News for November 26, 2006

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This is an overview on the topic of Gog/Magog which I believe shows how close we are to the invasion spoken of in Ezekiel 38-39. I don't know when it will happen, but just look at the news, things are really starting to come together. There is so much news lining up to prophecy, and I'm trying to track it on my Gog/Magog page. I know I've missed some, but what I have found is very telling. For instance, Iran and Syria have a defense agreement. Iran and Syria's security is intertwined. Israel has threatened to attack Damascus. Isaiah 17 speaks to Damascus becoming a ruinous heap, and verse 9 says they forsake the cities because of the children of Israel.

Ezekiel 38 speaks of Gog/Magog being brought forth with hooks in their jaws. This gives me the impression that like a fish on a hook, they are brought to the mountains of Israel. I think this defense agreement between Syria and Iran may be the hook that brings a more than willing Iran and friends against Israel. If they are coming on account of Damascus being made a ruinous heap, then watching the news, you could see why this could all happen very soon.

Then there's the Russian and Turkish Muslim "peacekeeping" troops on the Northern border of Israel, where bunkers have been discovered all throughout the area. With Syria transporting weapons to the terrorists in Lebanon, I'm sure there's plenty of weapons stashed away for these armies from the North.

Turkey has flat out said "Nobody should expect us to remain neutral" in regards to the current conflict. Russia is becoming a Muslim state. If I remember correctly, the Gog/Magog armies attack from the North suddenly and consist of Russian, Turkish, and Iranian troops among some other Muslim nations. Israel is actually requesting the Turkish assistance and welcoming these armies to their Northern border. Yet Jews are at risk as Turkey goes radical.

I think you can see where I'm going with all this. We could see all this happen quite suddenly, even before the year is out, as Israel's clock runs out of time and they feel they have to act. Damascus is a previously declared target, housing many of the leaders of the terrorist organizations most wanted dead by Israel. It was also reported October 7, 2006 that Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a pre-emptive Syrian attack on Israel. I think Israel has good reason to act. Iran is about to get the nukes, although I believe they've had them for years through Russia. Now North Korea has nukes and the sides are formed. Israel can't wait too much longer and nobody else will come to her rescue...yet!

Ezekiel 38:14-23
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

The way things are going now, we could see this come to pass very soon. May the lost and blind in this world soon desire to see. There may not be much time left. Be ready to address this event when it happens and ascribe all glory to God who is. The watchmen in these times will be the ones that will know what is going on. The more we know what's going on, the better we can answer the questions nobody else can and be that stable example of who Christ is and glorify His name for all He has done and given us.

Islam: What the West Needs to Know - Trailer - Is Islam a religion of peace? Not according to this documentary. Shown in US theaters summer 2006. Features Robert Spencer, former terrorist Walid Shoebat, Bat Yeor, Serge Trifkovic, and Abdullah Al-Araby. Official site

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Hamas hardliner Khaled Meshaal’s deposits in Cairo a list of tough, non-negotiable ultimatums for a ceasefire and Palestinian unity (November 26, 2006) - Meshaal’s consent to finally travel to Cairo last week raised some hopes that he had come around to accepting a Palestinian unity government and discussing the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit. He soon dashed those hopes. Our sources learn he has left Cairo leaving behind a list of tough demands and headed for Yemen to lead a secret Hamas conference called to plot the next Palestinian-Israeli war. These demands are disclosed here by our military sources:

1. To procure Shalit’s release, Israeli must free 1,400 jailed Palestinians in three stages, including all Hamas, Fatah and other terrorists, such as Marwan Barghouti, who was convicted to six life sentences for murdering six Israelis. For the first batch of 400 women and minors, the Israeli soldier will be handed to Egypt. After the second batch of 500 (including the murderers) is released, Shalit’s parents and Israeli representatives will be allowed to see him.
2. Israel must halt all military operations in the Gaza and West Bank, including preventive detentions.
3. For his consent to a Palestinian unity government, the Hamas politburo chief wants a mechanism for opening the Palestinian Liberation Organization umbrella to Hamas membership and appointing him permanent chairman in place of Mahmoud Abbas. Meshaal will thus acquire total control of the Palestinian movement and its resources worldwide.
4. Hamas will retain treasury, interior and foreign affairs in the unity government.
5. Within six months, Israel must withdraw to the June 4, 1967 borders and an independent Palestinian state established, else the Palestinians will wage a third intifada.

DEBKAfile’s military sources seriously question the wisdom of prime minister Ehud Olmert’s alacrity in accepting Mahmoud Abbas’ assurance of a missile ceasefire binding on all the terrorist groups. Olmert, foreign minister Tzipi Livni and defense minister Amir Peretz, who decided on acceptance, must have realized that the ceasefire on offer would not hold. First, because Meshaal instructed Hamas to hold out for its extension to the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip; and, second, because Hamas transferred a large quantity of Qassam missiles to the Iran-sponsored Jihad Islami and the Fatah al Aqsa Brigades and other terrorist branches. They were directed to keep the missiles coming and so make a sham of the purported ceasefire declared for 06:00 hours Sunday, Nov. 26. By precipitately pulling the Israeli units away from their successful counter-missile operations in N. Gaza, the Olmert government made way for the missile crews to return to their firing sites and keep up the barrage against Israeli civilian locations without pause. Thirteen were fired – most exploding in Sderot before 10:00 am Sunday. Their pretext? A number of suspected terrorists was detained in Hebron, West Bank, early Sunday. Olmert responded by urging “restraint” to give the Palestinians another chance.
| Israel | Islam |

