ALARMIST GLOBAL WARMING CLAIMS MELT

June 30, 2007

BY JAMES M. TAYLOR

In his new book, The Assault on Reason, Al Gore pleads, "We must stop tolerating the rejection and distortion of science. We must insist on an end to the cynical use of pseudo-studies known to be false for the purpose of intentionally clouding the public's ability to discern the truth." Gore repeatedly asks that science and reason displace cynical political posturing as the central focus of public discourse.

If Gore really means what he writes, he has an opportunity to make a difference by leading by example on the issue of global warming.

A cooperative and productive discussion of global warming must be open and honest regarding the science. Global warming threats ought to be studied and mitigated, and they should not be deliberately exaggerated as a means of building support for a desired political position.

Many of the assertions Gore makes in his movie, ''An Inconvenient Truth,'' have been refuted by science, both before and after he made them. Gore can show sincerity in his plea for scientific honesty by publicly acknowledging where science has rebutted his claims.

For example, Gore claims that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and global warming is to blame. Yet the September 2006 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate reported, "Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming alarmists who recently claimed the glaciers were shrinking and that global warming was to blame."

Gore claims the snowcap atop Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro is shrinking and that global warming is to blame. Yet according to the November 23, 2003, issue of Nature magazine, "Although it's tempting to blame the ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain's foothills is the more likely culprit. Without the forests' humidity, previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine."

Gore claims global warming is causing more tornadoes. Yet the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in February that there has been no scientific link established between global warming and tornadoes.

Gore claims global warming is causing more frequent and severe hurricanes. However, hurricane expert Chris Landsea published a study on May 1 documenting that hurricane activity is no higher now than in decades past. Hurricane expert William Gray reported just a few days earlier, on April 27, that the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined in the past 40 years. Hurricane scientists reported in the April 18 Geophysical Research Letters that global warming enhances wind shear, which will prevent a significant increase in future hurricane activity.

Gore claims global warming is causing an expansion of African deserts. However, the Sept. 16, 2002, issue of New Scientist reports, "Africa's deserts are in 'spectacular' retreat . . . making farming viable again in what were some of the most arid parts of Africa."

Gore argues Greenland is in rapid meltdown, and that this threatens to raise sea levels by 20 feet. But according to a 2005 study in the Journal of Glaciology, "the Greenland ice sheet is thinning at the margins and growing inland, with a small overall mass gain." In late 2006, researchers at the Danish Meteorological Institute reported that the past two decades were the coldest for Greenland since the 1910s.

Gore claims the Antarctic ice sheet is melting because of global warming. Yet the Jan. 14, 2002, issue of Nature magazine reported Antarctica as a whole has been dramatically cooling for decades. More recently, scientists reported in the September 2006 issue of the British journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, that satellite measurements of the Antarctic ice sheet showed significant growth between 1992 and 2003. And the U.N. Climate Change panel reported in February 2007 that Antarctica is unlikely to lose any ice mass during the remainder of the century.

Each of these cases provides an opportunity for Gore to lead by example in his call for an end to the distortion of science. Will he rise to the occasion? Only time will tell.

James M. Taylor is senior fellow for environment policy at the Heartland Institute.

Here's Rolling Stone's Obit for the Music Industry --Read it and Weep!

Record sales are tanking, and there's no hope in sight: How it all went wrong

Brian Hiatt and Evan Serpick

Posted Jun 19, 2007 2:29 PM

This is the first part of a two-part series on the decline of the record industry. Today we're including Brian Hiatt and Evan Serpick's report on where the music business went wrong, from the current issue of Rolling Stone, as well as an interactive graphic illustrating the industry's slide. Tomorrow, check back with RollingStone.com for interviews with industry leaders on the future of the music business.

Sales figures courtesy of Nielsen SoundScan

For the music industry, it was a rare bit of good news: Linkin Park's new album sold 623,000 copies in its first week this May -- the strongest debut of the year. But it wasn't nearly enough. That same month, the band's record company, Warner Music Group, announced that it would lay off 400 people, and its stock price lingered at fifty-eight percent of its peak from last June.

Overall CD sales have plummeted sixteen percent for the year so far -- and that's after seven years of near-constant erosion. In the face of widespread piracy, consumers' growing preference for low-profit-margin digital singles over albums, and other woes, the record business has plunged into a historic decline.

The major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models, even as some wonder whether it's too late. "The record business is over," says music attorney Peter Paterno, who represents Metallica and Dr. Dre. "The labels have wonderful assets -- they just can't make any money off them." One senior music-industry source who requested anonymity went further: "Here we have a business that's dying. There won't be any major labels pretty soon."

In 2000, U.S. consumers bought 785.1 million albums; last year, they bought 588.2 million (a figure that includes both CDs and downloaded albums), according to Nielsen SoundScan. In 2000, the ten top-selling albums in the U.S. sold a combined 60 million copies; in 2006, the top ten sold just 25 million. Digital sales are growing -- fans bought 582 million digital singles last year, up sixty-five percent from 2005, and purchased $600 million worth of ringtones -- but the new revenue sources aren't making up for the shortfall.

More than 5,000 record-company employees have been laid off since 2000. The number of major labels dropped from five to four when Sony Music Entertainment and BMG Entertainment merged in 2004 -- and two of the remaining companies, EMI and Warner, have flirted with their own merger for years.

About 2,700 record stores have closed across the country since 2003, according to the research group Almighty Institute of Music Retail. Last year the eighty-nine-store Tower Records chain, which represented 2.5 percent of overall retail sales, went out of business, and Musicland, which operated more than 800 stores under the Sam Goody brand, among others, filed for bankruptcy. Around sixty-five percent of all music sales now take place in big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which carry fewer titles than specialty stores and put less effort behind promoting new artists.

