March 23, 2007

Phosphatidylserine, Premier Brain Nutrient (March 23, 2007) - From the Introduction, by Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.: One of the biggest problems I see here in America is the rapid increase in the number of people expected to develop Alzheimer's disease in the next 10-15 years. Because of the aging of the population, the number of people who will have this catastrophic mind-robbing and financially-draining illness is predicted to skyrocket from the current 4.5 million to over 16 million by 2015-2020. There is hope, however. Emerging science, including work done by Dr. Kidd, the Alzheimer's Prevention Foundation, of which I'm president and medical director, and others at the highest level of academic medicine, has shown that it may be possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease or at least to delay its development. What we now know is that Alzheimer's disease is a problem that doesn't occur overnight. It takes as long as 30 years to manifest. If we can delay the occurrence of symptoms for only five years, current thinking tells us that then we can reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's by 50 percent. And if we delay it by 10 years, which I believe is entirely possible, we can virtually eliminate it. In my clinical experience, Phosphatidylserine is very effective at reversing signs of memory loss, such as the inability to recall names, numbers, faces and other manifestations of what I call Swiss cheese memory. Swiss cheese memory is when your thoughts seem to vanish; they fall down a hole in your mind. When you take Phosphatidylserine, it's like having a safety net in your head; words, names, and thoughts seem to bounce right back into your brain and onto your tongue. It's actually quite remarkable. One patient of mine, an attorney from Washington D.C., noticed an improvement in his brain power almost immediately. For others, it may take three months to work. But regardless, if it takes one day or three months, it's worth the wait. Phosphatidylserine is also effective in helping reverse symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in children without the use of amphetamine-like stimulant drugs such as Ritalin. Beyond that, Phosphatidylserine helps you recover faster when you exercise on a regular basis because it blocks the weakening effects the stress hormone cortisol has on your muscles... Here is my prescription for you: Relax in your favorite easy chair and enjoy this user friendly monograph about the hows and whys of a very important memory specific nutrient called Phosphatidylserine, or PS. I know you won't be disappointed. Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. President/Medical Director Alzheimer's Prevention Foundation www.drdharma.com more... I'm thinking of trying this out. I just wanted to share the story with everyone, not to endorse a particular product, which I don't know if it works, but because perhaps you have the same difficulties that I do remembering things. This may help and it is natural and part of the process. So for your research I share this with you.
Iran nabs British sailors in Iraq waters (March 23, 2007) - Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors in Iraqi waters on Friday, the Ministry of Defense said. The British Navy personnel were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," and had completed their inspection of a merchant ship when they were accosted by Iranian vessels, the ministry said. "We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level and ... the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office," the ministry said. A Pentagon official said the Britons were in two inflatable boats from the frigate H.M.S. Cornwall during a routine smuggling investigation, said the official, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the incident. He said the confrontation happened as the British contingent was traveling along the boundary of territorial waters between Iran and Iraq. They were detained by the Revolutionary Guard's navy, he said. A fisherman who said he was with a group of Iraqis from the southern city of Basra fishing in Iraqi waters in the northern area of the Gulf said he saw the Iranian seizure. The fisherman declined to be identified because of security concerns. "Two boats, each with a crew of six to eight multinational forces, were searching Iraqi and Iranian boats Friday morning in Ras al-Beesha area in the northern entrance of the Arab Gulf, but big Iranian boats came and took the two boats with their crews to the Iranian waters." The Britain government said it had demanded "the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment." | Iran | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom |
Minister beaten for praying for the sick (March 22, 2007) - A pastor from Good Shepherd Community Church who traveled to a nearby region to pray for the sick was beaten by an anti-Christian mob, and since police then refused to accept his complaint, the area's doctors would not treat him, according to a new report from Voice of the Martyrs about persecuted Christians. The attack happened to Pastor Reginald Howell, who had traveled from his home region in India to the nearby city of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan. Voice of the Martyrs sources there reported that he was visiting Christians in the area as well as praying for the sick. Then the attackers found him. "He was beaten with an iron rod and suffered severe injuries on his back," the persecution report said. "The police refused to register his complaint and as a result, doctors denied him treatment." More and more such incidents are being reported in Indian states even as they adopt various pieces of "freedom" legislation concerning religion. "Rajasthan State has a so-called 'Freedom of Religion Bill' that is used as a tool in the hands of fundamentalists to harass Christians," said the VOM contacts, who report on the various attacks, discriminations and persecutions of Christians because of their beliefs. "The cases of anti-Christian attacks in this area keep increasing, and the State Administration turns a blind eye to the persecution," they said, according to The Voice of the Martyrs. VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton said the problem is getting worse. "The situation for our brothers and sisters in India is deteriorating," he said. "But God is faithful, and even in these difficult times with so much persecution, the church there is growing. We are thankful for the courageous example of Indian Christians." Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry working worldwide to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and to educate the world about that persecution. Its headquarters are in Bartlesville, Okla., and it has 30 affiliated international offices. more... | Signs of the Times |
Europe claims Israel preparing for war (March 22, 2007) - European officials have been claiming to Syrian leaders the past few weeks Israel is preparing for a military confrontation with Damascus, in some cases providing Syria with inaccurate information, WND has learned. A top source in Syrian President Bashar Assad's Baath party told WND European leaders visiting Damascus in recent weeks delivered messages stating Israel was taking measures in advance of a large-scale conflict with Syria, including updating battle plans, training reservist soldiers and preparing the home front for missile attacks. One senior European Union official told Assad the Israeli government instructed its major hospitals not to allow staff to take vacation time during the summer months for fear a conflict will break out during that period, according to the Baath party source. Israeli security officials and spokesmen for several major Israeli hospitals denied the claim. The European officials advised Assad to engage in dialogue with the Jewish state and the U.S. leading to a full Israeli withdrawal of the Golan Heights, the Baath official said. The Golan is strategic mountainous territory looking down on Israeli population centers twice used by Syria to mount ground invasions into Israel. Israel this week engaged in a nationwide drill, acting out responses to various wartime scenarios, including salvoes of chemical-tipped missiles and major terrorist attacks. It was the largest war drill held in Israel since its establishment in 1948. Israeli government spokesmen said the drills were to test lessons learned during last summer's war against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Israeli security sources confirmed stepped-up training schedules for Israel Defense Forces reservist troops have been implemented. They say the training is not related to any expected confrontations, but is in response to internal military investigations that found reservists were not properly trained for the Lebanon war. According to a report today in the London-based Al-Hayat daily, talks between Israel and France concerning Syria concluded Israel is not interested in weakening Assad, because it does not know whether his replacement would present superior diplomatic alternatives. French officials told the newspaper Israel perceives Assad as weak but is not interested in confronting Syria out of fear that intervention would alter the political situation there. Assad, who signed a military alliance with Iran, is accused of supporting the insurgency against U.S. troops in Iraq and funneling money and weapons to Hezbollah. Leaders of major Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, reside openly in Damascus. more... | Israel | Islam | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | If you go through the Coming Times list, I have the destruction of Damascus from Isaiah 17. I'm still unsure completely how it will come down, but I have a theory. Gog/Magog is brought about by "hooks in the jaws" of the attackers. I believe the defense agreement between Iran and Syria may be that hook that brings Iran against Israel. Why would that happen? According to Isaiah 17, people leave their cities "because of the children of Israel." This is followed by "The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind." We also see in Isaiah 10:5-22, that "Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his [Assyrian's] thorns and his briers in one day." This story shows the distrust and expectations for confrontation soon. So keep watching and reading the Bible, prepare to witness the glory of God defend His chosen people. Our God is a God of promises kept and He is not done with His people, Israel. He will woo them back and a remnant will accept the Messiah their fathers rejected.
