The Baptist Mosque; More Lutheran's Embrace Sin; The Other Holocaust Denial; Practical Reality War; Cops Replace Drugs; Cities Against States; and Dreaming of Flying Cars

Apostasy

Southern Baptist Mission Trustee Resigns Rather Than 'Support False Religion' christiantoday

He told Tennessee's Baptist and Reflector baptistandreflector.org: "If we defend the rights of people to construct places of false worship are we not helping them speed down the highway to hell? I want no part in supporting a false religion even if it is in the name of religious freedom."

In a statement to Baptist Press apparently conceding one of Haun's points, IMB president David Platt said: "As a result of discussions among IMB trustees and staff over recent months, we have revised our processes for our legal department filing any future amicus briefs. IMB leaders are committed in the days ahead to speak only into situations that are directly tied to our mission."

Also see SBC Loses Funding Over Mosque-Building Support pulpitandpen.org

Mexican Fury; Gorbachev's World View; Eroding North Korea; Russia in Japan's Skies; Allowing Evolutionary Doubt; Frisco Sans Kids; and The Human-Pig

Politics

Mexicans Launch Boycotts of U.S. Companies in Fury at Donald Trump time

The boycotts illustrate the defiant mood brewing in Mexico in reaction to Trump’s tumultuous first week in the White House. President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a bilateral meeting in Washington on Thursday after Trump insisted Mexico should pay for the border wall. The Mexican government and leading business lobbies have said the country should pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA cnn, rather than accept a bad rewrite. And opposition leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has called for a lawsuit in the United Nations against the planned border wall.

Tanks on a Russian Roll; NK Nuclear; Warning Iran; Forgetting the Dentist; Artificial Leaf; and The Package Sorting Van

NATO

For 1st time since Cold War, U.S. tanks roll into Russia's backyard cbsnews

All the massive hardware of a U.S. combat brigade arrived in Germany over the weekend, and started rolling east toward Poland, where 4,000 American soldiers will be waiting for it.

Decapitation Speed Up; Greeced Out; UK's Laser Gun; Super Batteries; Light Rack; Handheld Car Lot; More Sight to the Seeing; Nano-Chimney; Magnetic Drug Delivery; The 103 Satellite Launch; Comet in Sight; and Planned Parenthood vs. the Activist

North Korea

South Korea speeds up creation of Kim Jong Un 'decapitation unit' cnn v

The country is speeding up plans to set up what some call a "decapitation unit," a brigade specifically tasked with targeting North Korea's "wartime command," including leader Kim Jong Un, according to a South Korea Defense Ministry official.

The brigade was initially supposed to be ready in 2019, but the Defense Ministry now says it'll be established "by this year."

Jimmied Peace; Rising Hate; EPA Confusion; Marines Sign Up; Touching Sense; 3D Printing Ward; Heating to the Freezing Point; Thin Chip; Long Live the Vaccine; X-Ray Network; Uncanny Assistant; Mastercard's AI; Long Web History; Sanctions for NK; Space War; Cassini of the Rings; and Crushing Crabs

Peace

Jimmy Carter to Obama: Before you leave office, recognize Palestinian state cnn

"I am convinced that the United States can still shape the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before a change in presidents, but time is very short, " Carter wrote. "The simple but vital step this administration must take before its term expires on Jan. 20 is to grant American diplomatic recognition to the state of Palestine."

Also see Carter's Op-Ed piece: Jimmy Carter: America Must Recognize Palestine nytimes

Edited Human; Finger Eye; AI Plays with Toys; Cyborg Society; Brain History; eKrona; Skylivery; Turkey's Descent; Russia's Navy in Action; High Bar; and Post-Truth

CRISPR

Chinese scientists use gene-editing techniques in humans for first time cnn

On October 28, genetically modified cells were injected into a patient at the West China Hospital in Chengdu with aggressive lung cancer, according to the scientific journal Nature.

Liao Zhilin, who handles communications for the team, told CNN "everything is going as planned," but would not go into details.

