrators were "polarizing the country and" pushing it to the "brink of the sectarian abyss."

Speaking to reporters after meeting with his Gulf counterparts, he also said the violence was "regrettable."

After several days of holding back, the island nation's Sunni rulers unleashed a heavy crackdown, trying to stamp out the first anti-government upheaval to reach the Arab states of the Gulf since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. In the surprise assault, police tore down protesters' tents, beating men and women inside and blasting some with shotgun sprays of birdshot.

It was a sign of how deeply the Sunni monarchy — and other Arab regimes in the Gulf — fear the repercussions of a prolonged wave of protests, led by members of the country's Shiite majority but also joined by growing numbers of discontented Sunnis.

Tiny Bahrain is a pillar of Washington's military framework in the region. It hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, a critical counterbalance to Iran. Bahrain's rulers and their Arab allies depict any sign of unrest among their Shiite populations as a move by neighboring Shiite-majority Iran to expand its clout in the region.

But the assault may only further enrage protesters, who before the attack had called for large rallies Friday. In the wake of the bloodshed, angry demonstrators chanted "the regime must go," and burned pictures of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa outside the emergency ward at Salmaniya Medical Complex, the main hospital.

"We are even angrier now. They think they can clamp down on us, but they have made us angrier," Makki Abu Taki, whose son was killed in the assault, shouted in the hospital morgue. "We will take to the streets in larger numbers and honor our martyrs. The time for Al Khalifa has ended."

The Obama administration expressed alarm over the violent crackdown. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Bahrain's foreign minister to register Washington's "deep concern" and urge restraint. Similar criticism came from Britain and the European Union.

Human Rights Watch called on Bahraini authorities to order security forces to stop attacks on peaceful protesters and investigate the deaths.

Read More:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_bahrain_protests

Hawaii Senate Passes Same Sex Civil Union Bill

The Hawaii Senate passed on Wednesday a bill that would legalize civil unions for same-sex couples.

The legislation passed with an 18-5 vote and now awaits the signature of Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie

If signed, Hawaii would become the seventh state to extend the same rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to gay and lesbian partners in a civil union.

Opponents of same-sex unions have been hard at work for years to preserve traditional marriage in the Aloha State. They have contended that a measure allowing civil unions for same-sex couples undermines the institution of marriage and the will of the Hawaii people, who in 1998 voted 70 to 30 percent to affirm marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The push by gay rights advocates won't stop at civil unions, they argued.

"They're really looking for same-sex marriage. We know," Alan Cardenas Jr. of the Hawaii Family Forum told Hawaii News Now. "They know it. The people of Hawaii have a right to know it."

An earlier attempt by state lawmakers to pass a same-sex civil unions bill failed when then Governor Linda Lingle vetoed the measure last year.

Read More http://www.christianpost.com/news/hawaii-senate-passes-same-sex-civil-unions-bill-49024/

Boy Shares Vision Of Heaven After Near Death Experience

IMPERIAL, Neb. -- It sounds like a story dreamed up by a little boy, but to understand what Colton Burpo says you have to hear what he says happened to him.

It all started during a trip to Colorado.

Colton complained of a stomach ache, which led to a trip to the doctor and a diagnosis of the flu. Afterward, the Burpo family went home to the small town of Imperial, Neb., where another doctor dismissed suggestions that Colton was suffering from appendicitis.

Just two days later, Todd and Sonja Burpo rushed their lifeless son to another medical center, where he was immediately taken into surgery. Colton's surgeon estimates that the boy's appendix had ruptured five days before he was properly diagnosed.


Todd remembers thinking, "as parents we felt sick, what did we do wrong?"

While Colton was in surgery, Todd and Sonja prayed in separate rooms. They thought their son was dying and they blamed themselves.

Miraculously, after a difficult recovery and another surgery, Colton survived. But his story is far from over.

There were things Colton did and things he said after the surgery that were out of the ordinary, but none of it made sense until a drive past the hospital four months after the surgery.