5 'well-educated' kids put in state custody (March 22, 2007) - Five "well-educated" children have been ordered into state custody by a court that applied to a second family a ruling taking a 15-year-old homeschooler from her family and sending her to a psychiatric ward. The action fulfills a dire forecast from a human rights group that the government's success in the first case would encourage officials to act against other families in Germany. The newest ruling comes from a court in Saxony and affects five members of the Brause family, according to officials with the International Human Rights Group. Its president, Joel Thornton, earlier had told WND that, "There is an increased fear among homeschoolers about whether their children are next," after Melissa Busekros, 15, was removed from her home and ordered first to a psychiatric ward, then a foster home, because of her "school phobia." Thornton told WND the ruling in Saxony means that while the government officials have not yet taken the five children from the family home, they have permission to do so at any time. "Apparently, Germany has decided that it can determine when and where the children go to school; and where they live while doing so," noted Thornton. "The youth welfare, supported by the police force, can take the children out of the home at any time with or without notice." The decision, according to the IHRG, said the well-being of the children "can only be achieved by their attendance in the public schools." According to a CBN report, the legal custody of Rosine, Jotham, Kurt-Simon, Lovis and Ernst Brause was taken away from parents Bert and Kathrin and given to the local youth welfare office. The parents reportedly can regain custody of their children only by placing them in public school. In the order, which was based solely on the parents' decision against sending their children to public school, the family also was told to pay court costs estimated at $4,000. The judge had concluded that the children were well-educated, but accused the parents of failing to provide their children with an education in a public school. The court noted that one of the daughters expressed the same opinions as her father, showing they have not had the chance to develop "independent" personalities. That circumstance and others echo the case involving Melissa Busekros, a case on which IHRG has been working for several weeks. "We are gearing up to continue the fight in Germany for the right of parents to control the education of their children in accordance with their sincerely-held religious beliefs. This will be an expensive battle, and we ask you to pray about helping us fight the good fight," the IHRG said. more... | Signs of the Times |
U.N.'s Ban shaken by blast on first visit to Iraq (March 22, 2007) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was left shaken but unhurt on Thursday on his first visit to Baghdad after a Katyusha rocket landed just meters from a building where he was giving a news conference. Moments after telling journalists he might boost the United Nations' presence in Iraq because of improved security, a thunderous blast sent shockwaves through the conference venue, startling Ban and sending him ducking for cover behind a podium. Security guards grabbed hold of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who was standing next to Ban at the time and was dusted by small bits of debris that fell from the ceiling. Without commenting on the explosion, which sent a large column of smoke into the air, Ban recovered his composure and took one further question before leaving the conference room. Interior Minister Jawad Bolani played down the incident afterwards, telling Reuters: "This was not a security breach. Things like this happen in Baghdad once or twice a week." A Reuters reporter at the scene said the rocket landed on a small building about 50 meters from the news conference venue, a guesthouse in the prime minister's compound. The Interior Ministry said it landed in a field outside the compound. Earlier, Ban praised Maliki's "strong leadership" and said: "As we see the improved situation on the ground, I am considering to increase the presence of the United Nations." Tens of thousands of Iraqi and U.S. troops have launched a major crackdown in Baghdad to curb rampant sectarian violence and have had some success in reducing the number of daily car bombings and shootings in the city. The United Nations cut back many of its activities in Iraq after a truck bombing on its Baghdad headquarters in August 2003 that killed U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others, and an attack on the International Committee of the Red Cross office. more... | Islam | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom |
EU backs U.S. air pact with 5-month delay (March 22, 2007) - European Union transport ministers unanimously backed a landmark agreement with the United States on Thursday that will throw open transatlantic air travel to more competition and drive down fares. But the 27 ministers, at Britain's request, decided on a five-month delay in implementing the deal so it will take effect on March 30, 2008 instead of October this year. German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, who chaired the talks, hailed a "breakthrough" that would give a boost to transatlantic relations and benefit consumers and airlines. The "open skies" agreement will allow EU airlines to fly from any city in the 27-nation bloc to any city in the United States and vice versa, replacing highly restrictive bilateral arrangements dating back to World War Two. EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot forecast the deal would boost transatlantic flights by 50 percent over five years and he expected it to trigger takeovers among European airlines. European member states would be able to withdraw benefits of the agreement from U.S. airlines if Washington did not agree by 2010 to allow foreign airlines to buy control of U.S. carriers, he said. "The deal is of great political and economic importance," Barrot told a news conference. "I am delighted to have piloted this agreement to its destination with all passengers still on board." The United States welcomed the EU decision, saying it was historic and would benefit consumers. Britain had sought concessions for London's Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest hub, and some firm assurance that Washington will in future allow foreign airlines to own and control U.S. carriers, but appeared to have won little extra. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair described the Brussels deal as "a good deal for the UK." more... | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | America |
Leader says Iran will retaliate if attacked (March 21, 2007) - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday Iran would hit back with everything it has if attacked over its nuclear program, which the United States believes is aimed at making atom bombs. Khamenei, who has previously threatened U.S. regional interests if attacked, was speaking in the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark the Iranian new year, which falls on March 21. "If they want to threaten us and use force and violence against us, they should not doubt that Iranian officials will use all they have in their power to deal a blow to those who assault them," he said in an address carried by Iranian television news. The United Nations Security Council is considering new sanctions against Iran over its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program, whose product can be used to make fuel for power generation or, when more highly enriched, nuclear weapons. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, insists the program is peaceful and aimed solely at generating electricity. Khamenei said Iran's nuclear work followed international rules, but if major powers via the Security Council took "illegal actions" and ignored Iran's rights, "we can also carry out illegal actions and we will do that." Washington has said it would prefer a diplomatic solution to the standoff, but has not ruled out military options. | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

Forecaster sees active Atlantic hurricane season (March 21, 2007) - The Atlantic hurricane season will be exceptionally active this year, according to a British forecasting group, raising the possibility that killer storms like Hurricane Katrina could again threaten the United States. London-based forecaster Tropical Storm Risk on Tuesday said the six-month season, which begins on June 1, was expected to bring 17 tropical storms, of which nine will strengthen into hurricanes with winds of at least 74 miles per hour. Four of those are expected to become more destructive "intense" hurricanes, TSR said. The long-term average for the Atlantic is for 10 storms to form during the hurricane season and for six of those to reach hurricane strength. The United States emerged unscathed from the 2006 season after it spawned a below-average nine storms, of which five became hurricanes. Experts had universally -- and erroneously -- predicted 2006 would be a busy year for Atlantic storms. None of the hurricanes hit the United States, bringing welcome relief to beleaguered residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast, where Katrina killed 1,500 people, swamped New Orleans and caused about $80 billion in damage the year before. But TSR said current and projected climate signals indicate that Atlantic basin and U.S. landfalling hurricane activity will be 75 percent above the 1950-2006 average in 2007. TSR had predicted in December that Atlantic basin and U.S. landfalling hurricane activity would be just 60 percent above average this year. It raised the projected activity level because of the sudden dissipation in February of last year's El Nino weather phenomenon. An unusual warming of the eastern Pacific waters, El Nino events tend to suppress Atlantic storm activity. more... | Earth Changes | America | There is an author, Bill Koenig, who wrote the book Eye To Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel. In it, he outlines the dates of political events in which America pushed to sign away Israel's land for peace and hurricanes Andrew and Katrina touching US soil on the very days that political deals were struck. Jeremiah 30:20 says, "Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them." I think this should be a warning for the US. Given what is coming prophetically for Israel and the land-for-peace that is being pushed currently, I wouldn't be surprised if this year negates all the physical work that was done in New Orleans as it is still below sea level. Hopefully the spiritual work that has taken place will hold from all those who gave their time to reach out to those people who could possibly be facing a re-run of events.