Just a few years ago, many industry executives thought their problems could be solved by bigger hits. "There wasn't anything a good hit couldn't fix for these guys," says a source who worked closely with top executives earlier this decade. "They felt like things were bad and getting worse, but I'm not sure they had the bandwidth to figure out how to fix it. Now, very few of those people are still heads of the companies."

More record executives now seem to understand that their problems are structural: The Internet appears to be the most consequential technological shift for the business of selling music since the 1920s, when phonograph records replaced sheet music as the industry's profit center. "We have to collectively understand that times have changed," says Lyor Cohen, CEO of Warner Music Group USA. In June, Warner announced a deal with the Web site Lala.com that will allow consumers to stream much of its catalog for free, in hopes that they will then pay for downloads. It's the latest of recent major-label moves that would have been unthinkable a few years back:

• In May, one of the four majors, EMI, began allowing the iTunes Music Store to sell its catalog without the copy protection that labels have insisted upon for years.

• When YouTube started showing music videos without permission, all four of the labels made licensing deals instead of suing for copyright violations.

• To the dismay of some artists and managers, labels are insisting on deals for many artists in which the companies get a portion of touring, merchandising, product sponsorships and other non-recorded-music sources of income.

So who killed the record industry as we knew it? "The record companies have created this situation themselves," says Simon Wright, CEO of Virgin Entertainment Group, which operates Virgin Megastores. While there are factors outside of the labels' control -- from the rise of the Internet to the popularity of video games and DVDs -- many in the industry see the last seven years as a series of botched opportunities. And among the biggest, they say, was the labels' failure to address online piracy at the beginning by making peace with the first file-sharing service, Napster. "They left billions and billions of dollars on the table by suing Napster -- that was the moment that the labels killed themselves," says Jeff Kwatinetz, CEO of management company the Firm. "The record business had an unbelievable opportunity there. They were all using the same service. It was as if everybody was listening to the same radio station. Then Napster shut down, and all those 30 or 40 million people went to other [file-sharing services]."

It all could have been different: Seven years ago, the music industry's top executives gathered for secret talks with Napster CEO Hank Barry. At a July 15th, 2000, meeting, the execs -- including the CEO of Universal's parent company, Edgar Bronfman Jr.; Sony Corp. head Nobuyuki Idei; and Bertelsmann chief Thomas Middelhof -- sat in a hotel in Sun Valley, Idaho, with Barry and told him that they wanted to strike licensing deals with Napster. "Mr. Idei started the meeting," recalls Barry, now a director in the law firm Howard Rice. "He was talking about how Napster was something the customers wanted."

The idea was to let Napster's 38 million users keep downloading for a monthly subscription fee -- roughly $10 -- with revenues split between the service and the labels. But ultimately, despite a public offer of $1 billion from Napster, the companies never reached a settlement. "The record companies needed to jump off a cliff, and they couldn't bring themselves to jump," says Hilary Rosen, who was then CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America. "A lot of people say, 'The labels were dinosaurs and idiots, and what was the matter with them?' But they had retailers telling them, 'You better not sell anything online cheaper than in a store,' and they had artists saying, 'Don't screw up my Wal-Mart sales.' " Adds Jim Guerinot, who manages Nine Inch Nails and Gwen Stefani, "Innovation meant cannibalizing their core business."

Even worse, the record companies waited almost two years after Napster's July 2nd, 2001, shutdown before licensing a user-friendly legal alternative to unauthorized file-sharing services: Apple's iTunes Music Store, which launched in the spring of 2003. Before that, labels started their own subscription services: PressPlay, which initially offered only Sony, Universal and EMI music, and MusicNet, which had only EMI, Warner and BMG music. The services failed. They were expensive, allowed little or no CD burning and didn't work with many MP3 players then on the market.

Rosen and others see that 2001-03 period as disastrous for the business. "That's when we lost the users," Rosen says. "Peer-to-peer took hold. That's when we went from music having real value in people's minds to music having no economic value, just emotional value."

In the fall of 2003, the RIAA filed its first copyright-infringement lawsuits against file sharers. They've since sued more than 20,000 music fans. The RIAA maintains that the lawsuits are meant to spread the word that unauthorized downloading can have consequences. "It isn't being done on a punitive basis," says RIAA CEO Mitch Bainwol. But file-sharing isn't going away -- there was a 4.4 percent increase in the number of peer-to-peer users in 2006, with about a billion tracks downloaded illegally per month, according to research group BigChampagne.

Despite the industry's woes, people are listening to at least as much music as ever. Consumers have bought more than 100 million iPods since their November 2001 introduction, and the touring business is thriving, earning a record $437 million last year. And according to research organization NPD Group, listenership to recorded music -- whether from CDs, downloads, video games, satellite radio, terrestrial radio, online streams or other sources -- has increased since 2002. The problem the business faces is how to turn that interest into money. "How is it that the people that make the product of music are going bankrupt, while the use of the product is skyrocketing?" asks the Firm's Kwatinetz. "The model is wrong."

Kwatinetz sees other, leaner kinds of companies -- from management firms like his own, which now doubles as a record label, to outsiders such as Starbucks -- stepping in. Paul McCartney recently abandoned his longtime relationship with EMI Records to sign with Starbucks' fledgling Hear Music. Video-game giant Electronic Arts also started a label, exploiting the promotional value of its games, and the newly revived CBS Records will sell music featured in CBS TV shows.

Licensing music to video games, movies, TV shows and online subscription services is becoming an increasing source of revenue."We expect to be a brand licensing organization," says Cohen of Warner, which in May started a new division, Den of Thieves, devoted to producing TV shows and other video content from its music properties. And the record companies are looking to increase their takes in the booming music publishing business, which collects songwriting royalties from radio play and other sources. The performance-rights organization ASCAP reported a record $785 million in revenue in 2006, a five percent increase from 2005. Revenues are up "across the board," according to Martin Bandier, CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which controls the Beatles' publishing. "Music publishing will become a more important part of the business," he says. "If I worked for a record company, I'd be pulling my hair out. The recorded-music business is in total confusion, looking for a way out."

