Life Source

Last Post...

2009-01-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

This will be my last post... In my life I have learned to accept the things past and present, because the ir is a reason. The past couple of months have been hell for me in every way possible. I have come to realize who I have been trying to be and who I really am. Their are a lot of things I'd wish I could make right, but I dont have that luxury. All I have is today, and what I am going to do today, is beleive. Beleive that everything I have worked for up until this point has been for something and to continue to live the way I was meant too. I will find what I'm been looking for, "seek and you will find..." I hope you do too

Verse of the week!

2008-12-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”- Luke 2:11-14

Prophecy News Watch Headlines - December 19

2008-12-23T09:00:00.001-08:00

1. Where is the United States in Prophecy?
Doomsday: U.S. report warns of 'strategic shock' leading to massive unrest The United States could be sleep-walking into its next crisis, a military report said. The report by the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Institute, said that a defense community paralyzed by conventional thinking could be unprepared to help the United States cope with a series of unexpected crises that would rival the Al Qaida strikes in 2001, termed a "strategic shock." The report cited the prospect of the collapse of a nuclear state leading to massive unrest in the United States, Middle East Newsline reported. "Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security," the report, authored by Ret. Lt. Col. Nathan Freir, said. "Deliberate employment of weapons of mass destruction or other catastrophic capabilities, unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters are all paths to disruptive domestic shock." The report cited the prospect of a breakdown of order in the United States. Freier said the Pentagon could be suddenly forced to recall troops from abroad to fight domestic unrest. "An American government and defense establishment lulled into complacency by a long-secure domestic order would be forced to rapidly divest some or most external security commitments in order to address rapidly expanding human insecurity at home," the report said.. .................. read more
What’s the worst that could happen? What’s the worst that could happen? That’s a question that James Rickards spends a lot of time pondering these days, as he sifts through the national security implications of the financial crisis facing the United States. Rickards will lay out his worst case scenarios in a lecture sponsored by the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy tonight. And his forecasts aren’t for the faint of heart. Rickards calls it the “A to Z” problem: What are the threats that could make the U.S. economy look less like America and more like Zimbabwe? He sees them everywhere – in the Chinese ownership of vast amounts of American debt, in Russia’s increased centralization of its economy, in Al Qaeda’s long-established fascination with damaging the U.S. economy. In many ways, Rickards is the ultimate bear. He’s not just thinking about whether the stock market will decline, but whether or not the stock market will survive. All that puts Rickards decidedly outside mainstream economic and political thinking in America. But he does have an influential audience: the United States intelligence and defense communities. Rickards is a regular adviser on financial issues to the office of the Director of National Intelligence, and he lends his financial advice to the national security community. His lecture comes as part of an annual “Rethinking Seminar” produced by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Rickards argues that government is not doing nearly enough to prepare for the worst. “Here’s the policy problem for the United States,” he said in an interview. “We have experts in defense and intelligence, and huge depth in capital markets experience at the Fed and at Treasury. But they’re separated by the Potomac River. And they’re not talking to each other.” Rickards came by his economic experience the hard way. He was the general counsel at Long Term Capital Management, the hedge fund that collapsed in spectacular fashion in the late 1990s and nearly took the global economy along with it. That near-economic death experience gave him a healthy appreciation for risk. Today, he’s the senior managing director for research at Omnis, an applied research firm. Four of the following scenarios keep him up at night..................... read more
IMF warns of economic riots, police ready for civil unrestPentagon resources and U.S. troops may be used if needed to quell protests and bank runs during an economic crisis, the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Institute reported. "Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security," the War College study states. Incidents of economic collapse, terrorism and disruption of legal order could require deployment of forces within the U.S., it said. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has warned that advanced nations could face civil unrest during distressful economic times "Social unrest may happen in many countries – including advanced economies" if the economic crises are not properly dealt with, Strauss-Kahn said. "He added that violent protests could break out in countries worldwide if the financial system was not restructured to benefit everyone rather than a small elite," London's Guardian reported. In a recession where consumer spending is plummeting, foreclosures are rampant, workers are losing jobs, credit is tight and markets are strained, some are warning about a worst-case scenario. Last month, trends forecaster Gerald Celente told Fox News that America will morph into the first "undeveloped" nation of the world by 2012. He said there will be a tax revolution marked by "food riots, squatter rebellion, tax revolts and job marches." He also said by 2012, the holidays will be more about getting food rather than gifts. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson considered the prospect of civil unrest while he pushed for September's Wall Street bailout – even suggesting martial law might be essential. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Barack Obama's pick for secretary of Homeland Security, would not provide comment to the Business Journal on the possibility of civil unrest during economic crisis. But state and local police indicated that they have trained for such an event...................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece
New bombs change Middle East dynamicsA new bomb technology developed by Australia and the U.S. will allow Israel's jet fighter pilots to strike inside Syria or Lebanon without ever leaving their own airspace should there be another conflict in the region, changing the dynamics of the Middle East conflict, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. It is called the JDAM-ER, or Joint Direct Munitions-Extended Range, and essentially takes a dumb bomb and turns it into a smart bomb. Among the modifications is the addition of a set of folding wings that extend the range to more than three times the range of a baseline JDAM, or Mk-84 2000-pound bomb, reportedly increasing the range from 15 to some 55 nautical miles. Another modification converts existing unguided bombs into bombs directed to their targets using GPS technology. Even before the JDAM is released, it begins to receive data while still attached to the computer inside the aircraft. Upon release, a satellite then guides the bomb to its target. The aircraft and crew then don't have to remain in enemy territory to "ride the bomb down" to its target, according to officials. This enhanced capability allows the bomb to hit its target accurately regardless of weather conditions, day or night.................... read more
US - Israel on Collision CourseWith the election of Barack Obama, the United States has moved dramatically to the left in its foreign policy at just the time that Israel, which seems likely to return Bibi Netanyahu to office in early February, is moving to the right. A collision is almost inevitable. Caroline Glick, the highly astute conservative columnist for the Jerusalem Post, writes that the “international community” believes that Obama “will move quickly to place massive pressure on the next Israeli government to withdraw from Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in the interests of advancing a ‘peace process’ with the Palestinians and the Syrians.” She notes that “people who have been in close contact with Obama’s foreign policy transition team have privately acknowledged that the widespread belief that Obama will move swiftly to put the screws on Israel is fully justified. According to one source who has spent a great deal of time with the transition team since last month’s U.S. elections, Obama’s people are ‘scope-locked’ on Israel.” Meanwhile, in Israel, there is a growing consensus, reflected in public opinion surveys, that trading land for peace is a chimera. Netanyahu points out that “we do not have a viable partner with whom to negotiate peace.” The Palestinian Authority does not speak for the people of either Gaza or the West Bank, and Hamas, which probably does (it won the election), does not want to be a party to any peace agreement. Recent experience suggests that Hamas will quickly install rocket launchers on any territory Israel concedes, using it not as a basis for peace, but as a platform from which to kill more Jews. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the candidates of the left, Labor’s Ehud Barak and Kadima’s Tzipi Livni, are deeply committed to land for peace. Their rejection by the Israeli electorate — the anticipated outcome of the Feb. 10 election — will signal a bold departure in the political consensus of the Jewish state, a consensus that flies directly in the face of Obama’s likely policy. The result is likely to be the most significant divergence between Israeli and American policies since 1956, when President Eisenhower sided with the Arabs to halt the British-French-Israeli invasion of Suez. The United States has tremendous leverage over Israel — military, financial and political. And Obama’s ability to carry the Jewish vote by a wide margin despite his likely Middle East policy makes him largely immune to the kind of political pressure that has disciplined American presidents in the past and forced them to incline toward accommodating Israeli views on the Middle East. But Israel probably has the military capacity to bomb Iran and to win the Middle East war against Syria, Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah that is likely to result. Unlike Olmert, Netanyahu will use ground troops right off the bat and will fight such a war to win and to win big. But they may have to do it without their strongest ally: the United States.................... read more
Hamas says won't extend truce with IsraelTwo Hamas officials said the Islamic group would not extend a six-month truce with the Israelis as militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at southern Israel and Israel hit back with airstrikes Thursday. Hamas said previously that the cease-fire ends Friday, but Israel maintained the unwritten truce did not have an expiration date. Violence has already resumed, although at a lower level than before the truce took effect. On Thursday, Gaza militants fired 11 rockets and six mortar shells toward Israel. Israel's military launched at least two airstrikes on rocket squads. "There is no chance of extending the calm," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in Gaza. He blamed Israel for the breakdown. In Lebanon, Hamas official Osama Hamdan told The Associated Press the truce would end Friday. It was not clear whether this was Hamas' final word, however. The group, which rules Gaza, has been issuing contradictory statements this week about extending the truce...................... read more
Israeli-Palestinian peace process is irreversible The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Tuesday stressing that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process initiated by the United States last year is irreversible and urging intensified efforts to achieve peace throughout the Middle East. The vote was 14-0, with Libya abstaining. The resolution — co-sponsored by the United States and Russia — backs "the determined efforts" by Israel and the Palestinians to conclude a peace treaty and fulfill the vision that they can live peacefully side by side as independent democratic states. The negotiating process launched by President George W. Bush at Annapolis, Md., in November 2007 called for the Israelis and Palestinians to try to reach a final peace deal by the end of 2008. That goal would have given Bush a diplomatic victory just before leaving office — but it was not to be, despite months of intense negotiations. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said all council members regret an agreement won't be reached this year, but said "a serious process is under way" and the international community must ensure the talks achieve results. The sides have failed to bridge disagreements over the so-called core issues, including their final borders and the competing claims to the holy city of Jerusalem. Political uncertainty on both sides has also clouded the picture. Israel is headed toward elections in February, and the front-runner, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been cool to the Annapolis process. The Palestinians, meanwhile, disagree over when the term of Israel's negotiating partner, President Mahmoud Abbas, is to end. Hamas says he must step down in January, though he has vowed to stay in office. .................... read more
Top Israeli officer says Hizbullah will be destroyed in five days 'next time' Israel is developing plans to "destroy" Hizbullah in an armed onslaught of such severity that it would require no more than five days to complete, a senior Israeli military officer has said. The commander of Israel's artillery division, which fired an average of 5,000 shells a day into Lebanon during the summer war in 2006, said that in any future conflict his men would "fire to destroy." "No village will be immune," Brigadier General Michael Ben-Baruch told The Jerusalem Post newspaper. "We will give them about a 12-hour warning and then strike back." His comments are the latest in a series of saber-rattling interviews in which senior Israeli military figures have outlined their plans for the next assault on Lebanon. The tone of the rhetoric coming out of Israel became so severe during the summer that Prime Minister Fouad Siniora complained to the United Nations about the threats. "In the last war, we made a distinction between Hizbullah targets and Lebanese national targets," an anonymous general in Israel was quoted as saying, contradicting overwhelming evidence to the contrary. "Now that Hizbullah is in the government - with veto power in the cabinet - there is no longer a reason to make this distinction, since a Hizbullah attack against Israel is essentially a Lebanese attack against Israel." Last week, the Israeli military conducted a major training exercise in the Golan Heights in a practice run for a potential war against the combined forces of Syria and Hizbullah. Israel's chief of staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, has reportedly recommended that the Israeli cabinet rubberstamp plans to launch an all-out assault on Lebanon's infrastructure in case of another conflict. During the 2006 war, which has been described as a "missed opportunity" by Israel's top brass, hundreds of roads and bridges were targeted. The Israeli military claimed this was because they were used by Hizbullah. In any future war there will be no such justification required because the Jewish state now considers the Shiite party to be a part of the Lebanese government. The newspaper also revealed that some senior military figures in Israel are pushing for an unprovoked "preemptive" assault on Hizbullah. But it says this is not "likely," given that others seem willing to bide their time until Hizbullah launches an attack of its own, something which many in Israel consider to be inevitable. . .................... read more
Messianic Jews still face persecution in Israel A director of the US Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations and his wife were detained Sunday at Ben-Gurion Airport by Interior Ministry officials amid allegations he is involved in illegal Christian missionary activity. It is illegal in Israel to proselytize among minors. It is also prohibited to engage in missionary activities among adults when economic incentives are offered. After over eight hours of detention, Jamie Cowen, a former president of the union, and his wife, Stacy, were permitted to enter Israel only after they agreed to sign a document that they would not engage in missionary activities during their stay. The Cowens are in Israel to visit their two daughters, one of whom is an Israeli citizen. The other is in the process of obtaining citizenship after she and a group of other Messianic Jews won a Supreme Court case against the state. The Cowens and their daughters all identify as Jews but believe that Jesus is the messiah. "This type of religious discrimination would be expected of Iran, not Israel," said Jamie Cowen, a US immigration lawyer, a few hours after he was released by immigration police. The Interior Ministry, which directed the police to arrest the Cowens, said they had classified information regarding missionary activity. "The Immigration and Population Authority has reliable information that the Cowens were involved in missionary activity prohibited by Israeli criminal law during their last visit to Israel," a ministry spokesman said. Calev Myers, founder and chief counsel of The Jerusalem Institute, which provides legal advice and representation to messianic Jews, said the Interior Ministry was filled will clerks who identified with a strictly Orthodox definition of who is a Jew. The Supreme Court has ruled that Jews who embraced Christianity are not eligible for Israeli citizenship. However, the court has also ruled that people who are not Jews according to Orthodox standards, but who are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return do not forfeit this right if they adopt Christian beliefs. . .................... read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Russia provides 10 MiG fighter jets to Lebanon for freeRussia gave Lebanon ten MiG fighter jets yesterday in a deal to boost defence cooperation. The MiG29 Fulcrum fighters would be provided free to Lebanon under an agreement on military-technical assistance, the head of Russia’s defence cooperation service said. Mikhail Dmitryev said that the jets would come from Russia’s existing stock. He said that Moscow was also in talks to supply Beirut with heavy armour, adding that supplies of such weaponry were “now possible after the situation in this nation has stabilised”. The MiG29s, one of Russia’s best fighter jets, will provide considerable additional firepower for the Lebanese air force, which currently has only five outdated Hawker Hunter jets and 16 helicopters. The gift is certain to strengthen Russian influence in the Middle East as Moscow seeks to restore a position that was lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The agreement is likely to prompt concern in Israel and the United States, given the continuing power and influence of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ria-Novosti news agency reported that Lebanese officials were also seeking tanks, antitank rockets, air defence systems and helicopters. Russia is already a major weapons supplier to neighbouring Syria, which is keen to acquire the latest MiG29s and was reported to be seeking the latest Sam S300 air defence missiles earlier this year... ................. read more
Return to Soviet era continues - Russian authorities to label any government critic a traitorNew legislation backed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would allow Russian authorities to label any government critic a traitor—a move that rights activists said Wednesday was a chilling throwback to times of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. The bill, which is expected to become law, would expanded the definition of treason to include damaging Russia's constitutional order, sovereignty or territorial integrity. That, rights activists said, would essentially let authorities interpret any act against state as treason—a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Activists said that would catapult Russia's justice system back to the times of Stalin's purges, calling it "legislation in the spirit of Stalin and Hitler." "It returns the Russian justice to the times of 1920-1950s," the activists, which included Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alexeyeva and Civic Assistance director Svetlana Gannushkina, said in a joint statement. Existing law defines state treason as actions harming external security by passing information to "foreign organizations." Putin's bill would add non-governmental organizations based anywhere in the world that have an office in Russia to the list of banned recipients of state secrets. The government has repeatedly accused foreign spy agencies of using NGOs as a cover to foment dissent. But critics warned the loose wording will give authorities ample leeway to prosecute those who cooperate with international rights groups. As for the rest of the proposed bill, the activists believe each additional phrase deliberately targets potential threats to the Kremlin. "Constitutional order," for example, would outlaw opposition protests, they said. "Territorial integrity" would forbid regional calls for independence, an issue of particular concern in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, where Chechnya is located. Lev Ponomaryov, an outspoken government critic, said the legislation creates "a base for a totalitarian state." In a separate development Wednesday, the Russia's upper house of parliament passed legislation that would end jury trials for those facing charges of terrorism and treason. Instead they would face judges. .................. read more
Russian S-300 anti-air weapon already delivered to Iran Despite the efforts of US and Israeli leaders, Moscow has begun delivering the highly sophisticated medium-range air defense S-300 system to Iran for securing its nuclear and strategic sites against potential attack. The RIA news agency reported Wednesday night, Dec. 18: "Moscow has earlier met its obligations to supply Tor-M1 (short-range) systems to Iran and is currently implementing its contract to deliver S-300 systems." DEBKAfile's military sources disclose the S-300 deliveries began two weeks ago. Their installation, coinciding with the return home of members of Iranian air defense officers from training in Russia, means that air or missile attacks on Iranian sites will henceforth be extremely difficult and carry a high price. DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources report that after Iran, Moscow will install the S-300 in Syria, focusing on securing the Russian naval bases going up in the Mediterranean port of Tartous. By selling these countries top-line weaponry, Moscow is strengthening its military presence and influence in two Middle East countries of especial interest to the United States and Israel – a tactic Soviet Russian employed in the Cold War.. .................. read more
5. Apostate Christianity
Many beliefs, many paths to heaven? Christians swing to UniversalismMost American religious believers, including most Christians, say eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Christ as their savior, a new survey finds.Of the 65% of people who held this open view of heaven's gates, 80% named at least one non-Christian group — Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists or people with no religion at all — who may also be saved, according to a new survey released today by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. This means 52% of Christians do not agree with the doctrines many religions teach, particularly conservative denominations. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, calls the findings "a theological crisis for American evangelicals. They represent at best a misunderstanding of the Gospel and at worst a repudiation of the Gospel." Christian believers who named at least one non-Christian faith that could lead to salvation included 34% of white evangelicals, even though evangelical doctrine stresses that salvation is possible only through Jesus. Higher levels of church attendance made some difference, particularly among white evangelical Protestants. But an overall majority (54%) of people who identified with a religion and who said they attend church weekly also said many religions can lead to eternal life. This majority included 37% of white evangelicals, 75% of mainline Protestants and 85% of non-Hispanic white Catholics. Pew's new survey also found that many Christians (29%) say they are saved by their good actions; 30% say salvation is through belief in Jesus, God or a higher power alone, which is the core teaching of evangelical Protestantism; and 10% say salvation is found through a combination of behavior and belief, a view closer to Catholic teachings. The number of those who said actions determine who attains heaven, was lowest (11%) for white evangelicals, highest for white Catholics (47%). Overall, the new findings are "an indictment of evangelicalism and evangelical preaching," said Mohler. "The clear Biblical teaching is that Jesus Christ proclaimed himself to be the only way to salvation." Mohler sees behind the statistics the impact of pluralism and secularism in U.S. society and the challenge of facing family and friends with "an uncomfortable truth." "We are in an age when we want to tell everyone they are doing just fine. It's extremely uncomfortable to turn to someone and say, 'You will go to hell unless you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus,' " Mohler says.............. read more
Anglicans Add Hindu Snowmen, Chinese Dragon to Christmas DisplaysSome Anglican clergy have added a multicultural twist to Christmas decorations, adding Hindu snowmen, a Chinese dragon and a Jewish temple to the lawn where the traditional scene of a baby Jesus, angels, and the three wise men used to be displayed alone. “We’ve done this as it creates a good opportunity for Christians to meet and hear about the stories of people of other faiths,” said the Rev. Jane Hedges, a canon of Westminster Abbey, according to U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper. The Abbey’s canon pointed out that the story of Christ’s birth is included in the Koran, and noted that the Hindu snowmen is meant to convey that Hindus have something to celebrate during Christmas too. “Strictly speaking, the message of Christmas is about the birth of Christ, but it has a much broader message of peace and goodwill,” said Hedges. Westminster Abbey will showcase life-size snowmen with turbans and bindi dots on their foreheads that is meant to express that Christmas is not exclusively for Christians. The Diocese of Liverpool, part of the Church of England, will stage a nativity that features a Chinese dragon and lantern procession. But the additions to the Christmas landscape have drawn criticism from those who argue that the multicultural effort is undermining the Christian message. An evangelical leader in England expressed his disapproval of the nativity scene spin. “People want Christians to celebrate Christmas without compromise,” said the Rev. Rod Thomas, chair of Reform, according to the Telegraph. “It’s only by doing this that people of other faiths respect what we stand for, not by attempting to introduce something that is sub-Christian.” The multicultural Christmas displays come as British society has become more secular as well as multi-religious, particularly with the population of Muslims growing rapidly. Church attendance in England is expected to fall from 3 million to 700,000 in England, and 550,000 to 140,000 in Scotland by 2050, according to Christian Research. Meanwhile, the study predicts that the number of practicing Muslims will outnumber worshipping Christians in Britain by 2035. By then there will be an estimated 1.96 million active Muslims in Britain, compared with 1.63 million church-going Christians, according to the think tank.............. read more
6. The Rise of Islam
Online Jihadists Plan for 'Invading Facebook'Online jihadists have already used YouTube, blogs and other social media to spread their propaganda. Now, a group of internet Islamic extremists is putting together a plan for "invading Facebook." "We can use Facebook to fight the media," notes a recent posting on the extremist al-Faloja forum, translated by Jihadica.com. "We can post media on Facebook that shows the Crusader losses." "We have already had great success in raiding YouTube," the poster adds. "American politicians have used Facebook to get votes, like the house slave Obama." Groups like al-Qaida were pioneering users of the internet — to train, share ideas and organize. But some observers, like George Washington University professor Marc Lynch, see a reluctance to embrace Web 2.0 tools like Facebook. "One of the biggest problems for a virtual network like AQ today is that it needs to build connections between its members while protecting itself from its enemies. That's a filtering problem: How do you get your people in, and keep intelligence agents out?" he asks. But as Jihadica.com author and West Point Combating Terrorism Center fellow William McCants notes, the proposed Facebook invasion "is not an attempt to replicate [existing] social networks." Instead, "the members of the campaign want to exploit existing networks of people who are hostile to them and presumably they will adopt new identities once they have posted their material." The al-Faloja poster suggests seven "brigades" work together within Facebook. One will distribute videos and writing of so-called "martyrs." Another will spread military training material. Most of them will work in Arabic, presumably. But one of the units will focus just on spread English-language propaganda through Facebook. .. ................ read more
U.S. lawmakers scold AIG over Shariah financeTwo conservative U.S. lawmakers have put the nation's largest insurer on notice for marketing Islamic financial products in America, warning that they "support a radical political ideology." American International Group earlier this month announced it will be offering Shariah-compliant homeowners insurance in the U.S. Hit hard by the financial crisis, AIG is looking for new revenue sources, and sees Muslim finance as a high-growth segment of the insurance market. But two Republican leaders in Congress say it's a bad idea, and scolded the federally subsidized insurer for promoting a "Stone Age" legal code "championed by the Taliban and Osama bin Laden." Teetering on bankruptcy, AIG has benefited from $153 billion in tax-supported bailout money. In a blistering letter sent today to New York-based AIG CEO Ed Liddy, Reps. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., and Frank Wolf, R-Va., warned that a portion of the proceeds from their Shariah offerings could end up financing jihad. Myrick co-chairs the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, and Wolf co-chairs the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. "Under Shariah finance, your company must contribute Zakat, the Third Pillar of Islam, which is a 2.5 percent donation to Muslim charity," the lawmakers wrote in their 3-page letter, a copy of which was obtained by WND. "While this may sound honorable, al-Qaida was able to receive between $300 (million) and $500 million from Zakat contributors who used a web of non-transparent charities and front companies to funnel money through Islamic banks." "We have also seen this in the U.S.," they added, "as Zakat was sent to a front group, the Holy Land Foundation, which was recently convicted by a federal court for sending funds to the terrorist organization, Hamas." Moreover, they point out that a noted Shariah finance adviser, Yusuf Qaradawi, is a leader in the worldwide jihadist movement known as the Muslim Brotherhood, and chairs some 50 Islamic charities. Qaradawi once called Zakat "jihad with money." The lawmakers warned Liddy that the charitable transfers made by Shariah finance advisers are notoriously opaque, and his company could potentially be held liable for terrorist money-laundering. They also asserted in their letter that, far from being "socially responsible," complying with the tenets of Shariah law promotes a culture that "enshrines horrific human-rights abuses." .................. read more
Islamic anti-defamation plan suffers setback at UNThe Islamic nations whose leaders want Christianity criminalized sustained a severe blow at the United Nations today when the momentum on their religion "anti-defamation" proposal suddenly shifted. WND previously reported on the plan that has been in the works since 1999, sponsored by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The "anti-defamation" law was proposed ostensibly to protect religions from criticism and attack. However, the plan mentions only Islam as needing protection. Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, has assembled a petition opposing the plan that has been signed by about 400,000 people already. He said today's U.N. General Assembly vote, which was 86 yes, 53 no and 42 abstentions, was a dramatic shift from the vote from one year ago, which was 108 yes, 51 no, and 25 abstentions. Because of the circuitous route to adoption in the labyrinth of the U.N., a General Assembly vote such as today's does not automatically mean adoption. Nor does it mean the proposal will disappear. But Sekulow told WND that the change was "huge." The 57 member nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference have lobbied for the plan, which is based on the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, since 1999. The Cairo declaration states "that all rights are subject to Shariah law, and makes Shariah law the only source of reference for human rights." The ACLJ, in promoting its petition to raise awareness of the campaign, said, "The fact is this: The proposal, while purportedly to protect against 'defamation of religions,' is frequently used as a weapon to silence religious minorities, including Christians in many countries. "The resolution actually targets anyone who speaks negatively in any way about Islam. Sharing your faith would become an international crime punishable by imprisonment – or death," the ACLJ said. Fox News religion contributor Lauren Green continued, "But you say, 'That can’t happen,' or 'that would be ludicrous.' The fact is, it's already happening. Christians and other minority religions in predominantly Islamic areas or countries are being persecuted to barbaric levels. Reports from Nairobi, Kenya, say that one aid worker was beheaded in September for converting from Islam to Christianity; the Iranian government has already passed a bill calling for execution on the basis of apostasy (anyone converting from Islam to another religion), and of course we've seen the violence that erupted over the Danish cartoon of the prophet Mohammed." .................. read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
Consumers give thumbs up to fingerprintsConsumers have given the thumbs up to the use of fingerprint scanning as a preferred way of using biometric identification to verify their identities with banks, government agencies and other organisations. Analysis of data collated by Unisys Corp alongside the latest instalment of its bi-annual Security Index concludes that people felt reassured by fingerprint scanning more than any other biometric. Some 67% of consumers surveyed around the globe said they trusted fingerprint scans, which is far higher than any other type of biometric identification method, the company said. To date the technology has made only slow inroads at the enterprise level and is being variously deployed as a replacement for swipe cards in time and attendance applications, to secure entry to hospital wards and airports, and at banking ATMs to verify chip-and-PIN based transactions. But the global market for biometric products is projected to surpass $7 billion by 2012, according to Business Intelligence. One of the key areas for growth is non-automated fingerprint identification biometrics systems, driven by government ID management programmes, criminal ID and surveillance and private sector initiatives such as employee ID. Unisys reported that acceptance of such ID schemes was found to be higher in regions where governments and other organisations already embrace biometrics such as Malaysia and Australia, and in the UK with its proposed national ID card. ......................... read more
3D TV revolution: Sky promises images that leap out of the screenSky is promising to 'blow away' viewers by introducing 3D television to millions of living rooms within the next year. The satellite broadcaster demonstrated the technology this week - showing images shot at rugby and football matches which made the action appear to leap out of the screen. Viewers will need to wear special glasses which allow the brain to process images so that they appear to be in your living room. Gerry O'Sullivan, Sky's product development director, said the proposed service would be piped to the firm's existing high-definition (HD) set-top boxes. 'Lots of people have seen a 3D film - we want to bring that experience into the living room,' he said. 'Everyone who has seen the 3D service has been blown away by it.' Filming in 3D involves using two separate cameras which are placed close together as they mimic the behaviour and alignment of the human eye focusing on the left and right angle of an image. The images are then edited and converted into a 3D picture through a processor. Brian Lenz, the company's head of product design and innovation, added: 'We're just exploring right now but the next step is going to be to find out whether 3DTV is something people are going to be interested in.'......................... read more
The Bill Nobody Noticed: National DNA DatabankIn April of 2008, President Bush signed into law S.1858 which allows the federal government to screen the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. This was to be implemented within 6 months meaning that this collection is now being carried out. Congressman Ron Paul states that this bill is the first step towards the establishment of a national DNA database. S.1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007, is justified as a "national contingency plan" in that it represents preparation for any sort of public health emergency. The bill states that the federal government should "continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in newborn screening" and "maintain a central clearinghouse of current information on newborn screening... ensuring that the clearinghouse is available on the Internet and is updated at least quarterly". Sections of the bill also make it clear that DNA may be used in genetic experiments and tests. Twila Brase, president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care warns that this new law represents the beginning of nationwide genetic testing. Brase states that S.1858 and H.R. 3825, the House version of the bill, will:• Establish a national list of genetic conditions for which newborns and children are to be tested.• Establish protocols for the linking and sharing of genetic test results nationwide.• Build surveillance systems for tracking the health status and health outcomes of individuals diagnosed at birth with a genetic defect or trait.• Use the newborn screening program as an opportunity for government agencies to identify, list, and study "secondary conditions" of individuals and their families.• Subject citizens to genetic research without their knowledge or consent.Brase states that under this bill, "The DNA taken at birth from every citizen is essentially owned by the government, and every citizen becomes a potential subject of government-sponsored genetic research." All 50 states are now routinely providing results of genetic screenings to the Department of Homeland Security and this bill will establish the legality of that practice plus include DNA.. ......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
Obama planning billion-dollar 'bailout' for abortion industryA pro-life group in Washington has launched a campaign to oppose what it calls president-elect Barack Obama's planned $1.5 billion "bailout" of the abortion industry. Last week, the Obama-Biden Transition Project posted a report on its website that calls for dramatic policy reversals on abortion, including $1 billion in taxpayer money for international abortion groups like Planned Parenthood. The report, titled "Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration," also calls for a 133-percent increase in funding for the Title X program, which funds Planned Parenthood clinics across the country. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, is hoping a Republican-led effort in the Senate will block Obama's plan to substantially increase taxpayer funding of the abortion industry. "This billion-dollar bailout of the abortion industry comes at a time, number one, when the economy is suffering dramatically with true need. And number two, it communicates an incredible depth of arrogance, especially when you consider that the vast majority of Americans -- men and women, no matter who you talk to -- they don't believe that people who don't believe in abortion should be funding it," she contends. "Most Americans don't believe that we should be funding abortions, especially in a time of economic crisis." The Susan B. Anthony List has started a "Stop the Abortion Bailout" campaign designed to recruit thousands of activists to send letters to their senators "with the goal of securing the 41 votes necessary to sustain a Senate filibuster of the abortion bailout."................... read more
Poll Finds No Boost in Church Attendance during Economic Crisis While tens of thousands of Americans have been laid off in recent months and religious leaders have blamed corporate greed for the economic crisis, churches have not seen a jump in attendance numbers as many might have expected, according to a new poll. Over the last three months, about 42 percent of Americans reported that they attended church, synagogue, or mosque weekly or almost every week, which the Gallup Poll found to be the same percentage reported earlier in the year. History has shown that a significant crisis usually results in fuller pews, as was seen after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. During this latest crisis of economic challenges, some reports have indicated that houses of worship have drawn larger crowds. But while some churches have seen higher numbers, the recent Gallup Poll found "absolutely no change" in church attendance after reviewing almost 300,000 interviews Gallup conducted throughout this year. Since mid-February, the percentage for church attendance has remained the same – around 42 percent. And the latest poll, conducted Dec. 4-7, showed that only 39 percent said they attended church or synagogue in the last seven days.. ............. read more
State law could bar some registered sex offenders from attending church The Rev. Ben Robertson believes church doors should be open to everyone - even registered sex offenders. Congregations are grappling with a new state law that prohibits certain sex offenders from being within 300 feet of child care centers, which include church nurseries and playgrounds. If worship services are held in close proximity to church child care, the law could prevent some from attending. "As a church that preaches Jesus Christ as our savior, we at the same time preach resurrection and that Christ welcomes all people, regardless of what they have done, regardless of what demons they are dealing with," said Robertson, the rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Gastonia. The father of a 1-year-old girl, Robertson said the church doesn't tolerate child sex abuse. All employees and volunteers undergo sexual misconduct prevention training. "While we welcome all, we are also vigilant of all, especially regarding our children," he said. "If someone is going to try to abuse one of our children, they will be identified and they will be prevented." Included in a batch of tough new laws for North Carolina's registered sex offenders that took effect Dec. 1, the boundary rule applies only to offenders whose victims were under 16. Those affected can't go "within 300 feet of any location intended primarily for the use, care or supervision of minors when the place is located on premises that are not intended primarily for the use, care or supervision of minors." The law provides examples, including children's museums, nurseries and playgrounds located in malls and shopping centers. Churches are not specifically mentioned. Deputy Shane Farmer of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office said more than a dozen sex offenders asked for clarification on the law, fearing it would prevent them from attending church. The Sheriff's Office quizzed the N.C. Department of Justice. "That's the general consensus of the way they're interpreting the law," Farmer said. "If he or she is within 300 feet of that nursery or that day care, then he or she is in violation." Farmer said the Sheriff's Office can't provide sex offenders with specific legal advice, but he makes it clear that the 300-foot law contains no exception for churches. About a fifth of registered sex offenders and a sixth of offenders who haven't been caught attend United States churches, according to Smyna, Tenn.-based Keeping Kids Safe Ministries. The Christian group helps churches safeguard children by setting clear expectations for accountability among attendees who are sex offenders................. read more
Obama’s Pick for Education Secretary Pushed For Gay High SchoolObama’s new pick for Education secretary is Arne Duncan, head of Chicago Public Schools. He’s been pushing for Chicago to start their first gay high school. Not kidding. Obama is going to get a lot of flack over this pick from social conservative groups and it wouldn’t surprise me if Republican Senators raise a fuss about this during his confirmation hearing. Mark my words. Read below from The Chicago Tribune: The Chicago Public Schools' first high school designed for gay, lesbian and transgender teens is among 20 new schools recommended to the school board today by CPS Chief Arne Duncan. The proposed schools range from technology-focused high schools to the School for Social Justice Pride Campus, which officials said would cater to but not focus exclusively on gay youth. Supporters have said the Pride Campus would help students find a safe school environment because studies have shown that gay youth are at a greater risk of dropping out of school and abusing drugs and alcohol, and are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide. A 2003 district survey shows that gay and lesbian youths are three times more likely to miss school because they don't feel safe. Opponents have called the move a misuse of public funds. At a recent public hearing on the proposal, some gay rights advocates have said the move would segregate these students and said the district should work more on fostering acceptance by mainstream students, teachers and other school officials. Look, I know how this will be spun. Some will say this isn’t really a “gay high school.” It’s really more a safe place and an educational environment that will cater towards gays and lesbians. But folks, let’s be real here. It’s a high school for gay students. Plain and simple. While the idea of a gay high school may be troubling for some, the problem for Obama is that a pick like this doesn’t portray him in such a centrist way. It gives the impression that he’s nominating wild liberals to his Cabinet. Arne Duncan may have the total package and be a great Education secretary, but pushing ideas like a gay high school will make social conservatives wonder what he will be pushing next.................. read more
Not Much Behavior Change during Christmas, Survey Finds Dozens of Christian organizations that have been providing social services, ministry and other help inside Russia are being targeted for "liquidation" by the nation's Ministry of Justice, according to a new report. The information comes in a newsletter from a leader with an American Christian organization, Youth With A Mission, who reported he found a declaration recently on the webpage of the Russian Ministry of Justice listing the pending "liquidation" of 56 religious organizations. The American ministry leader was out of the country and unavailable today, but his wife, contacted by WND, explained the pressure on evangelical groups is coming from a combination of resurging Russian hatred for the West, and pressure from Orthodox churches to ban outside organizations. She told WND all of central Asia is seeing an increasing level of persecution of Christians, since there are Muslim majorities in many locations. "Russian authorities definitely want Christians out. They are targeting them," she said. "They are allowing only three-month visas, and then you have to leave. Obviously you can't do long-term ministry there." "Aat least 35 of the 56 listed qualify as Protestant organizations," the newsletter said. "These include the humanitarian 'World Vision' and 'Youth with a Mission." At least six Baptist organizations are listed. These include one established by the Russian branch of the 'Billy Graham Evangelistic Association' and three regional districts of the 'Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists,'" he said. "Apparently; several entire churches are up for liquidation, including the 'Union of Churches of Presbyterian Christians' and the 'Assemblies of God.' Even the 26-congregation-strong 'Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians' is scheduled for elimination," the newsletter said.................. read more

