So What Will Life Be Like for You When The Price of Oil Goes To $200 Per Barrel? Hint it will not be pretty.

Militants, Iraq security forces clash at country's largest oil refinery.

An official at Iraq’s largest domestic oil refinery says Sunni militants have taken over 75 percent of the facility following clashes with Iraqi security forces.

"The militants have managed to break in to the refinery. Now they are in control of the production units, administration building and four watch towers. This is 75 percent of the refinery," an official speaking from inside the refinery in Beiji told Reuters on Wednesday.

A state oil official told The Wall Street Journal that two fuel-storage tanks were in flames after hours of fighting before dawn Wednesday, some 155 miles north of the capital, Baghdad. The official said militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targeted the oil refinery with mortars and machine guns.

In response, Iraqi security forces and helicopter gunships bombarded positions of the militants inside the refinery, another state oil official added.

But Iraq’s government denied reports that the facility has been overrun.

Iraq’s chief military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, told The Associated Press that government forces repelled the siege.

Al-Moussawi said 40 attackers were killed in fighting there overnight and early Wednesday. There was no independent confirmation either of his claims or those of the Iraqi military's retaking neighborhoods in Tal Afar. The areas are in territories held by insurgents that journalists have not been able to access.

The Beiji refinery was shut down on Tuesday and workers were flown out by helicopter, according to Reuters.

The refinery accounts for a little more than a quarter of the country's entire refining capacity -- all of which goes toward domestic consumption for things like gasoline, cooking oil and fuel for power stations. Any lengthy outage at Beiji risks long lines at the gas pump and electricity shortages, adding to the chaos already facing Iraq.

Meanwhile, in a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki struck an optimistic tone and vowed to teach the attackers a "lesson" -- even though Iraqi soldiers abandoned their posts in the wake of the initial militant offensive.

"We have now started our counteroffensive, regaining the initiative and striking back," al-Maliki said.

The campaign by the Al Qaeda-inspired ISIS has raised the specter of the sectarian warfare that nearly tore the country apart in 2006 and 2007. The relentless violence that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion now haunts those trying to decide how to respond.

At the White House, President Barack Obama was to brief lawmakers later Wednesday on what options the U.S. could take.

The U.S. is pressing al-Maliki to undermine the insurgency by making overtures to Iraq's once-dominant Sunni minority, which has long complained of discrimination by al-Maliki's government and excesses by his Shiite-led security forces.

Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has consistently rejected charges of bias against the Sunnis and has in recent days been stressing the notion that the threat posed by the Islamic State will affect all Iraqis regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliations. He appeared Tuesday night on television with Sunni leaders and politicians as a sign of solidarity.

The prime minister's relatively upbeat assessment came as the Iraqi military said its forces regained parts of the strategic city of Tal Afar near the Syrian border, which Islamic State fighters captured on Monday. Its closeness to the Syrian border strengthens the Islamic State's plan to carve out an Islamic caliphate, or state, stretching across parts of the two countries.

The Indian government also said Wednesday that 40 Indian construction workers have been kidnapped near Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, which ISIS and allied Sunni fighters captured last week. Roughly 10,000 Indian citizens work and live in Iraq, with only about 100 in violent, insecure areas like Mosul, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.

And the Turkish Foreign Ministry said its diplomats were investigating a Turkish media report that militants abducted 60 foreign construction workers, including some 15 Turks, near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk.

Ethnic Kurds now control Kirkuk, moving to fill a vacuum after the flight of Iraqi soldiers. They too are battling the Sunni extremist militants.

On Wednesday, Kurdish security and hospital officials said that fighting has been raging since morning between Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga and militants who are trying to take the town of Jalula, in the restive Diyala province some 80 miles northeast of Baghdad.

Two civilians were killed and six peshmerga fighters were wounded, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The Sunni militants of the Islamic State have vowed to march to Baghdad and the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in the worst threat to Iraq's stability since U.S. troops left in late 2011. The three cities are home to some of the most revered Shiite shrines. The Islamic State also has tried to capture Samarra, a city north of Baghdad and home to another major Shiite shrine.

Iran, a neighboring Shiite country, already has seen thousands volunteer to defend the shrines. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking Wednesday to a crowd gathered at a stadium near his country's border with Iraq, said that the Islamic State and others would be defeated.

"We declare to all superpowers, their mercenaries, murderers and terrorists that the great Iranian nation will not miss any effort in protecting these sacred sites," Rouhani said.