Nuclear War Rattle; China's Heavy Rocket; Goofy Mars; Light Hack; and Jacket Tent Bag

Russia

Russia holds large-scale nuclear war games washingtontimes

The unannounced war games were called strategic operation of nuclear forces and took place between Oct. 10 and Oct. 12 throughout Russia. The exercises appear to be the latest round of nuclear saber-rattling against the United States by President Vladimir Putin.

One official said the exercises, involving numerous launches of nuclear missiles, were gauged to be at levels that reached or exceeded the kind of Soviet strategic force exercises held during the Cold War.

Closed Liberty; Church Bathrooms; Russia's Regress Begins; Aussies Block (ish) SSM; Drugged Out; Bio-Hacking at the Top; Censoring the Censors; Nod to Pay; Nano Transistor; Spacey Brain; Houthi in the Machine; and Drone Death

Society

Christian-owned bakery in Oregon closes after religious freedom fight results in steep fines christiandaily

On Sept. 29, the Christian-owned bakery Sweet Cakes thanked the people who prayed for and supported the business, but at the same time announced that the bakery has already closed. No explanation was provided on the Facebook statement, Catholic News Agency details.

According to Q13 Fox News, Sweet Cakes' storefront in Oregon has been closed since 2013. However, owners Aaron and Melissa Klein continued to operate their business from their home. Their legal representative Hiram Sasser explained that the bakery was closed "months ago" but the couple still received inquiries for possible orders, thus the Facebook announcement.

Criminal Fear; Police Use Twitter, Too; Tearing Down Gandhi; Russin' War Crimes; Duterte Doesn't Need You; Nuclear. Activity. Again.; Great Balls of Fire; Growing Food in Space; North Star Moon Shot; and the AI's in the Details

Society

In Fear of Public Scrutiny, Chicago Officer Didn’t Use Gun While She Was Beaten ktla v

While wrestling on the ground, the the man allegedly grabbed the officer's head and slammed her face into the pavement repeatedly until she lost consciousness, [the superintendent] said.

Yahoo, Watchin' You; Stalled Gender; Killing Wins the Day; Russia is Awesome!; 40 Million Prep for the Bomb; Aleppo is Not the End; Iraq Wants Turkey (Out); U.S. Blasts Israel; Tractoring Around; and Bees Dance Ahola

Privacy

Yahoo 'secretly monitored emails on behalf of the US government' theguardian

The company complied with a classified US government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency (NSA nsa.gov) or FBI fbi.gov, two former employees and a third person who knew about the program told Reuters.

Some surveillance experts said this represents the first known case of a US internet company agreeing to a spy agency’s demand by searching all arriving messages, as opposed to examining stored messages or scanning a small number of accounts in real time.

Chinese War Plans; Useless UN?; Obama and Xi Save the World; The Gay Bishop; Rising the Dead to Sainthood; Jupiter's Complex; and Cortana in the Fridge

War

Are We Ready for War With China? newsweek

China’s improved military capabilities, particularly for anti-access and area denial (A2AD), mean that the United States cannot count on gaining operational control, destroying China’s defenses and achieving decisive victory if a war occurred.

With that in mind, this report rand.org examines alternative paths that a war between the United States and China might take, losses and other effects on both sides, preparations that the United States should make and ways to balance U.S. war aims against costs should war occur.

China's Censorship; South Sea War Games; Give Up and Go Home NATO; Missiles from the Mediterranean; and Turkey and Israel Friends(ish) Again

Censorship

The slow creep and chilling effect of China's censorship dailydot

In the era of smartphones, instantaneous communication, and social media, you would’ve expected this news [Sonam Tso's act of self-immolation] to quickly spread around the world. It didn't. In fact, it was not until early May that civil society groups outside of Tibet were able to verify what had happened to Sonam Tso and alert the world. That was more than six weeks after the event has taken place—an eternity in the digital age.

Fastest Eyes in the West; The Piltdown Hoaxer; Russia and Turkey Sittin' in a Tree...; Out Gunned Britain; and Vietnam's Firing Range

Creatures

Computation of motion by T4 cells in the fly brain more complex than previously believed medicalxpress

Flies are usually very difficult to catch. No wonder – they invest around ten percent of their brain in the detection and processing of image motion. For the fly, a hand approaches in slow motion and the fly's evasive manoeuvre has long been triggered before any real danger arises. Scientists have been researching for decades how the fly brain can perceive and process movements so quickly and accurately. "Our goal is slowly coming into view, and we are close to completely decoding the neuronal circuit of motion perception in the fly," says Alexander Borst, who has been working on this problem with his Department at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology neuro.mpg.de for quite some time. The scientists have now come one step closer to the answer: They have provided experimental data that combine two theories previously considered as alternatives.