Russian-born businessman: I met poisoned ex-spy Litvinenko in Israel (November 25, 2006) - Russian-born businessman Leonid Nevzlin, former CEO of the Yukos oil company and current chairman of the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv, said Friday that he had met in Israel with former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died Thursday in London from poisoning. During the meeting, Litvinenko allegedly passed Nevzlin documents containing classified information possibly damaging to the current leadership in Russia. In Nevzlin's estimation, Litvinenko's murder was tied to the information relating to Yukos contained in the documents. Nevzlin has turned the documents over to the London Metropolitan Police, who are investigating the murder. British police announced Friday that traces of a radioactive substance, Polonium 210, were found in Litvinenko's urine. Polonium 210 is known to be highly lethal and very difficult to detect. Litvinenko served until 1998 as a colonel in the Federal Security Services of Russia as part of a special unit that carried out investigations and special operations against businessmen. A few months before his murder, Litvinenko arrived in Israel in order to pass the documents to Nevzelin. The Government of Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Nevzlin, arguing that he is wanted for tax evasion, budget irregularities, and for connection to the murder of the mayor a Siberian town where Yukos was operating. It appears at this time that Litvinenko was murdered because of his association with Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist who was shot to death in her apartment on October 7. Politkovskaya had also been a harsh critic of Putin's. more...
| Gog/Magog |

I would suggest reading Herb Peter's commentary, Real Hardball, on this story too.

Gog and Magog Alliance - CSTO ready to cooperate with SCO UzReport.com (November 24, 2006) - CSTO states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Uzbekistan SCO states: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) member states completed internal voting procedures on the ratification of draft Memorandum on mutual understanding between secretariats of CSTO and SCO, CSTO press service reported. The draft Memorandum on mutual understanding between secretariats of two organizations was prepared at SCO and approved at Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers (CFAM) of SCO in May of this year. In accordance with the CSTO policy, the standing committee of CSTO sent the document draft to member-countries for ratification. According to the draft document the parties are ready to cooperate in the mutually interesting spheres. In particular, this includes regional and international security, fighting terrorism, illegal drug and weapon circulation, organized and transnational crime. The parties plan to provide consultancy and exchange information on the mutually interesting issues. Moreover, SCO and CSTO will be able to develop joint programs and events in order to cooperate in the mentioned above spheres. Belarus, Kyrgyz republic, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan ratified the document without criticisms, whereas Armenia, Kazakhstan and Russia sent criticisms to the document, CSTO secretariat informs. Major criticisms had a clarifying nature, but some of them were fundamental. For example, Armenia suggested broadening the cooperation of two organizations by introducing a sphere of illegal migration control. The standing committee under CSTO examined the amendments and criticisms and completed the document. The draft Memorandum will be presented for further consideration to the CSTO Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers. Its session is planned to take place in Minsk in December of this year. After the document ratification a signing procedure by organisations' top officials will take place.
| Gog/Magog |

Erdogan calls on pope to back 'alliance of civilizations' (November 24, 2006) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan has urged Pope Benedict XVI to back the "Alliance of Civilizations" between the West and the Muslim world launched in 2004 by Ankara and Madrid. "The pope, who is both a politician and a religious figure, can play an important role in replacing a climate of war with a climate of peace," Erdogan said over Italian television late Thursday. Erdogan, who will not be in Ankara during the pope's visit next week, said his "only message" for Benedict was "to support the Turko-Spanish initiative of an 'Alliance of Civilizations' as an alternative to the clash of civilizations." The initiative, launched at the United Nations in September 2004, is designed to join Western and Muslim states to fight radical Islam. It calls on institutions and civil society to overcome prejudices and misunderstandings between peoples of different cultures and religions. Erdogan, the head of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, which has Islamist roots, reiterated his stance on the pope's remarks in September viewed by Muslims as linking Islam to violence. "We have never allowed ourselves to insult the prophets of other religions," he said. "Our faith even orders us to respect them. Thus we have the right to expect the same treatment from members of other religions." Erdogan will be unable to meet the head of the Roman Catholic Church during his November 28-December 1 visit because he will be at the NATO summit in Riga, Latvia. "We cannot neglect the Atlantic Alliance because the pope is coming to Turkey," he said.
| RCC | Islam | EU/UN | NewWorldOrder |

Russian rocket deliveries to Iran started (November 24, 2006) - Russia has begun deliveries of the Tor-M1 air defence rocket system to Iran, Russian news agencies quoted military industry sources as saying, in the latest sign of a Russian-US rift over Iran. "Deliveries of the Tor-M1 have begun. The first systems have already been delivered to Tehran," ITAR-TASS quoted an unnamed, high-ranking source as saying Friday. The United States has pressed Russia to halt military sales to Iran, which Washington accuses of harbouring secret plans to build a nuclear weapon. Moscow has consistently defended its weapons trade with Iran. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the contract for 29 rocket systems, signed in December last year, was legitimate because the Tor-M1 has a purely defensive role. ITAR-TASS reported that the rockets were to be deployed around Iran's nuclear sites, including the still incomplete, Russian-built atomic power station at Bushehr. In August, Washington announced sanctions against several companies, including Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport, for supplying technology to Iran that could allegedly be used to develop missile technology and weapons of mass destruction. Under the sanctions no US company can deal with foreign companies on the sanctions list for two years. A spokesman for Rosoboronexport contacted by AFP would not confirm or deny the reports about the Tor-M1 delivery, which were also issued by the Interfax news agency. The Tor-M1 is a low to medium-altitude missile fired from a tracked vehicle against airplanes, helicopters and other airborne targets. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog |

Makes you wonder what other military weaponry Russia has sold to Iran...