The U.S. and Iran are discussing how the longtime foes might cooperate to ease the threat from the Al Qaeda-linked militants. Still, the White House ruled out the possibility that Washington and Tehran might coordinate military operations in Iraq.

Some 275 armed American forces are being positioned in and around Iraq to help secure U.S. assets as Obama also considers an array of options.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday that his country had formally asked the U.S. to launch airstrikes against positions of the Islamic State.

Total Debt In America Hits A New Record High Of Nearly 60 Trillion Dollars

What would you say if I told you that Americans are nearly 60 TRILLION dollars in debt?  Well, it is true.  When you total up all forms of debt including government debt, business debt, mortgage debt and consumer debt, we are 59.4 trillion dollars in debt.  That is an amount of money so large that it is difficult to describe it with words.  For example, if you were alive when Jesus Christ was born and you had spent 80 million dollars every single day since then, you still would not have spent 59.4 trillion dollars by now.  And most of this debt has been accumulated in recent decades.  If you go back 40 years ago, total debt in America was sitting at about 2.2 trillion dollars.  Somehow over the past four decades we have allowed the total amount of debt in the United States to get approximately 27 times larger.  This is utter insanity, and anyone that thinks this is sustainable is completely deluded.  We are living in the greatest debt bubble of all time, and there is no way that this is going to end well.  Just check out the chart...

When the last recession hit, total debt in America actually started going down for a short period of time.

But then the Federal Reserve and our politicians in Washington worked feverishly to reinflate the bubble and they assured everyone that everything was going to be just fine.  So Americans once again resorted to their free spending ways, and now total debt in the United States is rising at almost the same trajectory as before and has hit a new all-time record high.

We see a similar thing when we look at a chart for consumer debt in America...

For a while after the recession it was trendy to cut up your credit cards and get out of debt.

But that fad wore off rather quickly, didn't it?

It is almost as if 2008 never happened.  We are making the same mistakes with debt that we did before.

As I noted recently, total consumer credit in the U.S. has risen by 22 percent over the past three years alone, and at this point 56 percentof all Americans have a subprime credit rating.

And have you noticed that a lot of people are not afraid to extend themselves in order to buy shiny new vehicles these days?

During the first quarter 0f this year, the size of the average vehicle loan soared to a new all-time record high of $27,612.

Five years ago, that number was just $24,174.

And as I noted in one recent article, the size of the average monthly car payment in this country is now up to $474.

That is practically a mortgage payment.

Speaking of mortgage payments, even though home sales have been falling and the rate of homeownership in the United States is the lowest that it has been in 19 years, a very large percentage of those who own homes are still overextended.

In fact, one recent survey discovered that a whopping 52 percent of Americans cannot even afford the house that they are living in right now.

At the same time, an increasing number of Americans are acting as if the last financial crisis never happened and are treating their homes like piggy banks.   Home equity loans are soaring again, and when the next great crisis strikes a lot of those people are going to end up getting into a lot of financial trouble.

There has been much written about what is wrong with the housing industry, but the truth is that home prices are still way too high and young adults cannot afford to purchase homes because they are already loaded down by huge amounts of debt even before they get to the point where they are ready to buy.

In fact, a newly released survey found that 47 percent of millennials are spending at least half of their paychecks on paying off debt...

Four in 10 millennials say they are "overwhelmed" by their debt -- nearly double the number of baby boomers who feel that way, according to a Wells Fargo survey of more than 1,600 millennials between 22 and 33 years old, and 1,500 baby boomers between 49 and 59 years old.

To try to get out from underneath it, 47% said they spend at least half of their monthly paychecks on paying off their debts.

When I read that I was absolutely astounded.

Of course the biggest debt that many young adults are facing is student loan debt.  According to the Federal Reserve, there is now more than 1.2 trillion dollars of student loan debt in this country, and about 124 billion dollars of that total is more than 90 days delinquent.

What we have done to our young people is shameful.  We have encouraged them to sign up for a lifetime of debt slavery before they even understand what life is all about.  The following is an excerpt from my previous article entitled "Is College A Waste Of Time And Money?"...

In America today, approximately two-thirds of all college students graduate with student loan debt, and the average debt level has been steadily rising.  In fact, one study found that "70 percent of the class of 2013 is graduating with college-related debt – averaging $35,200 – including federal, state and private loans, as well as debt owed to family and accumulated through credit cards."

