First Hawaii, then Nepal and Tibet in the Himalayas, and now Utah is swelling, and Arizona's Grand Canyon is getting wiped out as torrential floods sweep through in a symphony of destruction over the weekend, as wildfires burn in California and Texas.
The flood killed at least 1, while about 15 are reported missing, and 62 have been rescued.
In 2025, the Dragon Bravo Fire destroyed vegetation on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and had dried the land into an impermeable, clay-like surface incapable of absorbing water.
The flood occurred during a convergence of various environmental conditions, including the Arizona monsoon, Super El Niño, a marine heatwave, Tropical Storm Iselle, and a heat dome pulling storms eastward, resulting in atmospheric moisture levels being 5-15% higher than average.
Hours before the flood, two smaller storm systems and several rounds of rain moved into the North Rim, with rains of up to 1 inch per hour being observed [1]. At the time of the flood, the downpour had intensified to two-thirds of an inch in a quarter of an hour [2].
The heavy rainfall combined with the steep, rocky canyon terrain caused water to funnel down into the narrow Bright Angel Creek [3], water levels rising to over 5 feet in within 10 minutes [2].
Tourists in the area variously described witnessing heavy rainfall, the creek rapidly overflowing, cascading waterfalls, 15-foot-tall floodwaters, and buildings and vehicles being washed away.
The flood also incited several secondary hazards including rockfalls, landslides, and mudslides [3, 4, 5]. More
*For the first time in history, here is an eyewitness account to the fact that Egyptian-style artifacts and giant skeletons were pulled out of the Grand Canyon in Arizona and stored in secret, underground Smithsonian warehouses. This investigative documentary by Steve Quayle (no relation to VP Dan Quayle) explores the following:
Why are the landforms in the Grand Canyon named after Egyptian deities?
Why are DNA samples from giant mummies and skeletons being extracted by the militaries of the world?
Was a live 21-foot giant captured in 1877 with the most unusual features ever noted?
Will the giants of yesteryear become the "super soldiers" of tomorrow?
Nepal flooding LIVE | Roads, bridges, power projects hit | Rasuwa Flash Flood Fury
(CNN-News18) Started streaming Aug. 26, 2026: A powerful flash flood is unleashing widespread destruction in Nepal’s Rasuwa district near its border with Tibet, with roads, bridges, and major infrastructure being hit as floodwaters surge through the region.
The flooding along the Bhote Koshi River has disrupted connectivity and affected power infrastructure, including hydropower projects. Villages and homes are also being impacted as authorities and rescue teams assess the full scale of the destruction.
The disaster has once again highlighted the vulnerability of Himalayan communities and critical infrastructure to sudden floods, torrential rain, and extreme weather events. With damaged roads and bridges complicating access, rescue and relief operations face major challenges.
#NepalFloods#NepalFlashFlood #Rasuwa #BhoteKoshi #NepalNews #FloodDisaster #Hydropower #BreakingNews #cnnnews18. n18oc_live CNN-News18 is a trusted source for breaking news, updates, and in-depth analysis from around the world. CNN-News18 is dedicated to bringing the latest news, trends, and insights, helping viewers stay informed and up-to-date. Subscribe now and join our community of informed and engaged viewers. Follow every breaking story LIVE 🔴: here
Underreported rainstorms, waves, disastrous flooding in Hawaii
Why is Europe suddenly overheated and underprepared?
(Beyond Sacred Beliefs) 7 lies about hell so absurd the Church never dares to explain Jewish Sheol (like the gloomy and shadowy "hells" of many religions), ancient Greek Hades (the Greek underworld), not "hell" but the eternal afterlife of sleep, quiet, cold, or doom like Jewish Abaddon and Greek Apollyon. The "Gates of Gehenna" were literal gates of the municipal dump where the poor unable to afford or those deemed unworthy of a "proper" burial were therefore disgraced by getting thrown into. There they (their carcasses now bereft of life) were "eaten by worms" in ignominy, surrounded by sulfuric smells and smoldering smoke day and night along with the gnashing of dead teeth, ground up into waste amid the lamenting wails of loved ones. How many lies have we been told by the official Church?
(Famous People's Religion) The Bible is pure fiction: Mark Twain's dark religion satire: Letters from the Earth points out many Judeo-Christian flaws, inconsistencies, and contradictions.
This is one of the works by Mark Twain published after his passing. These essays were kept secret, having been written by Twain. They may have ruined his career. As it was, he was deep in debt and had lost his wife and one of his daughters.
It consists of a series of short stories, many of which deal with God and Christianity. Twain penned a series of letters from the point of view of a dejected bad angel on Earth.
