November 20, 2007

Earthquake felt across Israel YNet News (November 20, 2007) - Two earthquakes, measuring 3 and 4.2 on the Richter scale, were felt across Israel on Tuesday morning. The Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) reported that the quakes shook the entire country and originated in the northern Dead Sea. According to the Magen David Adom rescue services, there were no reports of injuries or damage. The first quake was felt at around 11:19 am and the second one at 11:30 am. Ynet received reports from readers in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and southern Israel, who said that they had felt their houses shake for several seconds. Rami Hopshteter, manager of the GII, explained that "this was a moderate earthquake, but was strong enough to be felt in many areas across the country. We received reports that the quake was felt in Haifa, Ashkelon, and of course Jerusalem, which is close to the quake's origin. We are certain that our Jordanian neighbors also felt it. "The quake is not surprising," he added, "As there is a lot of activity in the Dead Sea area… However, it is impossible to draw any clear conclusions about the future. The State of Israel has been preparing for an earthquake since 1999, but more can be done to improve out preparedness." Sidra Muoio from Ma'aleh Adumin, near Jerusalem, reported that the quake "lasted for about 10 seconds and the whole house shook". Dina Dagan, manager of the Bainkini beach in the northern Dead Sea, also felt the quake. "It was really scary. Everything started shaking and I suddenly saw a huge wave ascend from the Dead Sea and it looked like it was headed toward me. "It only lasted several seconds, but it was terrifying, like something you see in the movies. I experienced a few minutes of real anxiety. The quake today was not as strong as last time, but it was nonetheless scary." "Everyone felt it, but we remained calm," said Eilon from his workplace in Herzliya. "It lasted between five to 10 seconds." more...
| Israel | Earth Changes |

Deepening China-Iran Ties Weaken Bid to Isolate Iran Washington Post (November 19, 2007) - The rapidly growing relationship between Iran and China has begun to undermine international efforts to ensure that Iran cannot convert a peaceful energy program to develop a nuclear arsenal, U.S. and European officials say. The Bush administration and its allies said last week that they plan to seek new U.N. sanctions against Iran, after the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iranian officials had given inadequate answers to questions about the country's past nuclear activities. But U.S. and European officials now worry more about a Chinese veto than about opposition from Russia, which has previously assisted and defended the Iranian nuclear energy program. U.S. and European officials charged Friday that Beijing is deliberately stalling to protect its economic interests. "China needs to play a more responsible role on Iran, needs to recognize that China is going to be very dependent in the decades ahead on Middle East oil, and, therefore, China, for its own development and its own purposes, is going to need a stable Middle East, and that an Iran armed with nuclear weapons is not a prescription for stability in the Middle East," national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley told reporters Friday. China now gets at least 14 percent of its imported oil from Iran, making it China's largest supplier and the source of as much as $7 billion worth of oil this year, according to David Kirsch, a manager at PFC Energy. Tehran in turn gets major arms systems from Beijing, including ballistic and cruise missiles and technical assistance for Tehran's indigenous missile program. Dozens of Chinese companies are also engaged in several other industries. On the eve of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's visit to Tehran last week for talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Beijing suggested that it could reject U.S.-orchestrated efforts for a new resolution. "We believe that all parties should show patience and sincerity over this issue, while any sanctions, particularly unilateral sanctions, will do no good," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. more...
| Iran | America |

Venezuela's Chavez comes to Tehran to further boost ties with Iran International Herald Tribune (November 19, 2007) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made his fourth trip to Iran in two years on Monday, state media reported, as the two countries sought to strengthen ties while their leaders exhort the international community to resist U.S. policies. Chavez, who arrived in Tehran from Saudi Arabia where he attended the weekend's OPEC summit, is expected to discuss various political and economic issues with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Chavez was accompanied by a string of top Venezuelan officials for the hours-long visit, including the foreign, industry, oil and communication ministers, as well as the mayor of Caracas, the country's capital. Ahmadinejad also attended the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries summit in Riyadh. During the gathering, the two firebrand leaders echoed one another, blaming U.S. President George W. Bush's policies for the decline of the dollar and its negative effect on other countries, and challenging Saudi Arabia's reluctance to mention weak dollar concerns in the summit's final declaration. Ahmadinejad claimed OPEC's member countries want to convert their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper." Chavez said the dollar was in free-fall and that its "empire" must end, and proposed trading oil in a basket of currencies excluding the dollar. But the two were unable to generate support from enough in the 13-member cartel — many of whom, including Saudi Arabia, are staunch U.S. allies. Tehran is in a bitter standoff with Washington over its nuclear program, which the U.S. fears is a cover for a weapons program but which Iran insists is peaceful. more...
| Iran | America |