That would be bad enough if most of these students were getting decent jobs that enabled them to service that debt.

But unfortunately, that is often not the case.  It has been estimated that about half of all recent college graduates are working jobs that do not even require a college degree.

Considering what you just read, is it a surprise that half of all college graduates in America are still financially dependent on their parentswhen they are two years out of college?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 36 percent of all Americans under the age of 35 own a home at this point.  That is the lowest level that has ever been recorded.

And we are passing on to our young people the largest single debt in all of human history.  Weighing in at 17.5 trillion dollars, the U.S. national debt is a colossal behemoth.  And almost all of that debt has been accumulated over the past 40 years.  In fact, 40 years ago the U.S. national debt was less than half a trillion dollars.

But this is just the beginning.  As the Baby Boomer "demographic tsunami" washes through our economy, we are going to be facing a wave of red ink unlike anything we have ever contemplated before.

Meanwhile, the rest of the planet is drowning in debt as well.

As I wrote about the other day, the total amount of debt in the world has risen to a new all-time record high of $223,300,000,000,000.

Our "leaders" keep acting as if these debt levels can keep growing much faster than the overall level of economic growth indefinitely.

But anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that you can't spend more money that you bring in forever.

At some point, a day of reckoning arrives.

THIS is why you should have a Get Home Bag

Everyday Preparedness

“Everyday Preparedness” is one of the things the American Preppers Network strongly advices – even over “doomsday preparedness” one of the easiest things a person can do to get themselves more prepared in everyday life is to pack a Get Home Bag and keep one for each person inside the vehicle they are traveling in.

Recently a severe winter storm stuck the traditionally warm southern region of the country stranding thousands of motorists and school children alike. “Get Homes Bags are practically designed for such emergencies,” says life long prepper and author Stephanie Dayle. “Putting a bag together is one of the best things a person to can do to immediately become more prepared for things could happen to anyone. A Get Home Bag at would’ve given those folks something eat, something to drink and way to stay warm and calm while trapped on the road…. And it would’ve given them the clothing, gear and the confidence needed to walk home safely if need be.”

“Get Home Bags for Everyday People” was published in November of 2013 just prior to winter’s arrival. It is one of the most thorough and easy to understand articles on Get Home Bags we’ve seen to date. It even includes a printable check list of things to pack in your Get Home Bag.df

-Here’s the story as it was developing on Wednesday 1/29/14-

A car sits in a ditch along with other abandoned cars after running out of gas. 

As reported by Fox News:  ”Rescue efforts are under way Wednesday after thousands of schoolchildren and hundreds of drivers in the Deep South spent the night stranded at schools and along ice-covered highways following a rare winter storm that brought freezing rain, snow and bitter cold to the region.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed says “a lot of people” are still stranded in their cars on the highways nearly 24 hours the storm slammed the city, but he is not sure of exactly how many people.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said the Georgia State Patrol is also sending troopers to schools where children remain stuck after spending the night in classrooms. He also said state transportation crews are continuing to treat roads and bring gas to stranded motorists, adding that the state’s goal Wednesday is to make sure every stranded driver gets offered the opportunity to go somewhere safe and warm.”

“ The mad rush began at the first sight of snow: Across the Atlanta area, schools let out early and commuters left for home after lunch, instantly creating gridlock as highways surrounding the city that rarely see snow were converted into treacherous paths of ice.

Cars stranded and abandoned on I-75.
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press

Atlanta, hub to major corporations, once again found itself unprepared to deal with the chaos — despite assurances that city officials had learned their lessons from a 2011 ice storm that brought the city to its knees.”

Overnight, the South saw fatal crashes and hundreds of fender-benders. Jackknifed 18-wheelers littered Interstate 65 in central Alabama. Ice shut down bridges on Florida’s panhandle and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, one of the world’s longest spans, in Louisiana. Some commuters pleaded for help via cellphones while still holed up in their cars, while others trudged miles home, abandoning their vehicles outright.

Linda Moore spent 12 hours stuck in her car on Interstate 65 south of Birmingham before a firefighter used a ladder to help her cross the median wall and a shuttle bus took her to a hotel where about 20 other stranded motorists spent the night in a conference room.

“I boohooed a lot,” she said. “It was traumatic. I’m just glad I didn’t have to stay on that Interstate all night, but there are still people out there.”