Chinese Hangers; World Vision's Blind Spot; 1.2B to Iran...from Israel; How to Not Be a Jerk to Police; Escape Hatch Door; Deep Data Diagnostician; and Organic Screens

China

China building aircraft hangars on disputed islands in South China Sea, says US think tank scmp

Satellite photographs taken in late July show the construction of hangars on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly chain of islands and some have already been completed, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

David Descending; An Old Yarn; Quiet Drought; Programming in the Quantum; Sluggish Speed of Light; Robot Wars; AI See You; Pedophilla, the Next Right; Unfaire; Printing Holograms; Japan on the Ready; and Russia's Friend Iran

Temple Mount

King David’s Descendents Making Case to Reclaim Ownership of Temple Mount breakingisraelnews

While their claim is legally sound and verifiable, it faces significant political hurdles. One of the suit’s beneficiaries, who claims descent from the Davidic Dynasty, is ready for the legal battle but cautiously pragmatic.

Proxy War Status; Russia and Turkey's High Hopes; ISS For Sale; BLM Also Slanders Israel; and a Random, Unified Theory

War

Military Success in Syria Gives Putin Upper Hand in U.S. Proxy War nytimes v

For the first time since Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Russian military for the past year has been in direct combat with rebel forces trained and supplied by the C.I.A. The American-supplied Afghan fighters prevailed during that Cold War conflict. But this time the outcome — thus far — has been different.

1st Amendment and Cakes; Rain Bomb; Fiery Manure; Australia Drifts Away; Dragon Ants; NK'n Hate in Bullet Point Form; The Anti-US War Game Party; Breaking Communication Chains; Get Turkey Out (of NATO); Israel's Red Pill, Blue Pill Choice; Shrinking Okinawan Stake; Another Gay Christening; 58 Years of NASA; Yahoo's Solution to Hate; and a Dead Man's Fingerprint

Society

Constitution Check: Does the First Amendment protect a wedding cake as an art form? blog.constitutioncenter.org

Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at a potential Supreme Court test case about religious beliefs, same-sex marriage and a Colorado bakeshop.

Also see Masterpiece Cakeshop petition to the Supreme Court adflegal pdf

SCOTUS: Death Regardless; Transgender Marriages OK'd by Fatwa; Russian Nautical Dancer; Poland Moves Russia to Corner; Netanyahu's Internal Battle for Peace; Hannibal Directive Canceled; Largest Rocket Tested; Soft Motor for Soft Bots; and Sliding on Flys

Abortion

The FAQs: Supreme Court Rules on Texas Abortion Case thegospelcoalition.org

In one of the most significant rulings on abortion in decades, the Supreme Court ruled on Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in a 5-3 decision to overturn state laws designed to regulate abortion clinics in a way that would protect women’s health.

For a related story, see US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pharmacists' Case against Extreme Washington Law

Belgium I O Dine; The Israel-US Game: How Much/How Little?; Turkey Longs for End of Iran's Sanctions; China + Russia Scold US; Syria's Once Was Peace Over; Barrel Roll Temptation; A Second Scolding from Russia in Syria; UN - More Money and One Voice = Peace; Biden Gushes, Pope Returns Favor; EU's Banks Not Prepared; On Marrying Vishnu; Finally Some Sound Theology in the UK!; and a Robot Humans Chase

Today we have little bits of "war brewing" news from all over the world. I didn't plan it that way, but when I compiled the final list, I found that I had stories about or referencing at least 9 different countries! Here's a hint - most of them aren't singing our praises :)

Belgium

Belgium Issues Iodine Pills to All Citizens in Nuclear Emergency Plan nbcnews

A dose of iodine, which helps to limit the effects of radiation on the body, will be made available to all 11 million people in the small country, Health Minister Maggie De Block told reporters Thursday.