Police with Dogs: Vaccinating Kids in Maryland Vaccine Awakening (October 19, 2007) - "In Germany, they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." - Martin Niemueller

I watched them bundled up against the cold winter air on Saturday, November 17, 2007, with their children and the letter from the State of Maryland threatening them with imprisonment or fines of $50 a day for failing to show proof their children had gotten a chickenpox or hepatitis B shot. Confused, angry or scared but mostly resigned, they were working mothers and fathers trudging toward the courthouse to face the Judge ordering them to get vaccinated or go to jail. Patrolling the scene was a SWAT team of policemen with dogs. There were a few vaccine safety and informed consent advocates who showed up to witness what happened at the Prince George's County Courthouse, among them Washington D.C. Attorney Jim Moody and autism activist Kelli Ann Davis, of SAFEMINDS and Charles Frohman, representing the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) http://www.aapsonline.org/press/nr-11-16-07.php as well as several Moms with children who developed autism after vaccination. The U.S. media turned out but they were kept behind barricades and denied access into the building, as were the advocates and other members of the general public. There was no public oversight on what was happening to the parents and children inside. I listened to or spoke with several mothers leaving the building with their children and learned the sad truth about what was happening behind the closely guarded, closed doors of the Courthouse. The parents were not being asked questions about their child’s medical history or whether the children had experienced health problems after previous vaccinations. The parents were not being given information about vaccine side effects or how to monitor their children for signs of vaccine reactions. They were not given forms for religious and medical exemptions to vaccination allowed in Maryland (see the video of my debate on CNN the day before with Vanderbilt’s Bill Schaffner, M.D. plus a video of a Saturday CNN interview with Jim Moody) Apparently, the children were being re-vaccinated with not just hepatitis B and chicken pox vaccines, the two new vaccines added to the Maryland school requirement list, but also with other required vaccines for which the public school system could find no record. One mother told me her children were up-to-date on their shots but the school system lost the records and she had to give her children all the required vaccines on the spot or face jail or fines. My son, Chris, who became learning disabled after suffering a serious reaction to a fourth DPT shot in 1980, traveled with me to Maryland carrying a camera. After growing up watching his Mom work to change one-size-fits-all vaccine policies that were responsible for his vaccine reaction, Chris recently decided he wants to help NVIC put a face on what it means to be vaccine injured in America and what it means when Americans do not have the right to freely exercise informed consent to vaccination. more...
| America |

Message from John L. Petersen on the Coming Crash Steve Quayle (October 19, 2007) - It appears that the world in general and the United States in particular are on the edge of a major disruption in the global financial system. Here’s the summary as we see it. At a recent Board meeting of The Arlington Institute, Dr. David Martin, CEO of M*CAM and one of the members of the Board was asked for his assessment of the global financial situation in the coming months. Here are my notes from his response:

The next shoe to fall is consumer credit

Currently as reports came in on the 3rd quarter, foreclosures were up 470% this quarter alone. They will be up over 500% this coming quarter (4th). A foreclosure in our terms is when the bank has officially declared an account insolvent and tries to regain the asset (if it exists). The person who is foreclosed upon can no longer secure any traditional consumer credit. This in turn goes straight to the banks as no one will be able to get the store issued charge cards. A minority of people pay off their consumer debt every month. When one considers the combination of consumer credit card debt and the compounded debt of “home equity” financing, we estimate that less than 20% of people actually carry no consumer credit from one month to the next. Many of the ones who don’t pay off their carried consumer debt have at least one credit card at its limit and therefore lack credit capacity. Most have their paycheck directly covering bills and servicing the minimum balance due. Therefore people who are foreclosed upon will not be able to obtain credit and since their paychecks will be maxed out, there will not be extra cash left over from the paycheck to service a new debt. Next, everybody buys things at Christmas. As much as 40% of retail sales are done in the 4th quarter of the year – i.e. the retail miracle. The purchase decline in retail goods this fourth quarter will occur because many credit-only consumers will lack the credit capacity mentioned above. Frequently, people overcharge their limit and the banks (albeit a profit center for subprime credit users) levy a penalty by increasing interest rates and charging additional fees. In the 4th quarter of 2007, the amount of people overcharging their limits will be too many for the banks to handle. We do not have a system in place to deal with overcharge on that scale. A substantial number of this December’s purchases will go into an overdraft on credit limits.