Ahmadinejad Predicts Collapse of Israel, U.S., U.K. (November 26, 2006) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the collapse of Israel, the U.S. and Britain, attacking what he called their "oppressive behavior." "The Zionist regime is on a steep downhill towards collapse and disgrace," Ahmandinejad told supporters at a rally of Basiji militia forces near Tehran today. In a reference to the U.S. and U.K., he said "the collapse and crumbling of your devilish rule has started." The speech was carried live on state television. Iran doesn't recognize Israel, and Ahmadinejad drew international condemnation after saying in October 2005 that Israel should be "wiped off the map." The U.S. and Iran have had no diplomatic ties since 1980 following the seizure of diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The U.K., which has an embassy in Tehran, is among the three European countries pushing for sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The Iranian president also called on neighboring countries to drive out "foreign occupiers," in a reference to U.S.-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The people of the region are well able to establish regional security," the president said in the speech near the shrine of the Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "The presence of foreigners is the source of discord and conflict." Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, whose visit to Tehran yesterday was postponed because of the curfew imposed on Baghdad since Nov. 23, will fly to the Iranian capital tomorrow, state television reported separately today. The Iraqi president's trip to Iran is aimed at "expanding bilateral ties in business, trade and transport affairs," the report said. Iraq security will not be the main issue discussed in this meeting, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's press office said on Nov. 21.
| Iran | Israel | Islam | America |

He sure is being cocky, like he knows something we don't. He's expecting the 12th Mahdi and the end of the world. The world sees room for negotiations. Perhaps the world should understand more of the destiny surrounding the 12th Mahdi.

Abdullah: Possibility Of Three Civil Wars In Mideast (November 26, 2006) - Jordan's King Abdullah said Sunday the problems in the Middle East go beyond the war in Iraq and that much of the region soon could become engulfed in violence unless the central issues are addressed quickly. "We could possibly imagine going into 2007 and having three civil wars on our hands," he said, citing conflicts in Iraq, Lebanon and the decades-long strife between the Palestinians and Israelis.
| Israel | Islam |

The world is hoping for a superhero to come and save them from the mess that is the Middle East. As the Bible says, Jerusalem is a burdensome stone to the nations of the world, yet they cannot come against her without being dashed to pieces. Zechariah 12:3 There will be someone who will solve the problems, at least on the surface. The need for a political savior has arisen, who will step forward and amaze the world?

Chirac, Prodi call for European push on Middle East peace (November 25, 2006) - Italian Premier Romano Prodi and French President Jacques Chirac pressed for a greater European role in Middle East peacemaking at a summit Friday and called for the formation of a Palestinian national unity government. The two leaders, meeting in the Tuscan town of Lucca, said such a move would help end the recent bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and open the door for peace efforts, such as the initiative launched last week by Spain, France and Italy - the three largest contributors to a UN force in Lebanon. "We will work on this so that concrete solutions for the dramatic situation in the Middle East start from Gaza," Prodi told AP. Chirac and Prodi reaffirmed their support for the peace initiative announced last week, and Chirac indicated it would be expanded to include Britain and Germany. More details were to be discussed next month in Brussels. The plan has five components - an immediate cease-fire, formation of a Palestinian national unity government that could gain international recognition, a prisoner exchange, talks between Israel's prime minister and the Palestinian president, and an international mission in Gaza to monitor a cease-fire. Prodi and Chirac both voiced their horror at the shocking assassination Tuesday of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. Prodi said the two countries shared the same strategy on Syria, even if some of the tactics were different. While Chirac has largely cut off dialogue with Syria, Prodi urged keeping lines of communication open. more...
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN |

This plays right into prophecy of the revived Roman empire coming forth in new form, the beast with seven heads and 10 horns. Read Recommendation 666 by Herb Peters for more on that prophetic development. Who in Europe will head this venture to bring peace to the Middle East? Keep watching!

Israeli Prime Minister Accepts Gaza Cease-Fire Offer From Palestinian President (November 25, 2006) - Palestinians and Israelis are to lay down their arms in Gaza at 6 a.m. Sunday, after militant factions in the coastal strip agreed to stop all attacks on Israel and Israel reciprocated by pledging to end an extended offensive against rocket squads. The truce announcement held out the promise of a possible resumption of long-stalled peace talks, and was a significant achievement for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he tries to put together a more moderate government to replace the one currently led by Islamic Hamas radicals. The sides announced the impending truce after Abbas telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert late Saturday to tell him he had arrived at an agreement with Palestinian factions to stop all violence from Gaza. Abbas asked that Israel, in turn, stop all military operations in Gaza and withdraw all its forces, and Olmert agreed, spokespeople for both leaders said. more...
| Israel | Islam |

