My Thoughts on the Potential for a Yellowstone Super Volcano Eruption

This past weekend I watched an episode of Doomsday Preppers, which is a new show on the National Geographic Channel that spotlights people who prepare for all sorts of disasters and crises. One of the segments on the show featured a family who is preparing for the eruption of the super volcano located at Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.

As I watched the family describe what they will do in an event of a Yellowstone super volcano eruption, I was struck by how convinced they were that an eruption would take place in their lifetime. This got me to think about the potential for the Yellowstone super volcano to erupt in the future.

• Today I’ll share my thoughts on the potential for Yellowstone to erupt

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Syrian Conflict Could Soon Begin to Resemble a “Proxy War”

I was asked last Friday for my thoughts on what may happen next in Syria. For those who may not be following the situation in Syria closely, here are some, notable recent developments:

• Last week representatives from more than 70 Western and Arab countries-the “Friends of Syria”-met in Tunisia to discuss what should be done about the situation in Syria.

• There have been reports that the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Qud Force is in Syria assisting the Assad regime in its efforts to combat the unrest

• There was a recent report that Russian military advisors are on the ground in Syria providing assistance to the Assad regime.

• There was a report this past weekend that the Pentagon was planning for the possibility of imposing an “aerial blockade” on Syria.

Barring a sudden collapse of the Assad regime within the next few weeks, my best guess is that we are probably going to see a proxy war arise in Syria.

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Comparing Bible Prophecy to the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle

I have mentioned on numerous occasions that Bible prophecy is the ultimate puzzle with there being so many pieces that must be accounted for in order to gain a fuller understanding of what God has planned in the future. I want to discuss the complexity of this puzzle again, but from a different angle.

• Today I want to compare Bible prophecy to the world's largest jigsaw puzzle.

The world’s largest jigsaw puzzle has 32,256 pieces. You can see what the completed puzzle looks like in the following the video:

• If you cannot see the video below, you can access it at the following link

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Working on Some Issues Regarding Armageddon

I mentioned in my last article that I was preparing to work on at least one article about Armageddon. The preparation is still underway, but I thought it would be useful to discuss what I’m specifically looking at as a way to help me organize my thoughts and as a way to provide you some idea of what I’m thinking right now. Therefore, today I’ll share with you what I’m working on at the moment.

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The Weather Continues to be Unusual Where I Live & Elsewhere in the World

Last June I described how unusual the weather was where I live (Northern California). My area saw wintry weather conditions (cold and rain) instead of the normal dry weather and temperatures near 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Now the reverse is taking place… The weather where I live has been unusually warm and dry for the past few months.

• My area recently did not receive any rainfall for more than an entire month despite the fact that winter is the season where we get most of our rain for the entire year. Temperatures a couple of weeks ago were so warm (70s Fahrenheit) that you’d think it was April instead of late January.

The dryness in my area is expected to continue for the next several weeks. The following map shows a drought forecast through April 30 of this year for the U.S.

• If you are unable to view the map below, you can find the map at the following link

My area is not the only place that is experiencing unseasonable weather conditions as several other places around the world have recently experienced unseasonable weather conditions too. For instance,

• Many parts of Europe and even North Africa have experienced extreme wintry conditions (cold and heavy snow) recently. The extreme winter weather has led to the deaths of hundreds of people and has trapped tens of thousands of people in Europe.

• The first video below provides some idea of what people living in the Balkans are dealing with while the second video provides some idea of what people living in Eastern Europe are dealing with:

• If you are unable to see the videos below you can find them at the following links: Video 1 Video 2

Meanwhile, many parts of the United States are experiencing drought conditions. The following map below shows how extreme the drought is in some areas of the country, including in Texas and in Florida:

• If you are unable to view the map below, you can find the map at the following link

The reason I’ve brought up the unusual weather is that I listened to an interesting podcast interview last night featuring a climate forecaster who took time to explain why the weather is so unusual in many places around the world and took time to provide a forecast of what may happen later this year in terms of the weather. The topics the podcast interview specifically covers include the following

• Why it has been so warm and dry in many parts of the U.S. while it has been so cold in Alaska and the Arctic.
• Why the weather in much of Europe went from relatively warm to extremely cold recently.
• How a major Icelandic volcano eruption last year has played a huge role in creating the unusual weather this year and how it still may impact the weather next year.
• An early preview of the Atlantic hurricane season, which sounds like it could be another busy season.