CDO – Collateral Debt Obligation – Consumer Credit

Consumer credit pooled debt investment instruments (a form of CDO) are originated and rated based on underlying historical credit behavior and a complex series of predictive models for repayment dynamics. CDOs have “strips” which are a combination of similar profile tranches within a larger investment product. Based on the market’s appetite for risk, investment performance guarantees (or credit enhancements) are packaged with the credits. These credit guarantees are issued by insurance companies, reinsurance companies, and other specialty finance companies – many operating with extra-territorial jurisdiction rendering fiscal oversight more complicated. These strips come in several categories:

All of these grades are priced on historical default rates. The credit insurance companies (AIG, MBIA, Ambac, Financial Security Assurance, Channel Re, XL, Zurich Re and other reinsurers) have, from time to time, issued credit guarantees to the securities. Banks sell debt in the form of a Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO). Minor shifts in default actuarial activity (+/- 25 basis points) from normative behavior is absorbed within pricing of these financial guaranty contracts. However fundamental shifts (hundreds or thousands of basis points in one quarter) are not built into the model and result in credit enhancement insolvency on a major scale. When the insurer cannot pay based on its own liquidity impairment, the bank is left with catastrophic (an insurance term for excessive loss outside of expected) exposure. If in a single quarter we have an increased foreclosure rate of 400% (or 4000 basis points) the insurance contracts simply cannot handle that kind of drastic shift as evidenced by the write offs in the third quarter. When we will follow the drastic third quarter with a loss of 500% in the fourth quarter, the trajectory becomes clear. Neither the banking nor the insurance industry has a historical experience in dealing with this type of challenge and neither has the liquidity linked to these contracts to support system wide collapse. Where was the announcement of this? There was no announcement.

However Hank Greenberg is resurfacing in AIG leadership even during an SEC investigation because without him, no one else can remember where the counterparty risks are. In order to save the insurance industry, shareholders have looked past alleged SEC violations as there is no one with Mr. Greenberg’s awareness of the market and counterparty agreements who can hope to navigate the coming challenges. In the 4th quarter, the US will have another record foreclosure announcement. Once you’re over 25% (25 basis point) foreclosure, all models are broken. Under a consumer credit melt-down, Capital One and/or Wachovia are likely going to put a massive foreclosure liability to an insurance company and the insurance company will not have liquidity to cover the exposure. This is the problem we got into when we issued credit card debt on top of secondary mortgages – (inflated the value of the home) and gave out credit based on faux equity that no one really had. The reason why this problem is the second shoe to fall (subprime mortgage collapse was the first shoe) is because consumer credit has a different foreclosure frequency than traditional mortgage credit. December is when the maturity of the giant buyout of the economy moves. By December, you’ll have a second round of charge offs based on consumer credit. The real big problem – when you foreclose on consumer credit, people stop buying things. When people stop buying things, we don’t have a tertiary way to pump liquidity into the market. People won’t have extra cash from their paychecks and won’t have capacity on their cards. more...
| America |

More quakes rock northern Chile Breitbart.com (November 18, 2007) - More heavy aftershocks shook northern Chile Sunday following last week's deadly 7.7-magnitude earthquake, as the government said it was working to restore water supplies and to prevent disease outbreaks. Two moderate shocks registering 5.5-5.6 on the moment magnitude scale hit early Sunday, one east of Arica close to the border of Peru, and a second offshore 60 kilometers (40 miles) north-northwest of the coastal city of Antofagasta, the US Geological Survey, which monitors events worldwide, reported. To the north in Peru, a temblor hit the southern province of Pisco, near Ica, which was already hard hit by an August 15 quake, the Geophysical Institute of Peru said. The temblor in Peru hit at 1234 GMT and there were no immediate reports of injuries. The city of Tacna near the Chilean border meanwhile was rocked by a 5.4 quake on the Richter scale. Saturday, eight quakes were registered between 4.6 and 6.0 magnitude in the Antofagasta area, according to the USGS. Two people were killed and some 15,000 injured and 4,000 structures damaged in Wednesday's major quake. On Sunday Chile's National Emergencies Office said it was restoring water services in the affected region, but that supplies would be rationed to prevent heavily damaged pipes from collapsing, especially in Tocopilla, a port town of 24,000 inhabitants, one of the worst hit by the quake. Water was being trucked in and health officials were arranging vaccinations for Hepatitis A for children in the area. Meanwhile, up the Pacific coast in Ecuador, just the rumor that an earthquake had hit there Sunday prompted locals in the town of Esmeraldas to panic, many of them taking to the streets. Local media reported that one person died of a heart attack there after someone drove by on a motorbike inaccurately warning townspeople a tsunami was coming. more...
| Earth Changes |