Earthquake Hits Hawaii's Big Island (November 24, 2006) - An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.5 struck off the northwest coast of the Big Island on Thursday in the same area where two stronger temblors struck last month. The quake, centered about 11 miles northwest of Puuanahulu, shook homes on the Big Island, Maui and Oahu, but it did not produce a tsunami threat, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated its magnitude at 5.0; the Tsunami Warning Center estimated it at 4.5. Boulders and other debris forced the temporary closure of Highway 19 near Laupahoehoe on the Big Island, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa. There were isolated power outages in Kona on the Big Island, but no other damages were immediately reported. Magnitude 6.7 and 6.0 earthquakes shook the islands Oct. 15, causing power outages, bridge collapses and road closures. Those quakes caused an estimated $200 million in damages.
| Earth Changes |

Dead Russian ex-spy accuses Putin (November 24, 2006) - Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his death, in a statement dictated before he died. Mr. Litvinenko, 43, who died in a London hospital on Thursday evening and is thought to have been poisoned, said his killer was "barbaric and ruthless". Protest from around the world "will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life," he said. The Kremlin has dismissed allegations it was involved as "sheer nonsense". Scotland Yard said officers were now investigating "an unexplained death". Anti-terror police are leading the investigation, and it is still unclear what killed the former KGB agent. Friends have said he was poisoned because of his criticism of Russia. In the statement, read out by his friend Alex Goldfarb outside University College Hospital, London, Mr. Litvinenko said he had a "message to the person responsible for my present condition". more...

Seems "Mr." Putin's true colors are being revealed for our benefit.

Hubble telescope's top ten greatest space photographs (November 23, 2006) - For a while it looked as if the whole mission would end in embarrassing failure. After it was launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope, a $1.5 billion orbiting observatory, was found to have a glitch in its giant lens - rendering Earth's first orbital observatory short-sighted. But after an audacious Shuttle repair mission, when Hubble was fixed with what is effectively a pair of eyeglasses to correct its sight, the telescope has returned some of the most stunning images ever captured by science. And now astronomers have voted for the best pictures taken by Hubble in its 16 years in orbit. Hubble's Top Ten are shown here, and they illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful. Hubble, which is about the size of a bus, has been sending pictures and data back to scientists since it began operating 370 miles up. It transmits about 120 gigabytes of information every week. That's equal to about 3,600 feet of books on a shelf. By putting a telescope into space, astronomers can get views of distant objects without having to look through Earth's thick and soupy atmosphere. From hundreds of miles above the clouds and weather, Hubble can provide pictures of unparalleled clarity and sharpness. Over its life, Hubble has been pointed at objects as diverse as the Moon and the most distant galaxies, to help scientists better understand the wonders of the known universe. more...

I love the wonders of heaven, they declare the glory of God. I think you'll agree.

Baghdad locked down (November 23, 2006) - Baghdad was under curfew on Friday and the government appealed for calm after car bombs in a Shi'ite stronghold killed 160 in the bloodiest single attack of the war, pushing Iraq closer to the abyss of anarchy. A further 257 people were wounded in the blasts, which left bloodied remains and blackened bodies scattered amid blazing vehicles. Mortars hit a Sunni enclave soon after, apparently in retaliation for the car bombs, which came as gunmen assaulted the Shi'ite-held Health Ministry in a bold daylight raid. "It's an extravagant attack specifically designed to trigger retaliation," said Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at Queen Mary, University of London, likening it to the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra in Febuary that sparked a surge in bloodshed. Iraqi and U.S. leaders accuse al Qaeda and diehard followers of deposed president Saddam Hussein of seeking to provoke a Shi'ite backlash in order to profit from ensuing chaos. The attacks come after a week of tension inside the U.S.- backed national unity government. Under pressure over Iraq after Republicans were defeated at midterm elections this month, President George W. Bush has pressed Shi'ite and minority Sunni leaders to rein in militants to avoid all-out civil war. more...
| Islam | America |

'God' erased: Names of U.S. cities forced to be changed? (November 22, 2006) - If an atheist who contends "In God We Trust" violates religious rights under his own "First Amendment Church of True Science" wins in court, the changes in the U.S. could be radical, says a lawyer defending the national motto. Banning references to God or Christianity in the public sphere would mean, for example, Los Angeles – "The Angels" – would need a new name, according to Kevin Snider, chief counsel of the Pacific Justice Institute. Sacramento, too, would disappear, because one couldn't have a city called "The Sacraments," he told WND. The motto would disappear from U.S. coins, where it first appeared in the 1800s, and the precedent would just ripple from there, he said. "We better take this one seriously," constitutional attorney Herbert W. Titus told D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge ministry. "Otherwise, we're going to see a very strong erosion of the references to God at the federal level." The radical elimination of those references already has been under way for some years, as WND reported in a story about the U.S. Supreme Court changing its official description of stone tablets in the artwork within the very chamber where decisions are delivered. As recently as 20 years ago, they were officially the Ten Commandments. Now they are the Ten Amendments. The lawsuit at issue was brought by Michael Newdow, who earlier challenged the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his claim in that case, but on a technicality, and Newdow refiled the action. Newdow then also sued over the national motto, alleging it infringed on his rights, but the claims were turned back at the district court level, where Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. cited a 36-year-old appellate ruling and concluded the national motto "has nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment of religion." That previous ruling said the motto's "use is of a patriotic or ceremonial character and bears no true resemblance to a government sponsorship of a religious exercise." more...
| America |

What can I say? Sign of the times. See how much longer God protects the USA as the USA stops recognizing Him.