Speaking in Tongues: Alternative Voices in Faith (March 20, 2007) - Speaking in tongues is a controversial practice to many Christians, but others consider it a gift from God. And many people who attend the Freedom Valley Worship Center in Gettysburg, Pa., pray for that gift. "For me, it is almost as if I am able to tap into God's heart and what he wants," said Amber Crone, a member of the church. "I don't really know what I am saying, but I know it is what God wants me to say and speak. It is more of an enlightenment — you can feel him all around you, and you can feel him speaking through the words that you are saying." Crone's friend, Kelly Chocincky, describes what she says is a feeling of connection to God. "I know some people that get a warm, fuzzy feeling going on inside them. For me, I get goose bumps, actually." For Senior Pastor Gerry Stoltzfoos, speaking in tongues is a deeply ingrained way of life. He says he has been speaking in tongues since he was a boy growing up in an Amish family, although the Amish frown on the practice. "The Amish world didn't really address that at all," said Stoltzfoos. "I didn't think it was wrong," Stoltzfoos said, "but I didn't think it would be exactly encouraged if I tried to explain it, and if I had used any of the vernacular that I was familiar with, like speaking in tongues, I would have been told there wasn't such thing. When I left the Amish Church, I started seeking a church that was really open to outside people coming in." Stoltzfoos said he encouraged his congregation to speak in tongues. "It settles things in your spirit, and it heals you on the inside." The origin of the practice is believed to be the miracle of Pentecost — as told in the New Testament book of Acts — when Jesus' apostles were said to be filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in languages foreign to themselves. And a gifted few are said to have done it in early Christian congregations. Saint Paul called it "speaking in the tongues of angels." The practice is widely embraced by Pentecostals but looked at askance by many other Christian denominations. And to outsiders, it can seem downright freakish. more...
Biology Teacher Fired for 'Polluting' Evolution Lesson with Bible (March 20, 2007) - During his eight days as a part-time high school biology teacher, Kris Helphinstine included Biblical references in material he provided to students and gave a PowerPoint presentation that made links between evolution, Nazi Germany and Planned Parenthood. That was enough for the Sisters School Board, which fired the teacher Monday night for deviating from the curriculum on the theory of evolution. "I think his performance was not just a little bit over the line," board member Jeff Smith said. "It was a severe contradiction of what we trust teachers to do in our classrooms." Helphinstine, 27, said in a phone interview with The Bulletin newspaper of Bend that he included the supplemental material to teach students about bias in sources, and his only agenda was to teach critical thinking. "Critical thinking is vital to scientific inquiry," said Helphinstine, who has a master's degree in science from Oregon State. "My whole purpose was to give accurate information and to get them thinking." Helphinstine said he did not teach the idea that God created the world. "I never taught creationism," he said. "I know what it is, and I went out of my way not to teach it." Parent John Rahm told the newspaper that he became concerned when his freshman daughter said she was confused by the supplemental material provided by Helphinstine. "He took passages that had all kinds of Biblical references," Rahm said. "It prevented her from learning what she needed to learn." Board members met with Helphinstine privately for about 90 minutes before the meeting. The teacher did not stay for the public portion. "How many minds did he pollute?" Dan Harrison, the father of a student in Helphinstine's class, said at the meeting. "It's a thinly veiled attempt to hide his own agenda."
Iran stops inspectors visiting nuclear site: diplomats (March 19, 2007) - Iran stopped UN inspectors from visiting an underground bunker where it is building an industrial-scale plant to make enriched uranium but the inspectors will try again, diplomats told AFP Monday. Iran had however promised "frequent inspector access" to the site in Natanz, the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in February. The highly sensitive inspections, and talks over how they are to take place, came as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was expected to plead Iran's case this week before the UN Security Council, which is considering tightening sanctions on the Islamic republic over fears that it seeks nuclear weapons. A centre of concern is the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, in central Iran, where the Iranians are already operating above-ground a pilot plant carrying out research levels of enrichment, the process which makes what can be fuel for civilian nuclear reactors but also the explosive core of atom bombs. A diplomat said Iran had last Saturday refused to let IAEA inspectors into the underground hall at Natanz where the Iranians have set up hundreds of centrifuges in what is to be a 3,000-centrifuge facility for enriching uranium. Centrifuges are the machines used to refine uranium for the U-235 isotope that is valuable for fuel or weapons. Such a facility could make enough highly enriched uranium for an atom bomb in about 10 months, according to the IISS think-tank in London. Other diplomats, all requesting anonymity due to the extreme delicacy of the issue, said IAEA inspectors are set to return this week, possibly Tuesday, to the plant and that delays in inspections were normal and could just be a matter of schedule changes or working out legal issues. Iran's blocking access definitively to Natanz would be a violation of its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). more... | Iran | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | Nothing to see here, move along...
EU And US To Begin Single Market Push (March 19, 2007) - The European Union and the US will next month start an ambitious initiative to harmonise regulations, norms and technical standards in up to 40 economic and industrial sectors, laying the cornerstone for a single market between the two regions. The pledge is the central item in the draft agenda of the April 30 EU-US summit in Washington, a senior German government official told the Financial Times. The summit will mark the official launch of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s initiative for a transatlantic economic partnership which aims to abolish non-tariff barriers to trade and investment between the world’s two richest regions. Although the summit will only mark the start of the initiative, negotiators are hopeful that they can sign a long-delayed “open sky” agreement, which would create a unified civil aviation market between the two regions. The three dozen other sectors to be given priority range from the automotive industry, where regulatory incompatibilities are responsible for 10 per cent of the cost of developing and producing new cars, to biofuels and renewable energies. “India, China and others are setting us a new competitive challenge. They will continue to do so and develop their own know-how,” Ms Merkel told an EU-US conference in Berlin yesterday. “This is why we must join forces . . . Whoever sets the norms today will secure the markets of tomorrow.” Ms Merkel, who has sought to mend Germany’s frayed relationship with Washington since entering office 18 months ago, has put the transatlantic economic partnership high on the list of priorities for Berlin’s presidency of the EU, which ends in June. The April summit will also identify “lighthouse” pro-jects where negotiators think harmonisation can be achieved over the next 12 months, or which would bring fast and tangible benefits to consumers. more... | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America |
Israeli system turns contaminated water into drinking water - instantly (March 18, 2007) - Sulis was a Greek goddess connected with water and healing, therefore it's also become an appropriate moniker for an innovative new Israeli device which instantly purifies contaminated water. The Sulis Personal Purification System (PPS) takes all the ingredients needed to transform dirty water into clean water - whether it be for stranded hikers, soldiers in the field, or victims of disasters - and has miniaturized the technology to fit into the top of a cork that can be plugged into virtually any size bottle, container or tap. "Above everything else, the product we've developed is going to save lives," explained Yossi Sandak, the CEO of Watersheer, the Israeli company which has developed the Sulis PPS. "Over 1.6 million children under the age of five die each year in the undeveloped world from drinking untreated water. What we have is a solution to reduce death in the world that is not a medical solution, but simply providing people with clean drinking water." The Sulis unit is lightweight and small (10 grams, 2.7 Inches / 7 cm) and is designed to fit onto most universal bottles. According to Sandak's partner, Ron Shani, the founder, chairman and vice president of Watersheer's R&D division, the Sulis system treats water from upper sources containing organic, biological and chemical contaminates. "The problem is that there aren't enough products in the humanitarian field that are inexpensive enough and efficient enough to solve the problems of contaminated water - from a biological and chemical standpoint," Shani told ISRAEL21c. The 39-year-old engineer spent 12 years in public organizations and international companies in the field of business development, and building marketing and sales systems, but five years ago decided to leave the high tech world behind in order to "look for the next big thing." He says it was only natural that he gravitated towards the subject of water. "I was raised around water and water technology. For 40 years my father developed water technologies and infrastructure so I'm no stranger to the field," he said. more... | Technology |
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Bowing to Washington, Olmert agrees to go directly and unconditionally to final-status talks with Palestinians (March 17, 2007) - Prime minister Ehud Olmert conceded key Israeli policy points in his talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem Sunday, March 11, according to DEBKAfile’s Middle East and Washington sources – contrary to advance statements from his office that the meeting was only a formality. Last week, Bush administration officials notified Olmert’s senor aides Yoram Turbovitch and Shalom Turjman in Washington that the wait for the Palestinians to comply with roadmap conditions to recognize Israel and renounce violence was at an end. Whether a Palestinian government was led by Hamas or shared with Fatah, they were told, Israel must now initiate final settlement talks with Abbas. Saudi and Jordanian leaders had won President George W. Bush over on this point as leverage for cooperation on the Iraq and Iranian issues.. At the Sunday cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, the prime minister therefore announced he was seriously considering accepting the 2002 Saudi peace plan. He already knew the Saudis had informed the White House that the plan would not be revised at the coming Arab summit in Riyadh on March 28. This means that Olmert has agreed to rescind the road map’s conditions for peace talks in favor of the tough Saudi peace plan. It was left to Abbas to run down for Olmert’s benefit the steps expected from Israel, now that the road map’s provisions were out of the way:
1. The Israeli government must pledge unconditionally that the IDF will refrain from attacking the Gaza Strip. Abbas called this “a mutual ceasefire” although he offered no guarantee for the Palestinian termination of missile fire or other terrorist attacks emanating form the Gaza Strip. After the Olmert-Abbas talks, Israeli officials spread reports of an Israel military alert in the area around the Gaza Strip in an effort to lay a smokescreen to conceal the prime minister’s concession.