Verse of the Week!

2008-12-12T08:08:00.001-08:00

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”- Galatians 4:4-5

Prophecy News Watch Headlines - December 11

2008-12-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

1. Where is the United States in Prophecy?
And now for a world governmentI have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible. A “world government” would involve much more than co-operation between nations. It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body of laws. The European Union has already set up a continental government for 27 countries, which could be a model. The EU has a supreme court, a currency, thousands of pages of law, a large civil service and the ability to deploy military force.So could the European model go global? There are three reasons for thinking that it might. First, it is increasingly clear that the most difficult issues facing national governments are international in nature: there is global warming, a global financial crisis and a “global war on terror”. Second, it could be done. The transport and communications revolutions have shrunk the world so that, as Geoffrey Blainey, an eminent Australian historian, has written: “For the first time in human history, world government of some sort is now possible.” Mr Blainey foresees an attempt to form a world government at some point in the next two centuries, which is an unusually long time horizon for the average newspaper column. But – the third point – a change in the political atmosphere suggests that “global governance” could come much sooner than that. The financial crisis and climate change are pushing national governments towards global solutions, even in countries such as China and the US that are traditionally fierce guardians of national sovereignty. Barack Obama, America’s president-in-waiting, does not share the Bush administration’s disdain for international agreements and treaties. In his book, The Audacity of Hope, he argued that: “When the world’s sole superpower willingly restrains its power and abides by internationally agreed-upon standards of conduct, it sends a message that these are rules worth following.” The importance that Mr Obama attaches to the UN is shown by the fact that he has appointed Susan rice, one of his closest aides, as America’s ambassador to the UN, and given her a seat in the cabinet. A taste of the ideas doing the rounds in Obama circles is offered by a recent report from the Managing Global Insecurity project, whose small US advisory group includes John Podesta, the man heading Mr Obama’s transition team and Strobe Talbott, the president of the Brookings Institution, from which Ms Rice has just emerged. The MGI report argues for the creation of a UN high commissioner for counter-terrorist activity, a legally binding climate-change agreement negotiated under the auspices of the UN and the creation of a 50,000-strong UN peacekeeping force. Once countries had pledged troops to this reserve army, the UN would have first call upon them. These are the kind of ideas that get people reaching for their rifles in America’s talk-radio heartland. .................. read more
Terrorists Look West for New RecruitsThe deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai are raising many questions about the safety of Americans here and abroad. It is clear that al Qaeda and its allies are still plotting against the U.S. and other democratic nations. And they're turning to some fresh recruits to help make it happen. The overwhelming majority of Islamic terrorist attacks over the past 30 years have been carried out by young men of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, leading Western authorities to pay closer attention to these particular groups while assessing possible terrorists. Al Qaeda and other terror groups are well aware of this profile and are looking to adapt. Among their newer tactics is the use of women and even the mentally handicapped as suicide bombers. But the most common untraditional jihadist to emerge is the white convert to radical Islam. At first glance, these pale-skinned jihadists of European descent can pass for the average small town guy-next-door. And that's exactly the point. Intelligence experts see this as an emerging trend: white converts being transformed into soldiers of jihad--and working to destroy a country from within. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is a terrorism analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington. "Having operatives from the societies you are trying to strike is extremely beneficial," he said. "They're much less prone to being caught and being disrupted," Gartenstein-Ross explained. "And I do think we'll see more of an attempt to use them." Gartenstein-Ross has studied homegrown Islamic terrorism closely. "Even though most Western governments have the position that they don't profile, al Qaeda doesn't believe that," he said. "They want people who have passports, who have Western passports, who understand Western society, and therefore have a much easier job of blending in and going wherever they need to go to carry out their mission." Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Romania, Russia and Australia have all seen white converts convicted in recent years for their involvement in major terrorist plots. For example, the 2006 plot to blow up 10 transatlantic airliners traveling from Britain to the U.S. involved two white British converts. In 2007, a major plot to strike Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany involved white German converts. Perhaps most disturbingly, the U.S. military stepped up its drone missile strikes in the tribal regions of Pakistan earlier this year after seeing white jihadists at terrorist training camps there. The fear was that the men would return to the West and carry out attacks inside the United States prior to the November presidential election.................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece
New Israeli radar to pinpoint rocket launchers in preparation for conflict with HamasWith an eye to a future conflict with Hamas and Hizbullah, the IDF's Artillery Corps is preparing to integrate a new radar system that will help locate and destroy rocket launchers more quickly than ever before, Chief Artillery Officer Brig.-Gen. Michel Ben-Baruch has told The Jerusalem Post. The radar will be operational within a few months. Under production by Elta Systems - a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries - the new radar will be able to provide artillery cannons with a 360-degree view of a battlefield and detect the exact location of rocket launchers. The location will then be transmitted digitally to the cannons or rocket systems deployed nearby, which will be able to fire at the launchers and destroy them. "There is no radar like this in the world," Ben-Baruch told the Post. "It can pinpoint the location of the launch and then find the range the cannons will need to aim at to fire."................... read more
Gaza Jihad: Calm before the StormMembers of Islamic Jihad may be driven by hate for Israel and the US, but there's an element of respect as they train for war. Israeli Defense Ministry officials know that Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip are continually upgrading their capabilities and threat to Israel. They also know that Iran is providing the lion's share of funding and weaponry to these groups. "It [Islamic Jihad] is a very good client from the Iranian point of view because it's completely in the pocket of the Iranians, completely financed and run by the Iranians," Israeli Middle East analyst Jonathan Spyer told CBN News. "What we're seeing as a result of the [six-month] cease-fire is that you're having more and more Palestinian operatives -- not only from Islamic Jihad, but from other groups too -- going out of Gaza via the southern tunnels into Sinai and then going and taking part in training activities facilitated by the Revolutionary Guards in Iran," Spyer said. Islamic Jihad terrorists are amassing an upgraded weapons cache, which includes heavier and more powerful roadside bombs meant to target tanks and heavy machinery weighing more than 60 tons. The deadly, 175-pound bombs can penetrate nearly a foot of armored steel. Iran has also equipped Islamic Jihad with longer-range rockets, dubbed "Jerusalem rockets," which can target populations five to seven miles away. Rockets now reach the coastal city of Ashkelon and will soon threaten areas not far from Tel Aviv, and they're working on extending the range from 11 to 13 miles. While the world presses Israel for an illusive two-state solution for Arabs and Jews, the jihadists embrace no such vision. To them, all the land from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Jordan River is an Islamic Waqf [religious trust], and the Zionist enemy [Israel] must find itself a different place to exist.................... read more
Netanyahu on course for Israeli election win -pollsBenjamin Netanyahu could coast to victory in Israel's election two months from now, opinion polls showed on Wednesday, and he plans to take a detour on what Palestinians had hoped would be a U.S.-paved road to statehood. Economic proposals could yield dividends for the former prime minister and head of the right-wing Likud party -- tipped to take up to 36 seats in the 120-member legislature in the Feb. 10 ballot, more than enough to form a ruling coalition. Netanyahu's widely praised stint as finance minister in 2003 to 2005, when he pushed free market reforms that spurred growth, could translate into votes in a contest coinciding with the global downturn affecting Israel, his advisers believe. Israelis will be asking: "Who can manage the Israeli economy in times of crisis?" one said. But his strategists acknowledge that Palestinians are likely to be reluctant, at least publicly, to embrace a Netanyahu proposal to focus U.S.-led peace efforts on bolstering their frail economy rather than on a statehood deal any time soon. The former front-runner in the Israeli electoral race, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the centrist Kadima party, has been Israel's chief negotiator in talks with the Palestinians that Washington had hoped would result in a deal this year. Wide differences remain over issues at the core of the conflict such as the future of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. A Netanyahu adviser said "Bibi" wants the United States, Israel and Palestinians "off a track that's not going anywhere"..................... read more
Israelis and Palestinians reach secret peace deal, says BlairInternational Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair told the largest Palestinian newspaper this week that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas have reached a unsigned secret peace agreement. Blair was quoted by the Jerusalem-based daily Al Quds as saying that "continuous meetings between Abbas and Olmert...have produced an agreement," though he said he would abide by an decision by both leaders to keep the details of the agreement secret for the time being. The agreement remains unsigned because Israeli law forbids Olmert to make significant policy changes or decisions while he is head of a transition government. However, anything Olmert and Abbas agreed to will be expected by the international community to form the basis for peace negotiations going forward, regardless of who wins Israel's upcoming general election.................... read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Report: Iran rocket arsenal tripled in 2008In a sign that Iran is taking military measures to ward off the threat of an attack on its nuclear facilities, the country has tripled the number of long-range rockets in its arsenal, Channel 10 reported on Monday. According to the report, Iran possessed 30 Shihab-3 missiles at the beginning of 2008. Currently, the country claims to have over 100 over long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel. While the ability of the Islamic Republic to strike any point in Israel has long been known, this latest build-up potentially points to an Iranian intent to launch a protracted counter-strike against those who seek to destroy its nuclear program. Last summer, Iran held a massive missile exercise during which it claimed to have launched an improved version of the Shihab-3, known to have a range of 1,300 kilometers. The Iranian Fars News Agency Web site reported that the Shihab-3 had recently been equipped with an advanced guidance system that significantly improves the missile's accuracy and can correct its flight plan in midair.. ................. read more
Russia's Putin hints at 2012 return to KremlinRussian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has hinted that he may return to his old job in the Kremlin, but not before his ally President Dmitry Medvedev's term expires in 2012. Asked by a reporter whether he would rule out returning to the presidency next year, Putin said: "The next elections in the Russian Federation are in 2012 ... we will have to get through to that time, then we will see." Medvedev prompted speculation about an early Putin return to the Kremlin last month when he unexpectedly proposed lengthening the presidential term to six years. The move, widely seen as intended to benefit Putin, was rushed through parliament. But Putin told reporters he was satisfied with the "tandem" style of government. This has seen the two men collaborating closely, albeit with Putin perceived to hold the upper hand. "We have formed a very effective tandem with President Medvedev," Putin said. .................. read more
5. Apostate Christianity
Liberal Episcopals vote for more homosexual clergyThe Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has joined seven other dioceses in passing a resolution asking the church to let lesbians as well as homosexual men become bishops. The vote at the diocesan convention rejected the Episcopal Church’s de facto moratorium on electing homosexual bishops since its 2003 consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who lives with his same-sex partner. The resolution will be considered at the Episcopal Church’s national convention next July. The Los Angeles diocese also expressed support for homosexual "marriage" with the creation of the "Sacramental Blessing for a Life-long Covenant.".............. read more
6. The Rise of Islam
Iraq To Be Center Of New EU-Style Middle East Union Of Muslim Nations?Iraq has unveiled plans for the creation of a regional economic and security union for the Middle East explicitly modelled on the European Union. Official government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh announced the proposal on Tuesday in Washington at the Institute of Peace, a US government-linked think-tank, saying that talks on the plan with the country's neighbours were already underway. Mr al-Dabbagh said there was "great interest" in the project, according to AFP. Informal discussions on "Regional Economic Partnership" have reportedly been launched with Kuwait, Syria and Turkey, though not yet Iran. The aim would also to be to bring on board Jordan and Saudi Arabia and - in a subsequent phase - the Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, but not Israel. "The new Iraq could convert the region into the EU model," the UK's Daily Telegraph quotes the Iraqi official as saying at the meeting. "Iraq is going to play a major stabilising factor," he added. Iraq sees a "necessity for regional security and economic co-operation," Mr al-Dabbagh said. The proposal is the latest in a long line of regional groupings modelled on the European Union. The African Union, a confederation of 53 African states was established in 2002, growing out of the earlier Organisation of African Unity. The grouping is still at the very earliest stages of approaching anything like the EU's level of joint governance and integration.. ................ read more
Obama plans major address in Islamic capitalPresident-elect Barack Obama plans to give "a major address" in an Islamic capital soon after taking office as he seeks to mend America's image in the Muslim world, a Chicago Tribune interview said. "I think we've got a unique opportunity to reboot America's image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular," Obama said in the interview published late Tuesday on the Tribune's website. Obama promised an "unrelenting" desire to "create a relationship of mutual respect and partnership in countries and with peoples of good will who want their citizens and ours to prosper together." The world "is ready for that message." Obama also said he would be sworn on January 20 using his full name, Barack Hussein Obama. During the presidential campaign, some of Obama's political opponents would refer to his middle name in an attempt to portray him as a secret Muslim. But the Christian president-elect said he would follow tradition for the inauguration ceremony. "I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition," Obama told the paper. "I'm not trying to make a statement one way or another. I'll do what everybody else does.".. .................. read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
Cyber cops on their way? Obama urged to establish new office for regulating InternetA panel of web experts from government, private and the military sectors released a report yesterday urging the next president to establish a new office of cyberspace security and begin federal regulation of the Internet. The report, "Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency," from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank established during the Cold War, alleges the Department of Homeland Security has failed to secure the Internet and new measures are needed – despite inevitable concerns about online privacy – to keep America safe. "We still have an industrial-age government that was organized a century ago," said Jim Lewis, one of CSIS's directors, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. "The DHS has a 1970s-style solution to a 21st century problem." "The United States must treat cybersecurity as one of the most important national security challenges it faces," the CSIS panel asserts in its report. "This is a strategic issue on par with weapons of mass destruction and global jihad." To back its claim, the panel cites a litany of cybersecurity breaches that it claims hit sensitive areas in 2007 alone: "The unclassified e-mail of the secretary of defense was hacked, and DOD officials told us that the department's computers are probed hundreds of thousands of times each day," the panel reports. "A senior official at the Department of State told us the department had lost 'terabytes' of information. Homeland Security suffered break-ins in several of its divisions, including the Transportation Security Agency. The Department of Commerce was forced to take the Bureau of Industry and Security off-line for several months, and NASA has had to impose e-mail restrictions before shuttle launches and allegedly has seen designs for new launchers compromised. "Recently the White House itself had to deal with unidentifiable intrusions in its networks," the report continues. "Senior representatives from the intelligence community told us that they had conclusive evidence, covertly obtained from foreign sources, that U.S. companies have lost billions in intellectual property." To counter the reported attacks, the panel recommends steps that, by the CSIS' own admission, may raise privacy concerns for American citizens. While acknowledging the benefit of online anonymity, the report nonetheless contends there must be better systems in place to authenticate Internet users' digital identities. "Creating the ability to know reliably what person or device is sending a particular data stream in cyberspace," the panel states, "must be part of an effective cybersecurity strategy." ......................... read more
The GPS as dashboard snitch In their cocoons of leather upholstery, soothing high-tech sound systems, and automatically activated personal seat settings, drivers have come to regard their car interiors as mobile extensions of the homes that are their private refuges. The courts have tended to disagree. Global positioning systems and factory-installed “black box” event data recorders effectively keep late-model vehicles under surveillance 24/7, providing evidence that can place a suspect at a crime scene, undermine an alibi, expose a cheating spouse, or prove liability in an accident. Although privacy rights advocates warn that the devices augment an already intrusive network of security cameras, speed-monitoring radars, and instantly available databases, police and prosecutors hail the technologies as powerful investigative and forensic tools. GPS tracking records introduced at trial put a Yolo County, Calif., man at the scene of arson fires, leading to his conviction in October for setting a dozen blazes in 2006. A Commerce, Calif., man suspected of robbery was tracked by police detectives who planted a GPS unit in his car, mapping his movements and using the evidence to convince a jury he was guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. The evidence is sometimes the product of unwitting self-surveillance. GPS units keep positioning tracks that, if not erased, create a record of a person’s movements. Event data recorders are standard equipment in most new cars. They record speed, braking, signaling, and other driving behaviors, and can show investigators vital details about what led to a crash. Wisconsin attorney David A. Schumann, who did some of the earliest legal analysis of GPS potential, points out its usefulness in tracking suspects, locating victims, and monitoring released convicts. “There are cases where people have gotten hung by their own GPS, bought for purposes of evading the law only to have it used against them,” Mr. Schumann says of drug traffickers and migrant smugglers caught with evidence they unknowingly gathered against themselves. In the privacy debate, courts so far have come down on the side of taking advantage of the crime-solving value of the technologies. The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a landmark ruling last year that GPS tracking of a suspected methamphetamine manufacturer didn’t constitute unreasonable search or seizure as proscribed by the Fourth Amendment. In “It’s Already Public: Why Federal Officers Should Not Need Warrants to Use GPS Vehicle-Tracking Devices,” attorney John S. Ganz wrote in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology three years ago that since 1967, courts consistently have upheld that citizens can’t expect privacy when traveling on public roads......................... read more
Scientists develop software that can map dreams A team of Japanese scientists have created a device that enables the processing and imaging of thoughts and dreams as experienced in the brain to appear on a computer screen. While researchers have so far only created technology that can reproduce simple images from the brain, the discovery paves the way for the ability to unlock people's dreams and other brain processes. A spokesman at ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories said: "It was the first time in the world that it was possible to visualise what people see directly from the brain activity. "By applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams." The scientists, lead by chief researcher Yukiyaso Kamitani, focused on the image recognition procedures in the retina of the human eye. It is while looking at an object that the eye's retina is able to recognise an image, which is subsequently converted into electrical signals sent into the brain's visual cortex. The research investigated how electrical signals are captured and reconstructed into images, according to the study, which will be published in the US journal Neuron. Dreams were the focus of a scientific survey conducted by the Telegraph last year in which it was concluded that dreams were more likely to be shaped by events of the past week than childhood traumas. ......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
Bush Not A Bible Literalist; Talks of Belief in God President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution. In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son. Asked about creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can — you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution." He added, "I happen to believe that evolution doesn't fully explain the mystery of life." Interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked Bush if the Bible was literally true. "You know. Probably not. ... No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament for example is ... has got ... You know, the important lesson is 'God sent a son,'" Bush said. "It is hard for me to justify or prove the mystery of the Almighty in my life," he said. "All I can just tell you is that I got back into religion and I quit drinking shortly thereafter and I asked for help. ... I was a one-step program guy." The president also said that he prays to the same God as those with different religious beliefs.................... read more
Media Misconceptions on Bible, Homosexuality In the aftermath of the passage of California's Proposition 8, Newsweek and Hollywood are the latest players to launch their attacks on traditional marriage supporters and the biblical case against homosexuality. And Christians are taking issue with the misconceptions, factual errors and holes in the arguments being presented in popular public spheres. "It doesn’t surprise me. Newsweek has been so far in the tank on the homosexual issue, for so long, they need scuba gear and breathing apparatus," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, according to Politico. "I don’t think it’s going to change the minds of anyone who takes biblical teachings seriously." Land's comments were directed at Newsweek's current cover story, "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage," written by religion editor Lisa Miller. In the story, Miller says "examples of 'the traditional family' are scarcely to be found" in the Old Testament and that the Bible does not explicitly define marriage as between one man and one woman. She further argues that the modern married couple would not look to the Bible as a guide while citing polygamy in the Old Testament. "Religious objections to gay marriage are rooted not in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition," Miller writes. "The Bible was written for a world so unlike our own, it’s impossible to apply its rules, at face value, to ours." Rejecting Miller's arguments, Land said the Bible clearly prescribes marriage as heterosexual, citing passages in Genesis, where God pairs Adam and Eve, and Ephesians in the New Testament when the apostle Paul compares the relationship between husband and wife to the relationship between Jesus and the Church, according to Politico. Newsweek's story reflects the confusion that many people have regarding Scripture and homosexuality. And the media isn't the only one to blame for it. "Part of that confusion is skillful misrepresentation, and part of it is the failure of the church to faithfully and diligently promote biblical apologetics and exegesis," according to Bob Stith, who heads the Ministry to Homosexuals Task Force in the Southern Baptist Convention.. ............. read more
Survey: 9 in 10 Americans Believe in Miracles Nearly 9 in 10 Americans believe miracles have occurred in the past and can still occur today, according to a new national survey. While only 48 percent of those surveyed by N.J.-based HCD Research said miracle stories presented in religious texts should be taken as literally true, 86 percent said they believe that miracles have occurred in the past and 85 percent believe that they can occur today. The new survey also found a slight majority (56 percent) of Americans claimed to have seen situations and circumstances with themselves, friends and/or family members which they consider to be “miraculous” or “unexplainable by science.” “Modern people believe in miracles, but only more subtle ones,” commented the Rev. John McNeil, a Methodist minister and a blogger for HCD Research’s website MediaCurves.com. “Perhaps many of us believe in divine interventions about attitudes and other psychological states, but not in large changes of matter,” he explained Tuesday – one day after the survey’s results were released. “Thus prayers for a friend to have hope or courage seem plausible, but prayers for a family member to re-grow a limb or be cured of a fast-progressing fatal illness seem pointless.” When asked how much of the outcome of medical or surgical treatment they believe is related to forces totally outside of human control, 55 percent of responders said either very little or none of the outcome should be attributed to non-human forces such as the supernatural or "acts of God." Only 45 percent said either all or most of medical outcomes are influenced by non-human forces. Still, 76 percent of responders said they pray for individual friends and family members and 71 percent encourage family and friends to pray................. read more
Protecting Baby Jesus with GPSWhen Baby Jesus disappeared last year from a Nativity scene on the lawn of the Wellington, Fla., community center, village officials didn't follow a star to locate him. A GPS device mounted inside the life-size ceramic figurine led sheriff's deputies to a nearby apartment, where it was found face down on the carpet. An 18-year-old woman was arrested in the theft. Giving up on old-fashioned padlocks and trust, a number of churches, synagogues, governments and ordinary citizens are turning to technology to protect holiday displays from pranks or prejudice. About 70 churches and synagogues eager to avoid the December police blotter jumped at a security company's offer of free use of GPS systems and hidden cameras this month to guard their mangers and menorahs. Others, like the Herrera family of Richland Hills, Texas, took matters into their own hands. Upset after their teeter-totter was stolen, the family trained surveillance cameras on their yard and was surprised when footage showed a teenage girl stealing a baby Jesus worth almost $500. Police have obtained the tape. For two consecutive years, thieves made off with the baby Jesus figurine in Wellington, a well-off village of 60,000 in Palm Beach County, Fla. The ceramic original, donated by a local merchant, was made in Italy and worth about $1,800, said John Bonde, Wellington's director of operations. So last year, officials took a GPS unit normally used to track the application of mosquito spray and implanted it in the latest replacement figurine. After that one disappeared, sheriff's deputies quickly tracked it down. Sensing opportunity in that kind of success story, New York-based BrickHouse Security is offering up to 200 nonprofit religious institutions a free month's use of security cameras and LightningGPS products it distributes................. read more
Russia plans 'liquidation' of Christian ministriesDozens of Christian organizations that have been providing social services, ministry and other help inside Russia are being targeted for "liquidation" by the nation's Ministry of Justice, according to a new report. The information comes in a newsletter from a leader with an American Christian organization, Youth With A Mission, who reported he found a declaration recently on the webpage of the Russian Ministry of Justice listing the pending "liquidation" of 56 religious organizations. The American ministry leader was out of the country and unavailable today, but his wife, contacted by WND, explained the pressure on evangelical groups is coming from a combination of resurging Russian hatred for the West, and pressure from Orthodox churches to ban outside organizations. She told WND all of central Asia is seeing an increasing level of persecution of Christians, since there are Muslim majorities in many locations. "Russian authorities definitely want Christians out. They are targeting them," she said. "They are allowing only three-month visas, and then you have to leave. Obviously you can't do long-term ministry there." "Aat least 35 of the 56 listed qualify as Protestant organizations," the newsletter said. "These include the humanitarian 'World Vision' and 'Youth with a Mission." At least six Baptist organizations are listed. These include one established by the Russian branch of the 'Billy Graham Evangelistic Association' and three regional districts of the 'Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists,'" he said. "Apparently; several entire churches are up for liquidation, including the 'Union of Churches of Presbyterian Christians' and the 'Assemblies of God.' Even the 26-congregation-strong 'Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians' is scheduled for elimination," the newsletter said.................. read more

You Tube Video of the Week!