Nearly every corner of the record industry is feeling the pain. "A great American sector has been damaged enormously," says the RIAA's Bainwol, who blames piracy, "from songwriters to backup musicians to people who work at labels. The number of bands signed to labels has been compromised in a pretty severe fashion, roughly a third."

Times are hard for record-company employees. "People feel threatened," says Rosen. "Their friends are getting laid off left and right." Adam Shore, general manager of the then-Atlantic Records-affiliated Vice Records, told Rolling Stone in January that his colleagues are having an "existential crisis." "We have great records, but we're less sure than ever that people are going to buy them," he says. "There's a sense around here of losing faith."

Additional reporting by Steve Knopper and Nicole Frehsée courtesy of Rolling Stone.

ROLLING STONE WRITES MUISIC INDUSTRY'S OBIT

from the at-their-own-hands dept

Yeah, it's not like most of the folks outside of the recording industry didn't recognize this years ago, but Rolling Stone has pretty much summed up the situation in the recording industry by writing what is effectively an obituary for the industry's suicide. There's nothing really new in there, but it hits on a few key points. The music industry is still doing great. There's more music available. Sales of products to listen to music (iPods, etc.) are flying off the shelves. The publishing business, which licenses music to things like TV shows is growing. Concert revenue continues to grow. All of these things were easily predictable back in the Napster days if you recognized that free music made everything else more valuable and expands all those other industries. It's just that the recording industry was unable to recognize this in time to change its business model. The article highlights how its almost entirely the recording industry's own fault. They had a chance to sign a deal with Napster and they backed out, sending people off to tons of other file sharing tools, that were often more underground (just as everyone predicted).

The amazing thing, however, is that the recording industry still doesn't recognize that it did this to itself. The current head of the RIAA, Mitch Bainwol, still insists that piracy is destroying the music industry -- when nothing is further from the truth. The article also quotes his predecessor, Hilary Rosen, who instead blames everyone else. She blames the retailers and the musicians for not letting the record labels change their business models. Of course, she leaves out the part where she lead the charge to sue customers and get Congress to put in place anti-consumer laws that simply drove people away. So, no, there's nothing really new in the article -- but to have the industry's bible declare that the recording industry sealed its own fate is certainly a milestone. Now, can we move on and start focusing on ways to continue to build the new music industry?

Isiah Washington Speaks Out About His UnFair Firing

Now that Isaiah Washington has been fired from Grey's Anatomy, he wants to set the record straight about his so-called trip to rehab.

"There is no rehab for homophobia – that was just some crap being put out by the network," Washington, 43, tells Newsweek of the treatment he received after using a homophobic slur during an argument with Grey's costar Patrick Dempsey.

"I went into an executive counseling program which many people in this industry know about and go to. They knew what the program was but chose to call it what they wanted to fit their agenda. And more importantly, I volunteered for it because I wanted to understand my fight with Patrick and how it got out of hand like that."

Washington says he even paid half the fee for his treatment, and adds: "I thought [ABC] sending me meant they actually wanted me to succeed and come out on the other end." The network declined to comment for the story.

The actor also describes race as a factor in his downfall. During his fight with Dempsey, he says, "Someone heard the booming voice of a black man and got really scared and that was the beginning of the end for me."

On his subsequent firing: "I apologized and showed my remorse for what I said and for the pain I caused anyone. If a black man can't get forgiveness in this country, when so many other people like Robert Downey Jr. and the governor of California get second and third chances ... I think that says a lot about race and this country where we stand."

Later in the article, he says: "It didn't help me on the set that I was a black man who wasn't a mush-mouth Negro walking around with his head in his hands all the time. … I had a person in human resources tell me after this thing played out that 'some people' were afraid of me around the studio. I asked her why, because I'm a 6'1" black man with dark skin and who doesn't go around saying 'Yessah, massa sir' and 'No sir, massa' to everyone?''

But the Newsweek article says Washington has a reputation in the film industry for lashing out at others, and points out that, several years ago, he had an angry confrontation with his Soul Food producer Tracey Edmonds (who is currently dating Eddie Murphy).

"I have a mind of my own and I do speak it when I feel it's right," he says. "In this business that's considered being difficult and hard to deal with."

Editior's Note: You have no right to freedom of speech in this country when it comes to gays and lesbians--they are protected territory when it comes to criticism. You have no right to hate same sex acts.

Gays Upset Over Travolta's role in "HairSpray"

Tired weirdo John Travolta ill-cast as Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray"

The editor of a major gay publication in the US claims to have attracted the ire of the "church" of Scientology after calling for a boycott of the musical Hairspray remake starring John Travolta.

Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, claims gay Scientoligists have attacked him for stating in a blog on the remake of the John Waters classic that Travolta had "no business reprising an iconic gay role, given his cult's stance on gay issues".

Scientology has frequently been accused of hostility towards GLBT people and trying to "cure" homosexuality through reparative therapy.

Scientology's founder, L Ron Hubbard wrote in wrote in his 1951 book Science of Survival: Prediction of Human Behavior that, "Such people should be taken from the society as rapidly as possible… for here is the level of the contagion of immortality and the destruction of ethics. No social order will survive which does not remove these people from its midst."

Travolta is a prominent member of Scientology, which also boasts Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley, Lisa Maria Presley and Kelly Preston in its celebrity stable.

The remake of Hairspray is based on the hugely successful Broadway musical adaptation.
The original Waters film starred the late Divine in the role of Edna Turnblad, reprised by Travolta, and launched the career of Rikki Lake, who played daughter Tracy Turnblad.