Bangladeshi cyclone kills at least 1,723 Associated Press (November 18, 2007) - The death toll from Bangladesh's most devastating storm in a decade climbed to at least 2,300 on Sunday and relief officials warned the figure could jump sharply as rescuers reach more isolated areas. Teams from international aid organizations worked with army troops in a massive rescue effort that drew help from around the world. Rescue workers cleared roads of fallen trees and twisted roofs to reach remote villages, but tents, rice, water and other relief items were slow to arrive. Hungry survivors, thousands of whom were left homeless, scrambled for food. The death toll rose as officials made contact with coastal regions cut off by the storm, said Selina Shahid of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management. District officials compile the figures, which are far from precise, based on reports from police, public hospitals, military officials, relief workers and aid agencies, said Mohammad Golam Mostafa of the Disaster Management Ministry. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, said that it believed the toll could hit 10,000 once rescuers reach islands off the coast of the low-lying river delta nation. Mohammad Abdur Rob, chairman of the society, said the estimate came from the assessments of thousands of volunteers taking part in the rescue operations across the battered region. "We have seen more bodies floating in the sea," Zakir Hossain, a fisherman from the country's southwest said, after reaching shore with two decomposing bodies he and other fishermen had found. Squatting in a muddy field with his wife, 45-year-old farmer Asad Ali said their their 5-year-old daughter, the couple's only child, had been fatally crushed beneath their toppled thatched hut in Barguna, one of the hardest-hit districts. He said a helicopter had dropped packages of food but he had received little assistance. Mobs swarm below the helicopters every time one is spotted. "I've been here waiting for hours for something to eat," he said. "What I've got so far are a few cookies. Not enough." Government officials defended the relief efforts and expressed confidence that authorities are up to the task. "We have enough food and water," said Shahidul Islam, the top official in Bagerhat, a battered district close to Barguna. "We are going to overcome the problem." more...
| Earth Changes |

Saudi minister warns of dollar collapse The Business (November 17, 2007) - The dollar could collapse if Opec officially admits considering changing the pricing of oil into alternative currencies such as the euro, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister has warned. Prince Saud Al-Faisal was overheard ruling out a proposal from Iran and Venezuela to discuss pricing crude in a private meeting at the oil cartel's conference. In an embarrassing blunder at the meeting in Riyadh, ministers' microphones were not cut off during a key closed meeting, and Prince Al-Faisal was heard saying: "My feeling is that the mere mention that the Opec countries are studying the issue of the dollar is itself going to have an impact that endangers the interests of the countries. "There will be journalists who will seize on this point and we don't want the dollar to collapse instead of doing something good for Opec." After around 40 minutes press officials cut off the feed, which had been accidentally broadcast to the press room. Prince Al-Faisal added: "This is not new. We have done this in the past: decide to study something without putting down on paper that we are going to study it so that we avoid any implication that will bring adverse effects on our countries' finances." Iran and Venezuela have argued that the meeting's final communique should voice concern about the level of the dollar, which has recently fallen to new record lows against the euro. They are pushing for oil to be denominated against a basket of currencies. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

World on the verge of climate catastrophe: UN chief The Times of India (November 17, 2007) - UN Chief Ban Ki-moon called on Saturday for urgent action on global warming, warning the world is on the verge of a catastrophe, as top scientists were due to issue a new report on climate change for policymakers. "We all agree. Climate change is real, and we humans are its chief cause. Yet even now, few people fully understand the gravity of the threat, or its immediacy," the UN chief wrote in a commentary in the International Herald Tribune. "I have always considered global warming to be a matter of utmost urgency. Now I believe we are on the verge of a catastrophe if we do not act." Ban noted recent acceleration in the melting of glaciers and polar ice, and pointed out that the collapse of an at-risk Antarctic ice shelf could raise sea levels by up to six metres (18 feet), inundating costal cities New York, Mumbai and Shanghai. "I am not scare-mongering. But I believe we are nearing a tipping point," wrote the UN chief. Ban will preside over the presentation Saturday in Valencia, Spain of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) landmark report intended to help policymakers facing tough decisions on cutting pollution from fossil fuels, shifting to cleaner energy and bolstering defences against drought, flood, storms and other problems set to intensify through climate change. He characterised the report's conclusions as "encouraging." "The over-arching message: we can beat this. There are real and affordable ways to deal with climate change," wrote Ban.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | Earth Changes |