2008-12-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZAgT8KOLF8

Revelation

2008-12-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

"Give me a revelation, show me what to do, I've been tryin to find my way, I haven't got a clue. Show me should I stay here, do I need to move, give me a revelation, I've got nothin left to lose, I've got nothing without you"-Third Day

And once you lose yourself, you have two choices: find the person you used to be...or lose that person completely. -S.C.

I've been looking for answers to all the wrong questions. Thanks to a friend I found the question that I've needed to ask myself for the past 2 and a half years. Can't move forward until you remember who you were. I became someone else for so long I almost lost myself. Now that I am begining to remember I'm finally at peace and have a new direction. First England, then the skies the limit. Finally set free; no more confusion or weirdness or frustration or impatience with where I'm at. God it feels good. Praise God!

Verse of the week!

2008-12-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”- John 10:14-15

Prophecy News Watch Headlines - December 03

2008-12-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

1. Where is the United States in Prophecy?
Preparing For Domestic Trouble - Pentagon To Deploy 20,000 Troops Inside USAThe U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials. The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said. There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement. But the Bush administration and some in Congress have pushed for a heightened homeland military role since the middle of this decade, saying the greatest domestic threat is terrorists exploiting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, dedicating 20,000 troops to domestic response -- a nearly sevenfold increase in five years -- "would have been extraordinary to the point of unbelievable," Paul McHale, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense, said in remarks last month at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But the realization that civilian authorities may be overwhelmed in a catastrophe prompted "a fundamental change in military culture," he said.................. read more
Nuclear or Bioterror Attack on U.S. Likely by 2013, Panel Warns Terrorists are likely to attack the United States using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study being briefed Tuesday to Vice President-elect Joe Biden. It suggests the Obama administration bolster efforts to counter and prepare for germ warfare by terrorists. "Our margin of safety is shrinking, not growing," states the report, obtained by FOX News. It is scheduled to be publicly released Wednesday. The report of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism acknowledges that terrorist groups still lack the needed scientific and technical ability to make weapons out of pathogens or nuclear bombs. But it warns that gap can be easily overcome, if terrorists find scientists willing to share or sell their know-how. "The United States should be less concerned that terrorists will become biologists and far more concerned that biologists will become terrorists," the report states. The commission believes biological weapons are more likely to be obtained and used before nuclear or radioactive weapons because nuclear facilities are more carefully guarded. Civilian laboratories with potentially dangerous pathogens abound, however, and could easily be compromised. Study chairman Graham said anthrax remains the most likely biological weapon. However, he told the AP that contagious diseases — like the flu strain that killed 40 million at the beginning of the 20th century — are looming threats. That virus has been recreated in scientific labs, and there remains no inoculation to protect against it if is stolen and released. Graham said the threat of a terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons is growing "not because we have not done positive things but because adversaries are moving at an even faster pace to increase their access" to those materials................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece
International presence expected to be part of any final peace dealIsraelis have traditionally scorned the idea of international peacekeepers intruding in their region. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion once famously dismissed the U.N.—pronounced "Oom" in Hebrew—as "Oom, schmoom." Arab leaders have also shown disdain: on the eve of the 1967 Six Day War, for example, Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser peremptorily expelled 1,300 blue helmets from Sinai before rolling through. And Palestinians have feared that allowing an armed international force into their territory would infringe on the sovereignty of their incipient state. It's therefore striking that a recent proposal to deploy NATO forces in the West Bank as part of an Obama peace deal is quickly gaining advocates in both Washington and the Levant. Former U.S. national-security advisers Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski both recently endorsed the idea. The president-elect's nominee to head the National Security Council, Gen. James Jones—a former NATO supreme commander—is also said to favor such a force. Israelis and Palestinians have raised tepid protests, but even they seem to be realizing increasingly that a strong international presence will be critical if any deal is to be struck—and if it's to stick. "A principle that appeared to be out of bounds I think is now in bounds," says Tony Blair, the Mideast envoy of the Quartet (made up of the United States, the EU, the U.N. and Russia)................... read more
U.S. leaned on Israel not to invade Gaza during economic crisis Israel came under what officials described as U.S. pressure to maintain restraint in face of Hamas missile strikes from the Gaza Strip. Officials said the administration of President George Bush sent several messages to Israel over the past two weeks that warned against a military invasion of the Gaza Strip. They said Bush relayed such a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during the latter's visit to Washington in late November. "The White House does not want to spend its last days fighting fires in the Middle East, especially our part of the region," an official said. "The administration has told us that it wants to focus on saving the U.S. economy." Officials said U.S. pressure on Israel was the primary reason that the military has been prevented from a major ground operation in the Gaza Strip. They said Olmert and his ministers were concerned that any major Israeli operation would anger Bush and harm relations with the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama. On Nov. 29, the Hamas regime escalated missile and mortar attacks on Israel. In one salvo, eight Israeli soldiers were injured in a mortar strike on a military base along the Gaza Strip. "There's no doubt we're getting closer to a wide-scale operation in the Gaza Strip, but it will be different from what took place in the past," Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said. "But we must find the right time for an operation."................... read more
Exposed: Europe's 2009 plan for IsraelThe European Union, which has been trying for decades to shoulder its way into playing a more important role in the global effort to establish a new Muslim Arab state on historically Jewish lands, is reportedly poised to unveil its latest plan for achieving this unprecedented act of state land theft. Drafted by the French foreign ministry and entitled "The EU Action Strategy for Peace in the Middle East: The Way Forward," the scheme on the agenda for discussion when the EU's foreign ministers meet in the second week of December. Describing it as "the EU's plans for advancing an Israeli-Palestinian deal in 2009," Ha'aretz said initial reaction among Israel' officials has been one of "alarm." "Inter alia, it calls for increased pressure on Israel to reopen Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, including Orient House, which formerly served as the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in the city," the paper said, and which gave the Arabs a strategic foot in what Israel calls its "eternal and undivided capital." A central demand of the Arab world is that the central and most important parts of Jerusalem - with the Temple Mount, Israel's holiest site, at the top of the list - be included in a Palestinian state. States the EU plan: "A key part of building the Palestinian state involves resolving the status of Jerusalem, as the future capital of two states. Therefore the EU will work actively towards the re-opening of the Palestinian institutions, including the Orient House." Apart from this , a variety of other steps are proposed which the EU should pursue next year to push forward diplomatic efforts between Israel and both the Palestinian Arabs and Syria.................... read more
Is 'Operation Israeli Freedom' the Obama mettle test?While the Gentile leaders consider their economic imprisonment and ponder the possibility that a "global society" may be the only way to post bail, the Jews find themselves helplessly stuck between the proverbial rock and the familiar anti-Semitic hard place. Surrounded by ancient Arab and Persian enemies that want to destroy their fledgling Jewish state and a world spun out of financial orbit, Israel's desperate pleadings once again fall upon deaf international ears. What is on the prophetic horizon for this peculiar "Chosen People" that long ago proudly paraded about in the Promised Land? Have they survived a history riddled with genocidal attempts only to square off with a future filled with more of the same? In this post-Sept. 11 era, whereby the world wonders if the new American president is the Messiah, as Louis Farrakhan has previously suggested, or the Antichrist, as the article posted in the Nov. 15, Newsweek edition asked, the temperament of humanity has risen to fever pitch. Even the newly elected vice president, Joe Biden, chimed into the apocalyptic rhetoric on Oct. 20 when he said, "Mark my words" "gird your loins" "a generated crisis" is coming "within six months" that will "test the mettle" of an Obama presidency. He subsequently suggested that among the possible mettle-testing scenarios might be a serious conflict in the Middle East. Could he be referring to a strategic pre-emptive Israeli air strike upon Iran's nuclear facilities? The Jerusalem Post reports on Nov. 18 that according to the Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, Israel is ready, willing and able to strike Iran's nuclear facilities upon political command. To complicate matters Fox News Channel reported two days later that Iran has produced enough uranium to create at least one atomic bomb. This report did little to dispel the widely held concerns in Israel that by February 2009, Iran will have assembled its first nuclear weapon..................... read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Russia to upgrade missiles to evade US space armsRussia's military is planning to upgrade its missiles to allow them to evade American weapons in space and penetrate any prospective missile shield, a Russian general said Monday. In comments to the Interfax news agency, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces chief, Col.-Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, as saying that Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles will be modernized to protect them from space-based components of the U.S. missile defense system. The upgrade will make the missiles' warheads capable of flying "outside the range" of the space-based system, Solovtsov was quoted as saying. He didn't elaborate, but Russian officials have previously boasted about prospective new warheads capable of making sharp maneuvers to dodge missile defense systems. Solovtsov also reportedly said the military will commission new RS-24 missiles equipped with state-of-the-art systems to help penetrate a missile shield. He did not specify that Moscow intended to penetrate a U.S. missile shield, but the Kremlin has fiercely opposed the U.S. plan to deploy a battery of 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a related radar in the Czech Republic. Reflecting Russia's suspicions about U.S. intentions, Solovtsov alleged Monday that the U.S. is considering the scenario of a first nuclear strike that would destroy most Russian missiles. A few surviving Russian weapons launched in retaliation could then be destroyed by the U.S. missile defense system. ................. read more
Iran launches massive naval maneuver Iran launched a large-scale, six-day naval maneuver in the Sea of Oman on Tuesday, the official news agency reported. About 60 warships were set to participate in the maneuver, which will cover 129,500-sq. kilometers of Iranian territorial waters, the agency, IRNA, said. This type of "maneuver has been rare in the past 30 years both in its size and commissioning of new weapons," IRNA quoted the maneuver's spokesman, Adm. Ghasem Rostamabadi, as saying. Aircraft from Iran's air force will also participate in the war game, dubbed "Unity-87" in reference to the current year 1387 in the traditional Persian calendar. Iran regularly holds war games in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Linking the two bodies of water is the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where 40 percent of the world's oil passes through. Teheran has repeatedly warned that it would close the narrow strait if the US or Israel attacked it over Teheran's disputed nuclear program. In October, Iran's navy inaugurated a new naval base on the eastern part of the Strait in the port town of Jask. Ephraim Sneh, leader of the new Israel Hazaka party and former deputy defense minister said "Iran's unprecedented naval activity is actually a preparatory drill to taking over the Gulf and the world's most important oil route.................. read more
Iran to supply guns to Israel's neighbor Lebanon asked the U.S. for $800 million in financial help years ago to upgrade its army weaponry and reduce the Hezbollah terror group's need for guns, but the funds never came through and now the nation has signed a five-year pact with Iran, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The development will give Iran greater influence over the neighbor to Israel, just the opposite of what U.S. policy would have sought. Under the security agreement, signed during the visit of Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to Tehran in late November, Iran will supply the Lebanese army with weapons and equipment over the next five years. The agreement also calls for an exchange of visits between the two countries at the ministerial level. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad already has promised to visit Beirut in the near future. Under the pact's terms, weapons are to include "defensive strategic systems" which, according to Iran, include missiles. The security pact increases Iran's influence over Lebanon, given its close ties and support for Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah. From Iran, the Hezbollah has obtained some 42,000 missiles and rockets, many of which are capable of reaching neighboring Israel. Since its summer 2006 war with Israel, the Hezbollah reportedly has tripled its military capability. ................. read more
5. Apostate Christianity
Religious leaders condemn re-written songs for anti-Israel carols in churchLeading members of Britain’s Jewish and Christian communities have condemned a prominent Anglican church for holding a service where traditional carols were rewritten to attack Israel. The Rector of St James’s Piccadilly, the Rev Charles Hedley, said that he would think twice before allowing the service to take place in his church again after he received dozens of complaints. The offices of Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Carey of Clifton, his predecessor, are among those who have criticised the service. The event was organised by anti-Israel campaigners, including one Jewish group, and featured carols that had been rewritten by an unnamed Jewish parody writer. The Twelve Days of Christmas was sung as: “Twelve assassinations/ Eleven homes demolished/ Ten wells obstructed/ Nine sniper towers/ Eight gunships firing/ Seven checkpoints blocking/ Six tanks a-rolling/ Five settlement rings/ Four falling bombs/ Three trench guns/ Two trampled doves/ And an uprooted olive tree.”............... read more
Emergent church leader says 'gay' can be biblical lifestyleOne of the key leaders of today's most cutting-edge church movement has opened an Internet discussion on the issue of same-sex marriage with the bold proclamation that he believes "gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and queer" individuals can and should live out their sexuality in – and blessed by – the Christian church. "I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (as least as much as any of us can!)," writes author and church leader Tony Jones, "and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state." Jones is an author and former youth pastor who holds a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is also the national coordinator of Emergent Village, a loosely-formed friendship of churches that derive their descriptive name from having "emerged" from postmodernism to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into a post-Christian culture. The "Emergent Church," as these mostly young, community- and mission-driven congregations are collectively known, is criticized by some for being "theologically liberal," praised by others as the best hope for passing the torch of Christianity to future generations. In his "The New Christians" blog, Jones opens up a discussion and debate on the issue of homosexuality with his readers and with a fellow theologian/blogger, a self-described political conservative, Rod Dreher. Jones acknowledges that detractors against the somewhat nebulous and hard-to-define Emergent churches will pick up on his statement and repeat a common refrain of criticism. "'Aha!' my critics will laugh derisively, 'I knew he and his ilk were on a continuous leftward slide!'" Jones admits. Some of the comments show he was correct in his prediction. "So, your statement is that you believe this. ... Why do you believe it? Because it seems right to you?" asks a respondent identified as Michael C. "I suppose if you re-define Biblical Christianity to mean: whatever I believe is biblical Christianity, and there is no outside authority to judge it – then yes it can be in accord. If however you mean biblical Christianity as judged by the Bible, then no it cannot be in accord," Michael C. writes. "I'm sorry to say but these arguments that I've heard from the Emergent movement seem to rely a whole lot more pleading and a lot less on Biblical exegesis (our rule and faith – especially when you say 'biblical' Christianity).".................... read more
6. The Rise of Islam
The Message From MumbaiAround the world, people have reacted with horror to the vile atrocities in Mumbai. For three days, our TV screens transmitted images of carnage and chaos as the toll of murder victims climbed to upwards of 190 people, with many hundreds more injured. Despite the fact that Western citizens were caught up in the attacks, there is nevertheless a sense that this was nothing to do with us — a horrible event happening in a faraway place. Among commentators, moreover, there has been no small amount of confusion. Were these terrorists motivated by the grievance between Muslims and Hindus over Kashmir, or was this a broader attack by Al Qaeda? If British and American tourists were singled out over Iraq — which many assume is the motive for such attacks — why were Indians targeted in the Victoria railway station? And why was an obscure outreach centre geared to Jews marked for slaughter? Such perceptions and questions suggest that, even now, Western commentators still don't grasp what the free world is facing. This was not merely a distant horror. We should pay the closest possible attention to what happened in Mumbai because something on this scale could well happen here. But because we don't understand what we are actually up against, we are not doing nearly enough to prevent this — or something even worse — occurring; and if it were to happen here, we would be unable to cope. ................ read more
Europe heading for major cultural clash with it's Muslim populationEurope is heading towards a major cultural clash with an ever-growing Muslim population that does not want to adopt European culture, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said Monday. "We can expect a major inter-cultural clash in Europe," Halevy said in an address at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies on the changing face of the world on the eve of 2009. He added that prominent European countries, as well as Russia, could be nearly 50 percent Muslim by 2050, noting that England was currently debating whether Islamic law can be applicable to British Muslims instead of British law in certain matters such as marital disputes. The former spymaster, who immigrated to Israel from the UK as a teenager in 1948, opined that how European countries reacted to such a challenge would determine their very future. "More and more we see that Muslims living in Europe are not interested in adapting to the local European culture but seek to live by their own way of life within the European framework," he said. "The demographics have significant political and cultural implications." In a wide-ranging address, the former Mossad chief said that the greatest danger facing the world at large was the merging of global Islamic terrorism and the proliferation by either state or non-state entities of non-conventional weapons. "We do not know of any such successes, but we do know that a will for such a merger exists," he said. "This is a threat which, if it materializes, will put us in a whole new world, one which is unknown and uncontrollable.".. .................. read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
Robot soldiers to determine who lives and dies?The US Army and Navy have both hired experts in the ethics of building machines to prevent the creation of an amoral Terminator-style killing machine that murders indiscriminately. By 2010 the US will have invested $4 billion in a research programme into "autonomous systems", the military jargon for robots, on the basis that they would not succumb to fear or the desire for vengeance that afflicts frontline soldiers. A British robotics expert has been recruited by the US Navy to advise them on building robots that do not violate the Geneva Conventions. Colin Allen, a scientific philosopher at Indiana University's has just published a book summarising his views entitled Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong. He told The Daily Telegraph: "The question they want answered is whether we can build automated weapons that would conform to the laws of war. Can we use ethical theory to help design these machines?" Airborne drones are already used in Iraq and Afghanistan to launch air strikes against militant targets and robotic vehicles are used to disable roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices. Last month the US Army took delivery of a new robot built by an American subsidiary of the British defence company QinetiQ, which can fire everything from bean bags and pepper spray to high-explosive grenades and a 7.62mm machine gun. But this generation of robots are all remotely operated by humans. Researchers are now working on "soldier bots" which would be able to identify targets, weapons and distinguish between enemy forces like tanks or armed men and soft targets like ambulances or civilians. Their software would be embedded with rules of engagement conforming with the Geneva Conventions to tell the robot when to open fire. Some are concerned that it will be impossible to devise robots that avoid mistakes, conjuring up visions of machines killing indiscriminately when they malfunction, like the robot in the film Robocop. Noel Sharkey, a computer scientist at Sheffield University, best known for his involvement with the cult television show Robot Wars, is the leading critic of the US plans. He says: "It sends a cold shiver down my spine. I have worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination is terrifying."......................... read more
New genetic test asks which sport a child was born to playWhen Donna Campiglia learned recently that a genetic test might be able to determine which sports suit the talents of her 2 ½-year-old son, Noah, she instantly said, Where can I get it and how much does it cost? "I could see how some people might think the test would pigeonhole your child into doing fewer sports or being exposed to fewer things, but I still think it's good to match them with the right activity," Campiglia, 36, said as she watched a toddler class at Boulder Indoor Soccer in which Noah struggled to take direction from the coach between juice and potty breaks. "I think it would prevent a lot of parental frustration," she said. In health-conscious, sports-oriented Boulder, Atlas Sports Genetics is playing into the obsessions of parents by offering a $149 test that aims to predict a child's natural athletic strengths. The process is simple. Swab inside the child's cheek and along the gums to collect DNA and return it to a lab for analysis of ACTN3, one gene among more than 20,000 in the human genome. The test's goal is to determine whether a person would be best at speed and power sports like sprinting or football, or endurance sports like distance running, or a combination of the two. A 2003 study discovered the link between ACTN3 and those athletic abilities. In this era of genetic testing, DNA is being analyzed to determine predispositions to disease, but experts raise serious questions about marketing it as a first step in finding a child's sports niche, which some parents consider the road to a college scholarship or a career as a professional athlete. Atlas executives acknowledge that their test has limitations but say that it could provide guidelines for placing youngsters in sports. The company is focused on testing children from infancy to about 8 years old because physical tests to gauge future sports performance at that age are, at best, unreliable........................ read more
New ID Scanners Can View Documents Through Your Car, Clothes Up To 50 Feet AwayThe federal government has already deployed new detection machines that can scan citizens without their knowledge from as far as 50 feet away and "read" their personal documents such as passports or driver's licenses. The Homeland Security Department touts the high-tech devices as increasing security at border crossings, but privacy advocates are raising all sorts of red flags. Critics say the new machines, which read one's personal information right through a wallet or purse, do so without consent or a warrant and may set a worrisome precedent. The devices, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) machines, allow officials to read remotely any passports, pass cards, and driver's licenses that contain special chips with personal information. The RFIDs are so sensitive that, even before a vehicle pulls up at a border checkpoint, agents already will have on their computer screen the personal data of the passengers, including each person's name, date of birth, nationality, passport or ID number, and even a digitized photo. The new gadgets are in place, or soon will be, at five border crossings: Blaine, Wash.; Buffalo; Detroit; Nogales, Ariz.; and San Ysidro, Calif. They are slated to have a dramatically expanded presence in June. Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that the technology could make Americans less secure because terrorists or other criminals may be able to steal the personal information off the ID cards remotely. Tien and other critics warn that people up to no good can use their own RFID machines in a process called "skimming" to read the information from as far as 50 feet. Indeed, consumer privacy expert Katherine Albrecht maintains that the chips create the "potential for a whole surveillance network to be set up." Among other abuses, she says police could use them to track criminals; abusive husbands could use the technology to find their wives; and stores could trail the shopping patterns of patrons......................... read more
Bug-Sized Spies: U.S. Develops Tiny Flying Robots If only we could be a fly on the wall when our enemies are plotting to attack us. Better yet, what if that fly could record voices, transmit video and even fire tiny weapons? That kind of James Bond-style fantasy is actually on the drawing board. U.S. military engineers are trying to design flying robots disguised as insects that could one day spy on enemies and conduct dangerous missions without risking lives. "The way we envision it is, there would be a bunch of these sent out in a swarm," said Greg Parker, who helps lead the research project at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. "If we know there's a possibility of bad guys in a certain building, how do we find out? We think this would fill that void." In essence, the research seeks to miniaturize the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle drones used in Iraq and Afghanistan for surveillance and reconnaissance. The next generation of drones, called Micro Aerial Vehicles, or MAVs, could be as tiny as bumblebees and capable of flying undetected into buildings, where they could photograph, record, and even attack insurgents and terrorists.......................... read more
Minority Report comes to Britain: The CCTV that spots crimes before they happenCCTV cameras which can 'predict' if a crime is about to take place are being introduced on Britain's streets. The cameras can alert operators to suspicious behaviour, such as loitering and unusually slow walking. Anyone spotted could then have to explain their behaviour to a police officer. The move has been compared to the Tom Cruise science-fiction film Minority Report, in which people are arrested before they commit planned offences. It will also fuel fears that Britain is becoming a surveillance society. There are already 4.2million cameras trained on the public. The technology could be used alongside many of these to allow evermore advanced scrutiny of our movements. Last night, civil rights campaign group Liberty was sceptical. A spokesman said: 'Bringing expensive Hollywood sci-fi to our car parks will never be as effective as having police on the street leading the fight against crime.' The cameras, trained on public places, such as car parks, are being tested by Portsmouth City Council. Computers are programmed to analyse the movements of people or vehicles in the camera frame. If someone is seen lurking in a particular area, the computer will send out an alarm to a CCTV operator. The operator will then check the image and – if concerned – ring the police. The aim is to stop crimes before they are committed. If a vehicle is moving too fast or slow – indicating joyriding or kerb-crawling, for example – a similar alert could be given. Councillor Jason Fazackarley of Portsmouth Council said: 'It's the 21st century equivalent of a nightwatchman, but unlike a night-watchman it never blinks, it never takes a break and it never gets bored.' But the danger is that the innocent could be forced to account for their movements despite doing nothing wrong. .......................... read more
Indonesian AIDS patients face mandatory microchip implant monitoringCCTV cameras which can 'predict' if a crime is about to take place are being introduced on Britain's streets. The cameras can alert operators to suspicious behaviour, such as loitering and unusually slow walking. Anyone spotted could then have to explain their behaviour to a police officer. The move has been compared to the Tom Cruise science-fiction film Minority Report, in which people are arrested before they commit planned offences. It will also fuel fears that Britain is becoming a surveillance society. There are already 4.2million cameras trained on the public. The technology could be used alongside many of these to allow evermore advanced scrutiny of our movements. Last night, civil rights campaign group Liberty was sceptical. A spokesman said: 'Bringing expensive Hollywood sci-fi to our car parks will never be as effective as having police on the street leading the fight against crime.' The cameras, trained on public places, such as car parks, are being tested by Portsmouth City Council. Computers are programmed to analyse the movements of people or vehicles in the camera frame. If someone is seen lurking in a particular area, the computer will send out an alarm to a CCTV operator. The operator will then check the image and – if concerned – ring the police. The aim is to stop crimes before they are committed. If a vehicle is moving too fast or slow – indicating joyriding or kerb-crawling, for example – a similar alert could be given. Councillor Jason Fazackarley of Portsmouth Council said: 'It's the 21st century equivalent of a nightwatchman, but unlike a night-watchman it never blinks, it never takes a break and it never gets bored.' But the danger is that the innocent could be forced to account for their movements despite doing nothing wrong. .......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
Wycliffe Bible Translators launch "The Last Languages Campaign" - Every language by 2025A $50 million donation is being used to kick off an effort to reach an estimated 200 million people around the world with a Bible written in their own language by the year 2025. The Last Languages Campaign is being launched by Wycliffe Bible Translators, whose leaders believe "not only do people comprehend the Bible best when it is written in the language they speak in their home, but that critical community development – literacy, the establishment of water purification systems, AIDS education, human rights, and community empowerment – often starts in the strangest place: with Bible translation." What previously was projected for 125 years of work now is being organized into a 17-year effort scheduled to conclude in 2025. Wycliffe, founded in 1942, is made up of dozens of groups involving more than 7,000 people who are trying to provide a written Gospel to every group of people around the world. The organization believes there are about 2,200 languages that still do not have a translation of the Bible................... read more
Survey: Students Lie, Cheat, Steal, But Say They're GoodIn the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test, according to a new, large-scale survey suggesting that Americans are too apathetic about ethical standards. Educators reacting to the findings questioned any suggestion that today's young people are less honest than previous generations, but several agreed that intensified pressures are prompting many students to cut corners. "The competition is greater, the pressures on kids have increased dramatically," said Mel Riddle of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "They have opportunities their predecessors didn't have (to cheat). The temptation is greater." The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured. Michael Josephson, the institute's founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls — 30 percent overall — acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative. "What is the social cost of that — not to mention the implication for the next generation of mortgage brokers?" Josephson remarked in an interview. "In a society drenched with cynicism, young people can look at it and say 'Why shouldn't we? Everyone else does it.'" Despite such responses, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know.".. ............. read more
Churches Stand to Lose Several Billion Dollars in Lost Donations Due to Economic DownturnTens of millions of Americans have already suffered substantial financial losses in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and subsequent financial challenges. A new survey from The Barna Group shows that more than 150 million adults said they have been affected by the economic turbulence, and most of them expect it to take several years before the nation fully recovers. Americans are now passing on their financial pain to churches and other non-profit organizations by cutting back substantially on their giving during the fourth quarter of 2008. Those reductions - occurring during the most important quarter of the year for donor-driven organizations - will cripple thousands of smaller and less stable donor-supported organizations. Two out of every three families - 68% - have been noticeably affected by the financial setbacks in America. Nearly one out of every four (22%) said they have been impacted in a "major way," almost four out of ten have been affected "only somewhat" and about one out of every twelve (8%) say they have not been affected too much. Interestingly, the people least affected have been those under 30 years of age - perhaps because relatively few of them have substantial retirement funds - as well as Asian households and those who describe themselves as mostly conservative on social and political issues. Overall, more than one-quarter of adults (28%) said they had lost at least 20% of the value of their retirement and 401K accounts. The same share of the public (28%) said they had lost 20% or more of the value of the stocks and bonds that they owned. During the past three months, one of the ways that adults have adjusted to their financial hardships has been by reducing their charitable giving. In total, one out of every five households (20%) has decreased its giving to churches or other religious centers................ read more
Court to decide whether campus evangelism a crimeThe so-called "free-speech code" of Yuba Community College District is under federal court scrutiny. California student, Ryan Dozier, decided to spend some time on campus sharing his faith and handing out tracts to fellow students, generating conversations about Christianity. Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Heather Hacker comments on the situation. "A campus police officer came over and told him that if he continued to do so without a permit that he would be possibly expelled or arrested, and so Ryan stopped immediately," she explains. Hacker says Dozier thought the case was closed, but he was apparently mistaken. "Three weeks later he got a certified letter from the president of the college stating that his actions were the subject of a campus crime report," she adds. "Last time I checked, sharing your faith on a public college campus was not a crime."................ read more

Restoration

2008-11-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

I believe their are two types of people in this world. Those who allow the sins of their parents to mold who they become and those who fight against it doing anything and everything possible to learn from and become something better. We are all called for a higher purpose, although the harshness of reality can sometimes be to overwhelming, stay strong. Realize your purpose and fulfill your dreams. God is with you always.