Anti-Syrian leader Warns of More Lebanon Violence (November 22, 2006) - Lebanon's most prominent anti-Syrian leader said on Wednesday he expected Damascus to assassinate more politicians after the shooting of a Christian minister raised fears of a new spasm of factional violence. Lebanon began three days of mourning for Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel who died as he drove through a Christian suburb of Beirut on Tuesday. He was the sixth anti-Syrian politician to be killed in nearly two years. The assassination turned Lebanon's Independence Day on Wednesday into a somber occasion. All festivities, including a military parade, were cancelled. The murder also heightened tensions between the anti-Syrian government and the pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah, the powerful Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla group determined to topple what it regards as a pro-U.S. cabinet. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt blamed Syria for Gemayel's assassination and said he expected more killings aimed at undermining parliament's ruling majority. Syria has joined international condemnation of the killing. "It seems the Syrian regime will continue with the assassinations. I expect more assassinations but no matter what they do, we are here and we will be victorious," Jumblatt said, echoing fears expressed by other senior Christian figures. more...
| Islam |

Bush warns Syria, Iran after Lebanon killing (November 21, 2006) - US President George W. Bush accused Syria and Iran of fomenting violence and instability in Lebanon, as he condemned the assassination of Lebanese cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meanwhile made a hasty telephone call to Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, amid signs of US concern over the fate of the Beirut government which emerged from Lebanon's 'cedar revolution.' "Today we saw again the vicious face of those who hate freedom," Bush told American troops in Hawaii during a trip home from Asia. "We strongly condemn the assassination today in Lebanon of Pierre Gemayel." Bush did not apportion direct blame but called for an investigation into "those people and those forces" behind the killing of the anti-Syrian Christian leader. "We support the Siniora government and its democracy and we support the Lebanese people's desire to live in peace and we support their efforts to defend their democracy against attempts by Syria, Iran and allies to foment instability and violence in that important country," said Bush. The killing came against a backdrop of global calls, so far resisted by the United States, for a dialogue with Syria and Iran over chaos in Iraq. But Bush's tone, further bolstered in a written statement on the killing, appeared to cast further doubt on already slim chances of such a diplomatic opening. "Syria's refusal to cease and desist from its continuing efforts to destabilize Lebanon's democratically elected government" was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, Bush said. "We also demand that Syria treat Lebanon as a genuinely sovereign neighbor, establishing full diplomatic relations with Lebanon," he said. The president said the assassination made it even more important for the United Nations Security Council to seek justice in the killing of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri last year. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | EU/UN | Islam | America |

Terrorists give order: Jews must evacuate (November 21, 2006) - The only way to stop the regular rocket fire on Sderot, an Israeli city of about 20,000 nearly three miles from the Gaza Strip border, is for the Jewish state to evacuate the entire city, Hamas announced in a statement today. "Only the departure of residents from Sderot will stop the rocket fire," Abu Abaida, spokesman for Hamas' so-called military wing, said in a statement to reporters. "There are no limits on our rocket attacks and we will prove that in coming days. We advise residents of Sderot to evacuate," the Hamas spokesman said. Asked by WND if his statement was rhetoric or whether the Hamas leadership actually sanctioned a call for Israeli residents to evacuate, Abu Abaida replied, "We are very, very serious. The evacuation can be done in the next days or even up to several weeks, but it must be done. And after that, we will stop all rocket fire unless the Zionists continue more military operations in Gaza" Abu Abaida said Hamas is seeking to impose "a new equation in which the Zionists understand that for every incursion into Gaza, we will use our rockets to bombard your towns and cities until more and more are forced to evacuate. Our rockets have already improved, as Sderot residents know. We keep working on (the rockets) to improve deadliness, force and distance." Indeed, Israeli security sources said Palestinian rockets fired in recent weeks at Sderot have been packed with more explosive material than ever before. Israel had promised not to tolerate 'a single rocket attack' Since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last summer, hundreds of rockets have slammed into Sderot and other nearby Jewish communities fired by Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip. Then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose administration carried out the Gaza withdrawal, promised the Israeli public the Jewish state would "not tolerate a single rocket attack on Israel after the disengagement goes through." Sharon said if Israel needed to invade Gaza, the international community would understand. Today, Yaakov Yaakobov, a Sderot resident and factory worker, suffered serious injuries in a rocket attack that scored a direct hit in the building in which he was working. He later died of his wounds. Yaakabov's wife, speaking to reporters in a hospital waiting room, said her two sons had not attended school in weeks because they have been afraid of rocket attacks. She called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to "wake up, because Sderot is crying." more...
| Israel | Islam |

It seems they've been tolerating the rocket issues instead of dealing with them. I think it's been adequately proven that they can't trust the Muslims.