Editor's Note: The hubbub about Travolta playing Edna Turnblad is emblematic with the problem we all face with gays in this country--you've become full of yourselves and far too serious. John Travolta is an actor. People act in movies. If you don't understand this basic priniciple about movies and plays and tv shows, you'll be lost. One does not need to be gay to play gay and one doesn't need to embrace the sexuality known as homosexuality. Remember this is a sex act first and a culture secondarily. Travolta is ACTING and not trying to live as a gay person. To go a step deeper, when one remakes a play or movie, you don't have to by law do it the same way it was done the first time. Soooooooo, Travolta albeit ill-cast, is a bad actor in a bad movie playing a bad drag queenish looking mother. The first mistake here, re-making the freaking play which was based on the first film. This reeks of unoriginality which is what everyone should be angry about.

Non-Prophets

by: G. Craige Lewis - aka The Messenger

---

The devil wants to "weaken the nations" which is really saying that he wants to weaken the foundation of holiness in our local churches. Don't you understand that the "Mega" conferences and the "superstar pastors" are weakening the local church? Sheep are being stolen and reprogrammed from the truth that they may learn in their smaller, local assemblies, to the prosperity messages of the big time preachers. If Jesus avoided fame, then why are these Mega star Bishops seeking it? Why are they starring in movies and recording CD's and promoting themselves so heavily? The local pastors with smaller memberships are suffering because the famous preachers are dwarfing them by compelling their sheep to follow the conference liars and celebrity preachers instead of tithing and being faithful to their local assemblies. The big time bishops are taking money from EVERYONE's members instead of encouraging them to support their local assembly. And they are mixing the world and the church to make more money and gain more fame, while all along promoting sinful, sexual, demonic atmospheres and celebrities. These celebrities even have special parking spaces and get special treatment in their churches while the sold out Christians get treated like crap and cannot even spend a moment with their pastors without paying for it. You cannot even log onto these superstar Bishop's websites without joining financially like a Porn site! These men are money hungry! They are promoting sinfulness and living sinfully behind closed doors.

God forbid we begin to create sin to reach people! God forbid we as a church will sit back and allow men to take the righteousness of God and turn it into a money making, sin promoting vehicle that fattens the pocket of the elite while it destroys the foundation of holiness that God placed in our church. The bible said that this day would come. Here are some things that the bible stated thousands of years ago about our perilous times:

-Men would creep into the church, posing as prophets and preachers, but would begin to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. -Jude 1:4

-They would begin to raise money, without giving an account to anyone as to where the money is going. -Luke 19:46

-They would begin to creep into the homes of silly women that need a "word" but will never get free from their sin. -2Tim. 3:6

-They would not reproduce, but be spiritual mules that cannot reproduce or give birth to men that could lead others, thus they will rely totally on themselves and attempt to Pastor the nation through the media! -Ex. 32:13

-They will encourage sheep to hear their voice instead of the voice of their own shepherds and they would fleece the sheep against the wishes of their own shepherds. -Jer. 23:1

-They will get richer and richer while people give money to them without any accountability as to where the funds are going and how much is really needed to perform successful ministry works.-Ezek. 34:2

-They will preach to millions and yet have no compassion to commune with them and become the opposite of Jesus (anti-christ) by making themselves unaccessible to their own sheep while promoting themselves to the world. - Matt. 9:36

-They will promote the sin of the world and call it "being real" or "reaching the lost at all cost" and when true men of God stand up against it, they are labeled Pharisees or religious.-Jude 1:10

-They will compromise the truth by preaching feel good messages to get money and sell media, while the true gifts of the Holy Ghost are denied and not operative. No healing, no deliverance, no true move of the Holy Ghost that sets men free from sin. -2Tim. 4:3

-They will accept homosexuality/lesbianism. It will thrive in their own churches, homes, and even within THEM! Homosexual singers and performers would be welcomed in their churches and on their platforms to perform while transferring spirits throughout their congregations. -Jude 1:4

-They will begin to refer to Jesus as the "Universal Spirit" or "Spirituality" instead of calling his name out and making reference to who he really is. Spiritualizm will become the vehicle that drives their campaigns instead of Christ being their purpose. -1John 4:3

-The local church would become second rate to these national, mega ministries and local pastors will lose credibility in comparison to these financial empires. The Sunday morning sermon becomes second best and the conference sermon will be promoted as the true "word". Eph. 4:14

-Sheep will no longer be able to know the voice of their shepherd but will begin to be scattered because they don't know what voice is speaking to them. Catch phrases like "I don't know who I'm talking to" or "I'm talking to somebody in here" will be used to distance the sheep from the shepherd and excuse the fact that a true prophet of God always knows who he is talking to! - John 10:27

-All kinds of conferences will emerge and flourish, because the conference can do something that Sunday services cannot do, and that is CHARGE FOR ADMISSION!' -Matt. 21:13

-Pastors and preaches will begin to model the formula of the television mega-minister and will begin to alter the plan that God may have for them by modeling the plan of men that are financially successful, but spiritually poor. Col. 3:22

-The television will begin to paint a picture of greatness and make preachers feel above reproach and rebuke. They will have a word for you and your home, while their own homes will be plagued with homosexuality, sexual perversions, divorce, fornication and adultery. -1Tim. 3:4

-Their churches will be models of their homes. Million dollars facilities with godlessness and sin abounding within. The fruit in their churches will reflect the fruit of their personal lives.Gal. 6:3

We must contend for the faith people of God. The world is labeling us as a bunch of glory seeking, selfish people because the men we have supported and followed are promoting sin and selfishness. I encourage you to stand against the enemy on this one. Stop supporting ministries that are promoting the very things that we should be fighting against. Stop sowing into these billion dollar mega preachers and churches and sow into your local church! Turn the TV off and listen to the voice of your own shepherd because we are getting to a place where all voices cannot be trusted. When you support these Mega ministries and they support sinful people, you are encouraging and supporting the promotion of sin and foolishness.

G. Craige Lewis - EX Ministries

The Truth About Hip Hop with G. Craige Lewis

JB of Charisma Magazine -What is the goal of your DVD series The Truth Behind Hip Hop?