Verse of the week!

2008-11-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

1 Chronicles 16:8 “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”

Prophecy News Watch Headlines - November 21

2008-11-28T16:56:00.000-08:00

1. Where is the United States in Prophecy?
Global Trends 2025 - Future is nuclear war and famine - US intelligence The use of nuclear weapons will grow increasingly likely by 2025, US intelligence warned in a report on global trends that forecasts a tense, unstable world shadowed by war. "The world of the near future will be subject to an increased likelihood of conflict over scarce resources, including food and water, and will be haunted by the persistence of rogue states and terrorist groups with greater access to nuclear weapons," said the report. "Widening gaps in birth rates and wealth-to-poverty ratios, and the uneven impact of climate change, could further exacerbate tensions." Called Global Trends 2025 - a Transformed World, the 121-page report was produced by the National Intelligence Council, a body of analysts from across the US intelligence community. Officials said it was being briefed to the incoming administration of president-elect Barack Obama. A year in the making, the report does not take into account the recent global financial crisis. "In one sense, a bad sense, the pace of change that we are looking at in 2025 occurred more rapidly than we had anticipated," said Thomas Fingar, deputy director of National Intelligence. One overarching conclusion of the report is that "the unipolar world is over, (or) certainly will be by 2025," Mr Fingar said. But with the "rise of the rest," managing crises and avoiding conflicts will be more difficult, particularly with an antiquated post-World War II international system. "The potential for conflict will be different then and in some ways greater than it has been for a very long time," Mr Fingar said.................... read more
Government warns of "catastrophic" U.S. quakePeople in a vast seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States would face catastrophic damage if a major earthquake struck there and should ensure that builders keep that risk in mind, a government report said on Thursday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said if earthquakes strike in what geologists define as the New Madrid Seismic Zone, they would cause "the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States." FEMA predicted a large earthquake would cause "widespread and catastrophic physical damage" across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee -- home to some 44 million people. Tennessee is likely to be hardest hit, according to the study that sought to gauge the impact of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in order to guide the government's response. In Tennessee alone, it forecast hundreds of collapsed bridges, tens of thousands of severely damaged buildings and a half a million households without water. Transportation systems and hospitals would be wrecked, and police and fire departments impaired, the study said. The zone, named for the town of New Madrid in Missouri's southeast corner, is subject to frequent mild earthquakes. Experts have long tried to predict the likelihood of a major quake like those that struck in 1811 and 1812. These shifted the course of the Mississippi River and rang church bells on the East Coast but caused few deaths amid a sparse population. "People who live in these areas and the people who build in these areas certainly need to take into better account that at some time there is ... expected to be a catastrophic earthquake in that area, and they'd better be prepared for it," said FEMA spokesperson Mary Margaret Walker.................... read more
China 'using cyberwarfare to challenge US power' IChina is using cyberwarfare to challenge American power and distorting economic policy to exert political influence over other countries, according to a hostile congressional report. The report accuses China of using its foreign exchange reserves, built up through "heavy-handed government control" to buy influence. In one recent example, a government sovereign wealth fund agreed to use the reserves to loan money to Costa Rica in return for its dropping diplomatic recognition of China's rival, Taiwan. Meanwhile, it has built up its army of cyber-spies to such an extent that it can launch attacks "anywhere in the world at any time". The number of attacks on US government, defence companies and businesses rose by a third in 2007, to 43,880 incidents affecting five million computers, according to the claims by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Some were so sophisticated that they might be impossible to counteract, or even detect. Meanwhile, its space programme, targeted at what one Chinese military strategist called "America's soft ribs", was steadily increasing the vulnerability of US assets. "China is intent on expanding its sphere of control even at the expense of its Asian neighbours and the United States," it said. Pentagon and other Washington studies have accused China of using computer hacking to steal information and threaten disruption to both civil and defence services before, and particularly since an alleged co-ordinated attack in 2002, code-named by the US "Titan Rain", downloaded huge quantities of information. The current report comes at a time of great American unease that China will benefit from the global financial crisis to cut into its economic, political and even military dominance. A separate US study published yesterday said that by 2025 America would probably have to share world leadership with India and China.................... read more
Al Qaeda Posts Wish List for American and Canadian TargetsOn November 5, 2008, the day after the US Presidential Elections, the following text was posted in a secondary al Qai’da forum. With the closures of the primary forums many of the members have started appearing on lesser known forums yet using the same names or forum identities. The person wrote extensively about the blackout across the northeast US and Canada some years back and indicates this will happen again. They claim that they indeed caused the outage and will do it again. Below are excerpts from the text. In implementing the orders of the Emir of the mujahedeen Osama bin Laden (may God keep him) to strike the key U.S. economy, the Brigades of Abu Hafs al-Masri find it important to strike a second time (facilities supplying) electricity in the eastern U.S., including the most important economic cities of America and Canada as America's ally in the war against Islam (the city of Toronto and New York) and (areas) around them. (In their first strike) they caused the strike to prevent electricity for more than fifty million people. Further text indicates possible things that these people have on their terror "Wish- List" for the USA and Canada including: disabling nuclear reactors, disruption of transportation: trains, cars and trucks .... etc., causing heavy casualties, disruption of the Internet, which depend upon (Internet data transfer) in commercial transactions, disruption of global banks based in New York, the takeover of seven major airports and disrupt electricity to fifty million Americans and Canadians................... read more
Americans teetering on $14 trillion debt pileFree-spending U.S. consumers who bought everything from homes to groceries on borrowed money are running out of credit, and paying the bills will cost the world's biggest economy and its trading partners dearly. The housing bust has exposed just how much Americans were relying on rising home values to pad spending and replace traditional savings. During the five-year real estate boom that ended in late 2006, household wealth expanded, retail sales grew faster than income, and savings dwindled. But as banks restrict access to mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, consumers are altering their spending behavior so rapidly that companies cannot adjust fast enough. Banks that eagerly handed out credit cards during the good times are reducing credit limits and setting asides billions of dollars to cover losses as customers miss payments. U.S. automakers are warning of a near collapse in demand because would-be buyers are unable or unwilling to get loans. Stores are bracing for the worst holiday season sales performance in at least 18 years. Meredith Whitney, the Oppenheimer & Co analyst who was among the first to warn that banks needed to raise huge amounts of money to offset mortgage losses, worries that cuts to credit limits will constrain already cautious consumers, reinforcing a vicious cycle of bank losses and economic decline. Over the past decade, American households have piled on $8 trillion in debt, an increase of 137 percent, twice the gain seen in the size of the economy. At $14 trillion, the debt load is now roughly equal to the entire economy's annual output. Much of the increase comes from home mortgages, which have expanded by $6 trillion since 1998, but it also reflects higher balances on credit cards and auto loans. Despite the expanding debt burden, investors around the world poured money into securities backed by mortgages and credit card receivables for much of this decade, keeping borrowing costs low. Thanks to the easy credit, U.S. consumers kept increasing their spending throughout the housing run-up, easily exceeding wage growth. Retailers opened hundreds of new stores to fill newly constructed shopping centers. Imports soared, swelling the reserves of exporters such as China. U.S. household savings dwindled to almost nothing. All of that is changing as the world grows wary of offering more credit to overextended Americans. As defaults jump, banks are now having trouble finding buyers for any investments tied to U.S. household borrowing................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece
Israeli Air Force 'Ready for Iran's Nuclear Sites'The Israeli Air Force is ready to attack Iran's suspected nuclear weapons project if diplomacy fails to persuade the Islamic Republic to halt uranium enrichment, said Commander Ido Nehushtan in an interview published Tuesday. The news comes as the U.N. watchdog agency reports Iran is probably at the point of being capable of making a nuclear bomb. "We are prepared and ready to do whatever Israel needs us to do and if this is the mission we're given then we are ready," Nehushtan told German magazine Der Spiegel. A strike against Iran's nuclear facilities "is a political decision," the IAF commander said, "but if I understand it correctly, all options are on the table ... The Air Force is a very robust and flexible force. We are ready to do whatever is demanded of us." Asked if the Israeli military would be able to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, which are spread around the country, with some built underground, Nehushtan said, "Please understand that I do not want to get into details. I can only say this: It is not a technical or logistical question." While Israel has fought all its immediate Arab neighbors, its pilots have had limited capabilities to carry out missions as far away as Iran. A strike on Iraq's sole nuclear reactor in 1981 was an extraordinary exception at the time but analysts say the F-16I has made long-distance strikes more possible. The Jewish state, widely believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, has said it will not tolerate an Iranian nuclear bomb and has refused to rule out a military option. Speculation of a U.S.-approved Israeli strike on Iran, fueled by an Israeli attack in Syria last year and by reports of long-range bombing exercises this summer, has faded as the Bush administration prepares to hand over power to President-elect Barack Obama. Iran, which has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction, said on Tuesday it aimed to commission its first nuclear power plant in 2009. Tehran insists the program has only civilian aims................. read more
Obama pledges state to Palestinian leaderPresident-elect Barack Obama today phoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and pledged to work to establish a Palestinian state as soon as possible, a senior PA negotiator told WND. "Obama expressed his full support for a Palestinian state. He told the president (Abbas) he will continue to promote the peace process, which will end with a two-state solution," said the PA's second most senior negotiator, Saeb Erekat. "Obama said he will keep working in collaboration with the Israeli government and PA to reach a final solution. He said he'll do everything in his power to help create a Palestinian state as soon as we can," Erekat told WND. It was the first phone call between Abbas and Obama, Erekat added. The call comes two weeks after a reported flair-up on Election Day in which a senior Palestinian official told WND the Obama campaign urged Palestinian officials to deny an Arab media report that the then-Democratic nominee confided to Palestinian leadership that he supports their right to a capital in eastern Jerusalem. The episode began after a Lebanese newspaper story Nov. 3 quoted sources in Ramallah who claimed that in a meeting in July with Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the two heard from Obama "the best things they ever heard from an American presidential candidate." The report in the Al-Akhbar daily, known to have close contacts to Palestinian leaders in Lebanon, claimed Obama told Abbas and Fayyad he "supports the rights of the Palestinians to east Jerusalem, as well as their right to a stable, sovereign state," but he petitioned them to keep the remarks confidential.................. read more
Secret 'peace talks' exposed - Israel, Palestinians still attempting major pact before JanuaryDespite media reports painting a dismal picture of negotiation prospects, Israel and the Palestinian Authority are still quietly working to conclude a major agreement before President Bush leaves office in January, informed Israeli and Palestinian sources told WND. The sources, including a senior Palestinian negotiator, said the aim is to reach a series of understandings to be guaranteed by the U.S. that would result in an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the vast majority of the West Bank. The understandings would also grant the PA permission to open official institutions in Jerusalem but would postpone talks on the future status of the capital city until new Israeli and U.S. governments are installed next year. The original plan, initiated at last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit, was to create a Palestinian state, at least on paper, by January. The summit launched talks aimed at concluding a final status agreement on all core issues – borders, the status of Jerusalem and the future of so-called Palestinian refugees. But a final agreement has been hampered by several recent events here, most notably Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to resign amid corruption charges, leading to general elections scheduled for February that will see a new prime minister elected. The candidate for office from Olmert's Kadima party, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, is said to oppose reaching a deal on Jerusalem or refugees ahead of elections, fearing it will harm her prospects among center-right voters. Livni is Olmert's chief negotiator with the Palestinians. In spite of the upcoming elections and the Israeli government's subsequent political instability, teams of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have been quietly meeting regularly the past few weeks in hope of concluding a series of understandings on key issues. Informed sources said any understandings reached will be backed up by Bush in an official letter. It is unclear how much weight such a letter will carry under a new U.S. administration.... ................ read more
Iran, Syria tauten grip on Lebanon, Tehran woos Christian president Tehran and Damascus are going all out to get their hooks into Lebanon’s Christian politicians and wean them away from their’ traditional ties with the West. President Michel Suleiman this week accepted an Iranian invitation to visit Tehran this month, while another Lebanese Christian leader, Hizballah’s ally Gen. Michel Aoun, arranged to visit Damascus. DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources report that the Iranians are forging ahead with a campaign to bind the region’s Christian minorities to their Shiite wagon for challenging Sunni domination. Their first quarry is Lebanon’s powerful community. Arrangements were finalized Monday with the Iranian ambassador in Beirut Reza Shibani for president Suleiman to spend two days in Tehran on Nov. 24-25. Aoun will visit Damascus at the same time. Their country is meanwhile encircled by Syrian military forces, a factual pointer to Bashar Assad’s real intentions regarding peace. Tehran launched its pursuit of Christian minorities by inviting the Lebanese Maronite leader Aoun to Tehran on Oct. 13, through Hizballah’s good offices. The gambit worked: The Lebanese leader returned home proclaiming Iran the strongest world power between the Persian Gulf and China and predicting that his trip would bear fruit in six months. In the first week of November, Tehran heaped full honors on the Lebanon’s ex-president, the pro-Syrian Christian Emil Lahoud, when he arrived with a 60-man retinue. Michel Sleiman can expect no less. The assumption in Israeli ruling circles that Syria as peace partner will deliver a “Lebanese dowry” is therefore fallacious. Assad plans to squeeze whatever he can from Israel and the new US administration in the coin of territory and backing for his regime, while not giving up an iota of his schemes with Tehran. For now, no one is paying attention to the Syrian-Iranian jaws snapping shut on Lebanon..................... read more
Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?If Likud wins in Israel, how badly will the two new leaders of the alliance clash? Barack Obama spent the first week after being elected president of the United States planning the next four years. Yet, even though the office is occupied by somebody else until January, the pundits are already predicting the next administration's trouble spots. At the top of the list is the outcome of the Israeli elections scheduled for this winter. If Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu is sent back to the prime minister's office, we are told, a major conflict with the Obama White House is inevitable. The assumption is that an Obama administration will regard "Bibi" Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace and that he will personally blow up the U.S.-Israel alliance. The Israeli left has promoted the myth that Netanyahu destroyed the peace process after the murder of Yitzhak Rabin. But the true story is that the Oslo Accords were doomed from the start because of Yasser Arafat's insincerity and the continuation of Palestinian terror after the peace was signed. Though Clinton did just about everything to prevent the Likud leader from winning the 1996 Israeli election except moving to Israel and voting himself, the two managed to co-exist warily for three years. Despite his "hard-line" reputation, Netanyahu wound up signing supplements to the Oslo treaties: the 1996 Hebron agreement and the 1998 Wye Plantation accord. He also sent an emissary to Damascus to discuss Syria's willingness to make peace in exchange for the Golan Heights. However, his bellicose rhetoric is remembered more than his diplomacy. Contrary to Theodore Roosevelt's advice, Netanyahu always spoke loudly while carrying a very small stick. But there was no mistaking the fact that the Clinton administration despised the Israeli. Bibi's warm relations with Clinton antagonist, Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Christian Evangelical supporters of Israel deepened the distrust between the two governments. When Netanyahu was bounced out of office by Labor's Ehud Barak in 1999, the White House did little to disguise its jubilation. Now, almost a decade later, Netanyahu is on the verge of a remarkable comeback. A combination of Likud and other right-wing parties has a better chance of putting together a governing coalition next year than does current foreign minister Tzipi Livni of Kadima and its potential allies. With the Obama foreign-policy team likely to be comprised of either retreads from the last Democratic administration or others equally committed to pushing hard for Israeli-Palestinian peace, trouble with the Likudniks is on the horizon. .................... read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Iran Now Capable of One Nuclear BombTo date, Iran had enriched about 1,400 pounds of low-enriched uranium suitable for nuclear fuel, according to two confidential reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency that were obtained by The Associated Press. Several experts told The Times the milestone was enough for a bomb, but Iran would have to further purify the uranium fuel and put it into a warhead design — a technical advance that experts in the West are unsure Iran has been able to achieve. "They clearly have enough material for a bomb," Richard L. Garwin, a top nuclear physicist who helped invent the hydrogen bomb and has advised Washington for decades, told the newspaper. "They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter." The report found the Islamic Republic was installing, or preparing to install, thousands more of the machines that spin uranium gas to enrich it — with the target of 9,000 centrifuges by next year. The report on Iran — which also went to the U.N. Security Council — cautioned that Tehran's stonewalling meant the IAEA could not "provide credible assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities." And it noted that the Islamic Republic continued to expand uranium enrichment, an activity that can make both nuclear fuel or fissile warhead material. While that conclusion was expected, it was a formal confirmation of Iran's refusal to heed Security Council demands to freeze such activities, despite three sets of sanctions meant to force an enrichment stop. ................. read more
Sudan buys Russian MiG fighter jets According to AFP and Russian news agencies, Moscow has sold 12 MiG-29 fighter jets to Khartoum, Sudanese Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein said. "The planes have been bought," the defence minister said to reporters confirming the contract for the purchase of the 12 planes. He added that Sudan is very satisfied with its military relations with Russia. The United States criticized the aircraft deal with Sudan on Friday: "Sudan is a poor country and to go out and buy MiGs, obviously that's something we don't think is a positive step," U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood told reporters...................... read more
US spies see stronger, Islamic Turkey in 2025The National Intelligence Council, which brings together all 16 US intelligence agencies, argues in its recent report titled Global Trends 2025 that Turkey’s most likely course in the next 15 years involves a blending of Islamic and nationalist strains, which could serve as a model for other rapidly modernizing countries in the Middle East. Turkey is likely to have a more prominent political and economic role internationally and economically in 2025, but it will also become more Islamic and more nationalist, the U.S. intelligence community predicted in a report released late Thursday. Among Muslim countries, the NIC expected "to see the political and economic power of Indonesia, Iran, and Turkey increase. "Over the next 15 years, Turkey’s most likely course involves a blending of Islamic and nationalist strains, which could serve as a model for other rapidly modernizing countries in the Middle East," it said. The NIC said it expected secularism in the Middle East to decline in line with the Turkish example. "In the Middle East, secularism, which also has been considered an integral part of the Western model, increasingly may be seen as out of place as Islamic parties come into prominence and possibly begin to run governments," it said. "As in today’s Turkey, we could see both increased Islamization and greater emphasis on economic growth and modernization." But a more Middle Eastern and Islamic Turkey is a candidate for more important roles, the NIC said. "Indonesia, Turkey and a post-clerically run Iran states that are predominantly Islamic, but which fall outside the Arab core appear well-situated for growing international roles," it said. "Turkey’s recent economic track record of increased growth, the vitality of Turkey’s emerging middle class and its geo-strategic locale raise the prospect of a growing regional role in the Middle East," the NIC reported. Turkey's increasing concerns over its chances of becoming an EU member one day will likely hit planned political reforms, the agencies said. "The question of Turkey’s EU membership will be a test of Europe’s outward focus between now and 2025. Increasing doubts about Turkey’s chances are likely to slow its implementation of political and human rights reforms," the NIC said. "Any outright rejection risks wider repercussions, reinforcing arguments in the Muslim world including among Europe’s Muslim minorities about the incompatibility of the West and Islam," it said....................... read more
5. Apostate Christianity
Preparing for a Charismatic MeltdownForeclosure. Eviction. Bailouts. We’re hearing those terms a lot these days, and not just in the newspaper’s business section. In the last two weeks three charismatic churches that once enjoyed huge popularity have fallen on hard times. In Tampa, Florida, Without Walls International Church is facing foreclosure. The megachurch, which once attracted 23,000 worshipers and was heralded as one of the nation’s fastest-growing congregations, shrunk drastically after co-pastors Randy and Paula White announced in 2007 that they were divorcing. On Nov. 4 their bank filed foreclosure proceedings and demanded immediate repayment of a $12 million loan on the property. In Duluth, Georgia—northeast of Atlanta—sheriff’s deputies arrived at Global Destiny Ministries and ordered Bishop Thomas Weeks II to leave the property. According to documents filed in state court, Weeks—who divorced popular preacher Juanita Bynum in June—owed more than $511,000 in back rent to the building’s owners. He was escorted out of the building on Nov. 14 while a church service was in progress. In the case of the Cathedral at Chapel Hill, many parishioners walked out 16 years ago when it became known that Earl Paulk and other staff members were involved in wife-swapping. Paulk created a bizarre culture of secrecy to cover the immorality, which included his affair with a sister-in-law—and resulted in the birth of Donnie Earl (who thought he was Earl Paulk’s nephew until last year). The church has only had a few hundred members in recent years. Today, Donnie Earl has embraced the inclusionist doctrines of Oklahoma pastor Carlton Pearson, who left the faith in 2003 and was labeled a heretic by a group of African-American bishops the following year. The younger Paulk now preaches that all people, not just Christians, are saved. He told Charisma last week that the Cathedral “has expanded to include all of God’s creation—Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, gay, straight, etc.” And this distorted message is broadcast from a pulpit that hosted the premier leaders of the charismatic movement during the 1970s and 1980s. Even before Weeks was charged with assaulting Bynum in a hotel parking lot in August 2007, the pastor of Global Destiny Ministries defiled his pulpit during a “Teach Me to Love You” marriage conference. He told married men they should use profanity during sex to heighten their experience, and he brought couples on stage to play a game in which men were asked to name their favorite female body parts. Lord, help us. Was it supposed to end like this? How did a movement that was at one time focused on winning people to Christ and introducing them to the power of the Holy Spirit end in such disgrace? I hear the sound of bricks and steel beams crashing to the ground. The wrecking ball of heaven is swinging. It has come to demolish any work that has not been built on the integrity of God’s Word. All of us should be trembling. God requires holiness in His house and truth in the mouths of His servants. He is loving and patient with our mistakes and weaknesses, but eventually, if there is no repentance after continual correction, His discipline is severe. He will not be mocked.................... read more
6. The Rise of Islam
Michael Jackson announces intention to convert to IslamAmerican pop star Michael Jackson has officially announced that he has been following the five tenets of Islam and intends to convert to Islam, according to a report on the website of Arab-Israeli newspaper Panorama. According to the report, Jackson’s announcement noted he is moving to Bahrain and has purchased some real-estate on an artificial island there. The singer said he decided to convert to Islam because he is convinced it is the closest religion to his personal beliefs. Jackson also noted he intends to soon move all his assets and his studio from the U.S. to Bahrain, and expressed his hope to be rid of various legal troubles and enjoy the kind of freedom he says he does not have in America. Notably, if the reports are correct Jackson would not be the first member of his family to make the move to Islam. His brother, Jermaine, who moved to the Gulf nation of Dubai, is also a convert. According to the sources, Jermaine was the one to provide his famous brother with books about Islam and encouraged him to convert. The report says the pop star read the books and even added his comments on some pages. Jackson was the center of recent controversy after it was reported that he referred to Jews as “leeches” in a phone message to a former business partner. Referring to Jews, Jackson was heard saying that "they're like leeches…I'm so tired of it…They start out the most popular person in the world, make a lot of money, big house, cars and everything. End up penniless. It is a conspiracy. The Jews do it on purpose." ................ read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
Genetically Modified Humans With "Immortal Cells"? Scientists Step Closer To Elixir Of YouthA naturally occuring substance that can create "immortal cells" could be the key to finding a real elixir of youth, scientists claim. Researchers believe boosting the amount of a naturally forming enzyme in the body could prevent cells dying and so lead to extended, healthier, lifespans. The protein telomerase helps maintain the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes which act like the ends of shoelaces and stop them unravelling. As we age, and our cells divide, these caps become frayed and shorter and eventually are so damaged that the cell dies. Scientists believe boosting our natural levels of telomerase could rejuvenate them. A team at the Spanish National Cancer Centre in Madrid tested the theory on mice and found that those genetically engineered to produce 10 times the normal levels of telomerase lived 50 per cent longer than normal. Maria Blasco, who led the research, told the New Scientist said that the enzyme was capable of turning "a normal, mortal cell into an immortal cell". She added that she was optimistic that a similar approach may eventually lead to extended human lifespans - though she urged caution........................... read more
Regenerating a Mammoth for $10 Million Scientists are talking for the first time about the old idea of resurrecting extinct species as if this staple of science fiction is a realistic possibility, saying that a living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for as little as $10 million. A woolly mammoth hair ball. Hairs like these were used to sequence the mammoth genome. The same technology could be applied to any other extinct species from which one can obtain hair, horn, hooves, fur or feathers, and which went extinct within the last 60,000 years, the effective age limit for DNA. Though the stuffed animals in natural history museums are not likely to burst into life again, these old collections are full of items that may contain ancient DNA that can be decoded by the new generation of DNA sequencing machines. If the genome of an extinct species can be reconstructed, biologists can work out the exact DNA differences with the genome of its nearest living relative. There are talks on how to modify the DNA in an elephant’s egg so that after each round of changes it would progressively resemble the DNA in a mammoth egg. The final-stage egg could then be brought to term in an elephant mother, and mammoths might once again roam the Siberian steppes. The same would be technically possible with Neanderthals, whose full genome is expected to be recovered shortly, but there would be several ethical issues in modifying modern human DNA to that of another human species............................ read more
IBM to build brain-like computersIBM has announced it will lead a US government-funded collaboration to make electronic circuits that mimic brains. Part of a field called "cognitive computing", the research will bring together neurobiologists, computer and materials scientists and psychologists. As a first step in its research the project has been granted $4.9m (£3.27m) from US defence agency Darpa. The resulting technology could be used for large-scale data analysis, decision making or even image recognition. "The mind has an amazing ability to integrate ambiguous information across the senses, and it can effortlessly create the categories of time, space, object, and interrelationship from the sensory data," says Dharmendra Modha, the IBM scientist who is heading the collaboration. "There are no computers that can even remotely approach the remarkable feats the mind performs," he said. "The key idea of cognitive computing is to engineer mind-like intelligent machines by reverse engineering the structure, dynamics, function and behaviour of the brain." IBM will join five US universities in an ambitious effort to integrate what is known from real biological systems with the results of supercomputer simulations of neurons. The team will then aim to produce for the first time an electronic system that behaves as the simulations do. The longer-term goal is to create a system with the level of complexity of a cat's brain. ........................ read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
eHarmony Forced to Provide Same-Sex Dating ServiceOnline dating service eHarmony said Wednesday it will launch a new Web site which caters to same-sex singles as part of a discrimination settlement with New Jersey's Civil Rights Division. The settlement is the result of a complaint New Jersey resident Eric McKinley filed against the online matchmaker in 2005. McKinley, 46, said he was shocked when he tried to sign up for the dating site but couldn't get past the first screen because there was no option for men seeking men. "It's very frustrating and it's very humiliating to think that other people can do it and I can't," he said. "And the only reason I can't is because I'm a gay man. That's very hurtful." Neither the company nor its founder, Neil Clark Warren, acknowledged any liability. Under the settlement, eHarmony will pay New Jersey state division $50,000 to cover administrative costs and will pay McKinley $5,000. McKinley called the settlement "fabulous" and said he was happy with the outcome. He's considering signing up for the new site once it launches. Pasadena, Calif.-based eHarmony said it plans to launch its new service, called Compatible Partners, on March 31. "With the launch of the Compatible Partners site, our policy is to welcome all single individuals who are genuinely seeking long-term relationships," said Antone Johnson, eHarmony's vice president of legal affairs. Theodore B. Olson, an attorney for eHarmony, said that even though the company believed McKinley's complaint was "an unfair characterization of our business," it choose to settle because of the unpredictable nature of litigation. The popular online matchmaker has been sued before for discrimination. A California man sued eHarmony in 2005 for refusing to help him find a date. The company said there was one good reason for that: He was still married. That case was dropped on the eve of trial....................... read more
Report: Hindu Groups in India Offering Rewards to Kill ChristiansExtremist Hindu groups offered money, food and alcohol to mobs to kill Christians and destroy their homes, according to Christian aid workers in the eastern India state of Orissa. The U.S.-based head of Good News India, a Christian organization that runs several orphanages in Orissa — one of India’s poorest regions — claims that Christian leaders are being targeted by Hindu militants and carry a price on their heads. "The going price to kill a pastor is $250," said Faiz Rahman, the chairman of Good News India. A spokesman for the All-India Christian Council said: “People are being offered rewards to kill, and to destroy churches and Christian properties. They are being offered foreign liquor, chicken, mutton and weapons. They are given petrol and kerosene.” Ram Madhav, a spokesman for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the largest hardline Hindu group, denied the claims. “The accusation is absolutely false,” he said. Orissa has suffered a series of murders and arson attacks in recent months, with at least 67 Christians killed, according to the Roman Catholic Church. Several thousand homes have been razed and hundreds of places of worship destroyed, and crops are now wasting in the fields. In recent weeks, the violence has subsided but at least 11,000 Christian refugees remain in camps in Kandhamal, the district worst affected. “They are too scared to go home. They know that if they return to their villages they will be forced to convert to Hinduism,” Father Manoj, who is based at the Archbishop’s office in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa's capital, said............... read more
Survey: Most Youth Worldwide Spiritual, Say Religion is GoodThe majority of youths in the world say they are spiritual and think religion and spirituality are both positive, according to an extensive, first-of-its-kind survey. Fifty-seven percent of young people (ages 12-25) see themselves as being spiritual, reported the survey by Search Institute’s Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence that was sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation. The research surveyed more than 7,000 young people from a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds, spanning 17 countries and six continents. It took two years to complete the study that offers one of the first snapshots of spiritual development across multiple countries and traditions. “We have spent two years listening to youth ages 12 to 25 from many countries and traditions talk about spiritual development and its role in their lives,” reflected Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, co-director of the Center for Spiritual Development, in a statement. “Many young people are keenly interested in these issues, but relatively few have opportunities to talk with others about the things that really matter to them.” The survey found that about one in three youths consider themselves “very” or “pretty” spiritual, but this varied vastly across countries. The high was in the United States where 52 percent of the youth self-described themselves as “very” or “pretty” spiritual. In contrast, Australia had the low of 23 percent youth who said they were highly spiritual. Almost half of the youth surveyed in Australia (47 percent) indicated that they are not spiritual, compared to only 12 percent in Thailand and about 20 percent in Canada, India, Ukraine, and the United States. Religion and being spiritual are related but different, according to the world’s youth. Respondents are still most likely to say they are both spiritual and religious (34 percent). Nearly a quarter (23 percent) say they are spiritual, but not religious. American youths’ response was slightly different. They were more likely to say they are both spiritual and religious (43 percent) than the world’s youth in general (34 percent). A comparable number to international youths said they are just spiritual (27 percent). Being spiritual, for this young generation, most often is associated with believing in God (36 percent), followed by believing there is a purpose to life (32 percent), and then being true to one’s inner self (26 percent). Whereas in Canada, the youths said being spiritual is believing in God (52 percent) and then believing there is a purpose to life (48 percent). Also, more than a quarter of the participants from Canada (28 percent) said spirituality involves having a deep sense of inner peace or happiness, which was unique to Canadian youths. Meanwhile young people in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States all defined spirituality first and foremost as believing there is a purpose to life. Believing in God was ranked second at 33 percent for youths in the United States. Nearly one in five youth (18 percent) said they have no one to help them regarding their spiritual lives.. .............. read more
Atheist Billboards To Debut During HolidaysA controversial billboard will likely be popping up in a neighborhood near you, just in time for the holidays. The billboard is paid for by a Colorado atheist group. The message sits against a blue sky backdrop and says, "Don't believe in God? You're not alone." Ten billboards will pepper metro Denver, while one will be put up in Colorado Springs. "And we're putting them up in November and December because of the holidays, when church and state issues tend to come up a lot," said Joel Guttormson, with Metro State Atheists. "To let non-believers, free-thinkers and atheists know that they are not alone, especially in a country like ours that is predominantly Christian." Pastor Willard Johnson of Denver's Macedonia Baptist Church called the billboards a desperate effort to discredit Christianity. "The Bible is being fulfilled. It says that in latter days, you have all these kinds of things coming up, trying to disrupt the validity of Christianity," Johnson said. "If they don't believe in God, how do they believe they came about? We denounce what they are doing. But we do it with love, with gentleness, with decency and with compassion." Bob Enyart, a Christian radio host and spokesman for American Right to Life, said it's hard to ignore the evidence. "The Bible says that faith is the evidence of things not seen. Evidence. If we ignore the evidence for gravity or the Creator, that's really dangerous," said Enyart. "Income tax doesn't not exist because somebody doesn't believe in it. And the same is true with our Creator." The atheist group, called Colorado Coalition of Reason or COCORE, also wanted to put up signs in Fort Collins and Greeley, but a billboard company there refused to carry the message. Johnson said atheism is a rebellion against Biblical principals and the billboard will likely offend many Christians. COCORE said this is about First Amendment rights. "And I've read the First Amendment up and down and nowhere does it say that I have to care about your feelings. We're either 10 to 16 percent of the population, and the reason we don't really know is because people are scared to come out because they're ostracized by the people around them," said Guttormson.. .............. read more
9. Other events to watch
Prince Charles to be known as Defender of Faith The Prince of Wales, who is 60 today, is planning a symbolic change when he becomes King by taking the title Defender of Faith to reflect Britain's multicultural society. The move would mean the monarch, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, would no longer be known as Defender of the Faith for the first time since the reign of Henry VIII. The Prince caused controversy within the Anglican church when he floated the idea several years ago of becoming Defender of the Faiths in an attempt to embrace the other religions in Britain. In a compromise he has now opted for Defender of Faith which he hopes will unite the different strands of society, and their beliefs, at his Coronation. However, there would be huge obstacles to overcome before the Prince can fulfil his wish which he has discussed with some of his closest advisers. It would require Parliament to agree to amend the 1953 Royal Titles Act which came into law after changes were made for the Queen's Coronation in the same year. A senior source told The Daily Telegraph: "There have been lots of discussions. He would like to be known as the Defender of Faith which is a subtle but hugely symbolic shift." The Monarch has been known by the title Defender of the Faith ever since the title was bestowed on Henry VIII by the Pope in 1521 for his early support for Roman Catholicism A Clarence House spokesman said: "There has been work done on the accession planning as you would expect however there has been no planning of the Coronation or its contents." The Prince has been advised on the accession by Sir Stephen Lamport, his former Private Secretary, who was a senior civil servant. Vernon Bogdanor, the constitutionalist who is Professor of Government at Oxford University, said: "In 1952, when the Queen came to the throne, it was very much an Anglican society. The Prince of Wales will become head of a nation which is multi-denominational. "The Prince has said that he wants to be seen as a defender of all religious faiths and not just the Anglican church but the Coronation is an Anglican ceremony. Any change would require legislation." Professor Bogdanor said that after the Coronation, which will take place at Westminster Abbey, it was plausible that a second service would be held for other denominations and faiths, such as the Muslims and Hindus. "It would be a way of the new King showing their importance in the country," said Prof Bogdanor. ................... read more
President of Indonesia calls for one single global currency President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has proposed the use of one single global currency to prevent pressures on currencies, in particularly the rupiah, when economic crisis hits. This can at least maintain the stability of currency rates in each country and protect it against pressures of other currencies. The president maintains that with a single global currency rate, there would no longer be a currency exchange crisis and money would not be commercialized. With a single currency, the function of money as a trading value will not change. “It could be done in stages, starting with the dollar, euro, or Asian currency,” said the president at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) yesterday. He has once submitted this idea at an international forum. The root of the global financial crisis, he said, was an imbalance between advanced and developing countries in their capital, technology and natural resources. This is caused by a bubble economy which does not reflect the real sectors, but instead only reflects vast distribution of money, resulting in gaps. But according to Fauzi Ikhsan, Standard Chartered Bank senior economist, the chances for the single global currency to be implemented are slim, although it is theoretically applicable. “It is difficult to unify the countries of the world. It is just unrealistic for the time being,” Fauzi argued. As example, he cited the euro, the single currency in Europe, which took more than 10 years to be applied. Even now, not all countries in the continent use it. One of them is the United Kingdom, which maintains its pound sterling because its value is far above the euro and the US dollar. .................... read more