AIDS Cases On The Rise (November 21, 2006) - HIV now infects 39.5 million people around the world, a jump of 2.3 million over the past 2 years, according to an update released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). "The evidence is showing that not only is the global epidemic growing, but there are also worrying trends where some countries are seeing a resurgence in infection rates," says Paul De Lay, who directs monitoring and evaluation for UNAIDS. The report--titled “AIDS Epidemic Update"—is revised annually. In most years, there is an overall increase in AIDS cases, and this year is no exception. There are also some new, and grim, developments. Prevalence increased in certain populations in both Thailand and Uganda, which have in the past received worldwide recognition for their successful prevention efforts. Men who have sex with men now account for 21% of new infections in Thailand, and cases are also rising in heterosexual couples in rural villages in Uganda (Science, 25 August, p. 1030). In both situations, there appears to be limited use of condoms. The report also for the first time documents HIV's spread through injecting drug users--especially those who use heroin--in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have had little of the drug in the past: Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa. The region already accounts for 63% of all infections worldwide. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which has a relatively recent epidemic, the annual number of new infections was 70% higher than 2 years ago. In all, the regions have experienced a 20-fold increase in AIDS cases in less than a decade. About 90% of these infected people live in the Russian Federation and the Ukraine, and injecting drug users remain the predominant risk group, but the virus increasingly is spreading from them to their sexual partners. Solid scientific evidence has shown that strategies such as needle exchange can powerfully slow the spread, says epidemiologist Kevin De Cock, who heads the HIV/AIDS program for the World Health Organization, which co-authored the report. But De Cock says the number of these kinds of programs in place is still "woefully inadequate." more...

I believe this is a sign of the times.

Matthew 24:3-8
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

One Voice Vital For EU On Energy Resources, Says Solana (November 21, 2006) - AN UNPRINCIPLED global scramble for energy resources may replace battles for territory and Europe must forge a united policy or face being left behind by rivals, the EU's foreign policy chief warned yesterday. Javier Solana also warned that competition for energy could well limit the European Union's ability to push foreign policy objectives such as conflict resolution and human rights. "The scramble for territory of the past may be replaced today by the scramble for energy," he told a conference in Brussels on energy supply security. Mr Solana said most of the major issues before the UN Security Council had an important energy dimension, yet too often EU states ended up divided on energy policy or defending a position that was the lowest common denominator. "However we choose to deal with such regimes, others will put the energy needs above anything else. The scramble for energy risks being pretty unprincipled," he said. "That has to change," he said. "Let us be clear: if we are not able to launch a unified and substantive position to these issues, partners will run rings around us. It has already come pretty close to that on some occasions." The EU gets 50 per cent of its energy from third countries and that dependency is projected to grow to 70 per cent by 2020. more...
| EU/UN | Solana |

Syria and Iraq Restore Diplomatic Relations (November 21, 2006) - Diplomatic relations between Syria and Iraq, which were severed 24 years ago, were restored Tuesday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. "The latest talks between the Syrian and Iraqi side have been crowned by declaring a new era with the participation of the Syrian brothers in working on the security and stability with Iraq and restoring full diplomatic relations," al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem arrived in Iraq on Sunday in the first such visit by a senior Syrian official since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. He was expected to return home later Tuesday. Syria broke diplomatic ties with Iraq in 1982, accusing it of inciting riots in Syria by the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Damascus also sided with Iran in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Trade ties between Iraq and Syria were restored in 1997.
| Islam |

Islam coming together has never been good for Israel. If the Babylon of end-times is truly literal Babylon rebuilt we could see the beginning stages of that right now. If the Muslim nations can unite together, they will fight less amongst themselves and they all have a common perceived enemy, Israel.

Messengers From Hell (November 20, 2006) - Somali radicals dispatched to Lebanon; world still indifferent. When a swamp isn't dried up and left to rot and ferment, one cannot later complain about the mosquitoes on the corpse. A report by the United Nations revealed recently that during the summer, hundreds of Somali militiamen fought alongside Hizbullah against the IDF in Lebanon. This is not just about extreme Muslim brotherhood – it is a circular deal, whereby Hizbullah recruited mercenaries to fight against the IDF and in return the Somalis received arms and training from Syria and Iran. Over the past few years Somalia has been the closest thing to hell on earth, and I am not referring to the militias. Since 1991, when President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted, the nation has had no significant central government and has turned into a large, bleeding battlefield between the warring militias that do not refrain from carrying out unspeakable atrocities. According to estimates, a million Somalis have died as a result of torture, disease and hunger - amounting to 10 percent of the population. The average lifespan stands at 45 years of age. Do we need further proof that the world and the UN are incompetent in resolving problems of this type? And the situation is expected to worsen. Since the beginning of 2006, one of the militias, going by the name of the Union of Islamic Courts, has become much more powerful. It was originally founded by local business people who sought an authority within the general chaos that would bring thieves and those breaching contracts to trial. The organization's armed private guard strengthened and its leaders were finally able to overtake the southern part of the country. In June of this year they took over the capital of Mogadishu from a rival militia. American intelligence sources contend that one of the reasons for their reinforcement is their ties with terror organizations, including al-Qaeda and terror supporting countries. more...
| Islam |

Iran Slowly Securing Its Grip Around Israel (November 20, 2006) - A nuclear threat is only one of several Iranian problems facing Israel as the Islamic Republic increases its influence in Gaza and Lebanon. Bush says he would "understand" an Israeli attack on Iran. The Iranian government is sending money to Gaza, gradually extending its influence over the region surrounding Israel. The Islamic Republic has donated $120 million to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, according to an announcement last Thursday by PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar. The PA official met in Tehran with Ali Larijani, the head of national security in Iran. Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza have become major beneficiaries of Iranian largesse recently, according to the AFP news service. “Iran has handed out, until now, over $120 million and says it will supply more aid. Its support is very important for us,” said the PA foreign minister. PA terrorists have significantly stepped up their Kassam rocket attacks against southern Israeli communities recently. Sderot residents have said the rockets are increasing in accuracy, and now contain more explosives as well as ball bearings to maximize damage upon impact. Meanwhile, international efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear development activities have slowly ground to a halt. Despite threats by the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions against the Islamic Republic if it did not end its uranium enrichment program by the end of August, the program continues uninterrupted, and no action has been taken against Iran. U.S. President George W. Bush said Sunday night he would "understand" if Israel attacked the Islamic Republic, but that America would not help the Jewish State to do so. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

The world is aligning against Israel and quiet about Iranian influence and Muslim terrorism. It's clear that Iran is funding terrorism, but they defiantly continue because nobody can afford to stand against them right now. At least that's how it would seem. We will see their defiance crescendo in the near future when they attack the nation of Israel along with Turkey, Russia, and other Muslim nations. Read Ezekiel 38,39. It will be God who puts a stop to their attack, and I think that will play right into the antichrist's hand, playing the great bringer of peace on the world stage. He will fool the majority of the world though.

