Month: January 2012

Captain of the Italian Cruise Liner Wanted to Wave to Girlfriend and Tried a `Float By`

Published by Papa Giorgio

Spirit Fm says this was a “float-by” similar to that of military jets doing a fly-by:

And Clarence Mitchell, who is representing Costa Cruises, said: “Mr Foschi confirmed the captain had been approaching the island of Giglio to ‘make a salute’.

The Guardian likewise has this nugget:

Foschi said Costa’s ships had their routes programmed, with alarms sounding when they went off course. “This route was put in correctly,” he said. “The fact that it left from this course is due solely to a manoeuvre by the commander that was unapproved, unauthorised and unknown to Costa.”

Though the company would provide Schettino with all necessary assistance, he said: “We need to acknowledge the facts, and we cannot deny human error.”

Foschi said Schettino was highly skilled, with all relevant qualifications, and that the liner had passed recent safety checks. But his remarks will be seen as confirmation of reports that the ship was making an unofficial sail-by of the island.

Yahoo News sums it all up:

At a news conference today, Costa Cruises Chief Executive Officer Pier Luigi Foschi said the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, made an unapproved, unauthorized maneuver to change the ship’s programmed course. Italian media has reported that Schettino was close to the shore in order to wave to a friend who was on land.

Is Evolution Compatible with the Gospel? A Debate

Published by Papa Giorgio

From the video description:

Dr John Polkinghorne KBE, FRS (Cambridge Physicist & Canon Theological) Vs. John Mackay “International Director of Creation Research. Is Evolution Compatible with the Christian Faith? Hosted by BBC’s Roger Phillips, filmed live at Liverpool Cathedral. Don’t miss this great debate.

LIVERPOOL CATHEDRAL DEBATE A GREAT SUCCESS Over 1100 people filled the Liverpool Cathedral to hear Cambridge University physicist and Canon Theological for the Cathedral, Dr John Polkinghorne, debate Australian and International Director of Creation Research, John Mackay. The topic: Is evolution compatible with the Christian faith?”

As the UK’s leading theistic evolutionist, Dr John Polkinghorne started the debate with his claim that the universe had evolved over the past 14 billion years. Mackay quickly produced a copy of a 1990 lecture by Polkinghorne, where he had stated the universe had evolved over 15 billion years. It was fun to watch the audience react to Mackay’s claim that evolution must be so wonderful it has enabled John Polkinghorne to become 15 years older while the universe became one billion years younger, and then use it to emphasis the point that these vast billions of years are not facts that disprove a literal reading of the scriptures, but men’s feeble theories, which are constantly evolving while the scriptures in Genesis remain firm.

THE UK CHURCHMAN NEWSPAPER reporting the Liverpool Debate stated: “The controversial issue of origins was given a theological airing in the cloistered confines of Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, on March 8th 2005. The distinguished Australian Creation Scientist John Mackay was, in my humble opinion, far away ahead in his creation views against the resident Anglican theologian, Canon John Polkinghorne, KBE. It was a great educational debate but in my view Mackay’s Biblical answers left the canon (and he reminded me very much of Captain Mainwaring of Dad’s Army) spluttering in his hastily assembled answers. (from Liverpool Canon Debates Creation Scientist in Cathedral by G. Patrick Battell Paper No 7568, 18 March 05) Hosted by popular BBC Commentator Roger Phillips, this exciting debate was filmed professionally.

This is one DVD you don’t want to miss. Since faith in Theistic Evolution over billions of years is one of the biggest problems in evangelical churches throughout the world, your church needs to see it as well!

To purchase this DVD go to http://www.creationresearch.net/secure/store/home.php?shopkey=3399 click on GREAT DVDS and scroll down titles:

A Dog`s Tale ~ A Sad One

Published by Papa Giorgio

From THE BLAZE:

Imagine you’re fishing in your kayak, and instead of reeling in a fish, you end up with a dog. That’s exactly what happened to one Tampa-area kayaker on Saturday afternoon, in a story that is both incredible and tragic.

As the man was fishing, he saw the dog — named Barney — swimming to his kayak. He eventually scooped him up and took him to a local vet. It just so happened that he had a camera rolling during the whole incident:

But the story doesn’t end there. The kayaker, who was baffled as to how and why  Barney — who swam about a half-mile — got to him, then learned the tragic news. CBSTampa.com explains:

The man brought Barney to a local vet, who used a tracking chip implanted in him to discover his owner was Donna L. Chen, who was struck by a Nissan Altima and died moments before.

Florida Highway Patrol said Blake Talman, 22, was fleeing from an earlier crash in his Nissan Altima northbound on SR-758 when he struck Chen and Barney.

The two were jogging north on SR-758 when Talman allegedly failed to navigate a left curve causing him to leave the roadway and strike a metal pole before hitting Chen and a street sign. Chen was knocked from the sidewalk into the center of the road, reports indicate.

Barney took off, though there is no mention of him in the report.

From the video description:

UPDATE: the mystery is solved. However, it’s very sad and unfortunate:

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_sarasota_manatee/53-year-old-jog…

The accident scene was about a mile from where I found Barney swimming. Our guess is that he was so freaked out and traumatized that he just wanted to get as far away from there as possible. And when he ran out of land, he took to the water. I feel lucky that I was there fishing, because there was no place for him to go and I don’t know if he could have made it much farther. He’s banged up, but fine. Our hearts go out to the family who lost their mother.