• IDF Escalates Gaza Operation, Strikes PA Interior Ministry By Haviv Rettig and Yaakov Katz, The Jerusalem Post & AP (June 30, 2006) - Hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert put the brakes on a massive ground incursion into northern Gaza, Israel Air Force fighter jets struck close to a dozen targets before dawn Friday [June 30] hitting the Palestinian Authority Interior Ministry and a Fatah office in Gaza City. Missiles also struck a Hamas training camp on the outskirts of the city. Other targets hit by missiles included a Kassam rocket production warehouse affiliated with the Fatah-backed Aksa Martyrs' Brigades. An Israel Defense Forces [IDF] statement said that the strikes would continue as long as Hamas terrorists refused to release kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, taken hostage on Sunday [June 25] during a terror attack on his IDF outpost near the Kerem Shalom crossing. IDF artillery cannons also pounded Kassam launch sites overnight Friday [June 30]. Since the beginning of the current Gaza campaign called "Operation Summer Rains" the IDF has fired over 400 artillery shells. The IDF said the attack on Interior Minister Said Siyam's offices in Gaza City was caused by its being used as "a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity." There were no reports of casualties in any of the late-night attacks. Cpt. Jacob Dallal of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit told The Jerusalem Post that the operation's purpose was simple: "To gain the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit." According to Dallal, the strikes would be "ongoing," though the operation was being done "in a calibrated, studied fashion," the IDF "has many means at our disposal" for escalating the attacks. "We hope that this will work and that he will be freed as soon as possible," Dallal concluded. Also early Friday [June 30], IDF troops in southern Gaza noticed several Palestinians approaching an IDF position with an anti-tank rocket launcher. Troops fired at the cell, causing them to flee. According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, two of the attackers were believed to be wounded, but all managed to escape. The details of the incident were still being investigated. | Israel | Islam |
• Massive Algae Bloom Swirls Off West Coast (June 29, 2006) - Scientists are worried that global warming might have contributed to creating an algae bloom off the west coast of Vancouver Island that is so big it can be seen from space. At the Institute of Ocean Sciences in North Saanich, researchers are tracking the swirling mass that runs the length of the Island's west coast. They believe it consists mainly of coccolithophore, a naturally occurring, single-cell phytoplankton. It's the biggest algae bloom institute physicist Jim Gowen has seen. "The bloom is good in that it means there are lots of nutrients out there for things to grow," he said. "But what we're worried about is that if global warming is going to really kick in and start warming everything up, then the prediction has to be that we'll see more of these things more often. It's certainly worrying when you see the biggest one, because you think that it's a sign things are getting worse." more... | Earth Changes | Coast to Coast AM on 6-29-06 discussed the current earth changes that are happening all over the world. One of the topics was this algae bloom visible from space around Vancouver Island in the Pacific Northwest. There is also the same kind of situation off Ireland and in the Black Sea. This is the result of heated water, and possibly evidence of activity on the faultline.
• Palestinian Group Claims to Have Launched Chemical Warhead at Israel (June 29, 2006) - According to a communiqué issued by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Palestine today, June 29, 2006, the group claims to have launched this morning a rocket containing a chemical warhead at the southern Israeli city of Sderot, near the Gaza Strip. They state that the chemicals will be airborne and enter the bodies of the "Zionists" either by inhalation or when the substances touch the skin, causing a "state of continuous horror, terror and undoubted death" amongst the populous. This operation was conducted within a "holy patriotic calling" and the group adds that the "racist policy" of the Israeli government must be revised and leaders must think a "thousand times before they commit any dumb adventure". The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Palestine claimed in a statement from June 27, 2006, that they had developed twenty types of biological and chemical weapons, and would not hesitate to use them against continued Israeli aggression against Palestinians. | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | I can see that using weapons like this could push Israel to attack with great force those who did it. We're seeing how aggressive Israel is being over their kidnapped soldier, imagine a chemical attack.