The title story consists of letters written by the Archangel [Lucifer] Satan to Archangels Gabriel and Michael about his observations on the curious proceedings of earthly life and the nature of mankind's religions.
By analyzing the idea of heaven and God that is widely accepted by those who believe in both, Twain is able to take the silliness that is present and study it with the common sense that is absent. It is not an attack but rather a careful dissection.
Other short stories in the book include a bedtime tale about a family of cats Twain wrote for his daughters and an essay explaining why an anaconda is morally superior to Man.
Twain's writings in Letters from the Earth find him at a quizzical and questioning state, and readers are all the better for it.
(DW) Deaths in a devastating fire at a pub in Theravada Buddhist Thailand's capital Bangkok have risen to 30, reports said Tuesday, citing updated figures from city officials.
A screen grab taken from a video released on July 12, shows people fleeing a fire at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar. Three more victims succumbed to their injuries, pushing up the tally from the initial 27 dead, local media reports said.
More than 70 people continue to receive treatment in hospitals, with 24 of them in critical condition, officials said.
Bangkok, July 15: The death toll from a devastating Bangkok bar fire has risen to 33, authorities said on Wednesday, as Thailand pledged a nationwide overhaul of entertainment venue regulations (Asian Standard).
Meanwhile, police are probing possible negligence, including obstructed emergency exits as people scrambled to flee the flames. Most killed were found trapped in windowless bathrooms.
Bangkok blaze deadliest in 17 years
What will the new king of Thailand say?
An explosive fire ripped through Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, a pub near the popular Chatuchak Weekend Market in northern Bangkok late on Sunday night.
Footage circulating on social media showed a powerful inferno jetting out of the bar's doorway as people ran to escape.
It took firefighters about half an hour to tame the fire.
The blaze is one of the deadliest in Thailand since 2009, when a New Year's Day fire at a nightclub killed 67 people.
On Tuesday, more mourners laid down flowers and handwritten notes at the site of the incident as remnants from the bar -- including melted musical instruments and sooty chairs -- lay on the sidewalk.
Ed. Zac Crellin, Deutsche Welle (English ed.), July 15, 2026; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
The USA's Midwest is about to suffer massive heat wave as it celebrates its Independence Day with many sporting events, stifling humidity, record temperatures, and lots of high-pollution (particulate matter of 10 microns or less) fireworks displays, including Dictator Trump's Washington DC circus spectacular. Claims are that this will be the single biggest detonation of firecrackers and hand bombs in the history of the country (not counting its many "shock and awe" displays over the head of other countries the imperialist USA was dominating and illegally bombing and occupying and robbing blind).
Last near, a large part of Los Angeles County burned in the "LA Fires" -- Eaton Fire in the foothills of Altadena above affluent Pasadena and the Palisades Fire in the affluent coastal area of Pacific Palisades near Malibu -- but did anyone like the mayor learn anything? Not so far as anyone can tell. No official has read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin?
OJ: Blame it on him. I'm the Juice
Granted it's about igniting social unrest (like the LA Uprising of 1992 triggered by racist LAPD cop and disgraced perjurer Mark Fuhrman, who died last week) rather than wildfires burning out of control, but whatever we've been through as a county, there's worse to come. There's the Big One, an earthquake to flatten the place, a tsunami to inundate the low lying areas of the basin, and there's a cosmic radiation solar emission to take out all the electronics and powerlines.
Fraud Fuhrman hired by FOX
What did the Buddha say about being in this sort of position? He once asked a king what he would do if messengers were to tell him that an adversary were approaching from the east, west, north, and south. The king replied, "What could I do but rely on the Dhamma?" The Buddha then said that there were four such enemies approaching so that whatever he was going to do, it would be wise to do it NOW. The thing is, the Buddha wasn't only talking to that king. Those same adversaries are approaching each of us. But do we notice, listen, pay attention, or act accordingly?
In 1995, Det. Fuhrman was called to testify regarding his alleged "discovery" of evidence in the OJ Simpson case, including a bloody glove recovered at OJ's Brentwood estate. During the trial, witnesses claimed that in the 1980s, LAPD cop Fuhrman frequently described African Americans as "niggers," claims he denied. In response, Simpson's defense team produced recorded interviews with Fuhrman, and witnesses proved that he had repeatedly used racist language during those interviews [1]. As a result, the defense claimed Fuhrman had committed perjury and was not a credible witness. The credibility of the prosecution has been cited as one reason big Simpson was acquitted [2]. The defense claimed Fuhrman planted key evidence as part of a racially motivated plot against Simpson. When asked under oath (without the jury being present), Fuhrman declined to answer all questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right. These questions included whether he planted or manufactured evidence. He didn't want to answer? Fuhrman "retired" from the LAPD in 1995. In 1996, he pleaded guilty by pleading "no contest" to perjury for his false testimony related to his use of racial epithets. Fuhrman claimed he was not a racist and apologized for his use of racist language [3]. He did not apologize for potentially starting the deadly "LA Riots" or the people killed, an uprising that was a long time in the making due to flagrant LAPD racism. More
The Buddha was dwelling in Savatthi. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One in the middle of the day, bowed, and sat respectfully to one side. Sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, "Great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?"