2. Abbas said he would do his best to obtain the release of Hamas hostage Gilead Shalit, but offered no promises.
3. The “mutual ceasefire” is the first step to fast-track Israel-Palestinian negotiations on its extension to the West Bank. DEBKAfile reports that Israeli military and intelligence chiefs are trying to impress on the prime minister that the cessation of Israel’s intense counter-terror operations on the West Bank will result in an eruption of a fresh wave of Palestinian suicide bombings inside Israel and the transfer of Palestinian missiles and rockets to launching positions opposite central Israel, including its main cities.
4. Security restrictions on Palestinian movements in the West Bank must be further relaxed.
5. In May or June of 2007, Israel will enter into direct negotiations with the Palestinians on a final -status framework. Since the road map was formulated, Abbas has lobbied hard to skip the document’s prior condition for an end to Palestinian violence as the sine qua non for talks on a final settlement. Now the Palestinian leader has got is way.
6. Abbas voiced the hope that Israel’s flexibility in negotiating with the Palestinians would be rewarded by the willingness of “moderate” Arab and Muslim nations, like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia, to establish diplomatic and open economic relations with the Jewish state.
DEBKAfile’s sources note that the Olmert-Abbas conversation did not discuss the role to be played by Hamas in the diplomatic process dictated the Israeli government, when it heads the Palestinian government. Also left up in the air was the framework in which the moderate Arab and Muslim governments would “normalize” their relations with Israel. This would call for amendments of the Saudi peace plan. However, Riyadh has informed Washington that no such amendments would be tabled at the coming Arab summit. | Israel | Islam | America |
Iranian Defense Minister in Syria (March 17, 2007) - Iran's Defense Minister, Brigadier-General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, is in Syria on an official visit, and is scheduled to attend talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Expansion of defense and military cooperation between Iran and Syria" was the focus of the first round of talks by the two countries' defense ministers in Damascus on Saturday, according to Iranian news agency Fars. The two ministers also "explored... ways of accelerating implementation of the two countries' agreements." General Najjar arrived in Damascus Friday night on a three-day visit, and was given an official welcome by his Syrian counterpart Lieutenant General Hassan Ali Turkman. The visit follows Turkmani's trip to Tehran last June. Report: Syria stations missiles along Israeli border Syria has stationed thousands of missiles along the Israeli border, Agence France-Presse reported, relying on unnamed military sources who said the rockets are camouflaged or hidden underground and can strike at targets from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to Haifa. IDF officials responded that they have not noted any unusual activity and that Syria is not preparing to attack Israel. They said, however, that increased arms sales from Russia to Syria have brought back bitter memories of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Then, top military and intelligence advisors convinced Golda Meir, who was Prime Minister, that her fears of war were exaggerated. The day before the Yom Kippur War broke out on the Egyptian and Syrian fronts, "we received a report that worried me," the former Prime Minister wrote in her book 'My Life'. She gathered top officials in her office hours before the beginning of Yom Kippur and told them, "I have a terrible feeling that this has all happened before" - referring to the days before the Six Day War in 1967. At the end of the meeting, the head of intelligence told her aide, "Don't worry. There won't be a war." Several hours later, Syria and Egypt staged a two-pronged attack that caught the country unaware and with its back to the wall. All sources now agree that Syria is arming, but do not agree on why. Russia has proposed a $1 billion sale of advanced anti-tank rockets to Syria, similar to the weapons that Hizbullah has successfully used against the IDF in last summer's war. The weapons have a range of six kilometers (almost four miles), and some of the rockets probably would go to Hizbullah, which Israeli officials have repeatedly insisted is smuggling weapons into Lebanon from Syria. One scenario that discounts war is that Syria simply is preparing its defense against an Israeli attack. Former military intelligence chief Gen. Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash recently said, "In Syria's estimation it is preparing for a war this [coming] summer initiated by Israel, not Syria, and so it is focusing on reinforcing its arsenal." more... | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

The puzzle of Solana's power (March 16, 2007) - On the final day of his whistle-stop tour of the Middle East, Javier Solana sat down with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallim. Camera crews were being brought into the small meeting room in batches of five or six at a time, and it was taking a little while to get them all in and out. Rather than discuss the finer points of Syria-Lebanese relations with the microphones switched on, Mr Solana and the foreign minister sparred a little. "I see you all the time on the television," said Mr Mouallim. "I don't look for them. They look for me," protested Mr Solana. "They're hoping I'm going to say something important." "Just your presence is an important event," said Mr Mouallim. Both men had the fixed grins of professional diplomats. But scattered like tiny diamonds across the exchange were telling truths and untruths about Mr Solana's role. For the Syrians, Mr Solana's presence really was an important event. It was a sign that their long international isolation was coming to an end. His visit was to be milked for publicity purposes. In a country where the government controls every TV station, it is no coincidence the 15 crews turn up to film an international visitor.The untruth is that Mr Solana does not look for the TV cameras. He does. Not because he is vain - though there is probably a little bit of that. It is mainly because cameras and microphones are among his most important tools. There is no EU army. Mr Solana cannot - should the desire ever take him - order up an air strike or send a fleet to hover off the coast of a country. He carries no fat commercial contracts to use as persuasion, nor does he have the power to impose embargoes. Even the EU's sizeable aid and development budgets are disbursed by other departments. He is instead a cajoler and a persuader. He is a symbol of that still nebulous thing, European foreign policy. more... | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Has the Middle East Turned a Corner? (March 16, 2007) - Two weeks ago, it seemed as if the Middle East was on the brink of war. U.S. carrier strike forces were heading for the Gulf while Vice-President Dick Cheney growled that, if Tehran did not halt uranium enrichment, 'all options were on the table'. Washington's belligerent neocons seemed to be making a come-back and their organ, the Weekly Standard, was baying for war. Suddenly, a break in the clouds suggests that better weather lies ahead. A striking development has been a surge of Saudi diplomacy in a great many directions. The Saudis brokered last month's Mecca agreement between Fatah and Hamas, opening the way for a Palestinian national unity government, and they are proposing, in the near future, to hold a similar meeting of reconciliation for all Lebanese factions. Underpinned by Saudi Arabia's religious authority and financial muscle, these are promising developments, establishing the Kingdom as the Arab world's leading actor. Braving Washington's displeasure, Riyadh has embarked on an intense dialogue with Iran - first through Prince Bandar bin Sultan and Ali Larijani, the respective heads of their countries' national security councils, and then at a recent summit meeting in Riyadh between King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz and Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. The two countries have a strong common interest a) in preventing Sunni-Shi'i violence in Iraq from spilling over into the region; b) in damping down the flames of conflict in the Palestinian and Lebanese arenas; and, above all, c) in preventing a U.S.-Iranian war, which would be catastrophic for the whole Middle East, and especially for the vulnerable Arab Gulf states. The Saudi-Iranian dialogue is a strong signal that these two leading countries are determined to take the destinies of the region into their own hands, free from the intervention of external powers. It is a clear message directed at the United States, whose influence and authority are much diminished because of its calamitous war in Iraq. All this would seem to be in preparation for the important Arab summit meeting in Riyadh on 28-29 March. In the past, these summits have often been derided as ineffectual, because they have rarely been followed by concerted action. This time, however, there is a new sense of urgency. The Riyadh summit is widely expected to re-launch the Arab Peace Initiative, first proposed by King Abdallah when he was Crown Prince, and then endorsed by the entire Arab world at the Beirut summit of March 2002. It offered Israel peace and normal relations with all 22 members of the Arab League if it withdrew from all territories occupied in the 1967 war; recognised the establishment of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza, with its capital in Arab East Jerusalem; and provided for a just solution of the Palestine refugee problem to be agreed in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (which in effect gave refugees the choice between return to their former homes or compensation.) When it was first launched, Israel scornfully rejected the Arab Peace Initiative, but times have changed. Voices are now being raised in Israel - not least that of Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni - suggesting that the Initiative could provide the basis for negotiations. more... | Israel | Islam | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