G. Craige Lewis - Actually, we have no goals for the DVD because we never pursued or planned to record a DVD. One of the most dangerous things that I believe has infected the body of Christ is self-promotion. Yet, this is what most pastors or traveling evangelist are told they must do to get the word out. If the word they were trying to get out was their own then promoting it would be fine. However, if its God’s Word then I believe that God is responsible to promote it. The Truth Behind Hip-hop is definitely an example of that. The series came about as a result of my traveling and preaching The Truth Behind Hip Hop for two years prior to the DVD. The 1st DVD was recorded in 2002 at the request of a ministry in my area. Initially, I turned them down, because I didn’t want to change the way God was getting the message out. However, after I prayed, the ministry approached me again and the Lord told me to let them record it. The recording didn’t cost me a dime of my own money and besides that, we never mass-marketed it, signed a distribution deal, or tried to promote it ourselves. Yet, through word of mouth and just making them available on our site quite a few people have ordered the DVD’s. What are my goals and desires for the DVD’s? I never planned for DVD’s in the first place. Simply put, I want what God wants and that is for every believer to deny himself and follow Christ!

JB of Charisma Magazine -Your message on secular hip-hop is clear, however, I didn't see where you offered an alternative or solution to what our young people should be listening to. Could you please explain further on this?

G. Craige Lewis - This is dealt with in our 3rd DVD, Antichrist Superstar. We believe that God is not an alternative! He should never be put in the position to replace something that should have never been there in the first place. Consider this, a young person is saved and delivered from an addiction to drugs and the church gives them “holy drugs” as an alternative? This is absurd. Yet this what so-called “holy-hip-hoppers” are doing. That young person doesn’t need an alternative drug; the drugs should have never been in their lives in the first place. We teach young people that Jesus Christ is the WAY! Seek him and find him and you will know then what is good and acceptable according to the unction that is within you, called the anointing! We are here to push people into the face of God not by offering replacements, but rather using the written word of God and exposing the darkness and deception that exists in their lives whether through music, or any other form of idol worship. God is first. Once you seek him, you will know in your heart what is good for your mind and soul. Some people think that I am anti-music. As a musician and former producer, I have recorded plenty of music; I have friends who record good Christian music; and according to some trends in ministry, I should be taking the bad stuff and then selling them my stuff—but God has not told me to do that. I preach the message that God has told me to preach and let the Holy Spirit, PASTORS, YOUTH PASTORS, and parents do the rest.

JB of Charisma Magazine -What are your feelings toward the holy hip-hop movement?

G. Craige Lewis - Holy Hip Hop is ridiculous. It makes no sense. It's just another tool of the enemy to make our young black males act, dress, and behave in a manner that is only beneficial to a Rap star and those that profit from it. Although, these antics may be entertaining to some, to the average black man, these behaviors are roadblocks that halt their forward progress in the true culture we live in called the American culture! Dressing like gang members, wearing your hair like women, sagging your pants like inmates, and speaking broken English is, by the American standard, unacceptable behavior and will continue to be a hindrance in the future of our generation. Why would a church embrace that? Why would a church promote that? Out of desperation, many churches are resorting to Holy Thugs and Gospel Gangsta's to entertain their youth while the adults are worshipping. You see, you can't minister to teens about self-love, self-promotion, self-empowerment, and all the fluff messages that our new Mega church era is overrun with. Kids won't sit through, what I call the top-pop Sermons of the neo-penecostal movement: Miracle, season, harvest, breakthrough, favor, destiny, and purpose. Only adults will chase that stuff. Kids want it real. Therefore, to keep them entertained without a true heart for their souls, you must do what is popular to them. You must mimic the world, follow the world's lead, and subscribe to the current trends and fads if you don't have a true call to minister. Therefore, the Holy Hip Hoppers have found a way to masquerade as the answer while they sell their music and promote themselves. They sound just like the secular stuff. They look just like the secular stuff. They even listen to the secular stuff to get their sound and flavor. So, all they really do is build the desire for the kids to go out and get the real stuff but just do the imitation while at church, cause that's what is available!

JB of Charisma Magazine -Jesus translated the gospel into terms that people could understand (i.e. parables and storytelling). Do you feel this can be OK for our culture as well? Can hip-hop be used in this way? Why or why not? I think of it as the same as different publishing companies providing different translations of the Bible. I also think of Paul's verse that said he is all things to all men (1 Cor. 9:22), except a backslider and unrepentant sinner, of course!

G. Craige Lewis - First of all Jesus didn’t translate the Gospel He was the Gospel, the Gospel is the record of His life, death and resurrection. Secondly, He didn’t speak in Parables so that people could understand. Ironically, it was just the opposite: He spoken in parables so that the truth would be hidden to those who thought themselves wise and prudent.
Matt. 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Matt. 13:10 ¶ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

Matt. 13:11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

Matt. 13:12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

Matt. 13:13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

If anyone has seen any of our DVD’s or have ever heard me speak, they will know that we teach and preach that Hip-Hop is not just a genre of music. Hip-hop is a lifestyle. It is a manner of life. When a person comes to Christ He changes his lifestyle. Furthermore, Hip Hop's origin causes it to be useless when it comes to ministry. The word Hip Hop, according to the founders of the culture and the pioneers of the music art form, was first used in the clubs by the Sugar Hill Gang. Remember that song that said, Hip Hop, Hippy to the Hop, don't stop rocking...........? Well, that song was using the 2 words Hip Hop to describe women's booty's shaking to their beats in the club. Basically, in it's simplest form, Hip Hop means Booty Shaking! Your hips hop to the beats. Just look at the last twenty-years of hip-hop videos: the clothes changed, the music changed, even the lyrics changed but one thing that always remained the same is the gratuitous camera shot of girls hips hopping. We can quote “I became all things to all men…” all we want to; but I don’t think Paul ever meant that he would make the people’s booty shake to win them to Christ. Moreover, how in the world can you have Holy Booty Shaking? Sure, the youth will come to shake their butts and throw up their hood signs, but will they be changed? We have seen millions of youth saved, set free, and delivered, and we have never used any kind of music to draw them.