The Purpose Driven Life

2008-11-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/en-US/Home/home.htm
If you find yourself without a purpose... check it out. Even if you don't, check it out.

Youtube Vid of the Week

2008-11-17T16:59:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfIkMXw_YM4

Verse of the week!

2008-11-17T16:18:00.000-08:00

1 Samuel 13:14But now your kingdom shall not continue the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people because you have not kept what the Lord has commanded you.

Prophecy News Watch Headlines - November 14

2008-11-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

1. Where is the United States in Prophecy?
Bin Laden Plans New Attacks Bigger Than 9/11Fugitive terrorist Osama bin Laden is planning new attacks against the U.S. that will "outdo by far" the attacks of 9/11, according to a report in a London-based Arabic newspaper. The paper, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, quotes a former senior Yemeni al-Qaida official saying the terror group is now in a “positive phase,” of staffing and rebuilding training camps around the globe. The action will lead to the next “wave of action” against the U.S., the paper reported. According to the report, bin Laden is personally involved in the preparations and is looking to "change the face of world politics and economics.” The paper is edited by Abdel al-Bari Atwan, the last journalist to interview bin Laden in 1996. The Yemeni operative says he remains in contact with current al-Qaida chiefs. He claims bin Laden sent a message to all jihad cells in the Arab world six months ago urging them not to interact with their governments or local political parties. More signs of al-Qaida’s violent intentions are expected over the next few days, the paper reported. The al-Qaida warning comes just one day after The Telegraph newspaper published a leaked government report showing thousands of extremists are active in the U.K. The document says the operatives are mostly native Brits between 18 and 30. Many have been trained in overseas terrorist camps. Security officials warned that al-Qaida will attempt another "spectacular" in the U.K., likely focused on airports or train stations, The Telegraph reported. Other potential targets include the Houses of Parliament, and Whitehall, Buckingham and St James' palaces................... read more
Obama’s Road to Damascus - First Steps of the Coming Middle East Policy Change History will record that Barack Obama’s first act of diplomacy as America’s president-elect took place two days after his election victory, when he dispatched his senior foreign-policy adviser, Robert Malley, to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—to outline for them the forthcoming administration’s Mideast policy vis-à-vis those nations. An aide to Malley reports, “The tenor of the messages was that the Obama administration would take into greater account Egyptian and Syrian interests” than has President Bush. The Bush administration, it should be noted, has rightly recognized Syria to be not only a chief supporter of the al Qaeda insurgency in Iraq, but also the headquarters of the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the longtime sponsor of Hamas—the terrorist army whose founding charter is irrevocably committed to the annihilation of Israel. Yet unlike President Bush, Obama and Malley have called for Israel to engage in peace negotiations with Syria. A Harvard-trained lawyer and Rhodes Scholar, Robert Malley is no newcomer to the Obama team. In 2007, Obama selected him as a foreign policy adviser to his campaign. In a July 2001 op-ed which Malley penned for the New York Times, he alleged that Israeli—not Palestinian—inflexibility had caused the previous year’s Camp David peace talks to fall apart. This was one of several controversial articles Malley has written—some he co-authored with Hussein Agha, a former adviser to Arafat—blaming Israel and exonerating Arafat (the most prolific Jew-killer since Adolph Hitler) for the failure of the peace process. Malley’s identification of Israel as the cause of the Camp David impasse has been widely embraced by Palestinian and Arab activists around the world. Malley also has written numerous op-eds urging the U.S. to disengage from Israel to some degree, and recommending that America reach out to negotiate with its traditional Arab enemies such as Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah (a creature of Iran dedicated to the extermination of the Jews and death to America), and Muqtada al-Sadr (the Shiite terrorist leader in Iraq). In addition, Malley has advised nations around the world to establish relationships with, and to send financial aid to, the Hamas-led Palestinian government in Gaza. This inclination to negotiate with any and all enemies of the U.S. and Israel—an impulse which Malley has outlined clearly and consistently—has had a powerful influence on Barack Obama................... read more
Obama Will Change Balance on Courts QuicklyIt’s a given that Barack Obama will change the balance on the courts to a liberal judicial outlook. What is surprising is how quickly he could do that. Because Democrats dragged their heels on President Bush’s judicial nominations, 14 seats are open on appeals courts or will be by the end of January. Democratic nominees now are a majority on only one of the 13 federal appeals courts, the ultra-liberal U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. Within four years, Obama could name enough judges to give Democrats a majority on nine of the 13 appeals courts. On the Supreme Court, five justices are older than 70. The first likely to retire is Justice John Paul Stevens, who is 88. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75. Justice David Souter, who will turn 70 next year, is known to be unhappy living in Washington. Assuming Obama is re-elected, Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy will be 80 by his second term. Thus, Obama will be able to name several Supreme Court justices. Given that Democrats hold a majority of the Senate, Obama will have little trouble obtaining confirmation of his appointees. A simple majority of the Senate confirms judicial appointments. But what really sends chills up conservatives’ spines is the president-elect’s statement on a Chicago radio station that he is “not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts,” implying that he would like to change the courts so that they construct their own laws. That raised a flag for Brad Berenson, who was associate counsel in the Bush White House and helped vet judicial appointments. “Given his legal training and his background as a constitutional law professor, given what he’s said publicly about the kinds of judicial appointees he’ll be looking for, and given a very substantial majority of Democrats in the Senate, he’s going to be emboldened to try to please his base with very liberal appointments,” Berenson told Newsmax. “During the campaign, when he was asked about what he would look for in a judge, the dominant theme of his comments was that he would look for a judge that would decide cases according to heart more than head, which suggests a substantive agenda in favor of helping certain favored or sympathetic groups in society, rather than a passion for finding judges who will neutrally apply the law, My general expectation is that he will look for people of quality, but he will look for people of quality who have a substantive liberal agenda on the bench, and as long as he has a substantial majority in the Senate, he may well get such people confirmed,”. Ken Klukowski, a legal expert who consults for major conservative interest groups, told Newsmax. “If he appoints someone that votes in a way against what his party base would anticipate, on some issue of critical concern to the left, whether it’s gay marriage, abortion, the second amendment, whatever it is, he knows that the political fallout for him could be catastrophic.”................... read more
Sarkozy Pushes for Abandonment of Dollar as World Reserve CurrencyThe US dollar can no longer claim to be the sole world currency, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday before a weekend summit on the global financial crisis that has its roots in the United States. 'I leave for Washington tomorrow to explain that the dollar, which at the end of World War II was the only world currency, can no longer claim to be the sold world currency,' Mr Sarkozy said. 'The world changes. We are in the 21st century and the French view is that we cannot continue into the 21st century with a system established in the 20th century,' he said. 'What was true in 1945 cannot still be true today. It is not a question of courage, it is a matter of good sense to look at things as they really are.' Leaders from the Group of 20 developed and developing countries meet in Washington on Saturday to discuss the financial crisis that has now begun to cut growth sharply worldwide. Created in 1999, the G20 countries account for 85 per cent of the world economy and about two-thirds of its population, with its leaders hoping to hammer on Saturday out a common approach and understanding of the crisis. Mr Sarkozy, who also holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has said several times that the Washington meeting should tackle currency issues, alongside efforts to improve the transparency and regulation of the financial markets. Since the end of World War II, the US dollar has effectively been the world's reserve currency, used across the board and thereby giving the United States immense influence in the global economic system.................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece
Abbas Praises Suicide Bombers; Foreign Media Downplay RemarksPalestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in Ramallah in memory of his predecessor Yasser Arafat, praised "the path of the shahids [martyrs]--"the path we cherish." He added, "It is aimed at upholding the Palestinians' nationalist and sovereign resolutions." Israeli and Western governments almost always describe Abbas a as a "moderate," particularly when comparing him with leaders of Hamas, which the same governments have defined as a terrorist organization. Abbas told thousands at the rally, "The Palestinian leadership will continue to follow Yasser Arafat's path until a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established." Arafat carried out or ordered thousands of major and minor terrorist attacks before he died four years ago. Israeli Arab Knesset Member (United Arab List—Ta'al) Ahmed Tibi also addressed the rally at Ramallah, saying that "we miss Arafat's keffiyeh - a symbol for all revolutionaries, freedom-seekers worldwide." He expressed the hope that Arafat will "rise from the grave and lead" Arabs. Foreign media generally omitted Abbas's remarks on martyrs, which usually refers to suicide bombers, and highlighted his comments on the need for PA unity................ read more
Likud Widens Gap over Kadima 33-28, Other Parties DropThe Likud party would win 33 mandates, five more than Kadima, if elections were held today, according to a poll published by the Yisrael HaYom (Israel Today) newspaper. The results of the survey shows that Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu would become Prime Minister with a slender majority of 61 Knesset Members. The new line-up in the Knesset, according to the newspaper poll, shows that every other party, except Meretz, would suffer losses. The Greens would win three mandates, giving the faction its first representation in the Knesset................. read more
Ancient Jewish Rite May Save Africa From AIDS: Operation AbrahamThe patriarch Abraham, who complied with the Torah-recorded commandment by God to circumcise himself, his sons Isaac and Ishmael, and all his generations afterward as a sign "in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:13), is the inspiration for a consortium of Israeli doctors who are training circumcision teams in Africa to fight the continental pandemic of AIDS in a project called Operation Abraham. The United Nations announced in 2007 that the procedure could reduce the rate of the HIV virus transmission by up to 60 percent. Operation Abraham was launched in 2006 by Dr. Inon Schenker, founder of the Jerusalem AIDS project and respected researcher and senior consultant specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention. The project is currently training counterparts in the AIDS-infested capital of Swaziland, Mbabane, to conduct assembly line-style circumcisions. Death rates are so high in Swaziland that the life expectancy of a citizen has plummeted to the tender age of 31. Ritual circumcision, which is ordinarily conducted according to the Torah commandment on the 8th day following the birth of a boy, was performed on tens of thousands of Russian Jewish men and older boys who were barred from taking part in the ancient Jewish tradition while living behind the Iron Curtain and chose to take part in the rite upon emigrating to Israel. According to Schenker, approximately 1,000 circumcisions were conducted every day in five hospitals around Israel during the height of Russian immigration. "Israel is the only country with such experience in mass adult-male circumcision, and it can respond to a very important humanitarian challenge," Schenker told the Tribune. Officials from the World Health Organization traveled to Jerusalem in 2006 to gather information on Israel’s expertise in the field, and used Israeli methodology to formulate a male circumcision manual and teaching course which are now part of government male circumcision programs in several African countries... ................ read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Target Israel? Iran Tests New Long-Range MissileIran test fired a new, more accurate surface-to-surface missile, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, in a fresh effort to enhance Tehran’s military might. The test comes as speculation brews over a possible U.S. or Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, which are believed to be a front for a weapons development program. "It will only fall on the Islamic republic's enemies who want to attack and invade the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar told the AFP. "This missile is a two-stage weapon with two combined solid-fuel engines and has an extraordinary high capability," state television quoted Najjar as saying. While Iran claims that its ballistic missiles — which can strike targets more than 1,200 miles away — are for defensive purposes, Tehran has warned that it would strike American bases in the Middle East in the event of an attack from the U.S. or Israel. Iran is known to possess a medium-range ballistic missile known as the Shahab-3, which means "shooting star" in Farsi, with a range of at least 800 miles. In 2005, Iranian officials said they had improved the range of the Shahab-3 to 1,200 miles. "We know that Iran is developing an extended version of the Shahaab-3 that could strike our allies and our friends from the middle east as well as southeastern Europe and to include some of our deployed forces," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told FOX News. "We've consistently pointed out that Iran's missile program is a concern and this testing is another reminder of the importance of establishing a missile defense site in Poland and Czech Republic to defend the U.S. and Europe against a threat that is developing in Iran." ................. read more
Russia to Sell Heavy Arms to LebanonFollowing a meeting last week between leading Lebanese legislator Sa'ad Hariri and Russian leaders, Hariri was quoted by Russian media this weekend as saying Russia will sell heavy weaponry to Lebanon. Previously, Hariri said that he hoped Russia would help Lebanon claim Mt. Dov from Israel. Russia is expecting Lebanon to recognize the independence of the breakaway Georgian districts of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Hariri, the son of the assassinated popular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, represents the Western-backed majority in the Lebanese parliament. Russia will "help the Lebanese army," the Vremia Novosti newspaper quoted Hariri as saying, "which needs heavy weapons" such as tanks and artillery. American military aid, Hariri told Russian media, only consists of light arms. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr is to visit Moscow in coming weeks, when the details of the arms deal will be finalized. The Russian state arms export firm, Rosoboronexport, has been boycotted by the United States government for arms deals with Iran, North Korea and Syria. In early October, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and urged him not to approve the sale of weapons to Iran and Syria. It was imperative, he told the Russian leader, to "prevent weapons from Syria from reaching extremist elements in Lebanon, such as Hizbullah."..................... read more
5. Apostate Christianity
'Pastor to presidents' replaced by gay bishopA conservative Christian activist says it's a sad omen for the Obama administration and the United States that Barack Obama has been seeking guidance from the Episcopal Church's first openly homosexual bishop. The Times of London reports that the president-elect sought out New Hampshire homosexual bishop Vicki Gene Robinson for advice three times during his presidential campaign. Robinson, whose ordination in the Episcopal Church has caused a deep rift within the Anglican Communion, was reportedly sought out by Obama to discuss what it feels like to be "first." Robinson notes in their three private conversations, Obama voiced his support for "equal civil rights" for homosexuals and described the election as a "religious experience." Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, believes Obama's consultations with Robinson show the true tenor of his upcoming administration. Gene Robinson advocates homosexuality as part of the Christian experience," he explains. "Now Bible-believing Christians cannot accept that. Homosexual practice is sinful, as taught by the scriptures. LaBarbera suggests Robinson may possibly replace Jeremiah Wright as one of Obama's main spiritual advisers. Wright was Obama's Chicago pastor for 20 years before disassociating with the controversial preacher during the presidential campaign.. ................. read more
Methodist Church continues downward spiral with "inclusive philosophy"A religious watchdog organization says the recent unauthorized ordination ceremony for a lesbian and another woman who champions homosexual rights is evidence of the theological tailspin plaguing the historic United Methodist Church in Maryland. Last month, a so-called "extraordinary ordination" was held at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Baltimore. Organizers said the ceremony was sponsored by the Church Within A Church Movement, a Methodist group which bills itself as being the "inclusive church" and plants churches with the objective of providing ministry opportunities for "sexual minorities." Annie Britton and Jenna Zirbel were "ordained" on Sunday, October 19. Britton is legally married to her partner in Massachusetts, and Zirbel says she had been denied ordination previously because of her stated support of "gay and lesbian people in the church." United Methodist Church (UMC) officials noted the ceremony was unauthorized. Mark Tooley with The Institute on Religion & Democracy believes organizers have a clear agenda. "The Church Within A Church Movement is hoping that they are doing what the church as a whole will be doing in the near future," he contends. "I am more hopeful that the church, having said no, will continue to say no to the acceptance of openly homosexual clergy.". ................. read more
6. The Rise of Islam
Saudi Arabia Using UN Interfaith Dialogue To Push Global Blasphemy LawWorld leaders gathering at the United Nations this week for a special session of the General Assembly to advance interfaith dialogue should have no illusions that their efforts will miraculously promote mutual respect between religious communities or end abuses of religious freedom. Saudi King Abdullah, who initiated this week's special session, is quietly enlisting the leaders' support for a global law to punish blasphemy – a campaign championed by the 56-member Organization of Islamic Conference that puts the rights of religions ahead of individual liberties. If the campaign succeeds, states that presume to speak in the name of religion will be able to crush religious freedom not only in their own country, but abroad. The UN session is designed to endorse a meeting of religious leaders in Spain last summer that was the brainchild of King Abdullah and organized by the Muslim World League. That meeting resulted in a final statement counseling promotion of "respect for religions, their places of worship, and their symbols ... therefore preventing the derision of what people consider sacred." The lofty-sounding principle is, in fact, a cleverly coded way of granting religious leaders the right to criminalize speech and activities that they deem to insult religion. Instead of promoting harmony, however, this effort will exacerbate divisions and intensify religious repression. Such prohibitions have already been used in some countries to restrict discussion of individuals' freedom vis-à-vis the state, to prevent criticism of political figures or parties, to curb dissent from prevailing views and beliefs, and even to incite and to justify violence. In a particularly egregious recent case, a woman was gang-raped as punishment by seven men who found her alone in a car with a man who was not her relative. She escaped the sentence of 200 lashes and six months in prison only because of a pardon by King Abdullah, yet he also said he believed the sentence was appropriate. Holding a session on advancing interfaith dialogue abroad is a pale substitute for hosting it in the kingdom, where the message of respect for freedom of religion and belief is most needed. Against the background of Saudi repression and the kingdom's role in exporting extremism, including through school textbooks preaching hatred of "unbelievers," the UN and every world leader attending the special session should be demanding an end to severe violations of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia................ read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
First 'humanoid' robot that can mimic the facial expressions and lip movements of a human beingScientists have created the first 'humanoid' robot that can mimic the facial expressions and lip movements of a human being. 'Jules' - a disembodied androgynous robotic head - can automatically copy the movements, which are picked up by a video camera and mapped on to the tiny electronic motors in his skin. It can grin and grimace, furrow its brow and 'speak' as his software translates real expressions observed through video camera 'eyes'. Jules is the first humanoid robot who can realistically mimic a real person's expressions merely by watching their face Jules mimics the expressions by converting the video image into digital commands that make the robot's servos and motors produce mirrored movements. And it all happens in real time as the robot can interpret the commands at 25 frames per second. The technology works using ten stock human emotions - such as happiness, sadness, concern etc - that the team 'taught' Jules via programming. The software then maps what it sees to Jules's face to combine expressions instantly to mimic those being shown by a human subject. 'If you want people to be able to interact with machines, then you've got to be able to do it naturally. 'When it moves, it has to look natural in the same way that human expressions are, to make interaction useful.' Peter Jaeckel, who works in artificial emotion, artificial empathy and humanoids at BRL, said: 'Realistic, life-like robot appearance is crucial for sophisticated face-to-face robot-human interaction. 'Researchers predict that one day, robotic companions will work, or assist humans in space, care and education........................... read more
Australian web filter to block 10,000 internet sitesAustralia's mandatory net filter is being primed to block 10,000 websites as part of a blacklist of unspecified "unwanted content". Some 1300 websites have already been identified by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Communications Minister Senator Conroy revealed details of the Rudd Government's proposed web filter as he called for expressions of interest from internet service providers (ISPs) for a live trial of the technology, the Courier-Mail reports. ISPs will test ways to filter the web using volunteer subscribers. The trial will start before Christmas and is expected to last six weeks. "The pilot will specifically test filtering against the ACMA blacklist of prohibited content, as well as filtering of other unwanted content," Senator Conroy told Parliament today. "While the ACMA blacklist is currently around 1300 URLs, the pilot will test against this list - as well as filtering for a range of URLs to around 10,000 - so that the impacts on network performance of a larger blacklist can be examined." Electronic Frontiers Australia board member Colin Jacobs said his civil liberties group was concerned at what would be deemed "unwanted content". "It is unclear how ACMA will scale up their blacklist to 10,000 websites and what will go on the list," he said........................... read more
Google Trends - What The World Is Searching And ThinkingCollective intelligence might be the most unreliable and elusive resource on the planet. But when someone does manage to tap it, it can be powerful. Just think of Wikipedia, which has proven to be a broad, flexible and surprisingly accurate source of information, because anyone can edit it. One of the most exciting new experiments in collective intelligence comes from Google. (Where else?) It's called Google Flu Trends. It monitors how often users in various parts of the United States enter certain phrases into its search engine: "flu symptoms", for example, or "chills." Over time, the graph of flu-related searches is strikingly similar to the graph of documented flu outbreaks. If there's a spike in flu cases in late November in Maine, it will show up in Google searches as well as doctor's offices. But the really exciting thing is that Google might know about the spike a week or two before public health authorities do, because people tend to search the Internet before they call their doctors. This means that by monitoring search engines, governments can predict outbreaks earlier. Google suggests the tool might even help governments mount an early response to a pandemic. It's worth remembering that the effectiveness of a tool like Google Flu Trends depends on the computer literacy and access to technology of a given population. It might also be skewed by fears (see article: "Massive Surge in traffic for keyword “antichrist” since Obama victory") and misperceptions. It's also worth asking what uses authoritarian governments might find for search-engine monitoring. ........................ read more
Packs of robots to hunt down uncooperative humans The latest request from the Pentagon jars the senses. At least, it did mine. They are looking for contractors to provide a "Multi-Robot Pursuit System" that will let packs of robots "search for and detect a non-cooperative human". One thing that really bugs defence chiefs is having their troops diverted from other duties to control robots. So having a pack of them controlled by one person makes logistical sense. But I'm concerned about where this technology will end up. Given that iRobot last year struck a deal with Taser International to mount stun weapons on its military robots, how long before we see packs of droids hunting down pesky demonstrators with paralysing weapons? Or could the packs even be lethally armed? I asked two experts on automated weapons what they thought. Both were concerned that packs of robots would be entrusted with tasks - and weapons - they were not up to handling without making wrong decisions........................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
Gay Rights Activists Attack Church, Media SilentWorshippers at a Bible-teaching church in Lansing, Mich., were stunned Sunday when members of a pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back interrupted their service to fling propaganda and condoms around the sanctuary, drape a profane banner from the balcony and feature two lesbians making out at the pulpit. According to a blog posting by Nick De Leeuw on Right Michigan, the Bash Back organization orchestrated a protest in front of Mount Hope Church to draw the church's security staff away from the sanctuary. Then Bash Backers who had dressed up and mixed in with church worshippers took action. According to De Leeuw, "Prayer had just finished when men and women stood up in pockets across the congregation, on the main floor and in the balcony. "'Jesus was gay,' they shouted among other profanities and blasphemies as they rushed the stage. Some forced their way through rows of women and kids to try to hang a profane banner from the balcony while others began tossing fliers into the air. Two women made their way to the pulpit and began to kiss," he wrote. He cited the Bash Back organization's own announcement of other items members brought into the church, including "a megaphone, noise makers, condoms, glitter by the bucket load, confetti, pink fabric. ..." According to the alternative Lansing City Pulse – which reported it was notified of the protest ahead of time and sent a reporter along instead of warning the church – the protesters also screamed at parishioners and pulled the church facility's fire alarm. The report said Bash Back issued a statement today confirming it targeted Mount Hope, which has about 5,000 church participants, because it participates in "the repression of queers." "According to the Bible, Mount Hope Church believes homosexuality to be a sin, just as fornication, stealing, drunkenness, and lying are sins. No sin greater than the next. Mount Hope Church strives to follow Jesus' example of loving the sinner but not the sin while helping people change their lives for God's glory and their improved quality of life. Mount Hope Church also recognizes that to each person God grants freewill." The church then offered help for people "caught up in unwanted sexual sin, drug abuse, and many other areas." "The church's response? After things settled down, the blasphemy ended, the lewd props removed and the families safe from fear of additional men and women running into and past them the pastor took the stage and led the congregation in one more prayer ... not for retribution, or divine justice or a celestial comeuppance but instead that the troubled individuals who'd just defiled the Lord's house, so full of anger and hate, would know Jesus' love in their lives and God's peace that exceeds human understanding,"...................... read more
Christian Ballet Ministry Takes Gospel to IsraelAmerica’s premier Christian ballet company kicked off their Israel tour, taking a story of hope, forgiveness and reconciliation to the world’s only Jewish state. Ballet Magnificat!’s 13-day tour will hit Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tiberius before ending Nov. 22 in Tel-Aviv. At each stop, the Christian ballet ministry will be performing The Hiding Place, a powerful ballet based on the story of renowned holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom, who has used the events that took place in the lives of herself and her family during the Nazi invasion to teach the world the power of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Though Israel forbids Christians from evangelizing in the country, the Jewish state has honored ten Boom as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for helping many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. Ten Boom and her family, all strong Christians, had become very active in the Dutch underground in 1942, hiding refugees and rescuing many Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazi Party’s “Shield Squadron.” After about two years of taking in refugees, the ten Booms were arrested in 1944 and sent to Scheveningen prison, where Corrie’s father died after ten days. Corrie’s sister also died later after the family was moved to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany. Corrie was eventually released on Christmas Day of December 1944 due to a clerical error. The women prisoners her age in the camp were killed the week following her release. "God does not have problems. Only plans," she said following her release. After the war, ten Boom returned to the Netherlands to set up rehabilitation centers. She returned to Germany in 1946, and traveled the world as a public speaker, appearing in over 60 countries, during which time she wrote many books – her most famous being The Hiding Place, which was made into a film in 1975 as well as the ballet performance performed by Ballet Magnificat! Ballet Magnificat! – founded by Keith Thibodeaux and his wife, 1982 USA IBC silver medalist Kathy Thibodeaux – has taken the story of ten Boom from coast to coast in the United States, in addition to Honduras, Belize, Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Since its founding in 1986, Ballet Magnificat! has been dedicated to presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world through the medium of dance. .............. read more
Signs of the times - Oregon City Elects America's First Transgender MayorPlenty of politicians reinvent themselves, but few do it quite like Mayor-elect Stu Rasmussen. Rasmussen has been a fixture in Silverton politics for more than 20 years, and had twice before been mayor of the small city 45 miles south of Portland. Those terms, however, were before his breast implants and before the once-discreet crossdresser started wearing dresses and 3-inch heels in public. Silverton has made Rasmussen the country's first openly transgender mayor, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that works to help openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people win elected office. Rasmussen, 60, unseated incumbent mayor Ken Hector, with whom he had long clashed, by 1,988 votes to 1,512. "Stu never sought this recognition out," said JustOut reporter Stephen Marc Beaudoin. "He's interested in doing a great job for the community that he loves. The gender identity thing is just a total backseat thing." That comes across when Rasmussen speaks in his decidedly masculine voice. "I am a dude," he said. "I am a heterosexual male who appears to be a female.". .............. read more
Palestinian Christians Suffering ‘Severe Blows’ From Muslims, Muslim SaysPalestinian Christians are suffering “severe blows” at the hands of Muslims, a Palestinian wrote in an exceptionally candid column about the situation of Christians in Arab countries. “Let us be honest with ourselves and courageously say out loud that Palestinian Christians are taking many severe blows, yet are suffering in silence so as not to attract attention,” wrote Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar in the P.A. daily Al-Ayyam. Muslims and most Christians in Palestinian areas tell journalists that they are all Palestinians. Publicly, they usually deny that there are any problems or differences between them. They say that they get along fine and the main problem is the Israeli “occupation” of the West Bank. Privately, however, some Christians admit to job losses, land seizures, attacks on churches, intimidation, torture, beatings, kidnappings, forced marriage and sexual harassment of Christian women. Some Christians have been killed. But examples of inter-religious tension rarely make it into the Palestinian or Arab media. In his column on October 25, Al-Najjar, who is himself a Muslim and a regular contributor to the official P.A. newspaper, criticized the Muslim persecution of Christians in Arab countries, particularly in Palestinian Authority-administered areas. Al-Najjar said Christians are suffering, not because of the Israeli “occupation” but because of the confiscation of Christian property, especially in theWest Bank cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Al-Birah. Tens of thousands of Arab Christians have fled the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the years. In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, the Christian exodus has been most acute. In 1990, 60 percent of the population there was Christian. Today, some estimates say 20 percent or less of the city’s population is Christian. Only 1.5 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is Christian. .............. read more
9. Other events to watch
Giving Babylon a second chanceIt was one of the world's first, greatest cities — a place where astronomers mapped the stars millennia ago and kings created an early code of law and planted what became known as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Yet little remains of the ancient capital, as seen by The Associated Press during a trip to Babylon last month on one of the few permits issued by Iraq's government since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The site has the aura of a theme park touched by the ambition of dictator Saddam Hussein and the opportunism of looters: Modern walkways run beside crumbling old walls, a reconstructed Greek theater and a palace built for Saddam atop an artificial hill. Now, for the first time, global institutions led by the U.N. are thoroughly documenting the damage and how to fix it. A UNESCO report due out early next year will cite Saddam's construction but focus, at the Iraqi government's request, on damage done by U.S. forces from April to September 2003, and the Polish troops deployed there for more than a year afterward. The U.S., which turned Babylon into a military base, says the looting would have been worse but for the troops' presence. The U.S. also says it will help rehabilitate Babylon, funding an effort by the World Monuments Fund and Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, but has yet to release precise funding figures. Archaeologists hope the effort will lead someday to new digging to follow up on the excavations done by a German team in the early 1900s. "The site is tremendously important," said Gaetano Palumbo of the New York City-based World Monuments Fund. Yet in its present state, Babylon is "hardly understandable, as a place where so much happened in history." ................... read more
100 Days To Shaping A New World Economic OrderEuropean Union leaders backed a 100-day deadline by which the world's leading economies should decide urgent global finance reforms, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday. Sarkozy, who chaired a special meeting of EU nations, said the financial crisis and economic downturn required a quick deal on an overhaul at a Nov 15 summit in Washington bringing together leaders of the world's 20 largest industrialized nations and emerging economies. "We are in an economic crisis. We have to take this into account," Sarkozy said. "We have to react and we have no time to lose." "I'm not going to take part in a summit where there is just talk for talk's sake," Sarkozy told reporters after talks between the heads of the EU's 27 nations. The EU is calling for a second global summit next spring to flesh out changes to the way the world economy is governed. They want to see far more supervision of big financial companies and are urging governments to jointly monitor them. They want to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street excesses that caused havoc in markets worldwide, and are bringing emerging economies China, India and Brazil on board for talks on shaping a new world economic order. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Washington talks should be a "decisive moment for the world economy." A text agreed by EU leaders says they want an early warning system that would watch for financial bubbles and prevent ``world imbalances'', such as the swelling US trade deficit. They also suggest making the International Monetary Fund the world's financial watchdog, suggesting it be given more power to curb financial crises and give more money to aid countries in trouble..................... read more