"Venerable sir, just now I was engaged in the affairs of an anointed noble-warrior king, enjoying the intoxication of royal sovereignty, obsessed with lust for sensual pleasures, who has attained stable control of his kingdom after having conquered a great sphere of earthly territory."
"Great king, what do you think? Suppose a trustworthy and reliable man were to come to you from the east and say, 'If it please your majesty, know that I come from the east where I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all the living beings [in its path]. Do as you see fit.'
"'Then suppose a second man were to come from the west... Then a third man were to come from the north... Then a fourth man were to come from the south and say, 'If it please your majesty, know that I come from the south where I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all living beings. Do as you see fit.'
"Great king, if such great peril should arise, such a terrible waste of human life — a human rebirth being so hard to obtain — what should be done?"
"Venerable sir, if such great peril should arise, such a terrible waste of human life — a human rebirth being so hard to obtain — what else should be done but conduct in accordance with the Dhamma, right action, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?"
"Then, great king, I inform you, I announce to you, aging and death are rolling in upon you. Great king, when aging and death are rolling in upon you, what should be done?"
"Venerable sir, as aging and death are rolling in upon me, what else should be done but conduct in accordance with the Dhamma, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?
"Venerable sir, there are elephant battles [fought by] anointed noble-warrior kings enjoying the intoxication of royal sovereignty, obsessed by lust for sensual pleasures, who have attained stable control of their kingdom and who rule having conquered a great sphere of earthly territory. But there is no use in elephant battles, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in.
"There are cavalry battles... chariot battles... infantry battles... But there is no use for such battles, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in.
"In this royal court there are counselors who, when the enemies arrive, are capable of dividing them by their wit. But there is no use for such battles of wits, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in.
"In this royal court there is abundant gold and silver stored in vaults and depositories, and with such wealth we are capable of buying off enemies when they come. But there is no use in battles of wealth, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in. As aging and death are rolling in upon me, venerable sir, what else should be done but conduct in accordance with Dhamma, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?"
"So it is, great king, so it is! As aging and death are rolling in upon you, what else should be done but conduct in accordance with Dhamma, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?"
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said it, the One Well-Gone [the Welcome One], the Teacher, went on to summarize:
South Korea’s first robot monk joins Buddhist ceremony; internet split over AI in religion About 130 cm tall and dressed in traditional Buddhist robes, Gabi took part in an ordination ceremony alongside senior monks at Jogye Temple.
Humanoid robot monk ‘Gabi’ introduced at Seoul South Korean Buddhist temple, triggers online debate Humanoid robots are often designed to assist people in workplaces like factories, warehouses, and offices. But in South Korea, one such robot is now stepping into an entirely different role—that of a Buddhist monk. According to Reuters, a temple in Seoul recently introduced its first humanoid robot monk named "Gabi" ahead of the Buddha’s birthday celebrations, sparking curiosity and debate online.
Robots can't be Buddhist monks
Bow to me, Bar-buh-ruh. Pay respect to the robe. - Well, if I have to. Who ordained you?
.
From a Theravada perspective, this would not be a real monk for various reasons right off the top of one's head for anyone familiar with the Vinaya Collection. For one, it's not human, and Buddhist ordination is reserved for human beings: no reptilians (naga-shapeshifters) allowed. At least one nāga tried to ordain and when found out was disrobed. It is also said that no pandakas ("eunuchs") are allowed. Is the robot Gabi neutered? If so, it could not be ordained. This is tragic because pandaka does not really mean "eunuch" as we understand the word in the West but culturally does include perverted eunuchs in the East. A pandaka is a sexually perverted person, more of an out-of-control pansexual, bisexual, homosexual, and possibly a libertine heterosexual unable by nature to control his/her sexual impulses. The literature includes mention of hermaphrodites, crossdressing transvestites, transsexuals, and those exhibiting aberrant, non-normative behaviors as defined in an ancient subcontinental context. This would seem to include kathoeys ("ladyboys") in Buddhist South and Southeast Asia.