U.N. resolution "torn paper": Ahmadinejad (March 15, 2007) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday dismissed any new U.N sanctions resolution as "a torn piece of paper" that would not stop Tehran's nuclear work, a local news agency reported. "Issuing such torn pieces of paper ... will not have an impact on Iranian nation's will (to obtain nuclear technology)," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as telling a rally in central Iran. U.S., British, French, German, Russian and Chinese diplomats at the United Nations have reached a tentative deal on imposing fresh sanctions on Iran and hope to introduce the measure at the Security Council on Thursday, providing their governments agree. An earlier sanctions resolution passed by the Security Council in December was derided by Ahmadinejad in similar terms. The new measure, which may be adopted next week, would impose extra penalties on Tehran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, which can produce fuel for use either in nuclear bombs or civilian power stations. "What is the aim of issuing such resolutions? Today we are mastering the nuclear fuel cycle completely," Ahmadinejad said. "If all of you (Westerners) get together and call your ancestors from hell as well, you will not be able to stop the Iranian nation." Western nations suspect Iran's nuclear program is a cover for efforts to make atomic weapons. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, denies that and says it wants only to supply nuclear power plants. more... | Iran | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom |

Effort to hide homosexual indoctrination uncovered in IL school (March 15, 2007) - Concerned Women for America is blasting an Illinois high school for urging students not to tell their parents about its mandatory homosexual indoctrination program. Deerfield High School in Chicago has a class called "Freshman Advisory," in which ninth-graders are required to attend a panel discussion led by the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. The panel features homosexual upperclassmen telling students about their sexual experiences. This year, students were required to sign a confidentiality agreement saying they would not tell anyone about the discussions, including their parents. Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America (CWA), says school officials showed complete disregard for the rights of parents and students who believe homosexuality is immoral. "This is just another example of activists within our public government schools -- homosexual activists -- circumventing parental authority, parents rights, in order to indoctrinate impressionable young children. They know the propaganda all too well," Barber asserts. "You get hold of the minds of these young people, and you spoon feed them your dogma and indoctrinate them," he says; "then you control the future, and you help to further the homosexual agenda." Deerfield Superintendent Dr. George Fornero says the district "made a mistake" by requiring the students to sign the confidentiality agreement. However, Barber feels the damage has already been done. He calls the district's actions "a shocking and brazen governmental abuse of parental rights," which is also detrimental to the children. "They're exposing these kids to information and encouraging them, essentially, to participate in a lifestyle that places them at extremely high risk for disease," the CWA spokesman asserts. "And the fact that they have circumvented parental authority and essentially instructed these kids to lie to their parents tells you just how sinister this homosexual agenda is," he adds. A group of parents recently took out an ad in the local Deerfield Review newspaper condemning Deerfield High School's "Freshman Advisory" and demanding answers about the homosexual indoctrination program.

Police: Dad stabs baby boy in back (March 15, 2007) - A man stabbed his 11-month-old son in the back, threw the boy out the car window with the kitchen knife stuck in his back and then drove away, police said Thursday. His 5-year-old son managed to escape unharmed. "He was conscious, but the knife was buried all the way to the handle," said Speedway Detective Jim Thiele. The boy, Devin Chandler, was in stable condition at a hospital Thursday. Officers had found Kevin Chandler's car but were searching for him. Thiele said Chandler is homeless and had been staying with some friends or family. Police think 31-year-old Chandler and the boy's mother, Angela Limbrock, were arguing as they prepared to leave Limbrock's apartment on the west side of Indianapolis Wednesday night. Limbrock handed Devin to Chandler so she could retrieve his car seat inside the home. As she left the car, she heard Chandler swear at the boy and turned around to see him throw Devin out of the car window, according to a police report. When Limbrock picked up her son, she saw a knife in his back, the report said. She ran back to the home, where residents called for an ambulance. "We're still trying to determine motive here, but at this point I have no reason to believe he did this to get back at the mother or anything," the detective said. Speedway Police Capt. Charles Upchurch said Thursday that the department will ask prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant if they do not locate Chandler. "I don't know why anyone would want to harm an 11-month-old baby," Morgan said. Chandler has been arrested several times for crimes including domestic battery, auto theft and driving while intoxicated, records show. He served time in an Indiana prison for cocaine possession and carrying an unlicensed firearm near school property, records show. In 2005, police arrested Chandler after he allegedly kicked Limbrock in the head and body. | Signs of the Times |

Mass. elevator blast kills 2 people (March 15, 2007) - A man pulled his estranged girlfriend into an elevator in the office building where she worked and ignited a 2-gallon container of gasoline, killing them both, authorities and witnesses said. Authorities found the bodies of a man and woman inside the elevator after the explosion, and police were investigating it as a murder-suicide. "Once again we have an ugly specter of domestic violence here in Massachusetts," Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. He identified the two dead as Raymond Echavarria, 23, and Xiomara Robles, 21. Witnesses said Echavarria pulled Robles into the elevator. Shortly after, police said, there was an explosion inside the elevator, engulfing it in flames. Police found the gasoline container, a lighter, and a knife at the scene. Attorney Phil Lamonica, whose law office shares the common area with a psychiatric clinic where Robles worked as a secretary, said he bought lunch for her, her young son and another secretary Wednesday. Lamonica said Robles and the boy were laughing and talking when they returned to work, but a short time later Echavarria drove up. Police said the pair apparently argued near or inside the elevator. "I heard a lot of screaming," Lamonica said. "At first, we all thought she was trapped in the elevator and had claustrophobia, so we started punching all the buttons. I ran to call the fire department and while I was on the phone, I heard the explosion," he told the newspaper. Robles' boy was left outside the elevator and survived. | Signs of the Times |

