The Power of Bloggers

Image via CrunchBaseFor so many of us out there just like this page blogs are one of the best way to help inform people and to keep up with the news around the World. This is just one of the ways so many companies through Net Neutrally and controlling the net that many plan on shutting down yet even more of our freedoms. This was news to me. I didn't realize that Yahoo was part of it. So I figured I would send this out in case some of you didn't know either.

BLOGGERSUNITE "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" - Aesop You don't need me to tell you that the world has its share of major catastrophes and disasters. The people of Japan are in desparate need of our help & bloggers and other social media partiipants continue to raise millions of dollars for those in need. I am grateful to say that BloggersUnite.org thanks to bloggers has been active in raising funds and awareness for those in need. However I am writing to you because there is a story that while it clearly does not rise to the same level of human tragedy, I believe strongly will make a major difference to the future of blogging. Yahoo! recently announced the shut down of MyBlogLog. While this news has been largely ignored by mainstream media, the event is disturbing because it shuts down a channel of the blogosphere. For years now MyBlogLog has been ignored by Yahoo and now they are shutting it down because it doesn't fit within their corporate strategy. What does MyBlogLog's closure mean to you? You may think it doesn't mean anything or whether they still exist however the truth is MyBlogLog is a valuable site that distributes 10s of millions of visitors to blogs each year. Yahoo! has shown no respect to bloggers throughought its 4 year ownership of the site. Once again they are failing to follow through on promises and responsibilities to bloggers. Perhaps Yahoo believes it has no responsibility to bloggers. The closure of MyBlogLog represents a lack of respect to bloggers who have built tens of thousands of communities on the network and spent countless hours adding MyBlogLog widgets to their blogs Yahoo! has made no attempt to dispose of MyBlogLog, yet it represents an important channel of distribution for blogs. Why you should care? BloggersUnite.org and BlogCatalog are ready, willing and able to take over MyBlogLog and turn MyBlogLog into a valuable tool for bloggers and blog readers. We shared plans with Yahoo over a year ago to do this. Yahoo ignored our requests to talk to them because they insisted we show them our plans. So, what difference will it make if I join this event? The more members we have on BloggersUnite.org the greater the positive impact we can make to the world. A combination of BloggersUnite + MyBlogLog + BlogCatalog is "The Right Thing." To-date, together with your help we have saved lives, made material differences in the lives of school kids, raised money for Haiti, helped build clean water wells in Africa, worked with the CDC to raise awareness about STDs, united refugees with their families, worked with Aids.gov to harness the power of the blogosphere on AIDS Awareness Day and we had hundreds of thousand of bloggers unite on Bloggers for Good Day; where bloggers from BloggersUnite were featured on CNN doing good deeds. It makes little sense when people in this world are starving that Yahoo would shut down an asset. Why not sell it and give the money to a charity? Their site has value. As Warren Buffet says, "stupid in small things, stupid in big." So please unite with thousands of bloggers and explain to to Yahoo what is the right thing to do. I humbly ask that you please join us and other bloggers and write a post or add an Action Badge to your blog. To do this please click BloggersUnite because unlike Yahoo we are fully aware that when you combine your voice with the voice of other bloggers that there is no greater force for good in the world today. Best, Antony Berkman BloggersUnite for Good

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U.S. motorcycle missionaries attacked in Haiti - CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/17/haiti.motorcycle.missionaries/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn
Cap-Haitien, Haiti (CNN) -- The Christian Motorcyclists Association came to Haiti to distribute motorcycles to pastors. Instead, angry Haitians, some of them on motorbikes, ended up attacking the 11 American missionaries when they tried to flee this city aboard a big, yellow bus.
"We almost made it out of town," team member Terry Gibson told CNN in a phone call after his team survived the attack unharmed.
Until Wednesday morning, Gibson and his fellow volunteers had been holed up in a hotel on a hilltop overlooking Cap-Haitien, after demonstrators put up networks of barricades through the streets and began attacking the bases of United Nations peacekeepers with rocks, bottles and petrol bombs. The demonstrators have accused peacekeepers of starting the cholera outbreak.
The motorcyclist team is part of an American organization that has hundreds of branches across the country.
One of its goals, Gibson said, is to donate motorcycles to Christian leaders.