His Dad jokingly asked Colton if he wanted to go back to the hospital.

Colton's response? "You know Dad, the angels sang to me while I was there," the boy said.

Todd remembers looking into the mirror and seeing his son's face being dead serious, with no smile or notion that he was joking in return.

Todd looked at his wife and asked, "Has he ever talked about angels with you before?"

Colton claims that while on the operating table he went to heaven and that he met his great-grandfather Pop. Colton says his grandfather didn't look like the man in the photo in his house, but instead looked like the man in the picture sent months later by his Grandmother, a young man without glasses.

But perhaps the most shocking part of Colton's story, the baby he never knew about.

One day while Colton was playing he walked up to his mom, and out of the blue asked, "Mom, I have two sisters, you had a baby die in your tummy didn't you?"

Sonja was shocked and overwhelmed by what her little boy had just said. When she asked him who told him, he said, "she did Mommy, she said she died in your tummy."

Todd and Sonja had never told their son about the miscarriage Sonja had before Colton was born. After all, it was more than a four-year-old would ever need to know.

Colton went on to tell his mom that she was a girl and, "she looked familiar and she started giving me hugs and she was glad to have someone in her family up there."

Over time his visions became more believable. He described Jesus, and he even talked about Armageddon and how God told him his father would fight in the final battle. Although Todd was a pastor, he says he never talked detail like this with his preschool aged son.

After years of stories and new details, Todd's friends and members of his church started asking him to write his stories down. They encouraged Todd to write a book, which wasn't something he wanted to do or had any idea how to do.

He remembers praying about it, and he said he would only do it if the opportunity fell right into his lap. It wasn't long after his prayer that a publisher called him.

Now Colton's stories of Heaven are documented in a book titled "Heaven is for Real."

500,000 copies of the book have been printed and there are now talks of a movie. Sonja says it's a lot for her small town family but they are seeing their story make a difference in many lives.

As for Colton, he is now 11 and he loves to sing, wrestle, and play the trumpet. His Dad says his experience in heaven hasn't changed his son, but because Colton was so young when it happened it has defined his life.

When asked why he thinks his son and his family had this experience, Todd says, "I don't know why God picked us. If we had a chance to vote when we saw our kid suffering about to die, we would have said no, we don't want this. We are just normal people that God did a miracle for."

Read more from KDVR.com

Former Planned Parenthood Worker Leads Pro-Life Video Battle

Ms. Johnson makes it clear that the behavior exposed in the video sting was not unusual. To the contrary, “I can tell you from experience that Planned Parenthood often turns a blind eye to sexual abuse and trafficking – what you see in Live Action’s videos is not a rare occurrence. But ignorance is no defense, especially when it has turned their clinics into a safe haven for those who sexually exploit women and girls.

via uncoverage.net Former Planned Parenthood Worker Leads Pro-Life Video Battle

iglucose Product to be Completed in March 2011 and Submitted to FDA for 510(k) Clearance Shortly Thereafter

PositiveID Corporation Partners With Wireless Technology Leaders at Connected Development to Complete Final Development of iglucose

iglucose Product to be Completed in March 2011 and Submitted to FDA for 510(k) Clearance Shortly Thereafter

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Feb. 15, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PositiveID Corporation ("PositiveID") (Nasdaq:PSID), a leader in next generation patient monitoring and diagnostics, announced today it has partnered with Connected Development to complete the final stage of development of its iglucose™ product. PositiveID's iglucose is a wireless communication device for the automatic transmission of blood glucose readings from any data-capable glucometer to the iglucose database. It functions without the use of a cellular telephone, telephone line or personal computer. PositiveID expects to complete the design and development of the iglucose product in March 2011, and submit it to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 510(k) clearance shortly thereafter.

Connected Development is finalizing the product design and embedded software development; validating its performance; managing network certification, and coordinating the manufacturing process for iglucose.