4 killed in NYC shootout; motive unknown (March 15, 2007) - A gunman wearing a fake beard and carrying 100 rounds of ammunition fatally shot a pizzeria employee and two unarmed volunteer police officers in Greenwich Village before other officers shot him to death, the mayor said Thursday. Authorities were investigating why David Gavin, 32, went into a pizzeria around 9 p.m. Wednesday, asked for a menu and then shot an employee 15 times in the back before fleeing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. A neighborhood resident, Tina Lourenco, said she saw the gunman and recognized him as a former employee of the pizzeria. Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik, two of the city's nearly 4,500 auxiliary police officers, responded to the shooting and approached Gavin, who crossed the street and fired at them. Auxiliary officers are civilian volunteers who wear uniforms, are unarmed and help patrol streets. Gavin then exchanged gunfire with regular officers, the mayor said. Several officers suffered minor injuries. Authorities recovered the 9mm semiautomatic pistol Gavin fired, plus a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a bag with the ammunition, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Gavin shot at least 23 rounds. "He appeared to be ready to take even more lives," Kelly said. | Signs of the Times |

Israel Will Never Return Golan Heights (March 14, 2007) - “Israel will never retreat from the Golan Heights; the region is an integral part of Israel and vital for its security and protection,” Likud Knesset Member Yisrael Katz said Wednesday evening in response to the European Union’s support of Syria’s claim to regain the disputed territory. Earlier on Wednesday EU Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana told a joint news conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Damascus that, “We would like to work as much as possible to see your country Syria recuperate the territory taken in 1967." Katz said Solana should focus on “pressuring the Syrian president (Bashar Assad ) to stop supporting Palestinian terror and the flow of Iranian arms to Hizbullah as part of the regional axis of evil.” 'Most Israelis would support such a deal' Fellow Likud Knesset member and former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Solana’s comments are indicative of a “complete diplomatic collapse.” “After Europe decided to talk to Hamas, today it announces that it supports the return of the Golan (to Syria),” he said. “This is a disturbing development. The relations with Europe are very important to Israel, and everything must be done to get them back on the right track.” However, Knesset members from the other side of the political spectrum welcomed Solana’s statements. “Negotiations (on the Golan) must lead to security arrangements and the end of Syria’s contacts with Israel’s enemies,” Meretz chairman Yossi Beilin said. “Israel will have to return the Golan Heights region, which was under Syrian sovereignty until 1967.” | Israel | Islam |
PA Finance Minister: I Don't Know Where Aid Money Goes (March 14, 2007) - The incoming Finance Minister of the Palestinian Authority has admitted that hundreds of millions of dollars transferred to the PA have “disappeared.” Salam Fayed, who formerly worked for the World Bank and the US Federal Reserve, told the Daily Telegraph that he has no idea where the more than $700 million granted the PA since the Hamas terror group rose to power has gone. “Palestinian Authority spending is out of control, salaries are being paid to workers who never turn up, and nobody can track where the money is going,” the paper quoted Fayyad as saying. The report even quoted Fayed pleading with the reporter to, "Please write this: no one can give donors assurance [that their money is not going to finance Hamas terrorism]. Why? Because the system is in a state of total disrepair." Though Hamas has faced a supposed international boycott since it trounced PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group in PA parliamentary elections, the report says the PA actually experienced an increase in foreign aid since the Islamist victory. “Ironically, foreign aid to Palestinians increased, either carried across the border into Gaza in cash-stuffed briefcases by Hamas officials, or through a special financial channel to the office of President Mahmoud Abbas,” the report states. A World Bank report released just days ago says that the PA’s number of government jobs has risen by a whopping 11 percent a year. Under Hamas, government jobs include the establishment of several semi-official armed groups made up of terrorists from the faction. Fayed, who is being appointed Finance Minister as part of a Hamas-Fatah power-sharing deal designed to renew the flow of international aid, is far from optimistic about his ability to reform the system. “This will be extremely difficult,” he said, his house surrounded by armed Fatah men assigned to protect him from Hamas factions demanding various funds and perks. “It’s virtually impossible.” more... | Islam | We better keep funneling funds to these terrorists then, huh? I can't believe the leaders of the world have been stupid enough to give weapons and money to them in the first place. They clearly don't understand the mindset of these people.
Shas seeks harsher punishment for missionaries (March 14, 2007) - A war on missionaries in Israel was declared on Tuesday, March 13, when the theocratic party known as the Shas faction, which is headed by MK Yakov Margi, proposed a bill stating that Israel's laws against proselytism should be aggravated. A story written by Neta Sela in www.ynetnews.com said that, backed by six other faction members and in concordance with Shas' spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's instructions, Margi proposed the sentence for preaching conversion should be one year imprisonment. “Every time he (Rabbi Ovadia Yosef) hears of a case where someone falls into missionary hands, he feels great sadness and asks us to try and save at least one soul in Israel,” said Margi. “Whether it's Christians coming from abroad or Jewish converts working in Israel, they all have the same agenda – to destroy every trace and memory of the people of Israel, and they plan to do this by converting Jews. These bodies are operating mainly among the Jewish population which is under physical, social and spiritual distress,” said the proposal. Neta Sela went on to say, “Currently, Israeli law deals with conversion on two levels. Firstly, anyone offering money or material products in exchange for conversion faces five years in prison or a monetary fine. The person on the accepting end of the offer also faces a certain punishment. “On the second level, regarding minors, anyone acting in favor of or conducting a conversion ceremony on a minor, faces six month in jail.” “The law does not address attempts to convert adults over the age of 18, making it completely legitimate. “Shas members claim that the current law does not deter proselytizers and even though many complaints are filed in the matter, very few of them actually turn into indictments. “The proposal claimed that the weaker populations, such as Ethiopians and new immigrants, were more susceptible to missionary persuasion.” The proposal said, “There is no choice but to adopt the rules applying to forbidding proselytism among minors, for all matter relating to adults as well. In other words, completely forbidding preaching and proselytism.” Shas was also sure to defend the bill from accusations of violating Israel's freedom of religion principal, saying that “we do not mean to violate freedom of religion or freedom from religion. We mean to allow everyone to believe in their own religion, and prevent harassment by any source trying to harm the basic democratic right according to which 'every man may live in his religion.'“ The proposal pointed out that the law does not specify which religion it applies to and therefore also forbids the proselytism of non-Jews to Judaism. “The law also applies to Jewish sects bringing Muslims from the Old City to convert to Judaism,” it said. | Israel | Israel truly is blinded by God. Luke 19:41-44 They're so afraid of losing their Jewish identity without realizing that Yeshua the Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of everything they believe.
REPORT: IRAN IS BUILDING "HAMASTAN" IN GAZA (March 14, 2007) - Throughout 2005 and early 2006, Israeli opposition leaders such as Bibi Netanyahu and Natan Sharansky warned against the Sharon-Olmert plan to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza, saying that such a move would strengthen the forces of radical Islam and lead to the creation of a terrorist base camp run by Hamas....this is, of course, exactly what happened.....readers of this weblog are familiar with the various columns I wrote during this time, including: "Sharon Must Change Course or Go" (6/8/05), "Sharon And The Future" (1/5/06), "Welcome To Hamastan" (1/26/06), and "Invade Gaza, Take Down Hamastan" (7/6/06)....now a disturbing new report from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs documents just how serious the problem in Gaza really is:
- There is a growing strategic alliance between Iran and the radical Palestinian forces in the territories. Hamas says it will build its society, economy, and army with the help of the Islamic world, mainly Iran, instead of the West.