Israeli Minister – Forget Peace, Declare War! (November 19, 2006) - Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman on Saturday [November 18] said that Israel needs to wake up and declare war on the “Palestinians,” who do not truly desire peace with the Jewish state. Lieberman noted that the Oslo Accords and Road Map peace processes are in tatters because of the Palestinian Arabs’ refusal to honor their commitments, and insisted that for Israel to continue to adhere to those defunct scraps of paper is a mistake that threatens the nation’s future. Instead, said Lieberman, Israel needs to retake control of the Gaza–Sinai border, liquidate the Hamas leadership, and trash any diplomatic efforts based on the idea that Mahmoud Abbas’s [Abu Mazen’s] PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization] is a capable and relevant partner for peace.
| Israel | Islam |

Syria on the Move in Lebanon and Iraq (November 19, 2006) - Syrian-backed Hizbullah may be poised to stage a revolution in Lebanon, while back-room US-Syrian negotiations deal with pressuring Israel to give up the Golan Heights. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem began a visit to Iraq on Sunday. The visit will include meetings with US officials in Iraq, during which Moallem will relay Syria’s demand that Israel retreat from the Golan Heights in return for Syrian cooperation in Iraq. The insurgents that have plagued US troops in Iraq have for the most part entered the country from Syria. According to preliminary reports, former American Secretary of State James Bakar’s soon-to-be delivered recommendations on Iraq policy include engaging Syria and Iran in negotiations in order to enable the US formulate an exit strategy. London’s Sunday Times, which has in the past proven the veracity of its Syrian sources, quotes Syrian Baath Party official Ayman Abdel Nour saying that Bashar al-Assad’s “top demand” from the US and Britain is that Israel be pressured to withdraw from the Golan. "Syria will not do anything unless it has secured guarantees from Washington and London that every action Damascus takes to help them will be reciprocated. It will be a step by step scenario: these actions for those actions,” he said. The Syrian demands also include a staged withdrawal of US troops from the region. more...
| Israel | Islam |

'Innocent Citizens' Protecting Terrorists? - No Such Thing (November 19, 2006) - Beit El's Rabbi Melamed: "Those who protect terrorists are not innocent." He was referring to last night's incident in which Arabs gathered at a terrorist's home to prevent Israel from bombing it. The IDF called off a planned aerial strike on the home of a leading terrorist commander in northern Gaza last night, after hundreds of Arabs gathered around the building, defying Israel to bomb it. Chanting, "Death to America and death to Israel!" in scenes broadcast on Palestinian Authority television, many of the Arabs said they would be willing to give their lives in the struggle. However, their bravado was, unsurprisingly, not tested, as the IDF called off the strike because of the protest. "The attack plan was canceled because of the people there," an IDF spokesman said. "We differentiate between innocent people and terrorists." Rabbi Zalman Melamed, however, says that there were no innocent people there to be differentiated. "We must do whatever we can to prevent hits on our citizens," he told Arutz-7 today. "From an ethical point of view, there would have been no problem to hit the building, even with all the people there. Their presence there was part of the war against us. From a practical/diplomatic standpoint, of course, we have to measure our steps carefully." The question of "innocent citizens" arises, says the Dean of the Beit El Yeshiva Institutions, "only when you have armies fighting each other on the battlefront, and the citizenry is detached from the forces. But in this case, in Gaza, where the terrorists and citizens are intertwined, there is no difference between them." more...
| Israel | Islam |

The Elephants are Going Mad (November 19, 2006) - We're not going anywhere," my driver, Nelson Okello, whispered one morning last June, the two of us sitting in a jeep just after dawn in Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda. We'd stopped to observe what appeared to be a "rogue" elephant grazing in a patch of tall savannah grasses. This elephant, however, soon proved to be not a rogue — a young bull elephant that has been banished after making an overly strong power play against the dominant male of his herd — but part of a cast of at least 30. The ground vibrations registered just before the emergence of the herd from the surrounding trees and brush. We sat watching the elephants cross the road before us, seeming, for all their heft, so light on their feet. Then, from behind a thicket of acacia trees directly off our front left bumper, a huge female emerged. "The matriarch," Okello said softly. There was a small calf beneath her, freely foraging and knocking about within the secure cribbing of four massive legs. After 15 minutes or so, Okello started inching the jeep forward, revving the engine, trying to make us sound as beastly as possible. The matriarch, however, was having none of it, holding her ground, the fierce white of her eyes as bright as that of her tusks. Although I pretty much knew the answer, I asked Okello if he was considering trying to drive around. "No," he said, raising an index finger for emphasis. "She'll charge. We should stay right here." I'd have considered it a wise policy even at a more peaceable juncture in the course of human-elephant relations. In recent years, however, those relations have become markedly more bellicose. Just two days before I arrived, a woman was killed by an elephant in Kazinga, a nearby fishing village. Two months earlier, a man was fatally gored by a young male elephant at the northern edge of the park. African elephants use their long tusks to forage through dense jungle brush. They've also been known to wield them, however, with the ceremonious flash and precision of gladiators, pinning down a victim with one knee in order to deliver the decisive thrust. Okello told me that a young tourist was killed in this fashion two years ago in Murchison Falls National Park, north of where we were. These were not isolated incidents. All across Africa, India and parts of Southeast Asia, from within and around whatever patches and corridors of their natural habitat remain, elephants have been striking out, destroying villages and crops, attacking and killing human beings. In fact, these attacks have become so commonplace that a new statistical category, known as human-elephant conflict, or HEC, was created by researchers in the mid-1990s to monitor the problem. more...