JB of Charisma Magazine -Since I have begun to research this article I have come across some interesting observations. If it is OK, I would like to explore these with you. It is said that hip-hop culture can be looked at the same as American culture. Both have their up sides and their down sides. If you showed someone from another country all the American strip clubs, bars, jails, and ghettos, perhaps they would see America in a terrible way. But if we showed that America also had churches, good will and charity organizations, sports, great universities (that is up for argument, but anyway :-)), one would see American in a more realistic light. It has been said that the hip-hop culture is also the same way. The bad is very bad, but there are very positive things that come out of the culture--creativity, holy hip-hop, political voice, a point of connection to express and release the pain of this generation. How do you feel about such comments/observations?

G. Craige Lewis - Hip-hop is a sub-cultural movement, and cannot be compared to an ethnographic or demographic culture. A subculture is defined as a group with distinctive characteristics within a larger culture. This is why we say that hip-hop is at best, a subculture. Furthermore, its not a movement based on it's own concepts but it is a subculture that uses basic deconstruction of words and concepts to cause those that are apart of it to strive to be more visible in our present society. Initially, hip- was created out of lack and fatherless-ness. Young boys whose father's were absent began to adhere to the streets rather than abiding by the rules that govern success in society. The streets life became their expression and selling drugs, murdering, and fathering illegitimate children became their motes operandi since they had no authoritative male figures to look up to. This birthed the clothing, the language, and the social rejection that gave way for this subculture to emerge. All that we see now is a result of lack and fatherless-ness. Should we adapt to that? Or should we show a better way? Should we promote Christian Gangsta's and Holy Thugs? Or should we teach them that the street life is not the only way there is? There is no way to compare the American culture with a street life subculture that was birthed out of rebellion and recklessness. You can't rebel against a culture that you are apart of and expect to excel in that cultures system. So, if you are not a rapper or DJ or some other occupation that is financed by the subculture of Hip Hop, then you won't make it in the true American Culture. Rebellion will only label you an outcast or reject and cause you to be ridiculed and immobilized.

JB of Charisma Magazine - Another thing I would like to better understand is that you mentioned that hip-hop comes from the devil and that it is Satan's trick to "cause" people to worship him and receive his mark. Did you mean "all" hip-hop?

G. Craige Lewis - Please allow me to restate your question referring to my earlier definition: Did I mean all booty-hop came from the devil? Hmmmm…ultimately yes. However, before I answer where hip-hop came from, let me clear up where it didn’t come from. Obviously, Booty-hop did not come from God. I hear a lot people (mostly holy-hip-hoppers) trying to refer to “hip-hop in its purest form.” Referring to hip-hop as a pure form is like trying to refer to Crack as a pure form. Crack in itself is a hybrid of cocaine and other chemicals used to “cut” it. Yet the reason holy hip-hoppers try to make this quantum leap in logic, is so they can somehow say that hip-hop is a gift from God. One very popular Grammy Nominated Holy-hip-hop group suggest that on judgment day God will judge us based on what we did with Hip-hop. God has nothing to do with hip-hop. The founding fathers of hip-hop all readily admit that men created hip-hop out of rebellion. So technically, man created hip-hop, but rebellion inspired it. The Bible clearly states that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. What spirit governs rebellion and witchcraft? The devil. So what about Holy Hip-hip? Surely, they distinguish themselves from the rebellious element of hip-hop don’t they? No, they can’t. Jesus said a kingdom divided against itself can’t stand. Holy hip-hoppers dress like secular hip-hoppers; behave like secular hip-hoppers (throwing up gang signs) and even listen to secular hip-hop so they can emulate them. At one of the Holy hip-hop awards shows, a fight broke out east coast against west coast just like secular hip-hop.

When most Holy Hip Hop artists rap, they never refer to it as Holy, but just Hip Hop. Why is that? Because, there is only one subculture of Hip Hop and it is not holy! KRS-ONE, the lead prophet and spokesperson for Hip Hop says that Biggie was John the Baptist and Tupac Shakur was Jesus Christ and they died for our sins! He is revered and looked up to as the father of Holy Hip Hop. He says in Hip Hop there are no gods and goddesses, we are the gods and goddesses! He even has T-Bone and BB Jay on his CD called Spiritually Minded, which is sold in Mardels, Family Christian, and all major Christian bookstores. He says he is a prophet and is here to teach the truth about Jesus. He says we are all Jesus Christs and should not worship him or call his name out, but be Jesus. He has Temples of Hip hop all over the country and is meeting with Holy Hip Hoppers to join together in efforts to promoting Hip Hop in the church! In our discussion with Ambassador of the Cross Movement, we urged him to call what he was doing Christian Rap and not subscribe to Hip Hop Culture. We asked him why couldn't he just rap for the Lord and use his ability to create rhymes for God without giving credit or props to Hip Hop. He said he couldn't. He is apart of the Hip Hop Culture and would not denounce it. All Rappers believe that rap is the music, but Hip Hop is the lifestyle or the way of life. This tells us that all Hip Hoppers have an agenda. Not to just rap, but to promote a rebellious way of life! Hip-hop takes what was once seen as bad and makes it good. Thugs, pimps, and gangstas was once seen as bad but hip-hop says that its good. Holy hip-hoppers are governed by this fundamental element and try to sanctify hip-hip by adding one word “holy” to everything. Now they say Holy thugs, and gospel gangstas as if this will change the essence of hip-hop terms

JB of Charisma Magazine -And also, what did you mean when you later said that Satan can't create anything, that he is anti-God and anti-creation? Just to clarify, it appeared that there was a contradiction in that point. Could you explain your complete thoughts on that?