- Iran is involved in supporting both the Islamic factions and Fatah, as well. Today, at least 40 percent of Fatah's different fighting groups are also paid by Hizbullah and Iran.
- Hamas Prime Minister Haniyeh does not speak from the parliament. Rather, he makes his declarations from the mosque every Friday. The Arabs are very aware of the images they project. The head of the government preaching from the mosque creates the image of a new caliphate being built inside Gaza.
- Hamas thinks it can build a new southern Lebanon in Gaza, and this is what it is busy doing. Hamas is seeking to build anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems that will neutralize Israel's current ability to easily penetrate Gaza, by using new kinds of missiles that were used in Lebanon.
- Hamas is also trying to fortify the cities in Gaza in which it has its main rocket and weapons factories. If Israel again attacks deep into Gaza, Hamas hopes to confront it with something like what was seen in southern Lebanon - reserves of Hizbullah dug in deep under the earth.
- The IDF will have to enter Gaza in a very wide-scale operation in the next year, if not in the next six months. The IDF prefers not to enter Gaza because of the high cost in Israeli casualties, but Israel has to defend its citizens. The big question is whether to do it now or wait, like Israel did in Lebanon -- and look at the results.| Islam |

Solana: EU supports Syrian initiative to regain Golan Heights (March 14, 2007) - The European Union supports Syria's goal of regaining the Golan Heights from Israel, the EU foreign policy chief said after meeting President Bashar Assad on Wednesday. "We would like to work as much as possible to see your country Syria recuperate the territory taken in 1967," Javier Solana told a joint news conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem. Syria has made it clear that its cooperation to help end violence in Iraq would be tied to Western - especially U.S. - support for its peaceful campaign to regain the Golan Heights, which Israel conquered during the Six Day War four decades ago. Solana also discussed the Lebanese crisis with Syrian leaders Wednesday on what was the first high-level visit by an EU official to Syria in more than two years. Syria, through its state-run press, welcomed Solana's visit as a good move after a long absence. Solana came to Syria on the final stop of a three-nation attempt to mediate an end to the crisis in Lebanon, where the Hezbollah-led opposition has staged three months of mass protests in a bid to topple the government. Nine people have been killed in street battles between government and opposition supporters. He held talks with Moallem and Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa on Wednesday morning and was scheduled to meet President Bashar Assad later. In Lebanon on Monday, where he began his mediating, Solana said he hoped his trip to Damascus would help spur an improvement in relations between the EU and Syria, but he added that Syrian policies had to change. "In order to resume the relationship, we have to have a frank and sincere discussion about things that can change ... and we have to see how the behavior of our friends in Syria may change," Solana said. Solana's visit to Damascus is a big and important step on the road to repairing two years of damage in Arab-EU relations, the official Syrian newspaper Tishrin said in an editorial Wednesday. Syria is receiving Solana with a lot of openness and a readiness to hear what he has to say as an EU envoy. Solana visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday where he discussed Lebanon with the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, in Riyadh. more... | Israel | Islam | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

EU at 50 admired more from afar than from within (March 13, 2007) - The European Union is an object of admiration and emulation in much of the world, yet it marks its 50th birthday this month little loved at home. In the half-century since six nations signed the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community, the bloc's members, now numbering 27, have enjoyed near total peace, rising prosperity and spreading stability unmatched in their history. After two world wars born in Europe scarred the first half of the 20th century, France and Germany were reconciled in an "ever closer union" that replaced trench warfare with late-night haggling over farm prices and fish quotas. "The European Union is the most successful example of peaceful regime change in our time," Oxford University historian Timothy Garton Ash wrote in a recent article. "In every corner of the continent, people are better off and more free than they were half a century ago." After the collapse of communism symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a region divided by the Cold War was knitted together as a community of democracies thanks largely to the EU's political standards and economic norms. The common market founded on March 25, 1957 by Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg grew to embrace first Britain, Ireland and Denmark in 1973, then the former dictatorships of Greece, Spain and Portugal in the 1980s. more... | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom |

With Solana at helm, EU packs more global clout (March 13, 2007) - "Who speaks for Europe" famously asked former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1973. These days, most foreign leaders seeking to talk to the European Union simply pick up the phone and call Javier Solana. As the 27-nation bloc's "High Representative" for foreign and security policy, the 65-year old Spaniard - formerly a NATO secretary general - is certainly not the sole EU spokesman. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso often speaks in the name of the EU as do presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers of the nation holding the six-month rotating EU presidency. But while Barroso holds the key to EU purse strings, he has only a small role in forging EU foreign and defence policy. And since the EU presidency changes every six months, its representatives are in the spotlight for a short time. Solana, on the other hand, has been de facto EU foreign minister and head of military operations since October 1999. His staying power - and tireless diplomatic efforts in the Balkans, Iran and the Middle East - have given him a global reputation with which few EU politicians can compete. Appropriately, the EU chief diplomat received the prestigious "peace through dialogue" award at the Munich Security Conference last month just hours before a meeting with Iran's leading nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani. Solana has been spearheading western efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the worsening nuclear crisis with Iran. more... | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Psych tests ordered for homeschooling parents (March 13, 2007) - A German appeals court has not only affirmed a lower court's decision that ripped a 15-year-old homeschooler from her family and subjected her to a forced stay in a psychiatric hospital because she is homeschooled, but also ordered her parents to be given psychiatric evaluations, an international rights organization says. Joel Thornton, president of the International Human Rights Group told WND that fears the state will use those court-approved tests to destroy the family of Melissa Busekros are very valid. "The trouble is this emboldens the state again, only now it's at a higher level, and the courts still are agreeing with them. This could put Melissa back into the psychiatric system where she could disappear from sight entirely," he said. The family's five other children also are endangered now because of potential court rulings that could be based on any evaluation of the parents, he said. The appeals court ruling came despite the fact that all three of the lawyers representing Melissa Busekros clearly stated in their request to the court the family had accepted a compromise offered by a lower court for her to return home under government supervision. "In spite of [that] … the appeals court held that the family refused the court's initial compromise to let Melissa become an outpatient," Thornton said. For the Busekros family, it's a huge setback. "[A] fear is that Melissa will be returned to the psychiatric clinic system in Germany and 'disappear.' This would leave the family with no way to know where Melissa is or how she is doing. She could become a ward of the state and completely lost to her family," Thornton said. Besides the other children in the family, there are further ramifications, too, with the decision raising questions of larger government attacks on homeschoolers in Germany, where that choice of education is illegal because the government wants to stamp out any "parallel" societies utilizing a worldview different from the state's. Thornton said the problem is that the original psychiatric evaluation was so vague, anyone could have been determined to need treatment under its conclusions. "It's easy to see … if they want to, the government could take more of the children away from this family using the same process. And there is an increased fear among homeschoolers about whether their children are next," he said. Even those German families who already have fled to other countries because of Germany's homeschool ban are moving into hiding because of the possibility they could be returned to face German fines or jail time for homeschooling, Thornton said. He said the IHRG is working on several fronts, including having several German lawyers evaluate their options for an appeal, all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if needed. "Additionally, we are working with U.S. government officials to bring pressure from the U.S. We are working to set up a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador in Berlin so that the Ambassador can be informed regarding the situation and given a chance to hear the truth directly from Hubert and Gudrun Busekros [Melissa's parents]," Thornton said. The organization also is calling on Christians worldwide to pray for the family, and people still are being asked to contact the government in Germany regarding the situation. "We are now looking to set up a wide boycott of German goods in honor of Melissa and her family," the IHRG said. Just a little earlier, in a response published on a blog to a letter expressing concern about Melissa's case, Wolfgang Drautz, consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany, said that the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole." The case involves the schoolgirl who had fallen behind in math and Latin, and was being tutored at home. When school officials in Germany, where homeschooling has been illegal since Adolph Hitler decided he wanted to control the educating of all children, discovered that fact, she was expelled. School officials then took her to court, obtaining a court order requiring she be committed to a psychiatric ward because of her "school phobia." She later was moved, and then put in a foster home, and although she's been allowed a brief meeting with her parents, they still are not allowed to know where she is living or under what circumstances. Drautz cited the German constitution that places the entire school system under the supervision of the government. "Homeschool may be equally effective in terms of test scores," Drautz wrote. "It is important to keep in mind, however, that school teaches not only knowledge but also social conduct, encourages dialogue among people of different beliefs and cultures, and helps students to become responsible citizens." more... With the Alliance of Civilizations and the gaining war against religious fundamentalism, this is something that we may expect to start infiltrating more than just Germany someday soon. As fear of religious brainwashing is heightened along with this idea that "experts" are always right and everyone should conform to their beliefs could prove to be a big problem in the future. At any rate, even though it isn't happening here yet, we need to pray for these families going through this now. The state wants to be able to brainwash the children to their view, where is the freedom in that? It's not surprising this law is left over from Hitler's regime. What is surprising, and sad, is that it's still in force.