• Diplomatic Solution Possible in Gaza - Opportunity to Post a Prayer for Kidnapped Soldier (June 29, 2006) - Israel delays a ground invasion of the northern Gaza strip. Hamas, early Friday (in Israel), reportedly agreed to a conditional release. According to a report by AP, Israel delayed moving ground forces into the northern Gaza strip on Thursday, in hopes that a diplomatic solution might be reached with Palestinian militants, who kidnapped an Israeli soldier earlier this week. There were reportedly "positive results" early Friday, (Israeli time), in the development of a conditional release of the soldier, however Israel had not yet agreed to the terms. Last Sunday, Palestinian militants kidnapped 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was serving in the Israeli army. While Gilad's family anxiously awaits his release, the Jerusalem Post has made it possible to post a note of encouragement and prayer for the family. If you would like to do so, CLICK HERE.  more... | Israel | Islam |
• U.S. Senate Committee Calls For Release Of Supposed 19 Scientist Names Who Praised Global Warming Movie - Says AP Made Incorrect Claims (June 28, 2006) - The June 27, 2006 Associated Press (AP) article titled "Scientists OK Gore's Movie for Accuracy" by Seth Borenstein raises some serious questions about AP's bias and methodology. The AP chose to ignore the scores of scientists who have harshly criticized the science presented in former Vice President Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth. In the interest of full disclosure, the AP should release the names of the "more than 100 top climate researchers" they attempted to contact to review An Inconvenient Truth. AP should also name all 19 scientists who gave Gore "five stars for accuracy." AP claims 19 scientists viewed Gore's movie, but it only quotes five of them in its article. AP should also release the names of the so-called scientific "skeptics" they claim to have contacted. The AP article quotes Robert Correll, the chairman of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment group. It appears from the article that Correll has a personal relationship with Gore, having viewed the film at a private screening at the invitation of the former Vice President. In addition, Correll's reported links as an "affiliate" of a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm that provides "expert testimony" in trials and his reported sponsorship by the left-leaning Packard Foundation, were not disclosed by AP.  more... | Earth Changes |

Reported from harpazo Ready:
 

• Arabs Back Syria After Israeli Flyover (June 30, 2006) - The flyover by Israeli warplanes that buzzed President Bashar Assad's summer home may have embarrassed Syria, but it also rallied Arab support around Damascus. Even Lebanon's anti-Syrian prime minister, Fuad Saniora, put aside his differences with Assad to send expressions of sympathy to Syria, which has been largely isolated since the Feb. 14, 2005, assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Jordan, which has a peace treaty with Israel, and Qatar, which has also differed with Syria over the peace process, did the same. "We might not agree with Syria on everything, but the least we could do in these circumstances is to take a clear stance, not (just) talk," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani said on Al-Jazeera television. It was that kind of attention that Damascus basks in. The reaction was typical of the public Arab response to any Israeli aggression or action against a fellow Arab nation, one that Syria may try to capitalize on to prove it is still a vital player in the region despite efforts to marginalize it since Hariri's slaying. more... | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |  This is no great surprise given Bible prophecy. The Gog/Magog invasion of Israel is by several Islamic nations, specifically including Persia (Iran), Central Asia, Russia, Turkey, Sudan, Libya, and other Islamic nations. They're easily embarrased and strike out when they are. Could Syria attack Israel and in retaliation Israel wipes out Damascus as prophecy states? That would bring Iran and all their friends against Israel. We'll see I suppose, but things are certainly heating up literally and figuratively.