G. Craige Lewis - Satan did not create Hip Hop, but he used man to create it. Man has a unique ability that was not giving to Satan. Man has God's attribute of creation. The devil took the music, the fatherless-ness, and the false god worship of the Zulu Nation, and fused it together to form an anti-Christian movement of Hip Hop. I don't believe the devil created all the things that make up the movement, but he did mastermind the culmination of them all.

JB of Charisma Magazine -Also, how would you respond to the argument that people may bring up from Colossians 1:16-17: "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist"? I have heard this text used to defend that use of hip-hop to glorify God and to win people to Christ.

G. Craige Lewis - There is NO biblical example of music ever being used to win souls to Christ or to evangelize. Music as a unique ability to coerce your mind and physiologically causes the release of pleasure chemicals in your brain. Because of this, it's hard for a person to make a good sound decision for Christ with the emotional trappings of music involved. Their decision will be based on feeling rather than fact. I believe that this accounts for much of the schizophrenic Christianity of the modern Church. Many churches heavily use music during their altar calls and people make a decision for Christ without being soberly minded. This leads to a conversion that is based on their emotions rather than their sound judgment. When they go back to their former environment and their emotions change they turn away from God. There is no biblical account of music being listed as a fold in the five-fold ministry or used by the apostles to draw a crowd. Jesus said no man cometh unless the Spirit of God draws him. If you notice, the only people that are really pushing Hip Hop in the churches are those that profit from it. Since when did the resale industry's method become our model for winning souls? When I speak, we never use music and hard core gang members, pimps, whores, drug dealers, drug users, etc. have come to Christ by the thousands without Hip hop or any music!

JB of Charisma Magazine -What do you think of holy hip-hop churches and ministries?

G. Craige Lewis - What's next? What is the church going to do to reach the red-light district? Or the strippers? Are we going to dress up like whores and start whore ministries to reach them? Are we going to dress up like pimps to reach pimps or cross dress to reach homosexuals? (Believe me, some are probably behind the scenes trying to set up these movements even as we speak.) People need the power of the Holy Ghost to change them, not our methods. These are the purpose driven churches that are really people driven! They want big numbers and large offerings, so they turn to fleshly methods and the promotion of their own ideas rather than preaching the truth of the Word of God without compromise. If the Holy Hip Hop churches and ministries were really affective, they would be in the streets with their kind and not in some building acting street! I want all pastors and ministries that are holding on and not giving in to this perverted move of carnality by embracing this demonic subculture to know something. You are not alone! There are hundreds of thousands of churches and ministries out there that are not giving in and just because you see the mega pastors and conferences trying to push this Hip Hop agenda, stick with what God is telling you. There is something wrong with boys sagging their pants and tattooing their bodies. There is something wrong with girls dressing and acting like prostitutes and hookers. There is something wrong with Gospel Gangsters and Holy Thugs wearing grillz and speaking broken English. Stay true to what you know God is saying. Teach the parents and they will effectively minister to their children. Don't sideswipe their authority by bringing in the very images and lifestyles that parents and the education system of America is trying to change.

JB of Charisma Magazine - Thank you Elder Lewis for your responses. I see in one of your answers that you asked to one of the members of Cross Movement to call their music Christian rap. It appears from this dialog that you do not have a problem with someone rapping Christian lyrics--just not subscribing to the hip-hop lifestyle. Is this assumption correct? Also, what style of music would you say is appropriate for Christians to listen to? Or maybe you wouldn't tell someone what to listen, but how would you teach someone to choose the kind of music that truly glorifies God?

G. Craige Lewis - I am not against rap, or any style of music, but I do not believe that Christian music should exalt the performer at all. If it's Christian, or Christ-like, it should exalt only Christ. The Holy Hip Hoppers promote themselves all in their music because Hip Hop is self expressive and self serving. That is against the plan of Christ, self denial! I believe a Christian should seek God in every way possible and deny their flesh in every way possible. This includes selfish music that causes us to move in an inappropriate manner or songs that lift up people as idols and do not lift up Christ. Self denial is the root of Salvation and must be practiced as Paul said, daily. So, with our investigative estimations of the gospel music industry being over 95 percent homosexual, self worship is being promoted in music and self promotion is key in being successful as an artists. The only example of this in the bible is Lucifer, the angel that the bible says iniquity was found in him because of his much merchandising! It also states in Ezekial that the iniquity of his traffic (self promotion) got him cast out and labeled profane.

Isaiah Washington Let Go from Grey's Anatomy

THURSDAY JUNE 07, 2007 10:20 PM EDT

By Mary Green

Isaiah Washington Photo by: Frazer Harrison / Getty

The speculation is over: After a controversial season, Isaiah Washington will not be returning to Grey's Anatomy, his rep and ABC Television Studio have confirmed.

Howard Bragman, Washington's publicist, says Washington's option was not renewed, and released this statement from the actor: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more."

Bragman did not elaborate on the statement, a reference to the 1976 film Network.

The cast was notified Thursday night of the final decision, which, says a source close to the situation, was a long time coming. In the end, the source says, Washington's behavior made him a liability.

Rumors ran rampant following the season finale – during which Washington's character, Dr. Preston Burke, broke up with his fiancée, Christina Yang (Sandra Oh), and moved out of their apartment – that Washington would not be returning.

The actor first came under fire last fall after getting into an altercation with Patrick Dempsey, during which he allegedly referred to castmate T.R. Knight with a homophobic slur.

Washington later apologized, checked into rehab, met with gay leaders and recently released a PSA decrying the use of hate speech.

• With reporting by LISA INGRASSIA

Editor's Note: I don't think it's fair that this man lost his job for saying what people say each and every day. It's okay to call someone nigger, but you can lose you job in Hollywood for calling someone a faggot. I didn't say it right, I said it's done. He shouldn't lost his job because of the comment, but I guess he does deserve to be fired for be stupid enough to believe that he belonged anywhere in Hollywood.

Paris Cries Nightly In Jail - Uh, Yeah...