Fatherhood Video « The Skit Guys HAPPY FATHERS DAY

Fatherhood Video « The Skit Guys

Earthly Father, Heavenly Father

Endless Food System - An aquaponic garden

Endless Food System

Published Oct. 25, 2013

On the third season of Doomsday Preppers, we follow Chad Hudspeth as he builds an underground escape tunnel. And while the 140-foot pipeline may be one of his biggest preps, it's certainly not his only one. Brooklyn Bagwell recently caught up with Chad at the Self-Reliance and Preparedness Expo in Prescott Valley, Arizona, where he was offering a line of aquaponics products from his company, Endless Food Systems. We asked Chad to tell us a little about aquaponics and why it is such a crucial prep to have.

When I first started prepping, I soon realized that storing up freeze dried foods is not only expensive, but not a great plan for long-term survival. If something devastating happened that changed our society forever, stockpiles will eventually run out no matter how much you have stored. It's a big investment to put so much money into something you hope you will never have to use.

When I came across an endless way to grow food called aquaponics, it revolutionized my way of thinking in terms of long-term survival. The benefits of an aquaponic Endless Food System are immediate, and will generate clean, non-GMO food for your family right away. Many people have also found eating natural and eliminating toxic pesticides and chemicals used in many of today's processed foods has strengthened their immune system.

An aquaponic garden is something that will benefit your family right away, and will also be crucial in the event of a long-term food crisis. Growing your own organic fruits and vegetables (and fish!) can save a lot of money on your grocery bill. And the best part, besides the fresh taste, is that you don't have to own acres of land. These systems are able to generate around five to ten times more food per square foot than a traditional garden. 

Aquaponic beds use 90% less water than a soil garden because the water is contained, and never has to be changed out. On top of that, growing vegetables in the elevated beds eliminates bending over and many traditional insect problems. Endless Food Systems are easy to operate and maintain, requiring only 5-10 minutes per day. I often get asked if the food tastes good. The truth is, once you've tasted vegetables grown the natural way in these systems, you'll never want to buy from the big box stores again. It is truly amazing how much better food tastes when it's allowed to ripen completely on the vine and grow without any chemicals. 

So How Does Aquaponics Work?

An Endless Food System combines fish and plants together in a natural, symbiotic way. The fish provide food for the plants, and the plants clean the water for the fish. A water pump constantly moves the water from a fish tank into gravel-filled grow beds full of vegetable plants. The only inputs needed are fish food and a very small amount of electricity (can be from a car battery & solar panel) to run the water pump and air pump. 

You can grow your own fish food, or even hang a hand-crank flashlight over the fish tank at night to attract bugs. The water and tanks never need to be cleaned. In fact, if you did, it could kill your beneficial microbes and bacteria that are doing all the work of converting the fish waste into plant food. The only thing that is really needed is a simple once-a-week brushing of the fish tank to stir up the sediment and send the fish waste up into the grow beds (where you want it). The idea of aquaponics is quite ancient, but has only recently been re-discovered. And while the overall concept is simple, designing and building a system can be quite complex.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how much food an Endless Food System will produce, but in our experience, it is very possible for most families to drastically improve their food independence and health. As with anything, you generally get out what you put in, and an Endless Food System is no different. The better a system is managed, the more it will produce. We have found that a 12 foot wide by 20 foot long set up will generate around 1,200 pounds of vegetables and 50 to 80 pounds of fish per year. There are a lot of factors involved that could affect that number, such as your climate, type of plants and fish, and whether you are growing in a greenhouse that is climate controlled or in a basement.

For those in an urban environment without much space, we offer a compact indoor system, Eden. The peaceful sound of the constant water fountain cascading over the pebbles acts as both an accent piece, and functional aquaponics system for indoor growing.

From compact to full size kits that can be expanded all the way up to 128' of grow space, Endless Food Systems offer a wide array of products to suit many needs. As a general rule, a well-managed system will produce 10 pounds of vegetables per every square foot of grow space. A 300-gallon fish tank will produce 50 to 80 pounds of fish per year.

Interest in this growing technique is beginning to escalate quickly. At www.EndlessFoodSystems.com we have developed several out-of-the-box systems and a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) video and handbook. We believe if the knowledge of growing this way could spread across the globe, it may be possible to eliminate world hunger along with a multitude of diseases!