• Egyptian official to mediate Israel-Hamas deal (June 30, 2006) - Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman was expected to go to Gaza on Friday to discuss an Egyptian compromise that would allow the release of kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit. He was also scheduled to meet with Hamas leader in Damascus Khaled Mashaal, Army Radio reported. Earlier, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reportedly demanded that Mashaal be expelled from Syria unless he agreed to the compromise that Egypt drafted. | Israel | Islam |
• Syria Vows To Defend Itself Against Israel (June 30, 2006) - Syria vowed Thursday to defend itself after Israel threatened to kill Hamas militants based in Damascus and flew warplanes over a Syrian presidential palace. Israel, meanwhile, was on high alert for possible retaliation. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri said his country was ready to defend itself against the Jewish state. "Syria is capable of defending itself against any aggression," Otri told reporters, slamming Wednesday's overflight during which Damascus said its anti-aircraft gunners opened fire as an "act of piracy." He expressed "surprise at the silence of the international community toward all these Israeli acts and daily aggressions... This is the result of the weakness of the Arabs." more... | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |
• Syria Support For Hamas Unwavering (June 30, 2006) - Despite increasing pressure from Israel to evict exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal from his operations base in Damascus, Syria said it will continue to back the terrorist organization. "The Israelis know that Hamas' presence in Syria is limited to offices," said a Syrian official who asked to remain anonymous, according to the Reuters news agency. "If they cannot stomach this, then let Hamas leaders return to their homeland. We and Hamas will be pleased," he said. Syrian officials and a member of the Hamas leadership said Thursday that Syria will not abandon its support of the terror group. | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |
• Israel on alert for Hezbollah strikes after warning to Syria (June 29, 2006) - Israel was on high alert for possible retaliation after it threatened to kill Hamas militants harboured by the Damascus regime and flew warplanes over Syria's presidential palace. The army said it was bracing for any strikes by the Syrian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia, amid international concerns that the escalating crisis between Israel and the Palestinians could spread through the region. "This measure has been taken due to concerns that the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah or other organizations will try to trigger an escalation of hostilities by launching border attacks," an army spokeswoman said. Israel was not preparing an offensive but merely preparing its units along the northern border to "be prepared to face any likely scenario," she said. more... | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |
• Hamas Leaders Arrested; Israeli Executed (June 29, 2006) - Israeli forces arrested nearly one-third of the Hamas-led Palestinian Cabinet and 20 lawmakers early Thursday and pressed their incursion into Gaza, responding to the abduction of one of its soldiers. Israeli warplanes also buzzed the summer home of Syria's president, accused by Israel of harboring the hard-line Hamas leaders its blames for masterminding the kidnapping. Palestinian witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli tanks and bulldozers entered northern Gaza before daybreak Thursday, adding a second front to the Israeli action in Gaza that began early Wednesday when thousands of Israeli troops crossed into southern Gaza. The Israeli military denied it moved into northern Gaza. Adding to the tension, a Palestinian militant group said it killed an 18-year-old Jewish settler kidnapped in the West Bank. Israeli security officials said Eliahu Asheri's body was found buried near Ramallah. They said he was shot in the head, apparently soon after he was abducted on Sunday. more... | Israel | Islam |
• Rabbis to Bush: Don't back West Bank withdrawal (June 29, 2006) - A group of prominent rabbis is calling on President Bush to refuse political and financial support for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to evacuate most of Judea and Samaria, stating the withdrawal is against U.S. interests, and that it violates basic tenets of Jewish law. "U.S. interests are being impacted by Israel's proposed retreat from terrorist strongholds in Judea and Samaria. In addition, as rabbis our obligation is to teach, guide, and lead our congregations to conduct their daily lives in accordance with Jewish Law. This holds especially true in a matter of life or death threatening the residents of Israel," stated a letter sent to Bush and signed by leaders of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a coalition of over 1200 rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis. more... | Israel |
• Quake Hits Iran (June 29, 2006) - An earthquake shook southern Iran early Thursday morning, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Radio reports said residents of the southwestern city of Bandar Abbas poured into the streets after the quake hit. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 1:32 a.m. (local time) and had a magnitude of 5.6. It was centered about 35 miles southwest of Bandar Abbas or about 650 miles southeast of Tehran, the capital. No other details were immediately available. more...  | Iran |
• EU seeks more policing powers (June 29, 2006) - The European Commission yesterday proposed shifting powers for cross-border policing and counterterrorism from member nations to the European Union in an effort to speed up decision-making. The move is seen as a manoeuvre by the EU executive to enhance its role after failing to ratify the EU's constitution, which remains in limbo, after French and Dutch voters rejected it last year. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the plan was aimed "at making a decisive step in meeting the concerns of EU citizens in an area where more Europe is needed". Barroso and EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said the 25-nation bloc needed to make faster decisions on fighting crime and terrorism and appealed to EU governments to drop their national vetoes in the sensitive judicial policy area. more... | EU/UN | If you want to understand the political situation in Europe that is clearly leading to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, read Herb Peters free online e-book, Recommendation 666. I can't stress enough the alignment of Bible prophecy with the news, and it's not being reported by the mainstream because they are blind to reality. If we don't do the digging ourselves, we won't know what's going on. European politics aren't covered much because American's aren't really interested it would seem. However, with Europe beginning to dictate our laws in small ways, we'd better pay attention, because a one-world government is the end result. I don't think there is anything we can do about it, but we are told to watch, and if you're a Christian, your eyes should be open and paying attention.