If you are interested in hearing why the weather has been unusual in many different parts of the world I think you’ll find the 18 minute podcast interview interesting and informative.

• You can access the podcast at the following link: http://www.netcastdaily.com/broadcast/fsn2012-0214-1.mp3

Another Difference Between the Situation in Syria and Situation in Libya: A Large Christian Population

I shared some comments last week made by British Foreign Minister William Hague about why there has not yet been military intervention in Syria. Recall that one of the points Hague made is that the situation in Syria is more complicated than it was in Libya:

"Secondly, the consequences would be far more difficult to foresee in Syria than they were in the relatively straightforward Libya because of the knock on effects across the region”.

I listed some important reasons why the Syria situation is different than the Libya situation including:

• The possible involvement of Hezbollah if Syria is attacked

• The likely escalation of Iran's involvement in Syria if Syria is attacked.

• The potential for Syria President Bashar al-Assad to resort to using chemical weapons against his people.

Today I want to bring up another important difference about the situation in Syria that I did not mention last week, but I think is noteworthy enough to devote an article to: the presence of a large Christian population which could face increased persecution if there is regime change.

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Analyzing Whether Domestic Politics May Play a Role in Benjamin Netanyahu’s Handling of the Iran Situation

In my last article I discussed how domestic political pressures may play a role in impacting Barack Obama’s handling of the Iran situation through November’s U.S. presidential election.

• I noted that Barack Obama may be compelled to order military action against Iran if U.S. public opinion begins to favor military action over the use of sanctions on the Iran issue.

• I also noted that an Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities is one possible event which could cause U.S. public opinion to begin favoring military action over the use of sanctions as a majority of American voters, including Independent voters, feel the U.S. should support Israel if they launch a military strike against Iran.

Today I want to discuss whether domestic political pressures could influence Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

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Analyzing the Role Domestic Politics May Play in Barack Obama’s Handling of Iran Through the Election

There is growing speculation about the potential for a U.S. military strike against Iran sometime later this year. The talk about a potential military strike against Iran comes at an important time in American politics. The year 2012 is a presidential election year in the U.S., which means that Barack Obama must work to persuade American voters to grant him a second term.

Today I want to discuss how domestic political pressures might influence Barack Obama’s handling of the Iran situation through November's election.

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Why Has the West Not Intervened Militarily in Syria Yet?

As many of you probably have heard, a U.N. Security Council resolution backing the Arab League’s plan to encourage a post-Assad transition in Syria was vetoed by Russia and China on Saturday. The veto left many in the international community disgusted and concerned that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad will continue to escalate the killing of civilians.

It’s not completely clear what is going to happen next. What we do know is that countries like France and the U.S. are discussing the formation of a group that potentially may provide assistance to the Syrian opposition. Although some countries are willing to work with the Syrian opposition, it does not seem like anyone is willing to intervene militarily in Syria like they did in Libya. We have not yet heard calls by major world leaders to impose a no-fly zone in Syria or to send troops into the country.

A question that many people may be wondering is “Why has the West not intervened militarily in Syria when they intervened in Libya just last year?” The question is a valid one to ask because we heard world leaders talk last year about the need to create a no-fly zone in Libya to protect Libyan civilians from Gaddafi while today we hear about how Assad is waging war against his people.

• I read some recent comments by British Foreign Secretary William Hague about the situation regarding Syria. I want to share Hague’s response to a question about why there has not yet been intervention in Syria like there was in Libya because I think his comments give us a good idea of why the countries are reluctant to intervene militarily in the country. I’ll also provide some of my thoughts while sharing his comments.

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Updating My High Youth Unemployment Article From Last Year

Around this time last year I published an article about the growing youth unemployment problem. The reason I published an article about this topic is that I sought to highlight how the level of youth unemployment in several countries, a factor that many commentators believe contributed to the unrest in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011, is comparable to or even higher than the level of youth unemployment in Tunisia and Egypt. The concern that some experts have is that high levels of youth unemployment could eventually lead to the kind of unrest seen in countries like Tunisia and Egypt.

Today I want to update that article by sharing updated statistics about the youth unemployment situation in several countries around the world.

• The original article I wrote last year about this topic can be accessed at the following link

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