Richter magnitude scale - a 4.0 to a 5.0 is 10 times greater

The Richter magnitude scale (also Richter scale) assigns a magnitude number to quantify the energy released by an earthquake. The Richter scale is a base-10 logarithmic scale, which defines magnitude as the logarithm of the ratio of the amplitude of the seismic waves to an arbitrary, minor amplitude.

As measured with a seismometer, an earthquake that registers 5.0 on the Richter scale has a shaking amplitude 10 times greater than that of an earthquake that registered 4.0, and thus corresponds to a release of energy 31.6 times greater than that released by the lesser earthquake.^[1]

3.3 Earthquake felt in Bountiful Tonight 11km away

Off-grid DIY Project: Making Fuel from Algae

Alga, or the plural algae, is the latest breakthrough in the biofuel world. If our economy crashes or we experience an event that changes life as we know it (an EMP, for instance), fossil-based fuels may not be readily available to us. That leaves three choices: walk, ride a horse, or find another way to fuel our vehicles. Since walking is pretty inefficient on long distances and horses aren’t an option for most people, finding a sustainable source of fuel will be paramount. Today we’re going to talk about making fuel from algae. Before we begin, you need to know that this isn’t the easiest of processes because it involves extracting the oil from the plant. That does, of course, apply to any crop that you’re going to grow yourself for biofuel. You’re going to need to invest some money into equipment and chemicals. You’re also going to need to invest some time into practicing and learning the exact process. Already-pressed oil is much simpler, but of course that may not be available if SHTF. 

Choosing the Best Algae for Biofuel:
The reason that alga is being considered the possible biofuel of the future is because some species yield up to 60% of their biomass in lipids, aka oil. To put that in perspective, corn yields about 18 gallons of oil per acre, sunflowers yield 102 gallons and micro algae yields 5000-15,000 gallons. 

Also, algae can be grown on ponds and swamps that don’t compete with food crops. Significant difference, yes? There are a ton of different types of algae on our planet but some are much more suited for biofuel than others. You want to find one that’s easy to grow, produces a high percentage of oil, and reproduces relatively quickly. 

Chlorella is fairly popular among growers because it has a rapid growth rate and grows well in a pond setting. It’s green algae that can be packaged for food after the oil is extracted so there’s no waste and it is multi-use. About 29% of its dry weight is oil. Because different types of algae thrive in different climates, you should choose based upon what you can grow and use the best. 

Growing Algae for Biofuel:
How you grow your algae will depend largely upon what type you grow, but there several different common ways. The standard ingredients that you’ll generally need are simply hydrogen, nutrients for your specific algae, water, and sunlight. As algae have a harvesting cycle of about 1-10 days, you can grow a lot in a very short period of time. You can also harvest up to 90% of the crop without damaging your future yields. There are a few different ways for you to grow algae for biofuel. They include: 

• Open ponds. Though this may seem to be the easiest, most natural way, it poses some challenges. If your strain of algae isn’t hardy, it could be wiped out by poor weather, fluctuations in pH, or invasive algae or bacteria. Also, strains with higher lipid content grow much slower in an open pond environment depending upon these challenges. 
• Closed-Loop Systems. These systems consist of a network of clear plastic bags or tubing exposed to artificial light or sunlight but not exposed to air. This prevents contamination from bacteria or other elements but requires that sterile CO2 be pumped through, as the system isn’t exposed to air. 
• Photobioreactors. This is a method that uses a system of hoses or bottles that have water circulated through them and are exposed to light. The algae may also be grown in a container that’s completely opaque and enclosed indoors, with light being pumped into it. That’s an expensive, industrial way to do it though, and is outside the scope of the DIY’er. Again, you’ll need to pump CO2 through it in order to control the growth of your algae. This can be done using a bubbler similar to what you use to aerate a fish tank. There are currently systems that use gravity, which is great because they don’t require power. The problem with this process is that it’s in its infancy and an effective model hasn’t really been tested yet. 
• Ultrasonic Extraction. This method involves the use of ultrasonic waves to crack the algae molecules in order to separate the biomass from the oil. Not really an at-home type of thing yet. 

It seems to us that the best way to grow your own algae at home in a survival situation is to either use the photobioreactor system using plastic tubing or bottles, or use the open pond system. 

To get either system started, you simply add the nutrients and algae starts to the water. With the bioreactor, you’ll start circulating the water and with the pond, you just let it go. 