Soon after Paris Hilton reported to jail late Sunday night, her famously fashion-forward look changed dramatically.

After surrendering her possessions and changing into a standard-issue uniform, Hilton was escorted by two sergeants to her tiny cell, her hands shackled behind her back and her hair tied in a scrunchie made from an elastic sock.

Just hours earlier, Hilton told reporters at the MTV Movie Awards that she was "scared but ready" for her time behind bars – but life in the lock-up hasn't been easy for the heiress.

"She cries all day," a source tells PEOPLE in its new issue. "She looks unwashed, she has no makeup and her hair is tangled. She cried audibly through the first two nights."

The transition from the red carpet to the jail's concrete floor was and swift and dramatic. So what's an average day like for the 26-year-old at L.A.'s Century Regional Detention Facility?

She's confined to a 12-by-8-foot cell in the so-called "high power" pod, reserved for high-profile inmates and those who need extra protection. The prisoners all wear the orange two-piece cotton/polyester-blend uniforms produced by Los Angeles County inmates in sewing classes.

The 12 cells share one TV – now playing: Brad Pitt's Troy – that inmates can see through the windows in their doors. For meals, it's the Simple Life, indeed – dinner June 4 was franks and beans, lunch the next day was a bologna sandwich and two chocolate-chip cookies.

And for a young woman who is used to socializing every night, life must be lonely: "She's in isolation for 23 of the 24 hours of the day," her lawyer, Richard A. Hutton told reporters on Monday. "Because of who she is, they had no choice ... but to place her in administrative segregation."

So far, Hilton has had just two visitors: Hutton and her psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Sophy. Only professionals are allowed to see inmates during the week; visiting hours for family and friends begin on the weekend.

Still, says Hutton: "She's doing very well under the circumstances."

Editor's Note: This is an important story simply because these party girls will get taken down one by one and then maybe they'll do something worthwhile with their potential other than piss it away. I'm tired of watching the roadkill that is their lives and I suspect that the tide is turning in West Hollywood. I'd hate to see one of these chicks die for nothing. Time for revival in the land. Something other than DUI's, crashed cars and useless rehab stints.

Prophet Predicts Hillary will declare faith saved her marriage

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

PARIS HILTON COMPLETES FIRST NIGHT IN JAIL - HMMM....

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Paris Hilton completed the first night of her probation sentence as morning arrived Monday in her new surroundings—a county jail cell that will be her home for much of this month.

The 26-year-old heiress worked the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards Sunday afternoon, then traded her strapless designer gown for a jail- issue jumpsuit and a solitary cell.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which runs the jail, turned mum Monday, but the media crowd outside the jail had grown since the weekend.

Hilton entered the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday. She is due to serve three weeks for violating her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. The sheriff's department online booking site showed a projected release date of June 26.

She surrendered to sheriff's deputies after making a surprise visit to the MTV awards.

"I am trying to be strong right now," she told reporters on the red carpet. "I'm ready to face my sentence. Even though this is a really hard time, I have my family, my friends and my fans to support me, and that's really helpful."

Before he stopped commenting, sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Hilton was easy to work with.

"Her demeanor was helpful. She was focused, she was cooperative," he said.

Hilton turned herself in at the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles just after 10:30 p.m., then was escorted to the all women's facility in Lynwood, where she was booked, fingerprinted, photographed, medically screened and issued an orange top and pants, Whitmore said.

Hilton's booking photo showed the heiress wearing what appeared to be a V-neck shirt, eye makeup and lip gloss that highlighted a slight smile. Her long blond hair was draped over one shoulder.

The "Simple Life" star is being housed in the "special needs" unit of the 13-year-old jail, separate from most of its 2,200 inmates. The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates. Hilton's cell has two bunks, a table, a sink, a toilet and a small window. She does not have a cellmate.

Like other inmates in that unit, Hilton will take her meals in her cell and will be allowed outside the 12-by-8-foot space for at least an hour each day to shower, watch TV in the day room, participate in outdoor recreation or talk on the telephone. No cell phones or BlackBerrys are permitted in the facility, even for visitors.

The jail, a two-story concrete building next to train tracks and beneath a bustling freeway, has been an all-female facility since March 2006. It's located in an industrial area about 12 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

"I did have a choice to go to a pay jail," Hilton said Sunday, without giving details. "But I declined because I feel like the media portrays me in a way that I'm not and that's why I wanted to go to county, to show that I can do it and I'm going to be treated like everyone else. I'm going to do the time, I'm going to do it the right way."

When she was sentenced May 4, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer ruled that she would not be allowed any work release, furloughs or use of an alternative jail or electronic monitoring in lieu of jail.

Sometimes stars are allowed to do their time in a jail of their choosing. In such cases, they pay a daily room-and-board fee to the smaller jails, which afford them more privacy and comfort.

On Sunday, about a dozen photographers and television crews were at the Lynwood facility when she arrived in an unmarked sport utility vehicle. Video captured by celebrity news site TMZ.com showed Hilton inside the vehicle with her mother, Kathy.

Hilton's publicist, Elliot Mintz, said he spoke with Kathy Hilton after she returned from the jail.

"She told me it was very emotional," Mintz said. "She also said that she feels this will be a time when Paris will be able to think and reflect and to spend time alone to learn from the experience because in Paris' life she's never alone—there's always a constant chatter around her."

Officers arrested Hilton in Hollywood on Sept. 7. In January, she pleaded no contest to the reckless-driving charge and was sentenced to 36 months' probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.

She was pulled over by California Highway Patrol on Jan. 15. Officers informed Hilton she was driving on a suspended license and she signed a document acknowledging she was not to drive. She then was pulled over by sheriff's deputies on Feb. 27, at which time she was charged with violating her probation.
___

Associated Press writer Peter Prengaman contributed to this report.


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Editor's Note: Y'all better stop laughing at Paris. You don't know what's gonna happen to this girl now. You should be suspicious.