Rioters cause havoc in Haitian city

"We put wheels under indigenous local pastors," Gibson explained. "We were presenting seven here in Cap-Haitien. Obviously, that won't happen now."

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Haiti prosecutor seeks 6-month sentence for U.S. missionary

Thanks for trying to help out, Now your going to jail.

clipped from www.cnn.com (CNN) -- A Haitian prosecutor asked for a six-month prison sentence Thursday for an American missionary accused of trying to take nearly three dozen children out of the country after a devastating and deadly earthquake in January. Laura Silsby's attorney, Chiller Roy, said the judge is expected to make a ruling in the next few days. Silsby was charged with trying to arrange "irregular travel" for 33 children she planned to take to an orphanage she was building in the Dominican Republic. She was jailed January 29, along with nine other American missionaries who were later released.

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More quakes hit Chile as new president takes over

clipped from news.yahoo.com SANTIAGO, Chile – A series of strong aftershocks from last month's devastating quake rocked Chile on Thursday as a new president was sworn into office and immediately urged coastal residents to move to higher ground in case of a tsunami. The strongest aftershock, with a magnitude of 6.9, was nearly as strong as the quake that devastated Haiti's capital on Jan. 12. There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries. President Sebastian Pinera was inaugurated at a congressional building in coastal Valparaiso before the building was evacuated as a precaution. The seven aftershocks strongly swayed buildings, shook windows and sent frightened Chileans streaming into the street. The magnitude-6.9 aftershock is the strongest since the day of the Feb. 27, magnitude-8.8 quake. It occurred along the same fault line, said geophysicist Don Blakeman at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. The USGS initially estimated the aftershock's magnitude at 7.2.

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Freed from Haiti, missionary returns 'with mixed emotions'

clipped from www.cnn.com Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- After more than a month in a Haitian jail, an American missionary was free Monday night, looking forward to a hot shower and a long night in bed on home soil. But Charisa Coulter's heart remains in Haiti, her father said, because her best friend, Laura Silsby is now alone behind bars. "She came back with mixed emotions," Mel Coulter told CNN affiliate WSVN in Miami, Florida. Coulter is staying in a hotel by herself, her father said. He did not know when she might return home to Boise, Idaho. He said his daughter had been through a "trying experience" and was welcoming the solitude. Coulter, Silsby and eight other Americans had been detained in Haiti on suspicion of kidnapping 33 children after the killer earthquake January 12. Silsby said she was "very happy that Charisa went home today." She expected her freedom would soon follow. "I came here to help these children," she said.

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American missionary held in Haiti released

clipped from www.cnn.com Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Charisa Coulter, one of two American missionaries detained for more than a month in Haiti on suspicion of kidnapping 33 children after January 12's devastating earthquake, was released Monday. She walked out of judicial police headquarters and headed to the nearby airport Monday afternoon. Attorneys Chillier Roi and Ricardo Chachoute, who are representing Coulter and the American who still is being detained, Laura Silsby, earlier told CNN that the judge had OK'd Coulter's release. Silsby and Coulter were among 10 Americans stopped by Haitian authorities on January 29 as they tried to cross the Haiti-Dominican Republic border with 33 children. Authorities said the group didn't have proper legal documentation. The 10 Americans, many of whom belong to a Baptist church in Idaho, have said they were trying to help the children get to a safe place after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake flattened cities and towns in Haiti.