Extracting Oil from Algae for Biofuel:
The next step, after you gather your algae from the source, is to dry it thoroughly if you’re going to use a mechanical press to extract the oil. If you’re using chemical methods, this isn’t as necessary. There are dryers made specifically for this, but since we’re operating on the premise that there will be no power, you can dry it in the sun. Let it dry completely; water in your diesel is a bad thing and good preparation here will save you work later. Once the algae are dry, it’s time to extract the oil. If you just want to press it out without using chemicals, you can use a large press purchased specifically for this, or you can use a smaller home press. 

The most effective way to extract the most oil from algae is by using a combination of manual and physical techniques. Use a press (screw, expeller or piston, depending upon your algae type) to get most of the oil out, then add a hexane solution to get the rest. Distill it or allow it to settle, then drain the oil from the bottom just like you do when processing vegetable oil. To turn your algae oil into biofuel, you need to put it through a process called transesterification. 

Growing algae is certainly a viable method of producing oil for biofuel that can be used to operate vehicles and machinery, to cook with, and to illuminate and heat our homes in a post SHTF world. For that matter, it’s a fabulous alternative to fossil fuels in the world as we know it. Research continues and as scientists learn more, better techniques for growing and harvesting algae will be discovered.

Fasting for three days can regenerate entire immune system, study finds

A person's entire immune system can be rejuvenated by fasting for as little as three days as it triggers the body to start producing new white blood cells, a study suggests.Researchers say fasting "flips a regenerative switch" which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells

Fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as "remarkable".

Although fasting diets have been criticised by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection.

Scientists at the University of Southern California say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy.

It could also help the elderly whose immune system becomes less effective as they age, making it harder for them to fight off even common diseases.

The researchers say fasting "flips a regenerative switch" which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells, essentially regenerating the entire immune system.

"It gives the 'OK' for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system," said Prof Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the University of California.

"And the good news is that the body got rid of the parts of the system that might be damaged or old, the inefficient parts, during the fasting.

“Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or ageing, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system."

Prolonged fasting forces the body to use stores of glucose and fat but also breaks down a significant portion of white blood cells.

During each cycle of fasting, this depletion of white blood cells induces changes that trigger stem cell-based regeneration of new immune system cells.

In trials humans were asked to regularly fast for between two and four days over a six-month period.

Scientists found that prolonged fasting also reduced the enzyme PKA, which is linked to ageing and a hormone which increases cancer risk and tumour growth.

"We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration of the hematopoietic system," added Prof Longo.

"When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged," Dr Longo said.

"What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. So we started thinking, well, where does it come from?"

Fasting for 72 hours also protected cancer patients against the toxic impact of chemotherapy.

"While chemotherapy saves lives, it causes significant collateral damage to the immune system. The results of this study suggest that fasting may mitigate some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy," said co-author Tanya Dorff, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital.

"More clinical studies are needed, and any such dietary intervention should be undertaken only under the guidance of a physician.”

"We are investigating the possibility that these effects are applicable to many different systems and organs, not just the immune system," added Prof Longo.

However, some British experts were sceptical of the research.

Dr Graham Rook, emeritus professor of immunology at University College London, said the study sounded "improbable".

Chris Mason, Professor of Regenerative Medicine at UCL, said: “There is some interesting data here. It sees that fasting reduces the number and size of cells and then re-feeding at 72 hours saw a rebound.

“That could be potentially useful because that is not such a long time that it would be terribly harmful to someone with cancer.

“But I think the most sensible way forward would be to synthesize this effect with drugs. I am not sure fasting is the best idea. People are better eating on a regular basis.”

Dr Longo added: “There is no evidence at all that fasting would be dangerous while there is strong evidence that it is beneficial.

“I have received emails from hundreds of cancer patients who have combined chemo with fasting, many with the assistance of the oncologists.

“Thus far the great majority have reported doing very well and only a few have reported some side effects including fainting and a temporary increase in liver markers. Clearly we need to finish the clinical trials, but it looks very promising.”

What’s the Second Biggest Religion in Your State and the Country?

It’s well-known and documented that the United States is a majority-Christian nation. But while we know that an overwhelming 78 percent of Americans call themselves followers of Jesus, there typically isn’t much attention given to differences in religious adherence by state.

It goes without saying that Christianity is the most prevalent religion in every state, but which faith comes in second? Well, it varies.