Youtube Vid of the Month

2008-11-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxu_MQSTTY

Prophecy News Watch - November 07

2008-11-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

1. Where is the United States in Prophecy?
World faces growing risk of war: US intelligence chiefThe world faces a growing risk of conflict over the next 20 to 30 years amid an unprecedented transfer of wealth and power from West to East, according to the US intelligence chief. Michael McConnell, the director of national intelligence, predicted rising demand for scarce supplies of food and fuel, strategic competition over new technologies, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. "What I'm suggesting -- there's an increased potential for conflict," McConnell said in a speech Thursday to intelligence professionals in Nashville, Tennessee. "During the period of this assessment, out to 2025, the probability for conflict between nations and within nation-state entities will be greater," he said. Conditions for "large casualty terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, or less likely, nuclear materials" also will increase during that period, he said. McConnell described a multi-polar world in 2025 shaped by the rise of China, India and Brazil, whose economies will by then match those of the western industrial states. "In terms of size, speed, and directional flow, the transfer of global wealth and economic power, now underway, as noted from West to East is without precedent in modern history," McConnell said. "China is poised to have more impact on the world over the next 20 years than any other country," he said. India will have either the third or second largest economy and will press to become "one of the significant poles of this new world," he said.................. read more
White House ‘very concerned’ about transition attackWhite House press secretary Dana Perino warned Thursday that the administration is “very concerned” about the threat of a terror attack during the transition or the early weeks of the Obama administration. “That is something that we're very concerned about,” Perino said. “We've seen that in other countries — Spain, obviously, had that terrible bombing.” Perino said that “we know that Al Qaeda and others try to test a new administration,” echoing Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who caught flack for a similar statement on the campaign trail. Perino added that the Bush administration is “determined” to make sure that "we overlap in terms of our understanding and capabilities so that ... when we hand the baton over to the Obama team, that they have that full range of capabilities and also all the knowledge that they need to help continue to keep us safe.” “I don't know of anything specific,” she added, “but we do know that this is just a heightened period of concern.”.................. read more
President of the World? Barack Obama's election on Tuesday set off international celebrations and ignited a fervor for the United States that has been unseen since the days immediately following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. To some observers, the international reaction has elevated America's president-elect to an unparalleled post: president of the world. In Kenya, where Obama's father was born, a national holiday was declared on Thursday. In Indonesia, children danced at the school Obama attended when he was a young boy, embracing him as much for what he represents abroad as for the policies he advocates at home. "People from all over Africa, especially in Kenya, where this is a holiday, are feeling that the most powerful person in the world does not have to be a white guy. That's a huge breakthrough for the United States and for humanity," said Walter Russell Mead, the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. "This is the fall of the Berlin Wall times ten," Rama Yade, France's junior minister for human rights, told French radio. "On this morning, we all want to be American, so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes." "This may be the beginning of a new world. It marks the end of old elites and opens the door for new approaches worldwide," an Israeli man in his mid-50s said in Tel Aviv. Foreign observers, who paid rapt attention during the long election season, are taking a personal stake in the outcome of a vote a world away. Expectations are high for the 47-year-old Obama, who will take over on January 20 amid a financial collapse and who will preside over two wars on his first day in office. "The standing of everybody in the world is going to be affected by what President Obama does or doesn't do," said Mead, noting that all eyes will be looking to the new president for a way out of the global financial crisis................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece
'Peace pact unlikely by year's end'US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday all but conceded that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by a year-end deadline is no longer possible, but said it is important for the next US and Israeli leaders to maintain momentum and support for the negotiations. Rice spoke as she arrived for her eighth trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories since the parties set the timeline for reaching an agreement at last November's summit at Annapolis, Maryland. "It is our expectation that the Annapolis process has laid groundwork which should make possible the establishment of a Palestinian state when the political circumstances permit," Rice said. "I think that whatever happens by the end of the year, you've got a firm foundation for quickly moving this forward to conclusion." Although Rice refused to absolutely rule out the chance of an agreement by year's end, her remarks reflect the first time that an official of the Bush administration has publicly not held out hope that the deadline could be met. "We'll see where they are at the end of the year," said Rice, vowing to "work on this with the parties until the day that we leave."................ read more
Time for Israel to appoint a king, scholar saysRenowned Israeli biblical scholar and historian David Solomon last week said that conditions in Israel today are ripe for replacing democracy with theocratic monarchy and appointing a king. Speaking to Israel National Radio, Solomon said that the leadership and religious crises currently facing Israel mirror those during the time of the Prophet Samuel. Millennia ago, the people of Israel turned to Samuel to help them replace their form of government with a monarchy in order to alleviate the nation's problems. Just as then, many Israelis today might view a theocratic monarchy as a viable answer to Israel's "disastrous absence of genuine political and spiritual and religious leadership," said Solomon................. read more
Will Israel strike at Iran before Obama takes over?On December 8, 1988, under the cover of night, IDF warplanes, helicopters, guided-missile frigates and an elite force of Flotilla 13 naval commandos and Golani Brigade reconnaissance fighters infiltrated Lebanon. Their target was a cave-based headquarters 20 km. south of Beirut, serving the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, headed by Ahmed Jibril. The operation took place one month after US President George H. Bush was voted into office, and a month before he was sworn in, replacing the popular Ronald Reagan, a leader widely viewed as a staunch ally of Israel. Operation Blue and Brown says nothing about the likelihood of an Israeli strike on Iran today. But it does show that IDF operations have been ordered in the interim period between the election of a new American president and his inauguration. And it is this same period in 2008/09 that provides an "attractive date" for Israel to strike Iran's nuclear program, according to historian Benny Morris. In June, Morris wrote an op-ed for The New York Times in which he theorized that Israel would likely strike Iran between November 5 and January 19, the day before Obama is sworn in. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post this week, Morris said he continued to believe that time period was a "reasonable" one for Israeli action. "There is certainly a friendly president in the White House until January 20. There is no certainty over what will happen after that, in which direction the wind will blow.. ................ read more
3. A Revived Roman Empire?
Mediterranean Union agrees on Barcelona as headquarters, Arab-Israeli roleForeign ministers from the new Mediterranean Union have struck a deal for Barcelona to host the forum's headquarters and for Israel and the Arab League to take part side-by-side. The Union's 43 member states held two days of talks in the port of Marseille to end a four-month deadlock on the two contentious issues, which threatened to hamstring the fledgling organisation. "It wasn't supposed to work, and yet it did," said Kouchner, adding: "The essential points were accepted completely and without reservation by all 43 states" in the Union for the Mediterranean. Ministers from the Mediterranean's mainly-Arab southern rim agreed to back the Spanish city of Barcelona's candidacy to host the Union in exchange for the post of secretary-general going to a southern member. They also clinched a deal on granting the Arab League a full-time seat at the forum -- a key demand of Arab members, strongly opposed by Israel which feared the pan-Arab group would try to block its involvement. "The Arabic participation will take place in every meeting with the right to speak at all levels," said Abul Gheit, although it will have no right to vote. Israel agreed to the Arab League's role in exchange for one of five deputy secretary-general posts for an initial three-year period, possibly renewable. Launched at a Paris summit in July, the new union brings together EU members with states from north Africa, the Balkans, the Arab world and Israel in a bid to foster cooperation in one of the world's most volatile regions. ................. read more
From Cross to Crescent in Paris - Islam spreads throughout EuropeIt's a sight that would shatter most Americans' romanticized image of Paris. Just a 15-minute metro ride from the trendy shops and quaint cafés of the Champs-Elysees, a virtual sea of North and West African Muslims spills out the gates of a neighborhood mosque. Like waves breaking on a beach, their bodies bend in unison as hundreds of men prostrate themselves before Allah. Their prayers are guided by an imam's Arabic incantations. The crowd's prayer rugs cover a city block's worth of sidewalk. Tourists point and take pictures. Some French pedestrians are visibly uncomfortable as they negotiate their way around the assembly. But the scene isn't an aberration. Instead, it's evidence of a trend that's changing the way Southern Baptists view the international mission field: Islam is expanding across Europe. Fueled by immigration and high birthrates, the number of Muslims on the continent has tripled in the past 30 years, making Islam Europe's fastest growing religion. While European Muslims build mosques and win converts, European Christians (excluding evangelicals) are witnessing what's been called a near free-fall decline in church attendance. Tourists make up the overwhelming majority of those crowding Notre Dame in Paris, snapping photos during Mass as if the cathedral was more museum than place of worship. Even more alarming are statistics that only 5 percent of the French own a Bible and 80 percent have never even touched one. The shift is so dramatic that many demographers now believe more people in Europe practice Islam than Christianity. No one knows exactly how many Muslims call Europe home since most European nations don't track ethnicity or religious affiliation in census data. Guesses put the number around 20 million. France accounts for the highest concentration of Muslims in the European Union -- 5 to 6 million, or about 8 percent of the population. Many entered the country as immigrants in guest-worker programs following World War II, but untold numbers have flooded France and other European nations illegally.. ................. read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Putin may return to Kremlin in 2009, extend rule to 2021Russian President Dmitry Medvedev could resign from his post in 2009 to pave the way for Vladimir Putin to return to the Kremlin, Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday, citing an unidentified source close to the Kremlin. Medvedev Wednesday proposed increasing the presidential term to six years from four years, a step the newspaper said was part of a plan drawn up by Vladislav Surkov, who serves as Medvedev's first deputy chief of staff. Under the plan, Medvedev could implement changes to the constitution and unpopular social reforms "so that Putin could return to the Kremlin for a longer period," the newspaper said. "Under this scenario Medvedev could resign early citing changes to the constitution and then presidential elections could take place in 2009," the newspaper said, citing the unidentified source close to the Kremlinl. The paper said Putin, who is currently prime minister, could then rule for two six year terms, so from 2009 to 2021. Investors, already jittery over the impact of the financial crisis on Russia's economic boom, are trying to work out who is really in charge of Russia, the biggest question for those seeking to ascertain political risk.. ................. read more
Russia determined to broaden interaction with Islamic world - MedvedevPresident Dmitry Medvedev has sent greetings to the fourth meeting of the Russia - Islamic World strategic vision group in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin reported on Tuesday. "Russia's developing cooperation with the Islamic states remains highly dynamic. Your Group is playing no small part in this," Medvedev writes. "Russia, a country with observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference, intends to abide firmly to its course to expand active interaction with the Islamic world. I think in connection with this, that a broad discussion of the initiative to further develop interregional dialogue, proposed by King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saudi of Saudi Arabia, is of crucial importance, taking into account a significant role the religious factor is playing in international affairs," he said. "I am also convinced, that the implementation of the Russia-proposed idea of forming a consultative council of religions under UN aegis, will help strengthen the moral principles of world politics, facilitate deeper inter-confessional communication and, in a broader context, promote the dialogue of civilizations," the Russian president writes. "The illusion of the uni-polar world is becoming a thing of the past in front of our eyes. Forums like yours can contribute significantly to the search for ways to make the situation in the world healthier and to attain a new level of global partnership," Medvedev said. "I am convinced that Russia's active interaction with the Islamic world will help build a fairer system of international relations, where the factor of force will finally stop playing the role of universal instrument of settling all emerging problems," he said.. ................. read more
Russia to deploy missiles on EU borderPresident Dmitry Medvedev said today that Russia will deploy missiles in territory near Nato member Poland in response to US missile defense plans. In a state of the nation speech, Medvedev also blamed the US for the war in Georgia and the global financial crisis. He said he hoped the US president-elect Barack Obama would act to improve relations with Russia but he did not offer congratulations to the president-elect. The missiles will be deployed to the Russian Baltic Sea territory Kaliningrad, he said, but did not add how many would be used. Equipment to electronically hamper the operation of prospective US missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic will be deployed, he said. ................. read more
5. Apostate Christianity
Christianity and Islam worship the same God, Muhammad & Jesus reveal same truths? Liberal scholars misrepresent their faithsWhen 138 senior Muslim scholars and clergy tried to establish the common ground between Islam and Christianity last year, they said the very peace of the world hung on the outcome. On Tuesday, a high-ranking delegation is beginning a rare visit to Rome in an effort to persuade the Pope to endorse what they say are the shared origins and values of the world's two biggest religions. Their letter, A Common Word, cited passages from the Koran which the scholars said showed that Christianity and Islam worship the same God, and require their respective followers to show each other particular friendship. The document examined fundamental doctrine and stressed what it said were key similarities - such as the belief in one God and the requirement for believers to "love their neighbours as themselves". Significantly the letter acknowledged that the Prophet Muhammad was told only the same truths that had already been revealed to Jewish and Christian prophets, including Jesus himself. After a year using the Islamic principle of seeking consensus, the letter has developed into a "manifesto" and is backed by almost 300 leaders from Sunni, Shi'ite, Sufi and other Muslim traditions. The initiative was welcomed promptly by several Christian leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. ................. read more
6. The Rise of Islam
U.S. Treasury teaches 'Islamic Finance 101'The Treasury Department has announced it will teach "Islamic finance" to U.S. banking regulatory agencies, Congress and other parts of the executive branch tomorrow in Washington, D.C. – but critics say it is opening a door to American funding of Islamic extremism. According to its announcement, the "Islamic Finance 101" forum is "designed to help inform the policy community about Islamic financial services, which are an increasingly important part of the global financial industry." Islamic finance is a system of banking consistent with the principles of Shariah, or Islamic law. It is becoming increasingly popular, having reached $800 billion by mid-2007 and growing at more than 15 percent each year. Wall Street now features an Islamic mutual fund and an Islamic index. However, critics claim anti-American terrorists are often financially supported through U.S. investments – creating a system by which the nation funds its own enemy. In his essay, "Financial Jihad: What Americans Need to Know," Vice President Christopher Holden of the Center for Security Policy writes, "America is losing the financial war on terror because Wall Street is embracing a subversive enemy ideology on one hand and providing corporate life support to state sponsors of terrorism on the other hand." Holden refers to Islamic finance, or "Shariah-Compliant Finance" as a "modern-day Trojan horse" infiltrating the U.S. He said it poses a threat to the U.S. because it seeks to legitimize Shariah – a man-made medieval doctrine that regulates every aspect of life for Muslims – and could ultimately change American life and laws. Shariah-compliant finance is becoming a major movement, because American banks and investors are seeking wealth from oil profits in the Middle East. Some advocates claim Islamic finance is socially responsible because it bans investors from funding companies that sell or promote products such as alcohol, tobacco, pornography, gambling and even pork. However, Islamic financial institutions also require all industry participants to adhere to tenets of Shariah law. According to Nasser Suleiman's "Corporate Governance in Islamic Banking, "First and foremost, an Islamic organization must serve God. It must develop a distinctive corporate culture, the main purpose of which is to create a collective morality and spirituality which, when combined with the production of goods and services, sustains growth and the advancement of the Islamic way of life." Three nations that rule 100 percent by Shariah law – Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan – hold some of the most horrific human rights records in the world, Holden said. "This strongly suggests that Americans should strenuously resist anything associated with Shariah."................ read more
Sharia brings public execution to SomaliaA young woman recently stoned to death in Somalia first pleaded for her life, a witness has told the BBC. "Don't kill me, don't kill me," she said, according to the man who wanted to remain anonymous. A few minutes later, more than 50 men threw stones. Human rights group Amnesty International says the victim was a 13-year-old girl who had been raped. Numerous eye-witnesses say she was forced into a hole, buried up to her neck then pelted with stones until she died in front of more than 1,000 people last week. Amnesty said it had learned she was 13, and that her father had said she was raped by three men. When the family tried to report the rape, the girl was accused of adultery and detained, Amnesty said............... read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
Frozen mice cloned - are woolly mammoths next?Japanese scientists have cloned mice whose bodies were frozen for as long 16 years and said it may be possible to use the technique to resurrect mammoths and other extinct species. Mouse cloning expert Teruhiko Wakayama and colleagues at the Center for Developmental Biology, at Japan's RIKEN research institute in Yokohama, managed to clone the mice even though their cells had burst. "Thus, nuclear transfer techniques could be used to 'resurrect' animals or maintain valuable genomic stocks from tissues frozen for prolonged periods without any cryopreservation," they wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Wakayama's team used the classic nuclear transfer technique to make their mouse clones. This involves taking the nucleus out of an egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus of an ordinary cell from the animal to be cloned. When done with the right chemical or electric trigger, this starts the egg dividing as if it had been fertilized by a sperm. "Cloning animals by nuclear transfer provides an opportunity to preserve endangered mammalian species," they wrote. Many animals have been cloned, starting with sheep, and including pigs, cattle, mice and dogs. Livestock breeders want to use cloning to start elite herds of desirable animals, and doctors want to use cloning technology in human medicine. "There is hope in bringing Ted Williams back, after all," cloning and stem cell expert John Gearhart of the University of Pennsylvania said in an e-mail. The family of Williams, the Boston Red Sox hitter, had his body frozen by cryogenics firm Alcor after he died in 2002. Gearhart was only half-joking and said the study "may now stimulate the small industry of freezing parts of us before we die to bring us back in the future." Mammoths may be the extinct animals that scientists would be most likely to try to clone, as many of the animals have been found preserved in ice.......................... read more
Internet black boxes to record every email and website visit Under Government plans to monitor internet traffic, raw data would be collected and stored by the black boxes before being transferred to a giant central database. The vision was outlined at a meeting between officials from the Home Office and Internet Service Providers earlier this week. It is further evidence of the Government's desire to have the capability to vet every telephone call, email and internet visit made in the UK, which has already provoked an outcry. The proposal is expected to be put out to consultation as part of the new Communications Data Bill early next year. Security and intelligence agencies wanted to use the stored data to help fight serious crime and terrorism. Officials tried to reassure the industry by suggesting that many smaller ISPs would be unaffected by the "black boxes" as these would be installed upstream on the network and hinted that all costs would be met by the Government........................... read more
CNN experiments with Hologram reportingNearly 71 million viewers watched the United States elect its first African American president, across 14 television networks Tuesday night. And about 13.3 million of them were treated to CNN star Anderson Cooper's historic interview with a hologram of Will.I.Am about the "Yes, We Can" video that the musician made for the Barack Obama election effort, and to Wolf Blitzer chatting with Chief Capitol Hill Hologram Jessica Yellin. She was beamed in from Chicago's Grant Park to talk about whether the crowd gathered there awaiting Obama's victory speech was excited. (They were, viewers learned while they pondered whether a CNN correspondent flickering blue around the edges was any less fair and balanced than a non-flickering CNN correspondent.) The Post's Paul Farhi wondered whether Blitzer could have walked through Yellin, and yesterday asked CNN's senior vice president and Washington bureau chief David Bohrman, who was the guy behind the election-night bells and whistles. Had Blitzer tried to walk through Yellin, besides being the height of rudeness, he would have blacked out, because in Hologram World, two people can't occupy the same space simultaneously, Bohrman assured Farhi. Blitzer couldn't actually see Yellin standing a few feet in front of him, nor could Cooper see Will.I.Am. The two anchors saw their interview subjects via monitors, said Bohrman, who predicted it would be another dozen years before anchors could actually see their hologramterviews on the set. Right now, it's kind of like when your local weatherman points to clouds and low-pressure systems on the map he/she pretends to see but actually can't and is instead looking at the map on a monitor.......................... read more
Enjoy surveillance while it is still visible Measures such as ID cards are a temporary measure before biometric technology becomes ubiquitous; That was the warning from security guru Bruce Schneier this week who claims that surveillance technology will get more sophisticated and, more importantly, smaller and harder to detect. "We live in a very unique time in our society. The cameras are everywhere and you can still see them," said Schneier, BT's chief security technology officer. "Five years ago they weren't everywhere, five years from now you are not going to see them." As well as camera technology becoming less obtrusive, Schneier said that ID checks would also become less obvious and may not even require the obvious cooperation of the individual being checked. "Five years ago there weren't ID checks everywhere," he said. "But five or ten years from now they will happen in the background. It will be an Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip in your wallet, you won't even know its being checked." Biometric technologies such as face recognition, or systems based on a particular type of mobile phone owned or even clothes, may also be used for identity checks. The increase in background ID checks means that the current debate around national ID cards in the UK is only a short-term issue, according to Schneier. "I know there are debates on ID cards everywhere but in a lot of ways, they are only very temporary. They are only a temporary solution till biometrics takes over," he said.......................... read more
Flying car based on Ferrari 'could be reality within two years' The 'Autovolantor' - based on a £200,000 Ferrari 599 GTB - is being developed by "Moller International". It will have the ability to take off vertically and hover thanks to eight powerful thrusters which direct air down for take off. Vents then tilt so the car can fly forward. The car is expected to be able to do 100mph on the ground and 150mph in the air. The calculated airborne range is 75 miles and ground range is 150 miles. Designer Bruce Calkins says the car features a specially designed hybrid fuel and electric system to power the thrusters, creating as much as 800 horse power. He believes it will be able to fly at altitudes of up to 5,000ft. Mr Calkins said: "The Autovolantor is powered by eight fans mounted in the fuselage of the vehicle. "On the ground these fans push the vehicle around with a firm but not-too-powerful thrust of deflected air. "Small vanes in the exit area of the ducts can direct the air forward or back, or remain in the neutral position for vertical take off and landing. "Once in the air the vehicle manoeuvres like a helicopter, tilting nose down to move forward, rolling right or left for changes in direction. "While maximum altitude could be much higher, the energy to obtain altitudes above 5,000 feet would be significant so we expect it to stay below that height." Moller chose the Ferrari to be the model for the ground-breaking machine because of its distinctive shape. He estimates a cost of around £500,000 per car. ......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
Internet Addiction? Millions of Americans Admit to Compulsive Internet UseTo many people, constant Internet use is the "new normal," but author Jan Kern challenges this, asserting that too much Internet use is an addiction just like many others. While affirming that "God isn't anti-Internet," Kern argues that God wants more for us, wants us to have a real life and relationships, not just virtual ones. "The Internet can offer a really great experience, and for many people, this is not a problem. Most of us use the Internet for research, news, communication--and fun," said author Jan Kern. "But for some, it can easily become an obsession. Without realizing it, we get sucked into activities that rob us of the amazing identity, resources, and relationships God has in mind for us," she continued. "We can become so drawn in by the virtual satisfaction of our wants and desires that we miss the opportunity to see how God might meet those needs more fully in real life. While experts still debate whether these behaviors constitute an addiction, an organization called the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery estimates that 5-10% of the population has internet addictions, more than half of them sexually-related. And although stopping short of calling the behaviors an addiction, results of a survey by Stanford University's Impulse Control Disorders Clinic suggest there are clear similarities between extreme Internet use and other addictions. In her new book for young adults, Eyes Online: Eyes On Life, Kern introduces readers to Colin, a real person whose teen years were marked by pornography use, obsessive internet gaming, and escape into chat rooms that kept his real life on hold. "People like Colin and others I interviewed have found that along with all the positive experiences, being online has also been a downfall for them - big time," Kern says. "When they're really being honest, they talk about lines they've crossed. Sometimes without even realizing it, they've been consumed by being online with simple activities like e-mail and blogging. But some have also discovered games or activities they can't stop thinking about even when away from the computer. Others have ventured into X-rated sites and found themselves lured by sexual traps that turned into secret addictions." "The problem with Internet obsession is that you can look completely normal and nobody knows you are in so much pain," he said. "That was true for me. When I was obsessed by the Internet in junior high and high school, I was so depressed and nobody ever knew why. They didn't even begin to think it has anything to do with the computer..................... read more
Christian fraternities look to make statement on U.S. college campusesIt's 11 a.m. Saturday, and whiskey is flowing at the big houses on fraternity row at the University of Alabama. Guys in ties and baseball caps are laughing and dancing with sorority girls in bright dresses as a band blares away just around the corner. Smack in the middle of that row is the Lambda Sigma Phi house, but things are a lot quieter inside. Parents are helping put out the lunch spread before a Crimson Tide football game and a few members lounge in the den watching TV. A Bible passage decorates the door to the main room. "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord," it begins. Lambda Sigma Phi is part of a wave of Christian fraternities and sororities that has gained a foothold on U.S. college campuses, sometimes despite the wishes of school administrators. Members get pumped up about prayer, Bible study and service projects, passions they say campus officials should and often do embrace as fresh amid a Greek culture typically seen as centered on hazing, keg parties and little else. Founded in 2001, Lambda Sigma Phi hopes to show other groups at the university what Jesus is all about. "We're almost in a bubble because we're surrounded by all this. That's why we're here on Jefferson Avenue, to minister to these guys," said chapter president Daniel Weaver. "We want to be a light on this campus." Many social fraternities and sororities have Christian tenets in their teachings, and Christian-lifestyle fraternities have existed for generations. Several began about 80 years ago to promote faith-based fellowship during the Roaring Twenties. Greek-letter organizations that promote Christian practices have become more common in recent years with young evangelicals seeking new ways to live out their faith and parents looking for a haven from the drunken daze that often happens in college. At least 210 exist on campuses nationwide from the West Coast to the Deep South, where they are most common. But the groups are also strong in parts of the Midwest and in Southern states along the Atlantic coast.............. read more
9. Other events to watch
Financial crisis shifts power to Asia, experts sayBritish Prime Minister Gordon Brown's whirlwind fundraising tour this week in the Gulf States demonstrates the increasing power of sovereign wealth funds and the shift of economic power to Asia, experts said Wednesday. Brown said he was in search of "hundreds of billions of dollars" to alleviate the crisis that has hit his country, along with America, particularly hard. "I think there will be more and more reliance and more of a shift of power toward Asian countries, not only for the oil rich countries, for the Gulf States, it's also true for Singapore, China, Kazakhstan and other countries," said Dan Galai, Professor of Finance at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "Many countries in Asia will continue to accumulate money in sovereign funds and they will buy ownership in financial institutions that are located in England, Germany, France and the United States." Sovereign wealth funds are state-owned investment funds. They have become increasingly important to troubled financial institutions in the United States and Western Europe, where some banks have lost up to 80 percent or more of their value due to the financial crisis. While these financial institutions will continue to operate in Europe or in the United States, their ownership will increasingly be in the hands of sovereign funds in Asia, Galai said. While the Gulf States are "awash with cash" earned from high oil prices and have reserves that Western countries can draw on, the solution to the crisis does not lie with any one region and will require a fundamental reform of the financial system, said Robin Shepherd, senior fellow and head of the Europe Programme at the London-based Chatham House. For example, the newly elected US President, Barack Obama, and other leaders will have to examine the regulatory environment surrounding the banking system, the way central banks and finance ministries keep track of developments in the financial sector, and reckless lending policies that have contributed to the crisis. "The essential point is that the United States, Britain and Europe are in a dreadful financial mess at the moment; they will look anywhere they can to seek respite, whether in the Gulf States or elsewhere," said Shepherd. "In a globalized economy, all of the players become relevant." ................... read more
Russian Muslims to ask for Obama’s support of the UN Religious CouncilTHead of the Central Muslim Religious Board in Russia Talgat Tajuddin stated the necessity to send the newly elected USA President Barak Obama a request to support a project of establishing a religious council at the UN. Speaking at the Round Table in Moscow, the Mufti explained that the Council’s chief task would be to maintain international security and contribute in protection from terrorism and nuclear threat on a global scale. Russian Muslims suggest that the headquarters should be located in the Holy Land, as according to Tajuddin, Jerusalem is an “abode of peace, a shrine for Christians, Muslims and Jews.” The Board’s Chair also noted that the new President had already shown himself as a believer and a member of the United Church of Christ. Thus, Russian Muslims hope for cooperation with him..................... read more