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Over 250 Significant Earthquakes Shook the World in Past 7 Days

Mark 13:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.[a] These are the beginnings of sorrows.
9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought[b] before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate[c] what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Even more Earthquakes in Turkey.
Strong earthquake slams eastern Turkey, kills 51, nearly 80 aftershocks measuring up to 5.5 and 5.3 magnitude rattled the region.
http://todaysworldnewsinfo.blogspot.com/2010/03/strong-earthquake-slams-eastern-turkey.html

clipped from www.theepochtimes.com CARACAS, Venezuela —In the past seven days there have been more than 258 recorded earthquakes of a magnitude higher than 4.5 on the Richter's scale. Apart from the abundant seismic activity in Chile, moderate to strong earthquakes have occurred in several countries, among them: Ecuador (M5.3; 28/2/2010), Argentina (M6.3; 27/2/2010), Afghanistan (M5.7; 27/2/2010), Philippines (M5.7;26/02/2010), Japan/Ryukyu Islands (M7.0; 26/2/2010), Guatemala (M5.6; 23/2/2010), Haiti(M4.7; 23/2/2010), Iran(M5.1; 23/2/2010), Tonga(M5.7; 22/2/2010 with replicas of approximately higher than M5), and 2 earthquakes in Mainland China of M5.4 and M5.0 in the regions of Xizang, Yunnan on Feb. 26 and 27. More than 700 people have been reported dead so far since Chile's devastating earthquake of 8.8 on Saturday Chile's earthquake was predicted by a documentary from National Geographic in 2006, but was censored by the Chilean government due to fear that the news would cause panic.

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What is going on with the Earth?

Image via Wikipedia

Be sure to see the rest of this story and the links.

clipped from signsofthelastdays.com "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 Well, the reality is that Yahshua (Jesus) told us that there would be earthquakes in the last days.  He told us that this would be a sign that His return was getting closer.  In fact, the earthquakes and the other signs of His coming are supposed to be like birth pains - getting stronger and more intense as we get closer to the day. So just what in blazes is going on? *On January 12th, Haiti was devastated by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people. *On February 27th, Chile was rocked by a magnitude-8.8 earthquake that was one of the largest in recorded history. aftershocks hit Chile on Friday morning, including one that measured 6.6 on the Richter scale. 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Thursday.

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clipped from www.youtube.com As relief supplies finally arrived in Chile, desperate victims complained the government's response was inept. As Mark Strassmann reports, survivors jeered as supplies finally arrived. Anger in Chile

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Freed American missionaries fly out of Haiti

clipped from uk.news.yahoo.com Eight American missionaries flew out of Haiti on Wednesday after a judge ordered them freed, but two of their colleagues remained in detention for further questioning on charges of kidnapping children. Skip related content The 10 Americans, most of whom are members of a Baptist Church in Idaho, were arrested last month on charges that they tried to take 33 Haitian children out of the country without proper documentation after the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti. The judge found no evidence of criminal intent among the eight who were freed. But he ordered group leader Laura Silsby and another woman, Charisa Coulter, held for further questioning about their previous trips to Haiti. they had no Haitian identity or exit papers for the children. Many had living parents who acknowledged turning the children over to the missionaries in the belief they would have better care in the hands of the Americans.

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Haiti judge to free some detained US missionaries

clipped from news.yahoo.com PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A Haitian judge says some of the 10 U.S. missionaries arrested on charges of child kidnapping will be released. Judge Bernard Saint-Vil has not said which will be freed Wednesday. He says the Americans will be allowed to return to the United States without posting bail but would have to return if called back. Saint-Vil says the investigation is continuing. The Idaho-based group is accused of trying to take 33 Haitian children out of the quake-stricken country. They say they were on a humanitarian mission and have denied accusations of trafficking. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. U.S. Marshals say they are hunting for Jorge Puello, who was already being pursued by authorities in the Dominican Republic on an Interpol warrant out of El Salvador, where police say he led a ring that lured young women and girls into prostitution. He also had an outstanding warrant for a U.S. parole violation.

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