A recent map based on data composed from the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies — a group that conducts the U.S. Religious Census every 10 years — shows that many of the faith allegiances are regional in nature.

In 20 U.S. states predominately in the South and Midwest Islam is the second most prevalent non-Christian faith system. Judaism, in contrast, is the second biggest religion in 14 U.S. States and Washington D.C., essentially dominating the Northeast, as PolicyMic noted.

But you might be surprised to learn that it isn’t only the Abrahamic faiths that capture the top spots in select U.S. states. In some Western states — 13 to be exact — Buddhism is the second largest. And Hinduism ranks second in both Arizona and Delaware.

Then there’s South Carolina, where Baha’i (a monotheistic religion that is sometimes listed among the Abrahamic faiths) is the second most prevalent faith system, according to PolicyMic.

As for those who wonder which percentage of religious devotees are actual church attendees versus nominal believers, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies found that more than half of the population in 28 states attends religious services, the Washington Post reported.

For additional maps showing the most prevalent denominations and county-level breakdowns gohere.

As for the U.S. as a whole, Judaism is the second largest faith cohort, representing just under 2 percent of the population; 16 percent of the nation considers itself “unaffiliated” with a faith, but only 1.6 percent considers itself “atheist.”

Summertime Blues: Teen Unemployment in Major U.S. Cities Tops 50 Percent

(CNSNews.com) – A new analysisby the Employment Policy Institute (EPI) shows that unemployment among teens without a high school diploma is more than 50 percent in two of the largest U.S. cities.

Using U.S. Census Bureau data from May 2013 to April 2014, the analysis reveals that in Riverside-San Bernardino area of Southern California, the unemployment rate for teens ages 16 to 19 years old who don’t have a high school diploma is 54.2 percent.

In the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore., metropolitan area, the unemployment rate from that population is 53.8 percent.

“These numbers are staggering,” Michael Saltsman, director of research at EPI told CNSNews.com. “Teens across the country this summer are missing out on valuable work experience as they continue to suffer through an extended period of high unemployment and difficult job prospects.”

Three other California metropolitan areas round out the Top 5 cities with the highest unemployment for the least skilled young people – Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (39 percent), San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos (37.5 percent) and San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont (35.2 percent).

Saltsman said these young people would be hurt more if state and federal legislators increase the minimum wage.

“You can’t dramatically increase the minimum wage without consequences for the least skilled individuals,” Saltsman said, adding that if cost increases can’t be offset through higher prices, businesses will likely cut personnel starting with the least skilled workers.

Saltsman pointed out that as the Seattle City Council is set to vote today on whether to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, the rate of unemployment in that city for 16- to 19-year-olds without a high school diploma is 31.4 percent.

“This summer, the message for legislators everywhere is that our young people need a job – not an ill-conceived ‘raise,’ for a job that becomes harder to find,” Saltsman said.

All of the 15 cities with the highest unemployment rate for this group of teens are well above the national average of 21.6 percent.

The cities rounding out the Top 15 are Philadelphia-Camden-Fremont (33.2 percent), Chicago-Naperville-Joliet (33 percent), Pittsburgh, Pa. (32.9 percent), Sacramento-Arden-Arcade Roseville (32.1 percent), Baltimore-Towson (31.4 percent), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (31.2 percent), St. Louis (28 percent), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach (27.3 percent) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (26.5).

HOW TO SURVIVE A BEAR ENCOUNTER

If you’re going to be camping in bear country, it’s important to understand how to avoid bears and how to react if you do encounter them. Bears are very curious and intelligent creatures, but can definitely be dangerous when provoked. If you follow these tips for bear safety in the woods, you may be able to completely avoid dangerous encounters when you’re on the trail or relaxing at your campsite.

AVOID BEARS AT ALL COSTS

1. KEEP YOUR FOOD OUT OF REACH FROM BEARS

Improper food storage is one of the biggest factors in backcountry bear encounters. Bears have a keen sense of smell, and if they’re used to getting food from people, they’ll be more likely to wander into a campsite looking for a snack. If you’re camping in bear country, be sure to have bear canisters or hang your food out of reach in a bear bag. Check with the park to determine what canisters are approved for bear safety in the area. If you’re hanging food, it should be hung between two trees, about 12 feet off the ground and four feet from each tree.