What It Means Herb L. Peters (March 12, 2007)
- Now is not the time to get lost in the details. We need to keep our eyes on the "road signs" of Bible prophecy. Prophetic road signs are events that were foretold in Scripture and are now documented in history. If we keep our eyes on the road signs, it helps us stay on course and understand better what may be going on around us. As you probably know by now, I believe the rebirth of Israel in 1948 may be our first great road sign of end-time prophecy. It is commonly believed the "woman" in the following passage represents Israel. In Revelation chapter 12 we read: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1 New American Standard Bible). And the European reunification project that began in 1950 -- now known as the European Union -- may be our second great sign. That's because it is commonly believed the seven-headed dragon in the following passage represents the seven Gentile empires that have and will persecute the woman (Israel). We read: Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems (Revelation 12:3). Here are some roads signs that may have followed:
- 1995: The Western European Union becomes 10 nations.
- 1999: The first Mr. Europe appears among the 10 nations.
- 2000: Mr. Europe and 10 nations politically identified with the number 666.
- 2003: Mr. Europe summits plan for new international order; given NATO assets.
- 2007: Mr. Europe begins confirming a covenant with many for seven years.
Now that we have considered our possible roads signs, let's look at today's news. Evidently, the Iranian threat has gathered an alliance of Arab states -- led by Saudi Arabia -- offering to make peace with Israel. The Arab plan was first presented to the EU heads at last November's Euromed Summit and the details worked out with the other important regional and international players at January's Madrid+15 Conference. Israel, desperate for peace and also concerned about Iran, is thinking about accepting the Arab offer. Elements of the Arab peace plan include:
- Israel returns to the pre-1967 borders.
- Israel allows return or compensation for the Palestinians displaced in the 1967 war.
- Arab states sign a collective peace treaty with Israel.
- Arab states recognize Israel's right to exist and normalize relations.
- Collective security arrangements for all the countries in the region -- including Israel.
Besides the fact that this sudden Arab and Israeli willingness to settle their old conflict is unprecedented since the peace process began in 1991, the added fact that it comes immediately after Mr. Europe begins confirming a covenant for a period of seven years is startling. Friends, if we are truly witnessing the final road signs of end-time Bible prophecy, then we better know what it means. It means we don't have far to go. It means to stay tuned. | EU/UN | 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Says Zell: Military shortages, Social Security crisis, and illegal immigration all linked to abortion (March 9, 2007) - It hasn’t gotten widespread play yet, but former U.S. Sen. Zell Miller made a little news this week in Macon when he declared that abortion has contributed to the military’s manpower shortage, the Social Security crisis, and the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States. “How could this great land of plenty produce too few people in the last 30 years? Here is the brutal truth that no one dares to mention: We’re too few because too many of our babies have been killed,” Miller said. “Over 45 million since Roe v. Wade in 1973. If those 45 million children had lived, today they would be defending our country, they would be filling our jobs, they would be paying into Social Security,” the former Georgia governor said. “Still, we watch as 3,700 babies are killed every single day in America. It is unbelievable that a nation under God would allow this.” If you doubt us, check out the video at the Macon Telegraph’s web site. The comments were made at a Tuesday night fund-raiser for a local anti-abortion counseling center. State Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville), who has become an ideological ally of Miller on the abortion issue, made a similar statement almost exactly a year ago, but backed off upon press inquiries. Somehow, we don’t think Miller’s inclined to throw himself in reverse. | Signs of the Times |

Missing: a huge chunk of the earth's crust (March 5, 2007) - A team of British scientists has set sail on a voyage to examine why a huge chunk of the earth's crust is missing, deep under the Atlantic Ocean -- a phenomenon that challenges conventional ideas about how the earth works. The 20-strong team aims to survey an area some 3,000 to 4,000 metres deep where the mantle -- the deep interior of the earth normally covered by a crust kilometres thick -- is exposed on the sea floor. Experts describe the hole along the mid-Atlantic ridge as an "open wound" on the ocean floor that has puzzled scientists for the five or so years that its existence has been known because it defies existing tectonic plate theories of evolution. "We know so little about it," said Bramley Murton, a senior research scientist at Southampton's National Oceanography Center. "It's a real challenge to our established understanding of what the earth's surface looks like underneath the waves," he told Reuters by telephone from the brand new, hi-tech British research ship RRS James Cook. Mid ocean ridges are places where new oceanic crust is born, with red-hot lava spewing out along the seafloor. What scientists are keen to know is whether the crust was ripped away by huge geological faults, or whether it never even developed in the first place.The primary motivation for the project was to understand how the earth continues to evolve. "The area that we are looking at is part of a mountain range that spans thousands of square kilometres, but we are beginning to realize that there are probably millions of square kilometres where the ocean floor is missing," Murton said. The six week mission, led by geophysicist Roger Searle of Durham University and Chris MacLeod of Cardiff University's School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, will recover sample cores of rock by drilling into the mantle using a rig lowered on to the sea floor. more... | Earth Changes | Once again, for those willing to listen, the Bible gives us the answer as to why it is like this. It all stems from what evolutionists have to deny, a world-wide flood. I just watched a video recently from my collection where the account of the flood was described according to scientific observations about the current world. Genesis 7:11, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." When God created the earth, He divided the waters, some above and some below. In order for the fountains of the deep to break open, they must have been sealed shut. It is believed that much of the surface of the earth was floating on these large pockets of water trapped under the earth. When the flood happened, great rifts broke open and the pressure from the land on the water caused the fountains of the deep to spray water miles into the air. This large amount of water, mixed with the collapsing of the earth where the water came from, was enough water when mixed with that above the earth to cover the whole earth. This explains the giant rifts and why they are there. Because there was a global flood, which also caused the layering of fossils and land, just like we can observe happening in river beds, etc. The same laws of physics were at work then that exist now. These are the fingerprints of God that never change and prove His existence and glory.