Verse of the week!

2008-11-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be Strong and Courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed. For the Lord Your God is with you wherever you go.

Verse of the Week

2008-11-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

Romans Ch.8: 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prophecy News Watch Headlines - October 31‏

2008-11-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

2. Israel - God's Timepiece
Israel looks to the next electionWith Israel now headed for new general elections probably some time early next year, supporters and opponents of Tzipi Livni are putting a very different gloss on her failure to form a governing coalition. Opponents say Livni’s inability shows she is not yet seasoned enough to lead. Supporters counter that the reasons for her failure show precisely why she is the best candidate. Livni says that had she been willing to give in to excessive political and budgetary demands by prospective coalition partners, she easily could have formed a government. Instead she took a stand. Her opponents suggest a less high-minded narrative: They say Livni bungled coalition negotiations because of a fundamental lack of experience. Livni's coalition effort was badly hurt by the adept political maneuvering of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the Likud Party. Netanyahu was able to convince three of Livni's prospective coalition partners -- the Sephardic Orthodox Shas Party, United Torah Judaism and the Pensioners' Party -- that he probably would win in a general election campaign and would be more amenable to their political and budgetary demands than Livni. Netanyahu focused on Shas, the largest of the three with 12 Knesset seats. The former prime minister spoke of renewing the "historic alliance" between Likud and the right-wing Shas, declaring that if he won the election Shas would be the first party he would ask to join his coalition................ read more
Concern in Israel as Egyptian war games simulate war with IsraelIsrael is upset over Egyptian military exercises in which the simulated “enemy” is Israel, and some are calling on the U.S. to reconsider its aid to Egypt because of it. Israel and Egypt – two U.S. regional allies – signed a U.S.-sponsored peace treaty in 1979 – Israel’s first with an Arab nation. The Egyptian navy reportedly carried out the largest exercise in its history last week. Dubbed Victory 41, the military maneuvers marked the Egyptian sinking of the Israeli Naval vessel Eilat 41 years ago, in which 47 Israeli sailors were killed and 91 wounded. The paper also quoted the Egyptian Navy commander in chief Vice Admiral Mohad Mamish in an interview with the Arabic newspaper Al Ahram, saying that the Egyptian Naval vessels were outfitted with advanced missiles and the Navy had supply contracts with Germany, Russia and the U.S. “Unfortunately now for more than 10 years most of the big Egyptian exercises are simulating war against Israel,” said Dr. Yuval Steinitz, member of the Israeli Knesset’s influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Despite the peace agreement between the two countries, Egypt is anti-Israel in most international bodies and is also educating the public “for hatred and not for peace.” Earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that its analysts had found the Egyptian press to be “a leading propagator of anti-Semitic images” for many years and that that trend was now spreading to other newspapers in the region. In 2006, a poll found that 92 percent of Egyptians regarded Israel as an enemy nation, and 50 percent regarded the U.S. as an enemy................ read more
Anti-Israel Sentiment Grows in GermanyIsraeli Foreign Ministry officials are concerned about increasing anti-Israel sentiment in Germany. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her country's strong support for the Jewish state, public opinion against Israel is beginning to sway government officials. Israeli officials fear that the public's anti-Israel mood will take its toll on Germany's willingness to stand behind Israel, especially with the increasing threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. "The Germans are filled with prejudice against Israel. Our public relations delegates are pulling their hair out in frustration when they meet young and old people there," a senior official told YNet news. "More than once, they hear remarks like, 'That's not your country,' 'It's a shame that a Jewish country was established on stolen land,' 'Israel is treating the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews,' We are equally responsible for the Palestinians as we are for the Jews,'" he said. Germany does more business with Iran than any other European country, with projected exports of 4 billion euros in 2008. ................ read more
King Solomon's 3,000-Year-Old Copper Mine Discovered?The wise Solomon was Israel's 3rd king from 965 BC to 925 BC, the son of King David (from the story of David and Goliath), and the owner of an enormous harem and incommensurate wealth gathered by means of mining and trading. H. Rider Haggard's best-selling novel, “King Solomon's Mines,” fueled the imagination of hundreds of treasure hunters searching for the hidden wealth of gold and diamonds described to have been contained in the depths of the mining shafts. During the 1970s and the 1980s, some digs in the region of the Jordan Valley known as Khirbat en-Nahas, (Arabic for “ruins of copper”) uncovered an ancient giant copper mine. The research performed at the time indicated that the metalworking activities took place on the site sometimes during the 7th century BC, ruling out the possibility of King Solomon's involvement in any way. However, based on recent findings and technology, Dr. Thomas Levy from the University of California in San Diego, together with Mohammed Najjar from Jordan's Friends of Archeology, has managed to date the mine to the 10th century BC, in the time of Solomon's rule. The site is comprised of about 100 buildings and a fortress amidst a 24-acre area, all covered in black slag and large enough to be spotted by satellite. The dating was also backed up by the discovery of an Egyptian scarab and amulet from the same period. “We have evidence that complex societies were indeed active in the 10th and 9th centuries BC, and that brings us back to the debate about the historicity of the Bible narratives related to this period,” Dr. Levy explains. The finding will shed new light on the old topic of the Old Testament's historical validity and accuracy, since it provides some interesting data that coincides both with Bible writings and with historical records. “We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us. But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible,” states Levy.. .............. read more
Archaeologists report finding oldest Hebrew textArchaeologists in Israel said Thursday they had unearthed the oldest Hebrew text ever found, while excavating a fortress city overlooking a valley where the Bible says David slew Goliath. Experts have not yet been able to decipher fully the five lines of text written in black ink on a shard of pottery dug up at a five-acre (two-hectare) archaeological site called Elah Fortress, or Khirbet Qeiyafa. The Bible says David, later to become the famed Jewish king, killed Goliath, a Philistine warrior, in a battle in the Valley of Elah, now the site of wineries and an Israeli satellite station. Archaeologists at Hebrew University said carbon dating of artefacts found at the fortress site, about 20 km (12 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, indicate the Hebrew inscription was written some 3,000 years ago, predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by 1,000 years. They have been able to make out some of its words, including "judge," "slave" and "king." Yosef Garfinkel, the lead archaeologist at the site, said the findings could shed significant light on the period of King David's rule over the Israelites. "The chronology and geography of Khirbet Qeiyafa create a unique meeting point between the mythology, history, historiography and archaeology of King David," Garfinkel said................ read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Iran opens new naval facilities at Gulf entrance, enabling blockage of entry into the GulfIran has opened new naval facilities east of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entrance to the Gulf which is key to oil supplies, state media say. Naval chief Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying the base in the town of Jask would enable Iran to block the entry of an "enemy" into the Gulf. Iran has threatened to close the strait in response to a potential military strike over its nuclear activities. The Strait of Hormuz is "by far the world's most important chokepoint," according to the US government's Energy Information Administration. About 20% of oil traded worldwide passes through the narrow waterway, the body says. ................. read more
Iranian Nuke Scientist: Weekend Quake was a Nuclear Test A weekend 5.0 Richter earthquake in Iran was actually a nuclear bomb test, says an Iranian nuclear scientist claiming to be working on the project. This past Saturday night, southern Iran experienced what was reported as a significant earthquake - a seismic event measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was just north of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, which separates Iran from Abu Dhabi and Oman and which is the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The report quotes an Iranian nuclear scientist who claims to be working in uranium enrichment for the project, and who said that the "quake" was actually an underground nuclear bomb test. Israel Insider adds that the test/quake was actually the second in a series. Nine days ago, a 4.8 Richter scale event occurred, with its epicenter only five kilometers away from the weekend tremor. The Israel Insider source reports that two nuclear rockets are currently ready - and are intended for use against Israel in the coming months. If the report is correct, it would belie previous speculation that Iran would not begin nuclear testing until it had more nuclear-bomb production capability. The geographical location of the test has several advantages. It is exposed to significant seismic activity, which could serve to mask nuclear tests; it is believed to be close to Iran's nuclear development facility; delivery and transport of material and personnel can be effected easily through the Hormuz Strait; and Iranian enemies would hesitate to bomb the area because that would threaten the flow of a substantial percentage of the world's oil.. ................. read more
Libya offers to host Russian military base: reportLibyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, who visits Moscow Friday for the first time since 1985, will offer to host a Russian naval base in his north African country, a Russian newspaper reported. "Libya is ready to host a Russian naval military base," the Kommersant reported, citing a source close to the preparations for Kadhafi's first visit here since the days of the Soviet Union. The base could be located at the port of Benghazi, the source said. "The Russian military presence will be a guarantee of non-aggression against Libya from the United States, which is not in a hurry to embrace Kadhafi despite gestures of reconciliation," the newspaper said. Kadhafi is scheduled to visit Russia from Friday to Sunday. ................. read more
5. Apostate Christianity
'Jesus was not God' book written by Catholic Priest being sold in churches Jesus Christ was not God, and Mary was not a virgin, according to a controversial new book written by an Australian Catholic priest. In the booklet, ‘God is Big. Real Big’, which has gone on sale for $20 in several churches, Bathurst priest Peter Dresser argues Jesus could not have been God. “This whole matter regarding Jesus being God ... not only does violence to my own intelligence, but must be a sticking point,” he says. “For millions of people trying to make some kind of sense of the Christian religion ... No human being can ever be God, and Jesus was a human being. It is as simple as that.” Father Dresser claims Joseph was Jesus’s father, Mary was not a virgin – and actually had six children – and that the story of the resurrection should not be taken literally. The booklet has angered conservative Catholics, such as Sydney priest Anthony Robbie. “What a breathtaking know-all, to claim he knows the mind of Christ contrary to scripture and tradition. His words rob Christianity entirely of its meaning and purpose,” Father Robbie told News Ltd................. read more
6. The Rise of Islam
Muslims behead Christian convert from Islam in SomaliaAmong at least 24 aid workers killed in Somalia this year was one who was beheaded last month specifically for converting from Islam to Christianity, among other charges, according to an eyewitness. Muslim extremists from the al Shabab group fighting the transitional government on Sept. 23 sliced the head off of Mansuur Mohammed, 25, a World Food Program worker, before horrified onlookers of Manyafulka village. Sources close to Mohammed’s family said he converted from Islam to Christianity in 2005. The eyewitness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the militants that afternoon gathered the villagers of Manyafulka, telling them that they would prepare a feast for them. The people gathered anticipating the slaughter of a sheep, goat or camel according to local custom. Five masked men emerged carrying guns, wielding Somali swords and dragging the handcuffed Mohammed. One pulled back Mohammed’s head, exposing his face as he scraped his sword against his short hair as if to sharpen it. Another recited the Quran as he proclaimed that Mohammed was a “murtid,” an Arabic term for one who converts from Islam to Christianity. Mohammed remained calm with an expressionless face, never uttering a word, said the eyewitness. As the chanting of “Allah Akubar [God is greater]” rose to a crescendo, one of the militiamen twisted his head, allowing the other to slit his neck. When the head was finally severed from the torso, the killers cheered as they displayed it to the petrified crowd. The militants allowed one of their accomplices to take a video of the slaughter using a mobile phone. The video was later circulated secretly and sold in Somalia and in neighboring countries in what many see as a strategy to instill fear among those contemplating conversion from Islam to Christianity................ read more
Afghan journalism student sentenced to 20 years for insulting IslamAn Afghan journalism student sentenced to death for allegedly ’insulting Islam’ had his conviction upheld but his sentence reduced to 20 years in prison by an Afghan central appeal court today. The prosecution alleged that Sayed Perwez Kambashkh, 24, downloaded from the internet and distributed an article by an Iranian writer questioning some of the tenets of Islam relating women’s rights. He has always denied the charges. He is alleged to have added three paragraphs to the offending article himself, one of which read: “This is the real face of Islam... the prophet Mohammad wrote verses of the Holy Quran just for his own benefit.” At his appeal court trial today five professors of Balkh University, where the defendant was a student, claimed that Kambakhsh disrupted classes by asking “anti-Islam and insulting questions.” The case has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organisations and Western governments. Kambakhsh claimed he made a confession after being tortured by officials from the Afghan security services. He claims his accusers were motivated by personal enimities to bring the charges against him. The proceedings of the original trial were criticised by the European Union amongst others, after it emerged that the trial was held in closed session with only three judges, a court clerk and prosecutor present. Kambakhsh was given only three minutes to defend himself before being sentenced to death. International observers and human rights groups also attacked today’s appeal proceedings, held in open court. The trial has aroused similarly strong passions among conservative Afghans. Mohammad Jawed, a lawyer from Mazar-e-Sharif who also attended today’s trial said: “This judge is against Muslims, this is a very low sentence. He should be hanged"................ read more
Commemoration of Munich massacre "may offend Muslims"Specialist advice is being given to Scotland Yard on how to reduce tensions between police and Muslims during the London Olympics because of growing concerns about the Games clashing with the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the day, The Times has learnt. Experts will also warn the Metropolitan Police to ensure that the planned commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Games does not offend local and travelling Muslims. The recommendations have been made by inter-faith advisers to Scotland Yard, where antiterrorism police are preparing to combat any possible Islamic terrorist threat to the Games. Community tensions in the lead-up to the games have already been raised by a controversial Muslim movement, Tablighi Jamaat, which plans to build Britain’s largest mosque and Islamic complex near the 2012 Olympic stadium site. Michael Mumisa, an Islamic scholar, and one of four experts hired by Scotland Yard who began training the police this week on inter-faith issues, said that the commemoration of the 11 Israeli athletes, killed by Palestinian militants from the Black September Organisation at the 1972 Munich Games, could become a national security threat if it was not managed properly and was perceived by Muslims to be “hijacking” the Games. Edward Kessler, executive director of the Woolfe Institute, which deals with inter-faith dialogue, teaching and research, said that police needed to have a “minimum level of faith literacy” to help them deal with religious issues during the London Games. Dr Kessler said: “During Ramadan you’re going to have a lot of tired, hungry, less evenly tempered people because they haven’t eaten for 18 hours.” ............... read more
Sharia Banking On The RiseThe swift rise of the Islamic finance industry could hit a wall in the coming years as the sector struggles to find enough experts to do the job, an industry official said yesterday. Shariah banking’s sudden popularity has created a scramble for bankers, scholars and lawyers conversant in both conventional finance and Islamic economics, and produced a shortage that sometimes compromises the quality of products, experts say. The Islamic industry’s rapid growth has outpaced the rate at which the sector is able to churn out workers, said Agil Natt, CEO of Kuala Lumpur-based INCEIF, which says it is the world’s only dedicated Islamic finance university. “We want to bring the Islamic finance professionals closer to understanding Shariah principles and we want the Shariah advisers to be able to understand some of the problems of practitioners,” Natt said in an interview. About 30,000 Islamic finance professionals will be needed in the Middle East in the next ten years, he said, citing figures from consultancy AT Kearney. In Malaysia, another leading centre of Islamic finance, an estimated 8,600 Shariah bankers would be needed by 2012, almost double the 4,800 available now, according to the central bank. ............... read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
Australia to implement mandatory internet censorshipAustralia will join China in implementing mandatory censoring of the internet under plans put forward by the Federal Government. The government has declared it will not let internet users opt out of the proposed national internet filter. The plan was first created as a way to combat child pornography and adult content, but could be extended to include controversial websites on euthanasia or anorexia. Communications minister Stephen Conroy revealed the mandatory censorship to the Senate estimates committee as the Global Network Initiative, bringing together leading companies, human rights organisations, academics and investors, committed the technology firms to "protect the freedom of expression and privacy rights of their users". Mr Conroy said trials were yet to be carried out, but "we are talking about mandatory blocking, where possible, of illegal material." The net nanny proposal was originally going to allow Australians who wanted uncensored access to the web the option of contacting their internet service provider to be excluded from the service. Human Rights Watch has condemned internet censorship, and argued to the US Senate "there is a real danger of a Virtual Curtain dividing the internet, much as the Iron Curtain did during the Cold War, because some governments fear the potential of the internet, and want to control it" Groups including the System Administrators Guild of Australia and Electronic Frontiers Australia have attacked the proposal, saying it would unfairly restrict Australians' access to the web, slow internet speeds and raise the price of internet access......................... read more
One Web ID To Rule Them AllA scheme to allow people to use one name and password on lots of different websites has got a boost from Google and Microsoft The two tech giants have unveiled plans that will sign-up their users into the Open ID scheme. The move means the scheme will soon be able to add more than 400 million users to the initiative. The two firms join others, such as Yahoo and AOL, as backers of the single sign-on scheme. Open ID was dreamed up as a way to ease the mental and administrative burden of having a different login identity and password for almost every website. The idea should mean that anyone with an Open ID identifier can use it to log in to, and use, any and every other site that has signed up to the scheme. On 28 October, Microsoft announced that it was starting technical trials that would lead to all the users of its Windows Live service being enrolled in Open ID in 2009. Google has taken a similar route and announced plans to test its implementation of the Open ID technology. This will allow other websites to use logins for Gmail and other Google services alongside their own ID systems. About 10,000 websites are thought now to accept Open ID as a login route. When both trials by Google and Microsoft are completed, more than 750 million user accounts will be enrolled in the system.......................... read more
Designer babies: Creating the perfect childBring your partner, grab a seat, pick up your baby catalog and start choosing. Will you go for the brown hair or blond? Would you prefer tall or short? Funny or clever? Girl or boy? And do you want them to be a muscle-bound sports hero? Or a slender and intelligent book worm? When you're done selecting, head to the counter and it's time to start creating your new child. Does this sound like a scary thought? With rapid advances in scientific knowledge of the human genome and our increasing ability to modify and change genes, this scenario of "designing" your baby could well be possible in the near future......................... read more
'Big Brother' bothers BritainEach day, the average London resident is filmed 300 times as he or she walks their children to school, takes the train to the office or relaxes after work at a sidewalk cafe. Britain has 4.2 million closed-circuit surveillance cameras, one for every 15 people in the country, security experts say. But a new round of government proposals—to dramatically expand surveillance and data collection and to strengthen other anti-terror measures—has some public officials warning that the government must not go too far in this city where George Orwell set "1984," the famous novel about the dangers of an all-seeing "Big Brother" government. "We need to take very great care not to fall into a way of life in which freedom's back is broken by the relentless pressure of a security state," warned Sir Ken Macdonald, Britain's director of public prosecutions, in a speech last week. New technological advances are giving government the ability to track people "every second of every day, in everything we do," he warned. Before passing laws permitting the government to do just that, "we should take very great care to imagine the world we are creating before we build it. We might end up living with something we can't bear." Like Chicago, London has an ever-growing number of discreet security cameras keeping an eye on schools, trains and city streets, particularly in high-crime areas. A growing number of London's cameras can automatically read license plates on cars, compare passing faces to those of criminal suspects and notify authorities about suspicious behaviors. British spy agencies, like those in the U.S., also have access to telephone records. But Britain's government wants to begin keeping databases of e-mails sent, calls made on Skype, exchanges on social networking sites, chats on gaming sites, communications made through eBay and a variety of other Internet interactions. In addition, the government proposes to begin requiring registration of all mobile phones in the country—today more than half are unregistered pre-paids—and it hopes to issue a national identity card for everyone living in Britain, with details stored on a central database. It also proposes giving each newborn child an identity number that will follow them through life......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
'There's probably no God': atheists start advertisingBritish atheists have raised a pile of cash to tell Londoners there's probably no God and to get on with life. The nation's first atheist advertising campaign has beaten its funding target in less than 24 hours, raising nearly nine times the amount it needed to posts its ads on public buses in London. Organisers hope to run more than 5,000 ads in the city over a month, telling people: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life". Writer Ariane Sherine suggested the idea in a blog carried on The Guardian website. She believes an atheist advertising blitz will provide a reassuring counter-message to religious slogans threatening non-Christians with hell and damnation. "Ours is a fun and light-hearted message but it does have a serious point to it - that atheists want a secular country, we want a secular school and a secular government," she told The Guardian. " A spokesman for the Church of England said seven in every 10 people in Britain described themselves as Christian and understood the joy faith could bring. "Christian belief is not about worrying or not enjoying life. Quite the opposite: our faith liberates us to put this life into a proper perspective," he said. ............. read more
GodTube-Banned Pastor Tackles the "Anything But God" ChurchAn Emmy award-winning pastor who was banned from GodTube has released a book about his “absurd religion,” challenging today’s Christian and Evangelical leaders and churches with the question “Is religion to blame for the current American crisis?” Though the idea behind My Absurd Religion may itself be absurd, as author Steve Gray himself admits, the Kansas City pastor says his goal is to help people get away from the clutter and get down to where they can really encounter God. What people need is to encounter God, Gray insists, an encounter that many churchgoers are not able to experience in most traditional churches and even newer, seeker-friendly churches, which he claims are “trying anything to get people interested.” “People are going to church and not actually encountering God,” Gray said in an appearance on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club. “They’re encountering inspiration, they’re encountering good friends, they’re encountering groups and supports groups but not encountering God.” Once people encounter God, “gimmicks” and “tricks” are not needed to keep them in church, he added. In fact, people have grown tired of them, Grey said. According to The Barna Group, there was around a 90 percent increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last decade. In 1991 there were 39 million unchurched Americans compared with 75 million found in 2004. A more recent study released earlier this year further found that tens of millions of people are experiencing and expressing their faith in God independent of any connection to a conventional church. In his appearance on the 700 Club, Gray claimed that the decline in church attendance reveals the need for churches that are God-centered rather than people-centered. When the church is one “God would attend, that makes it God-centered,” he explained. “Instead of making it seeker-sensitive – is this too long, too short, too loud, too much – you get that away. We recreate as best we can the atmosphere of Heaven, biblically speaking. And I’m finding God will attend that, and He comes down,” Gray continued. With this in mind, the Kansas City pastor says it’s time to step out of “absurd religion” that is “faithless, powerless, pointless.”............. read more
Disturbing Stories Expose Dark Realities of Christian Persecution A solemn atmosphere descended upon a room full of culturally diverse evangelical leaders on Wednesday as disturbing accounts of religious persecution poured forth from those living in anti-Christian hotspots. One by one, panelists shared stories of attacks against Christians in their country that included atrocious acts such as beheadings, gang rape, and genocide. Stories were especially poignant because of the speakers’ closeness to the actual persecution, of which some were personally experienced. The Rev. Godfrey Yogarajah of Sri Lanka, the new director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission, shared that just a few days prior to his arrival in Thailand for the WEA General Assembly, one of the WEA pastors in his country of Sri Lanka was murdered and the pastor’s body thrown in a river. A Vietnamese pastor named “Daniel” (full name cannot be disclosed for security reason) on the panel spoke about his father, a pastor, who was imprisoned for six years for his faith following the communist takeover in 1975. The Vietnamese government now continues its persecution of his family for a second generation by denying Daniel citizenship because of his leadership in a major house church organization. His wife has to carry the burden of representing his family in every legal procedureBut perhaps the most emotionally-charged testimony came from the Rev. Dr. Richard Howell, the general secretary of Evangelical Fellowship of India and Asia Evangelical Alliance. Howell went beyond informing the evangelical leaders in the audience about the recent anti-Christian rampage in India to explain the reason behind Hindus’ hatred of Christians. Hindu nationalist political parties believe and promote an ideology that promotes Hindu nation, Hindu culture, and Hindu people – “nationalism linked to Hindu religion,” said Howell. “If you are not a Hindu, by definition, you are an anti-national,” he states. “So the hatred of Christian is hatred of Christian identity. They don’t like us not because of what we do – they definitely hate what we do – but also who we are.” “They want to turn India into a Hindu nation, that is why Christians are hated,” the evangelical leader said..............

In Life

2008-10-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

things don't turn out the way you'd like, but the truth is it doesnt matter in the end. Roman's chapter 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ;"Think about that.

You Tube Video of the Week!

