For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. -Matthew 24:7–8

In his 2007 scholarly work, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains why the black swan is a metaphor about the significance of unexpected events in history...

The recent cyber-attack on Iran’s nuclear program has been called by analysts as the first use of a specially designed cyber weapon. They fear that cyber warfare will replace nuclear war as the greatest threat to the world today...

In the 1700s, most of the world got its energy from windmills, water wheels, whales and plants. Plants contributed not only the wood for generating heat but also the internal fuel to power the labor of humans and animals. Since the Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago, fossil fuels have been the engine that has driven the global economy. The world is living in the age of petroleum.

The highly publicized arrest and later resignation of International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn raised more questions than it answered...

Ecumenicalism is defined as “concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions, so pervasive and all-inclusive as to exist in or affect the whole world.” And the mantra of the “whole world” is one in which we all need to just get along.

Al Qaida is making the most of the situation in Libya, according to reports by an Algerian security official. Weapons from Libya have been smuggled toward Al Qaida destinations in western Africa, and governments in the region are concerned that Al Qaida’s forces could step into the void left if Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is forced to step down.

The current status of the individual states that comprise the United States of America could be defined with the possible title for a television reality show—“The Sane, The Insane, and Those in Between.”

In a previous article from the September 2009 issue of Personal Update entitled, “Whatever Happened to the New Age, Part I,” I showed that many famous New (Age) Spirituality writers claim to receive their inspiration or works directly from spirit guides:

The Federal Reserve Bank Note may soon have monetary competition within the United States, as a growing number of individual states are looking for economic salvation from fiat money—currency with no intrinsic worth that the government has decreed legal tender.

Our season of holidays has passed and we look once again to the opportunities that await us in a new year. While it some-times feels as if we are careening toward a cliff to plunge head-long into the abyss of prophetic fulfillment of strategic trends, we have actually plodded along for decades. Why do we suddenly feel the intensity? Because we have, or are, awakening out of our normalcy bias.

Over the last twenty years there has been a movement in schools that has changed the way many children are educated—charter schools. Charter schools are public schools, Kindergarten through 12th grade, that receive public money, but are not subject to the same rules that apply to other public schools. In return, charter schools are accountable to achieve certain goals that are outlined in the school charter.

In Part 1 of this article, we discussed the inspiring concept of “coordination” as outlined in Rescuing a Broken America: Why America is Deeply Divided and How to Heal it Constitutionally by Michael Coffman, Ph.D. In Part 2, we will discuss the success stories and how to move forward.

In many ways, cyber warfare is an unseen war. There are two reasons for this. Most of the technology in cyber warfare is not understood except by a few computer experts. Also, this war is not well covered by the media, because there are no visuals. (You can only take so many pictures of computer screens.)

The U.S. 2010 mid-term elections are now over, and many who are weary of political rhetoric are ready to take a few months off until the 2012 campaigns begin in earnest. At least that is the way I feel. That is, until I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Michael Coffman, Ph.D.

In discussing the status of America recently, a friend challenged me with a statement: “A question pierces the conscience, whereas an accusation hardens the heart.” It seems that the status of America raises many questions, as well as many accusations. For purpose of this discussion, however, the accusations come from Scripture.

“Nazi”: Today, over sixty years after the end of World War Two (WWII), it is probably one of the most recognizable words in the English language. But what images come to mind when reflecting upon the word? It is interesting that it isn’t the same for everyone.

In part one of this series, we covered the difference between fiat and commodity money. As countries moved toward a fiat currency, the money supply increased and started to lose value. Part two of the series explored the rise of the central banks.

As the 9th anniversary of September 11, 2001 approaches and we memorialize the slain and remember the events of that day, New York City is once again in the headlines. The debate of whether or not to allow the building of an Islamic mosque two blocks from “Ground Zero” is doing more than pouring salt into the wounds of history—it is rewriting history.

Last month we covered the two basic types of money: commodity money and fiat money. Commodity money, such as gold and silver, are based on something tangible and has intrinsic value. Fiat money, such as paper money, is based on whatever a government says it is worth.

Everyone reading this article is being robbed. We all use paper money and every day, governments are lowering its value. That value is being stolen from us. To understand how this is happening, we need to get to the basics of money. What is it?

The deceit of audacity defines a new battlefront in the U.S. border security and immigration debate. The Governor of the U.S. state of Arizona, Jan Brewer, had the “audacity” on April 23, 2010 to sign into law Senate Bill (SB) 1070—a bill that declared a person found in the United States illegally would also be considered “illegal” in the state of Arizona.

As 2010 dawned, the spirit of “change” in America was palpable. In previous articles, we have discussed many reasons for our attention and our concern. There is one topic; however, we have yet to put to print—U.N.American Education—the un-American infiltration of the United Nations agenda in the American classroom.

On February 14th, as China prepared to welcome in the Chinese New Year, their Year of the Tiger, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned of the challenges that lay ahead in 2010.

Tony Blair made headlines in March with his announcement that he set his eyes on the U.S. as the focus of the expansion efforts of his Faith Foundation. For Blair, this “faith offensive” is a logical move considering the lack of support his foundation has received back home in Britain. For the U.S., it represents a giant leap forward in the ecumenical and interfaith movements.

The rise of Europe, specifically the European Union (EU), has been a strategic trend of interest for decades. The EU stands as the model of regionalization of sovereign states—a necessary step in the direction of globalization.

From the War Department (now the Department of Defense) archives comes a 64-year-old military intelligence review titled “Islam: a Threat to World Stability” that inadvertently provides incredible insight into the challenges faced by Christians in today’s world.

In the Jewish Bible, Chronicles is counted as one book and is called in Hebrew, dibhere hayamim: “The words concerning the days.” (The Jewish Bible regards the Old Testament as 22 books.) The Septuagint labels it: Paraleipomena, “Supplements” (to 1 and 2 Kings).

Following the attacks of September 11th, 2001, the philosophy within the United States of combating terrorism with “law enforcement” diametrically changed to the “War on Terror.” As we watched the decade come to a close, we saw the American political will to fight the War on Terror lose steam.

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law House Resolution (H.R.) 2647—the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.