2. KEEP A CLEAN CAMP

After each meal, clean up the area and wash all dishes. You can bury the dish water, but don’t bury any trash or leftover food as the bears can find it and dig it up. If you're cooking fresh fish, clean it near the stream, rather than in the campsite. It’s also important not to leave any snacks in day packs or the tent. Finally, when choosing a campsite focused on bear safety, pick a spot away from the trail or stream that allows you to pitch your tent 100 feet from where you cook and eat your meals. This will decrease your chances of encountering a bear in case he rumbles in despite precautions.

3. AVOID SURPRISING A BEAR

Bear’s don’t like surprises. So you can minimize your risk of sneaking up on Smokey by not hiking during dawn, dusk or at nighttime.  You should also learn to recognize bear tracks and other markings so you can tell if any have been near your camp or the trail you’re on.  For safety reasons, it’s common sense to hike in a group, but this will also ensure you make more noise to help scare off nearby bears.  If you’re going solo, wear a bear bell on your hiking boots to make noise while you hike, but carry a pepper spray just in case.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ENCOUNTER A BEAR ON THE TRAIL

If, despite everything, you do still see a bear, there is one crucial rule you must remember:

NEVER RUN FROM A BEAR

If you see him and he does not see you, back away quickly and quietly.  If by some stroke of bad luck he does see you, back up slowly, avoid eye contact, stand up tall, wave your arms and speak in a low loud voice to call for help, but avoid high-pitched sounds.

Bears may bluff charge, changing direction or stopping, sometimes within 10 feet of you, but it is important to never run from a bear. (They can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.) Spray the pepper spray at the bear, make loud noises and throw objects in his direction if you feel you are in danger, but stand your ground.

If you’re facing a grizzly that refuses to back down, lie on the ground with your fingers interlocked covering your head and neck. By contrast, you definitely don’t want to play dead with a black bear. These tips can also be used if you encounter a bear in your camp.

FINAL TIPS FOR BEAR SAFETY WHEN HIKING OR CAMPING

Staying safe when you’re camping in bear country is as simple as using common camping sense. Most bears won't attack unless provoked or protecting their cubs, so following these tips for bear safety should help you stay out of their way. Be sure to tell park rangers about any bear activity you experience.

SEVERE SCARCITY PROMPTS VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT TO RATION WATER

Long lines at grocery stores and ration cards that prevent citizens from buying more than the allotted amount of basic needs, such as flour, milk, vegetable oil, and toilet paper, have become the norm in Venezuela. This week, however, the government has begun to ration an even more essential commodity: water.

According to Bloomberg News, a drought has triggered rationing of tap water in the capital, Caracas, where residents must form lines that last hours to fill jugs of water for drinking, showering, and other needs. One witness testified to waiting in line for six hours for tap water, while another protested that even the plastic 5-liter bottles the government mandates during the ration are scarce. As the report notes, "The rationing of tap water amid a drought and a shortage of bottles because of currency controls are forcing people to form long lines at grocery stores and bottle shops as soon as deliveries are made."

In addition to a lack of tap water, bottled drinking water at grocery stores is extremely difficult to come by. Industry association Ambar tells Bloomberg that the price of producing and distributing water bottles in Venezuela has more than doubled in two and a half years, a product of the plummeting value of the Venezuelan Bolivar and the lack of resources for industry in the nation.

The Venezuelan government has blamed the South American climate phenomenon El Niño for its rationing of water and upcoming rationing of electricity. El Niño is responsible for droughts in South America that also affect energy production. Electricity rationing is not yet a nationwide phenomenon, but it has already been imposed on the western state of Zulia.

The moderate opposition group, the Table of Democratic Unity (MUD), has protested that "the lack of responsibility and improvisation with which the government acts, postponing investments, maintenance, and opportune decisions" is to blame for water shortages. MUD had begun negotiating talks with the government of Venezuela to end the current wave of protests in the country, but it has halted these talks, as the government had little desire to change.

The rationing of water follows the April debut of new ration cards nationally; President Nicolás Maduro announced that Venezuelans would no longer be allowed to freely buyessential products, such as flour, oil, and milk. The rations in the OPEC country were announced as a "second economic offensive" against, allegedly, countries like the United States, which had denounced human rights violations in the country.

...awake to a sense of your awful situation...Ether Chapter 8

18 And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God;

19 For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man.

20 And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had among all people, and they are had among the Lamanites.

21 And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.

22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.

23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar whobeguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hathhardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.