"We are excited to be involved in the development of the iglucose device," said Stefan Lindvall, President of Connected Development. "And, we are confident we can make the ease and convenience of iglucose a reality soon, in order to enhance the quality of life for those living with diabetes."

PositiveID has also finalized the back-end software architecture for iglucose, which is based on Web 2.0 methodologies and facilitates an intuitive user interface, and user-centric design of the application. The iglucose platform, in its final stages, will provide an open-standards API, which will allow data from iglucose to easily integrate with other systems.

PositiveID's iglucose is designed to take the work out of diabetes management by automatically creating logs and journals, which, according to the American Diabetes Association, are an important assessment of an individual's response to their diabetes care plan. Users simply connect their data-capable glucometer to iglucose and within seconds data will be transmitted via a machine-to-machine (M2M) network to the iglucose database. PositiveID believes the solution is ideal for individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, wellness and disease management companies who are actively seeking solutions to reduce diabetes related costs.

"As we complete the final stage of development and validation of iglucose, we have chosen another expert in wireless communication and M2M technology to prepare us for our FDA submission," said Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and CEO of PositiveID. "We are confident working with Connected Development will help us bring our solution to market quickly and effectively."

About PositiveID Corporation

PositiveID Corporation develops and markets healthcare and information management products through its diagnostic devices and identification technologies, and its proprietary disease management tools. PositiveID's implantable healthcare devices and external hardware and software products are designed to communicate wirelessly to improve healthcare and the patient's quality of life. For more information on PositiveID, please visit www.PositiveIDCorp.com.


Statements about PositiveID's future expectations, including the likelihood that the iglucose product will be completed in March 2011 and submitted to FDA for 510(k) clearance shortly thereafter, the likelihood that Connected Development can soon make the ease and convenience of iglucose a reality for those living with diabetes, the likelihood that working with Connected Development will help PositiveID bring the iglucose solution to market quickly and effectively, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and PositiveID's actual results could differ materially from expected results. These risks and uncertainties include the Company's ability to successfully commercialize its iglucose product, as well as certain other risks. Additional information about these and other factors that could affect the Company's business is set forth in the Company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in the Company's 10-K filed on March 19, 2010, and the Company's 10-Qs filed on May 6, 2010, August 13, 2010, and November 12, 2010, under the caption "Risk Factors." The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

CONTACT:
Allison Tomek
561-805-8000
atomek@positiveidcorp.com

Dan Schustack
CEOcast
212-732-4300
dschustack@ceocast.com

PositiveID Corporation Logo

Source: PositiveID Corporation

Study Shows American Teens are in FAVOR of VIRGINITY!

Posted: February 14, 2011
By Drew Zahn
© 2011 WorldNetDaily

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a new study of teenagers shows America's youth are reconsidering the morality of sex and embracing the value of abstinence before marriage.

Half of the over 5,000 teens surveyed concluded that sex before marriage was "never" morally acceptable; over 70 percent rejected the practice of "living together" before marriage; and 61 percent confessed they would like to be a virgin on their wedding day.

Furthermore, 63 percent agreed, "If I wasn't a virgin and I could change the past, I would have sex after marriage."

The verified online survey of teens aged 13-18 was conducted by the international Christian children's ministry OneHope and strictly randomized to include a proportioned mix of students from different races, parts of the country and urban vs. rural residence.

Chad Causey, OneHope's vice president of global ministries explained the survey's questions about sexuality were merely part of a broader attempt to understand how teens think.

"There is a lot of research about young people, but when do we hear directly from them?" Causey asked in a statement. "That's why OneHope conducts research around the world, asking youth themselves what impacts them most. We use this research to better understand their needs, meet them at their points of pain and bring them hope through media experiences conveying God's love."

Causey warned, however, the study shows teens ill-prepared to be able to hold to their convictions.


Read more: American teens: We want our virginity back http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=263737#ixzz1EEvLS6yF