Reported from Steve Quayle:
 

• Hamas Urges End to Raids (June 30, 2006) - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Friday demanded Israel halt a Gaza offensive if it wanted to free a captured soldier and said the Hamas-led government would not give way to force. Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza, setting ablaze the Interior Ministry offices, on the third day of a military operation aimed at bringing home the army corporal who was seized in a cross-border raid last Sunday. The crisis has sent Israeli-Palestinian relations to new lows and piled more pressure on the Hamas Islamist government, straining under a U.S.-led aid embargo to get it to renounce violence and drop its vow to destroy Israel. more... | Israel | Islam | The hypocracy is astounding from Islam. They've already killed a teenager they kidnapped around the time of the kidnapped soldier. Now that Israel is "not giving way to force" and doing something about their kidnapped citizen, Hamas is whining because they know they can't win alone. Just wait until Gog/Magog! Then the world will know God is. I'm sure it will really tick off the Muslim extremists too, preparing the way for the hatred that will spawn the murder of 2/3 of Israel at the abomination of desolation.
• Syria: Israel Made Big Mistake (June 30, 2006) - In first response to Israeli flyover in Syrian skies, Damascus government source says: 'We opened fire and the planes left the area,' adds: 'Israel is making scandalous mistake that is crossing the bounds of logic.' In a first response by Syria to the Israeli Air Force flyover the palace of Syrian President Basher Assad, a government spokesman said: "Two Israeli military planes circled with dawn at a low height, near our shore. The air defense forces opened fire at the planes and they split up and left the area." This was Syria's official version of the event, which was broadcast on Syrian television. In the message, Syria denied any ties or responsibility to the kidnapping of soldier Gilad Shalit in Gaza. "These aggressive operations form a provocation and are unjustified. If their goal is to place responsibility for the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier on the political leadership of Hamas (in Damascus - R.N.) - then Israel is making a scandalous mistake that is crossing the boundaries of logic," the source said. The spokesman tried to evade Syria's responsibility and that of the Hamas leadership in Damascus for the recent kidnappings in Israel. "The operation was carried out by the Palestinian popular Resistance in Gaza and it announced this from there. This is not an operation that can be carried out from remote control," he said. more... | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |  Syria's ticked, Israel's clearly sick of it all, and the world is watching with much trepidation. Damascus is prophesied to be destroyed as I quoted from scripture above, and it's all starting to fall into place with this conflict that could easily escalate to the point of prophetic fulfillment. Keep watching!