2008-10-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW--7ZmXrXo

Prophecy News Watch Headlines - Kade HawkinsOct 23, 2008

2008-10-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this week's edition of Prophecy News Watch
Our featured items:
God's War On Terror & Islam & The End Times
&
“You can’t imagine how I felt when I read the Bible and found so much that describes the Mahdi who I had learned so much about growing up. The shock to me was that, while a character identical to my Mahdi was seen throughout the pages of the Bible, the character was not called “the Mahdi", but rather “the Antichrist”
Walid Shoebat - Former Palestinian Terrorist & Author of God's War On Terror
God's War on Terror : Islam, Prophecy & The Bible (Hardcover Book)
- Does the Bible predict a final Islamic Empire and an Islamic Antichrist?
- How the Islamic End-Times mindset perfectly matches the spirit of Antichrist
- End time nations and coalitions that oppose God in the last days - all are Islamic today
-43 parallels that exist between the Biblical Antichrist and the Islamic Mahdi
- What is the Mark of the Beast and it's relationship to Islam?
Islam & The End Times 3 DVD Set:
In this three disc set, author and teacher Joel Richardson presents the Islamic End Time Theory that is now gaining a wide acceptance among the Body of Christ. This DVD set is a personal invitation from Joel to join the many who are examining this theory and discovering the Scriptural foundation for an Islamic Antichrist to be overwhelming.
- Introduction the The Islamic End-Time Paradigm- Daniel 2 & The Islamic Empire- Understanding the Theology of the Antichrist- An Hour and a Half of Q&A
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Prophetic Trends & Headline News
Click any of the headlines below to read the full article
1. Where is the United States in Prophecy?
The Dangers of a Diminished AmericaIn the 1930s, isolationism and protectionism spurred the rise of fascism. With the global financial system in serious trouble, is America's geostrategic dominance likely to diminish? If so, what would that mean? One immediate implication of the crisis that began on Wall Street and spread across the world is that the primary instruments of U.S. foreign policy will be crimped. The next president will face an entirely new and adverse fiscal position. Estimates of this year's federal budget deficit already show that it has jumped $237 billion from last year, to $407 billion. With families and businesses hurting, there will be calls for various and expensive domestic relief programs. In the face of this onrushing river of red ink, both Barack Obama and John McCain have been reluctant to lay out what portions of their programmatic wish list they might defer or delete. Only Joe Biden has suggested a possible reduction -- foreign aid. This would be one of the few popular cuts, but in budgetary terms it is a mere grain of sand. Still, Sen. Biden's comment hints at where we may be headed: toward a major reduction in America's world role, and perhaps even a new era of financially-induced isolationism.................. read more
US intelligence: Iran will be able to build first nuclear bomb by February 2009US intelligence’s amended estimate, that Iran will be ready to build its first bomb just one month after the next US president is sworn in, is disclosed by DEBKAfile’s Washington sources as having been relayed as a guideline to the Middle East teams of both presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. The information prompted the assertion by Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden in Seattle Sunday, Oct. 19: “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy.” McCain retorted Tuesday, Oct. 21: “America does not need a president that needs to be tested. I’ve been tested. I was aboard the Enterprise off the coast of Cuba. I’ve been there.”) DEBKAfile’s military sources cite the new US timeline: By late January, 2009, Iran will have accumulated enough low-grade enriched uranium (up to 5%) for its “break-out” to weapons grade (90%) material within a short time. For this, the Iranians have achieved the necessary technology. In February, they can move on to start building their first nuclear bomb. The same US evaluation adds that the Iranian leadership is holding off its go-ahead to start building the bomb until the last minute so as to ward off international pressure to stop at the red line. This development together with the galloping global economic crisis will force the incoming US president to go straight into decision-making without pause on Day One in the Oval Office. He will have to determine which urgent measures can serve best for keeping a nuclear bomb out of the Islamic republic’s hands - diplomatic or military – and how to proceed if those measures fail................... read more
Hard times have some flirting with survivalismAtash Hagmahani is not waiting for the stock market to recover. The former high-tech professional turned urban survivalist has already moved his money into safer investments: Rice and beans, for starters. “I hoard food,” says Hagmahani, 44, estimating that he has enough to last his family a year or two. “I’m not ashamed to admit it.” “People keep asking when this (economic crisis) is going to clear up,” says Hagmahani, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that he be identified only by this pseudonym, which he uses for his survivalist blog, or by his first name, Rob. The answer, he predicts, is that the country is entering what he calls a “Greater Depression.” Hagmahani is not alone in concluding that desperate times call for serious preparations. With foreclosure rates running rampant, financial institutions teetering and falling, prices for many goods and services climbing, and jobs being slashed, many Americans are making preparations for worse times ahead. For some, that means cutting spending and saving more. For others, it means taking a step into survivalism, once regarded solely as the province of religious End-of-Timers, sci-fi fans and extremists. That often manifests itself as a desire to secure basic emergency resources — what survival guru Jim Wesley Rawles describes as “beans, bullets and Band-Aids.” Rawles, speaking by phone from an “undisclosed location” somewhere between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains, said he has seen traffic on his Web site, SurvivalBlog.com, explode in the last year.................... read more
Has the financial meltdown defused military options on Iran?The global financial crisis has eclipsed Western jitters over Iran's nuclear program and may have put paid to the possibility of the United States or Israel resorting to preemptive military strikes. To bomb Iranian sites now, diplomats and analysts say, would risk triggering an even more intolerable tumult should Tehran choke off oil exports -- something neither U.S. President George W. Bush nor his imminent successor looks likely to countenance. With the U.N. Security Council in stalemate after Russia and China balked at initiatives to pass a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, Western powers may be forced to focus on diplomatic engagement and economic incentives instead. That would leave Israel, which has vowed to deny Iran the means to threaten its existence, with a stark choice between launching unilateral attacks and being branded a warmonger or accepting the prospect of an arch-enemy with nuclear weaponry. Some analysts suggest Israel could strike after the November 4 U.S. election but before Barack Obama or John McCain becomes president in January, to avoid alienating American voters while capitalizing on the parting largesse of the Bush White House.................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece
Egypt drafts Palestinian unity paper Egypt on Monday called on rival Palestinian factions to form a unity government and restructure their security forces in a bid to end hostilities that have undermined efforts to reach a statehood deal. Cairo presented a four-page proposal, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and Islamist Hamas, outlining steps the groups should take to end their power struggle. Egypt also said Abbas should continue peace talks with Israel but that any deal needs approval from a national referendum or the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which it said should be restructured to include all factions, including Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction. Egypt drafted the proposal after a series of talks with 13 Palestinian factions and it will be discussed when the groups meet again in Cairo on November 9. Previous Arab-led initiatives have failed to reconcile the bitter rivals and initial reactions by the groups cast doubt on whether any deal can be reached. The Egyptian proposal calls for the immediate formation of a Palestinian unity government and an agreement on when to hold national elections.. ................. read more
Israel: 'We're in the midst of preparing the home front for war'According to Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, the country is in one of the most complicated and dangerous periods of its history. And though he does not believe that Israel can be "wiped off the map," in spite of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threats, he is increasingly concerned about the current political instability here, which he blames for delays in projects he deems essential, such as the revamping of the Home Front. This week Vilnai gave The Jerusalem Post a lengthy interview, during which he covered a wide range of topics, from Labor's coalition talks with Kadima, to how Hizbullah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is a target, to the danger of holding public demonstrations calling for the release of Gilad Schalit. The former deputy chief of General Staff and deputy commander of the elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal, says that the IDF is at a most critical juncture. It is the only military in the world, he explains, that needs to be ready at any given moment to fight a guerrilla war in Lebanon, a terror war in the West Bank and a conventional war with Syria, and confront a possible existential threat from Iran. There are existential threats today coming from farther away. The additional complication when dealing with Islamic radical terror is that the war is not just against terrorists, but against a population. In Gaza, you can hit Hamas, but it does not hurt Hamas, since the people there support Hamas. This is the same in Lebanon, where the civilian population supports Hizbullah. This makes the conflict much more complicated. As a result, what is needed is a combined military-diplomatic solution, as well as alliances with other countries. ................... read more
Israeli air force planning answer for missile war The Israel Air Force has been preparing for massive missile strikes by Iran and Syria. Officials said the air force has sought to enhance capabilities that would enable fighter-jets to take off and land during missile and rocket strikes from such countries as Iran, Lebanon and Syria. They said the air force began the planning effort soon after the Hizbullah war in 2006, which paralyzed at least one major base. "We believe that our air bases would be a key target in any war," an official said. The air force has been testing material that would enable aircraft to take off from damaged runways. Officials said the military has procured an unidentified non-asphalt substance that could restore destroyed runways within minutes. "The tests were successful and would allow combat aircraft to take-off and land even under terrible conditions," the official said. Officials said the air force has determined that Hizbullah and Hamas would coordinate in an effort to paralyze bases throughout the country. They said Hizbullah would target northern air bases and Hamas would fire extended-range rockets toward bases south of Tel Aviv as well as in the Negev desert.................. read more
Barak: Israel giving serious thought to Saudi peace planDefense Minister and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak said this week that Israeli leaders have been discussing pursuing a comprehensive Saudi peace plan, an initiative touted by the moderate Arab elements across the Middle East. Barak told Army Radio that with individual negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians making little headway, it may be time to pursue an overall peace deal for the region. "There is room in the Israeli coalition for the Saudi initiative," he said. "We have a mutual interest with moderate Arab elements on the issues of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas." The defense minister President Shimon Peres is in agreement with such consideration and he has spoken about the matter with Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni about the matter as well. Peres proposed merging Israel's various peace talks into one track last month at the United Nations. In a speech to the General Assembly, he called on Saudi King Abdullah to further his initiative. He has since been pushing the idea in meeting with Israeli, Arab and Western officials, his office said. The Saudi peace initiative was first proposed in 2002. It offers pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from Arab lands captured in 1967.................. read more
Israel mulling non-aggression treaty with Lebanon The Foreign Ministry is examining an initiative aimed at reaching a long-term non-belligerence pact with Lebanon to prevent renewed fighting along the northern border. The initiative was first revealed two weeks ago during a strategic discussion over the future of the Middle East peace process that was held as part of the ministry's evaluation of regional developments. The evaluation is the first of its kind, and was initiated by ministry director-general Aharon Abramovich, and later supported by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Livni's close advisers and senior ministry officials participated in the discussion. Given the officials' close relationship with Livni, the evaluation's recommendations are likely to turn into official policy should she succeed in forming a government. Eran Etzion, the head of the Foreign Ministry's political planning section, said a full peace agreement with Lebanon can only come in the wake of a similar deal with Syria. Still, he said, Israel can try to advance on a separate political track with Lebanon, the end result of which could be a long-term non-belligerence pact. .................. read more
4. The Gog/Magog War
Libya seeks Russian arms, including surface-to-air missilesLibya may agree to buy more than $2 billion worth of Russian weapons during a visit by Muammar Gaddafi to Moscow this month, Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing an unidentified source in Russia's arms industry. "An agreement on concluding a major set of arms contracts for more than $2 billion could be reached during the visit of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to Moscow," Interfax quoted the source as saying. The source said Gaddafi's visit to Moscow was planned for the end of October. Russian warships visited Libya this month, signalling a warming of ties between Tripoli and Moscow, which supported Libya during the Soviet era. Libya is interested in buying surface-to-air missile systems such as the S-300, TOR-M1 and Buk, as well as several fighter aircraft, dozens of helicopters and about 50 tanks, Interfax quoted the source as saying. Russia is also preparing contracts to upgrade Libya's Soviet-era weapons, the agency said. Libya wants to expand ties with Russia, which it sees as a counterbalance to US influence in the Mediterranean. ................. read more
Large-scale Iranian Air force exercise simulates attack on IsraelDEBKAfile’s military sources report that the drill in northern Iran, is Tehran’s rejoinder to Israel’s big aerial maneuver last June. Then, more than 100 Israeli fighter-bombers went through their paces over the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, roughly the same distance from Israel as Iran. Tehran’s media claim the exercise will test its air force’s ability to fly to Israel and back without refueling. The Iranians say they will be practicing their “state-of-the-art military equipment and flight tactics,” meaning an attempt to jam US and Israeli electronics and radar. In mid-August, Iran's Air Force chief, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, maintained that its antiquated fighter jet fleet had been overhauled and upgraded to fly distances of 3,000 kilometers without refueling. That would be more than double the distance between Iran and Israel.The Iranian Air force also aims at deploying more than 100 warplanes for the exercise, matching the number Israel used in its maneuver four months ago. Tehran has timed this large-scale drill for just weeks before the US presidential election on Nov. 4, in response to speculation rife in the West that Israel may use the window between the US election and the swearing-in of the new president in January for an attack on Iran’s nuclear installations. The Iranians aim to show they have a first and second strike capability - not just with ballistic missiles but also by aerial attack. .. ................. read more
Top Iran officials recommend preemptive strike against Israel Senior Tehran officials are recommending a preemptive strike against Israel to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear reactors, a senior Islamic Republic official told foreign diplomats two weeks ago in London. The official, Dr. Seyed G. Safavi, said recent threats by Israeli authorities strengthened this position, but that as of yet, a preemptive strike has not been integrated into Iranian policy. Safavi is head of the Research Institute of Strategic Studies in Tehran, and an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The institute is directly affiliated with Khamenei's office and with the Revolutionary Guards, and advises both on foreign policy issues. Safavi said Tehran recently drafted a new policy for responding to an Israeli or American attack on its nuclear facilities. While the previous policy called for attacks against Israel and American interests in the Middle East and beyond, the new policy is to target Israel alone. He added that many Revolutionary Guard leaders want to respond to a U.S. attack on Iranian soil by striking Israel, as they believe Israel would be partner to any U.S. action. Regarding dialogue with the United States and the West, Safavi said Iran's decision would be influenced by the results of the U.S. presidential elections next month, as well as by the Iranian presidential elections in June and the economic situation in the Islamic Republic. .. ................. read more
5. Apostate Christianity
'Third Jesus' Author to Discuss 'What Jesus Really Taught' in Web SeriesThe author of controversial book The Third Jesus will be discussing “what Jesus really taught” and how it can be applied in today’s world through a six-part Web series that will be aired by an equally controversial group. The online radio series is set to begin Wednesday, according to Paula Coppel, vice president of Communications at Unity School of Christianity in Unity Village, Mo. Unity School of Christianity and its affiliated organizations, like author Deepak Chopra, have been criticized for their belief that Jesus was only a man who attained a higher mental state, among other controversial ideas. "We came up with the idea for this series after Oprah Winfrey's successful webcasts last spring with Eckhart Tolle on his book ‘A New Earth,'" said Coppel in a released statement, referring to another book that has drawn criticism from the conservative Christian community. “The Web series contends that Jesus was not trying to start a new religion, nor was he aiming his teachings at some people and not others,” Coppel added. “He was pointing the way for all of us to experience the awakening that he himself had experienced." Since the release of The Third Jesus earlier this year, a number of heated debates have flared up amid its rising popularity. While some say the book is helpful in deepening understanding of how God works in the world, others are quick to criticize it for undermining the credibility of the gospels and asserting that the orthodox version of Christianity is nothing more than a sham. “It is obvious that when Chopra approaches the New Testament he is so blinded by his New Age ‘light’ that he can only see that which supports it,” wrote Kelly Boggs, editor of the Baptist Message, the newspaper of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, in a column appearing in Baptist Press. “As such, he cherry picks quotes of Jesus and twists them to fit his New Age version of a ‘third Jesus,’” added Boggs, who argues that “Chopra’s ‘third Jesus’ is no Jesus at all.” “He is nothing more than the figment of a New Age imagination.”. ................. read more
Christian leader urges Islamic control of Temple MountA top Christian Palestinian leader here yesterday urged Islamic control of the Temple Mount while claiming Israel was threatening the site's famous Al Aqsa Mosque."Regarding threats against the Al Aqsa Mosque from fanatic Jews, what is threatening you is threatening Christians. One who is attacking you is attacking Christians. We are one family and one people, and we belong to the Palestinian national cause," said Attallah Hanna, archbishop of Sebastia from the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Church is regarded by Orthodox Christians as one of the most important churches in Christendom. It has 100,000 Christians followers in the Holy Land and is also one of the largest landowners in Israel. Hanna was speaking to Islamic leaders yesterday gathered at the Al Aqsa Mosque.He went on to urge the Waqf, the Mount's Muslim custodians, to "keep fighting and protect Jerusalem." He thanked them for maintaining the Mount as a sacred Islamic site. Hanna himself is closely aligned with the Palestinian cause. He was previously dismissed from his church position after Israel accused him of directly aiding terror organizations. He has held public solidarity meetings with leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and appears regularly on Palestinian television urging children to engage in suicide attacks.. ................. read more
6. The Rise of Islam
Taliban Kill Christian Aid Worker for Proselytizing to MuslimsTaliban gunmen on a motorbike killed a Christian aid worker in the Afghan capital on Monday, and the militant group said it had targeted the woman because she was proselytizing. The woman, a British national, worked with handicapped Afghans and was killed in the western part of Kabul as she was walking alone around 8 a.m., police said. Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the slaying, saying the woman was killed because she was spreading Christianity. "This woman came to Afghanistan to teach Christianity to people of Afghanistan," Mujahid told the Associated Press. "Our (leaders) issued a decree to kill this woman. This morning our people killed her in Kabul." Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic nation and has little tolerance for outside religious interference. Proselytizing is prohibited by law, and other Christian missionaries or charities have faced severe hostilities. Last summer a group of 23 South Korean aid workers from a church group were taken hostage in southern Afghanistan. Two were killed and the rest were released. In 2001, eight international aid workers, including two Americans, were imprisoned and charged with preaching Christianity. The eight were freed by Afghan mujahedeen fighters attacking the Taliban after the U.S.-led invasion. In 2006, an Afghan man who converted from Islam to Christianity was sentenced to death by an Afghan court. Following an international outcry Afghan authorities declared the man insane and he was granted asylum in Italy, where he now lives................. read more
Malaysians Warned Not to Question IslamAn influential council of Malaysia's state rulers has warned people not to question the supremacy of Islam or the special privileges enjoyed by the country's ethnic Malay majority. Racial and religious tensions have increased in the past year as minorities have become more vocal in their complaints about an affirmative action program that they say unfairly favors Malays. They also complain that their religious rights are being ignored.In an unprecedented comment on current affairs, the sultans of nine states did not directly accuse the Chinese and Indian minorities of stoking anti-Malay feelings, but said recent statements and forums "held by certain quarters" had "caused provocation and uneasiness among the people." Questioning the special position of Malays "can lead to disunity and racial strife that can undermine the peace and harmony," the state rulers said in a statement. The warning underscores the social tensions in Malaysia, where Muslim Malays are about 60 percent of the nation's 27 million people. Chinese and Indians, who are mostly non-Muslims, comprise a third of the population and friction among the three ethnic groups is always below the surface. .................. read more
Ultraconservative Islam on rise in MideastThe Muslim call to prayer fills the halls of a Cairo computer shopping center, followed immediately by the click of locking doors as the young, bearded tech salesmen close shop and line up in rows to pray. Business grinding to a halt for daily prayers is not unusual in conservative Saudi Arabia, but until recently it was rare in the Egyptian capital, especially in affluent commercial districts like Mohandiseen, where the mall is located. But nearly the entire three-story mall is made up of computer stores run by Salafis, an ultraconservative Islamic movement that has grown dramatically across the Middle East in recent years. Critics worry that the rise of Salafists in Egypt, as well as in other Arab countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, will crowd out the more liberal and tolerant version of Islam long practiced there. They also warn that the doctrine is only a few shades away from that of violent groups like al-Qaida _ that it effectively preaches "Yes to jihad, just not now." In the broad spectrum of Islamic thought, Salafism is on the extreme conservative end. Saudi Arabia's puritanical Wahhabi interpretation is considered its forerunner, and Saudi preachers on satellite TV and the Internet have been key to its Salafism's spread. Salafist groups are gaining in numbers and influence across the Middle East. In Jordan, a Salafist was chosen as head of the old-guard opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood. In Kuwait, Salafists were elected to parliament and are leading the resistance to any change they believe threatens traditional Islamic values. The gains for Salafists are part of a trend of turning back to conservatism and religion after nationalism and democratic reform failed to fulfill promises to improve people's lives. Egypt has been at the forefront of change in both directions, toward liberalization in the 1950s and '60s and back to conservatism more recently... .................. read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
UK looks to extend powers of surveillance with mobile phone registrationEveryone who buys a mobile telephone will be forced to register their identity on a national database under government plans to extend massively the powers of state surveillance. Phone buyers would have to present a passport or other official form of identification at the point of purchase. Privacy campaigners fear it marks the latest government move to create a surveillance society. A compulsory national register for the owners of all 72m mobile phones in Britain would be part of a much bigger database to combat terrorism and crime. Whitehall officials have raised the idea of a register containing the names and addresses of everyone who buys a phone in recent talks with Vodafone and other telephone companies, insiders say. The move is targeted at monitoring the owners of Britain’s estimated 40m prepaid mobile phones. They can be purchased with cash by customers who do not wish to give their names, addresses or credit card details. The move aims to close a loophole in plans being drawn up by GCHQ, the government’s eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham, to create a huge database to monitor and store the internet browsing habits, e-mail and telephone records of everyone in Britain........................... read more
Company develops Ink-based RFID Tags - first step to a RFID enabled Tattoo?California-based Kovio Inc. has unveiled a silicon ink-based RFID tag and an accompanying RFID platform. The first products based on the patented technology are printed silicon HF integrated circuits (PICs) with 128 bits of printed read-only memory, which will serve as the foundation for a low-cost HF RFID tag family. Kovio’s new product was announced during a presentation by the company’s CEO, Amir Mashkoori, at an EPC Connection 2008 event. “The platform will enable new opportunities for advertisers, retailers, consumer packaged good manufacturers, and system integrators to provide instantaneous and contextual experiences to everyone who interacts, uses and purchases everyday consumer goods,” said Mashkoori. The company believes the silicon ink-based products, which are the first of their kind, will enable the development of affordable item-level RFID intelligence solutions for various developing RFID markets. Kovio’s technology platform is based on combining silicon inks and graphics printing technology. This enables the fabrication of silicon devices over large areas and on flexible substrates at a lower cost than conventional silicon technology. Kovio also claims its additive printed silicon technology is significantly cleaner and more resource-efficient than conventional silicon technology. The printed silicon platform facilitates item-level intelligence beyond identification through the integration of printed sensors and displays........................ read more
Interpol Details Plans For Global Biometric Facial Scan Database Global security authorities are to push for a huge biometric facial scan database of international travelers so they can cross-check everyone against a database of terror suspects, international criminals and fugitives. Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, is planning to expand its role into the mass screening of passengers moving around the world by creating a face recognition database to catch wanted suspects, reports the London Guardian. The database will hold the records of every citizen who has ever traveled in and out of the virtually every country in the world, representing intelligence agency style bulk interception of information and sounding alarm bells for civil liberties groups. Two months ago we reported on the moves underway to phase out passport control officers at airports and replace them with biometric face scanning cameras. The automated face recognition gates match passengers to a digital image stored on a microchip in the new e-passports. Interpol wants a facial database to be linked into this technology and used in conjunction with its already existing fingerprint and DNA databases, according to Mark Branchflower, head of Interpol's fingerprint unit. We have previously noted that the vast array of databases currently being employed by intelligence agencies, government and law enforcement agencies worldwide were designed to be linked together in a system which will tie in the management and control of all facets of life for citizens to one central hub. Earlier this year we reported on the announcement of a vast intelligence program to establish a global biometric database known as "Server in the Sky" that will collate and provide an " International Information Consortium" with access to the biometric measurements and personal information of citizens across the globe in the name of fighting the "war on terror"......................... read more
Real Time Advanced Video Increases Spying CapabilitiesReal-time streaming video of Iraqi and Afghan battle areas taken from thousands of feet in the air can follow actions of people on the ground as they dig, shake hands, exchange objects and kiss each other goodbye. The video is sent from unmanned and manned aircraft to intelligence analysts at ground stations in the United States and abroad. They watch video in real time of people getting in and out of cars, loading trunks, dropping things or picking them up. They can even see vehicles accelerate, slow down, move together or make U-turns. "The dynamics of an urban insurgency have resulted in a rapid increase in the number of activities visible in the video field of view," according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Although the exploits of the Predator, the Global Hawk and other airborne collectors of information have been widely publicized, there are few authoritative descriptions of what they can see on the ground. But some insights into the capabilities of the Predator and other aircraft can be drawn from a DARPA paper that describes the tasks of a contractor that will develop a method of indexing and rapidly finding video from archived aerial surveillance tapes collected over past years. The resolution capability of the video systems ranges from four inches to a foot, depending on the collector and environmental conditions at the time, according to the DARPA paper. The video itself is also shaped by the angle to the ground from which it is shot, although there are 3-D capabilities that allow viewers on the ground to manipulate videos of objects so they can see them from different vantage points. Systems also exist that allow tracking, moving-target detection of objects under forest or other cover and determination of exact geographic location. Development is underway of systems that allow recognition of faces and gait -- in other words, human identification.......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues
Christian Reality TV Shows Burst on to the Scene Many say Christian entertainment is a good couple of years behind mainstream entertainment, with some placing Christian radio behind by about five years and others even claiming that Christian media in general is more than a decade behind. “I've always been frustrated by Christian media, which at best has lagged 10 years behind the mainstream and is often 30-40 years behind,” says Christian author and musician Jay L. Young of San Antonio, Texas. “Even the good media tends to be just ‘on par’ with mainstream media and true trailblazing is either excessively rare or (more likely) never gets a fair shake in the Christian marketing establishment.” The latest example of this is the emergence of several Christian reality TV programs that have hit the Web and the airwaves in recent weeks. Though reality television has been around as early as the 1940s and exploded in popularity globally starting in the early 2000s, a wellspring of Christian reality programs including “THEDRIVEtv,” “The Uprising,” and “Revolve: Rockin’ The Road” is just now entering the picture. All three programs target Christian youth and look to impact them with a positive message through exciting adventures and live, unrehearsed ministry................. read more
The 'how-to' plan to criminalize ChristianityA growing movement that experts believe could end up in the criminalization of Christianity in the United States is being exposed in a new documentary being prepared for airing on October 26, officials at Coral Ridge Ministries have announced. "Hate Crime Laws" is a half-hour exposé that shows how Christians in America, Canada, Australia, and Sweden have been arrested and prosecuted for expressing opinions that are rooted in the Bible regarding homosexual conduct, Islam or other topics about which Scriptures express clear teachings. "On the surface, hate crime laws might sound like a good idea," said Jerry Newcombe, of Coral Ridge, who hosts the special. "After all, none of us advocates hatred or violence against another person. But if you look below the surface, suddenly you realize that these laws are really thought crime laws." The program will air on The Coral Ridge Hour time slot and local airing times are available online. WND has reported previously on hate crimes plans at the local level. In Colorado, for example, Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law earlier this year a plan that analysts believe effectively bans publication of the Bible in the state. The gender "anti-discrimination" law bans publication of statements that can be perceived as being negative toward those individuals choosing alternative sexual lifestyles. WND also has reported when family groups with alarm have warned constituents about pending plans in Congress to institutionalize nationwide such laws. Pro-homosexual advocates long have sought such a law, but opponents fear it would be used to crack down on those who maintain a biblical perspective that condemns homosexuality as sin. Observers note it would criminalize speech and thought, since other criminal actions already are addressed with current statutes. Canada already has an aggressive "hate crimes" law, and there authorities have gone so far as to tell a Christian pastor he must recant his faith because of the legislation that bans statements that can be "perceived" as condemning another person... ............. read more
TV Couple Seeks to Put God First, Network Edits Out References to HimKate Gosselin and her husband, Jon, can’t stop TLC from editing prayers and references to God out of their hit reality TV series, Jon & Kate Plus 8. But the couple still manages to share their faith with viewers. “There are many times that we pray, and there are many times we make reference to God,” said Gosselin, whose book, Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets, released Tuesday. “It is many times edited out, which is TLC’s prerogative. We had a really hard time with that at first, and challenged them about it. “But then the e-mails starting coming in where it would say, ‘We knew you were Christians when we went to your Web site, and we were right.’” Debuting in April 2007, the Gosselins’ show is the most watched program on TLC and chronicles their atypical life in central Pennsylvania, raising sextuplets—Aaden, Joel, Leah, Alexis, Collin and Hannah—plus twin daughters—Cara and Mady—who are now 4 and 7-1/2 years old, respectively. “We don’t have editing rights one way or another,” said Gosselin, 33, whose family attends an Assemblies of God church. “If you edited all of our faith out of it and just saw a family—who through thick and through thin is sticking together in marriage—we always say that is so much better than what you’re going to see on TV anywhere else nowadays.” She noted that God has used the show to make a spiritual impact on fans, including a woman who contacted her family earlier this year because her daughter had ovarian cancer and her dying wish was to talk to Gosselin. “I felt very insecure about calling her,” Gosselin recalled. “She was a young mom, same age as me, and she had two young kids. I fought it for a few days. … I knew that God was telling me, ‘You must call her, you have no choice, you need to.’ “And so one night, I talked to her,” she added. “I was so inspired by her. She was an amazing woman who found humor in everything. … As she laid on her deathbed, I was able to lead her to the Lord that night. I knew I needed to do it and she was very accepting. She went to heaven less than 24 hour later.” Gosselin stayed in touch with the woman’s mother, who ended up taking care of her daughter’s small children. “A few months later, the grandmother called me, and the 7 year-old found out that he was dying of cancer,” she recounted. “It’s so horribly awful, and he passed away this summer. “I was able to lead him as well as the grandmother to the Lord. I never would have met them any other way, and that is how God chooses to use us. Three people coming to the Lord through our show is all worth it.”............... read more
9. Other Events To Watch
World ill-prepared for next flu pandemic: UNDespite widespread awareness of the risks of the next flu pandemic, the world needs to drastically improve cooperation in preparing for what would be a major global crisis, a UN report said Tuesday. The report by the United Nations and the World Bank said that while most countries are planning for a flu pandemic, the worry was that "many plans have not been tested and may well fail once the next influenza pandemic starts." "Coming on the heels of a World Bank study suggesting that the economic cost of a pandemic could top a staggering three trillion dollars, this continuing lack of preparedness remains a cause of concern," it noted. According to the World Bank, a flu pandemic of moderate intensity could cut global gross domestic product by two percent, while a severe flu pandemic would slash global gross domestic product by nearly five percent, or more than three trillion dollars. The report said that even a mild flu pandemic might kill 1.4 million people worldwide, while the death toll from a severe global outbreak could reach 70 million. There have been three such pandemics in the past century. ................. read more

Verse of the week!

2008-10-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 9:12Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.Ecclesiastes 9:11-13 (in Context) Ecclesiastes 9