Taken literally, the fourth horseman of Revelation 6:7,8 uses the beasts of the earth to kill. Perhaps this is the kind of thing that these verses are talking about? Will we see an increase in fatal animal attacks across the world?

So How Come We Haven't Stopped It? (November 19, 2006) - Early in his first term, President Bush received a National Security Council memo outlining the world's inaction regarding the genocide in Rwanda. In what may have been a burst of indignation and bravado, the president wrote in the margin of the memo, "Not on my watch." Five years later, and nearly four years into what Bush himself has repeatedly called genocide, the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region is intensifying without a meaningful response from the White House. Perhaps Harvard professor Samantha Power's tongue-in-cheek theory is correct: The memo was inadvertently placed on top of the president's wristwatch, and he didn't want it to happen again. But if Bush's expressions of concern for the victims in Darfur are genuine, then why isn't his administration taking real action? The answer is one of the great untold stories of this young century, one in which human rights principles clash with post-9/11 counterterrorism imperatives. During my visits to Darfur in the past few months, I've heard testimony from Darfurians that villages are still burned to the ground, women are still gang-raped by Janjaweed militias and civilians are still terrorized by the Sudanese air force's bombings. As Darfur descends further into hell, all signs explaining the United States' pathetic response point to one man: Osama bin Laden. In the early 1990s, bin Laden lived in Sudan, the guest of the very regime responsible for the Darfur atrocities. At the time, bin Laden's main local interlocutor was an official named Salah Abdallah Gosh. After 9/11, however, Gosh became a more active counterterrorism partner: detaining terrorism suspects and turning them over to the United States; expelling Islamic extremists; and raiding suspected terrorists' homes and handing evidence to the FBI. Gosh's current job as head of security for the government also gives him a lead role in the regime's counterinsurgency strategy, which relies on the Janjaweed militias to destroy non-Arab villages in Darfur. The deepening intelligence-sharing relationship between Washington and Khartoum blunted any U.S. response to the state-sponsored violence that exploded in Darfur in 2003 and 2004. U.S. officials have told my colleague Colin Thomas-Jensen and me that access to Gosh's information would be jeopardized if the Bush administration confronted Khartoum on Darfur. And since 2001, the administration had been pursuing a peace deal between southern Sudanese rebels and the regime in Khartoum -- a deal aimed at placating U.S. Christian groups that had long demanded action on behalf of Christian minorities in southern Sudan. The administration didn't want to undermine that process by hammering Khartoum over Darfur. The people of Darfur never had a chance. more...
| Islam | America |

Al-Qaeda: Kill the Christians (November 17, 2006) - An al-Qaeda manual made a surprise reappearance on October 31^st in a new repackaged, reformatted edition on an online jihadi forum associated with the terrorist organization. The manual, A Guide for the Undecided on the Legitimacy of Killing Christians, (Irshad al-Hayara fi Ibahat Dimaa al-Nasara) made its first appearance back in September 2002, published by the al-Qaeda “think tank,” the now defunct Center for Islamic Research and Study, in their bi-weekly magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (The Voice of Jihad). Translated excerpts from the 56-page manual, authored by Hafid Abu-Basir, are available from the Site Institute. But republication of this manual in a new format has counter-terrorism officials concerned that it’s re-release might be a sign of forthcoming terror attacks directed at Americans. In Chapter 15 of the document, Abu-Basir offers encouragement to dispirited Muslims that fresh attacks against the American infidels are forthcoming: "Beloved ones, I bring you the great, joyful news, which is the coming attack in America, with the permission of Allah, in a new wonderful method. America will be shocked once more, and this time Bush of the infidels will cry again." The Guide for the Undecided is an extensive theological warrant deeply rooted in Quranic and Hadith sources for the killing of Americans based on what the author alleges are historical wrongs committed by America against Muslims worldwide. An entire section of the work, “Al-Umariyah Conditions,” (Chapter 9) is dedicated to explaining that the only proper role for Christians and Jews are as subjected and submissive dhimmis – legal non-persons. It also provides justification for attacks directed at Muslim allies and Islamic governments working with the U.S. government and thoroughly rejects any coexistence with America. Not only might this document itself and its recent reappearance anticipate terror attacks inside the U.S. in the near-term; but in the long-term, it serves as a template of terror that is intended to be followed by generations of followers advancing the global Islamic jihad. The growing library of jihadi strategic studies envisions violent confrontation with the West until the submission of the West under the green flag of Islam is made a reality.