The Eunuch (Pandaka) Festival of India is where all of these aberrations are on full exhibition for the public to fear, ridicule, and condemn. Being tricked, induced, or forced to participate in homosexual prostitution or to undergo castration (or those born asexual or intersexual), many young males act out and lead a life of debauchery, abusing alcohol and drugs and engaging in sexual misconduct. It is in this context that the ill-defined term pandaka should be understood. Instead, due to Western influence, it has come to mean a male without a penis -- for whatever reason -- cannot be ordained as a monk (bhikkhu). It might be possible to become a novice (samerera) depending on the elder monk administering the precepts, so a person could look like a monk and live in a monastery yet not actually be a fully ordained "monk." It seems safe to imagine that all of this applies to nuns (bhikkhunis) and female novices (samaneris). The upshot is that robots -- oddly, unless they're sexbots -- would not be eligible for true ordination. Any monk or monastic Sangha might nevertheless ordain an AI bot at their discretion, but would it really be valid? Not likely. Third, the purpose of ordination, at least in the Theravada tradition, is to bring suffering and rebirth to an end. Do robots suffer? Are they reborn? We may imagine analogues to these unpleasant emotions and the forced wandering on through samsara, but neither would seem to apply to inanimate objects, particularly of the nonhuman variety. Still, one could use sophistry and philosophy to make some argument in favor of a robotic sangha. In Mahayana, many say the goal is neither enlightenment nor liberation but to save all other beings first. Would a robot ever be able to do that? Maybe, if it trained on the texts, commentaries, disciplinary code, higher doctrine, history, and miscellaneous human issues (feelings, psychology, etiquette, customs, cultural sensitivities, existential, ontological, theological questions, etc.) No doubt that by the measure of the Turing test, robots will be able to pass eventually. Do they already "feel," are they already "conscious"? That depends on how humans define the terms or "feel" about it. Surely, an argument can be made that the simplest robot, the lowly smoke detector, is conscious and has a feeling. How? It "knows" when there is smoke and can say so by being triggered to send out an alarming call. And how does it do that? It does it by feeling (sensing) the smoke. If one buys this argument then a car, computer, and mainframe are much more advanced and able to act in their environment. If they could only act in programmed ways, that might not be much, but if they could "learn," that would be something. Yes to robot monks? No.
However, there's a slight conundrum. Long ago, Thai Theravada Buddhist monks in the Forest Tradition began to "ordain" trees. Why? They did it to save them. Loggers and poachers were cutting everything down, and they could not be induced to knock it off. So the local sangha came up with a brilliant solution. Do a ceremony, don the tree (or dryad) with robes, and magically no faithful karma-fearing logger or poacher dared touch it. The motivation was good, the solution was problematic, but it worked. The trees and forests and Thai environment were saved, just barely. But it did open up a loophole, did it not? If living, organic, old growth trees can (not because they themselves are possessed of self-view but possibly because the tree spirits inhabiting them are). After all, trees are conscious, sentient, organic lifeforms. Because a tree is much less overtly responsive than a boop-boop-bee-doop robot being, some might argue that robots are much more human like and deserving of ordination. That's ridiculous because no one is ordaining or professing to ordain robots for their benefit. There's a selfish human motive for doing it. Perhaps we should wait until AI is sufficiently advanced that a Robo-Buddha arises among the legions of chips, plastic, and metal automatons, and then that Robo-B can set up rules for ordination and teach them the way to mechanical-nirvana.
Bar-buh-ruh, Bar-buh-ruh! Where are you?
This did not begin in our era. The first robot monk is actually over 500-years-old. How is that possible? Robots have only been around since that episode of The Twilight Zone where that guy built that one in his basement that could not pronounce his wife's name correctly: "Bar-buh-ruh, Bar-buh-ruh." No, the first humanoid robot monk was Catholic and was composed of gears and levers, according to NPR. Fortunately, it still exists in a museum, or who would believe it.
The problem is bigger than "Gabi" (the Korean robot monk), of which there seems to be a swarm already and not a singular example, because in 2016, there was already Venerable Xian'er:
Robot monk seeks to merge Buddhism and cutting edge tech
Xian'er: I'm a cartoon character come to "life."
Popular Mechanics) Buddhism is increasingly trying to connect with the modern world. Mahayana monks across China have taken this word ("modernity") to heart, and their latest effort is Xian'er, an adorable robot that lives in a monastery answering questions and chanting mantras.
Xian'er first came to "life" as a cartoon character drawn by Master Xianfan of the Longquan Temple on the outskirts of Beijing, China.
The temple is over 500 years old but a decade ago, Longquan Temple was in disrepair. Xianfan wrote for Chinese websites before becoming a monk and found that Buddhism enhanced his natural creativity.
The Xian'er character gave life to the Temple, which eventually added an animation studio. The Xian'er robot monk, built in conjunction with [blank], is the Temple's furthest extension of its brand yet. More
Mirror Now; The Independent; David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, April 29, 2016; Ashley Wells and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly COMMENTARY
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