• Weapon of Mass Diffraction (June 30, 2006) - Sure, it looks like the giant death ray from Goldeneye. And sure, the same technology could someday help blast satellites out of orbit. But for now, the US Air Force's Starfire Optical Range, perched on a hill in the New Mexico desert, is just trying to take some good pictures. Really. Hot and cold pockets of air change the speed of light as it moves through the atmosphere. That makes stars appear to twinkle and creates a major challenge for researchers trying to get a clear view of objects in space. Starfire's answer: Shoot a laser 56 miles into the mesosphere and measure the distortion. Then adjust the laser's mirrors until the beam is back in focus. Whatever optical tweaks correct the beam will also focus a telescope. The images from Starfire are 40 times sharper than uncorrected pics. Today, that aids astronomers; tomorrow, maybe generals. "We don't hide the fact that it could help build an anti-satellite weapon," says Colonel Gregory Vansuch, chief of the installation, "if you choose to do it." Not that there are any plans for one - both the technology and the politics of space weapons are tricky. But if the military constructs Starfire II inside an extinct volcano, we'll let you know. more... | Technology |
• Dennis Ross: We Have Passed the Limit for Negotiations (June 29, 2006) - Former American Middle East advisor Dennis Ross, who was one of the principals behind Arab-Israeli negotiations and the Oslo agreements, said Thursday that the situation has passed the point of negotiations. Ross told Voice of Israel government radio that as much as he believes in talking in order to reach peace, there is no room for negotiations following the latest escalation of terror in the Palestinian Authority (PA). He also described PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas as a man with good intentions but too passive to have effect in the present situation. | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |
• Huge Asteroid to Fly Past Earth July 3 (June 26, 2006) - An asteroid possibly as large as a half-mile or more in diameter is rapidly approaching the Earth.  There is no need for concern, for no collision is in the offing, but the space rock will make an exceptionally close approach to our planet early on Monday, July 3, passing just beyond the Moon's average distance from Earth. Astronomers will attempt to get a more accurate assessment of the asteroid's size by "pinging" it with radar. And skywatchers with good telescopes and some experience just might be able to get a glimpse of this cosmic rock as it streaks rapidly past our planet in the wee hours Monday. The closest approach occurs late Sunday for U.S. West Coast skywatchers. The asteroid, designated 2004 XP14, was discovered on Dec. 10, 2004 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR), a continuing camera survey to keep watch for asteroids that may pass uncomfortably close to Earth. more...  | Earth Changes | This large asteroid isn't going to hit earth, but an asteroid that big could certainly be carrying with it some chunks it that could be closer to the earth. If you're interested, I'd recommend NASA's Near Earth Object Program website.
• Central Bankers Warned on Rising Inflation (June 26, 2006) - Central banks will have to move faster to raise interest rates because global inflationary pressures are rising and the economy remains vulnerable to a "bang" of market turbulence, the Bank for International Settlements warned on Monday. Raising the spectre of stagflation - the twin perils of slow economic growth alongside higher inflation - the central bankers' bank highlighted the threats that now exist after global interest rates have been "unusually low for an unusually long time". Malcolm Knight, BIS general manager, said: "It would be imprudent to count on the happy combination of strong growth and low inflation lasting indefinitely. At some point, central banks may well have to act more forcefully on policy rates than they have needed to do in the past few years". Its annual report warned the coming year would not be easy for central banks, which would need to act tough to stamp out inflationary pressures but not go too far lest they risk a recession. more...  | America | I believe the world as we know it is about to change forever. It's a slow build-up, but like birth pangs, the closer we get to the end, the more severe and frequent the "pangs" will be. With all the natural disasters, wars, population increase, and all the other little things that drain finances, I believe we can expect another depression that is probably more severe because the attitude of the world population is not as civil as it was in the 20s and 30s.
• Israel Needs a Preemptive Nuclear Strike Against Iran (June 24, 2006) - One of the best ways to ensure the world doesn't get wobbly over Iran, is to make it understand that although Israel prefers to regard the rogue Islamic regime as an international problem, we will, if necessary, do whatever it takes to ensure our survival, including a preemptive nuclear strike. In 1936, when Hitler marched into the Rhineland the allies appeased him, even though they could have been in Berlin in two weeks. In 1938 they once again let him off the hook, even though the allies could have been in Berlin within two months. Shortly after the appeasement of Munich, Russia signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler, setting the stage for what it hoped would be his defeat of the West, which would pave the way for Russian domination of Eurasia, from Lisbon to Vladivostok. Now we have Iran, a country led by Ahmadinejad, an equally deranged and evil maniac. He is driven by an ideology combining elements of Nazism and Mahdism, with a tad of Maoism as well, a lethal cocktail of three of the most evil ideologies of human political history. By most current intelligence estimates, by 2008, exactly 70 years after Chamberlain announced on his return from Munich he had achieved "peace in our time", the Iranian Islamo-Nazi regime will have succeeded in developing an atomic bomb. Although it seems that the international community has belatedly begun to awaken to the danger, it is still far from certain that this will actually lead to concrete and concerted steps to ensure this doesn't happen. more...  | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | I'm wondering if an invasion of Israel by the Gog/Magog forces could come from Israel attacking Iran's nuclear capabilities or from Syria. Time will tell.

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