'Vatican-Israeli ties worsening' The Jerusalem Post (November 17, 2007) - A senior Vatican diplomat who served as papal envoy to Israel has described Vatican-Israeli relations as worsening, blaming Israel for failing to keep promises related to church land, taxes and travel restrictions on Arab clergy. Archbishop Pietro Sambi lashed out at Israel in an interview posted Friday on Terrasanta.net, an online publication about the Holy Land. "If I must be frank, the relations between the Catholic Church and the state of Israel were better when there were no diplomatic ties," said Sambi, interviewed earlier in the week in Washington, where he now serves as Pope Benedict XVI's envoy to the United States. "The Holy See decided to establish diplomatic relations (in 1993) with Israel as an act of faith, leaving to latter the serious promises to regulate concrete aspects of the life of the Catholic community and the Church" in Israel, Sambi said. Among the issues hanging are the status of expropriated church property, services that Catholic groups perform for Israel's Jewish and Arab population, and tax exemptions for the Church. The Vatican diplomat also cited a current sore point - the granting of permits for Arab Christian clergy traveling to and around the West Bank. Israel has rescinded some travel privileges for those clergy because of security concerns. Israel and the Palestinian territories are home to a small Christian minority. Sambi complained that the Knesset has failed to give necessary approval to various accords that had been signed by both sides, and noted that an impasse over taxes has been discussed on and off for nearly 10 years without resolution. He blamed the situation on Israel's "absence of political will." "Everyone can see what kind of trust you can give to Israel's promises," Sambi said. Asked about Sambi's criticisms, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: "Israel is interested in good relations with the Vatican and Israeli and Vatican officials are working to overcome gaps that exist." Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the interview with Sambi "reflects his thinking and his personal experience" during the diplomat's former posting in Israel. Lombardi said the Holy See reiterated the hope, expressed in September when Benedict met with Israeli President Shimon Peres, for a "rapid conclusion of the important negotiations" and a common solution to "existing problems." Earlier this year, tensions developed between the Vatican and Israel when the Holy See's ambassador to Israel initially decided to boycott a Holocaust memorial service because of allegations that during World War II Pope Pius XII was silent about the mass killings of Jews.
| Israel | Temple Mount | RCC |

Israeli TV Stations Showing 'Gog and Magog' Charts Israel National News (October 17, 2007) - Israeli evening newscasts prominently featured George W. Bush's comments regarding a possible breakout of World War Three Wednesday evening. Both Channel 2 and Channel 10 showed the world map and sketched the basic alignment of the two opposing axes in the possible world war, in a way that is bound to evoke associations of the Gog and Magog prophecy for many viewers. On one side were Israel, the United States, Britain, France and Germany. On the other were Iran, Russia, China, Syria and North Korea. The prophecy of Gog and Magog refers to a great world war centered on the Holy Land and Jerusalem and first appears in the book of Yechezkel (Ezekiel).
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel |

Laid-Back Surfer Dude May Be Next Einstein Fox News (November 16, 2007) - A. Garrett Lisi, a physicist who divides his time between surfing in Maui and teaching snowboarding in Lake Tahoe, has come up with what may be the Grand Unified Theory. That's the "holy grail" of physics that scientists have been searching for ever since Albert Einstein presented his General Theory of Relativity nearly 100 years ago. Even more remarkable is that Lisi, who has a Ph.D. but no permanent university affiliation, solves the problem without resorting to exotic dimensions, string theory or exceptionally complex mathematics. A successful Grand Unified Theory would use a series of equations to show how the four fundamental forces of nature — gravity, electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces — relate to each other. Electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force, which controls radioactivity, were linked more than 30 years ago, and some progress has been made with linking them to the strong nuclear force, which binds protons together in the atomic nucleus. But gravity has always been an outlier. Not only have all attempts to link gravity to the other three forces failed, but physicists still can't agree on what gravity actually is or how it works. Lisi solves this by using the E8 lattice, an eight-dimensional structure visualized earlier this year in a widely circulated paper. He noticed that several of the equations used to describe the lattice matched those he'd come up with trying to resolve the four fundamental forces. "The moment this happened my brain exploded with the implications and the beauty of the thing," Lisi tells New Scientist magazine. "I thought: 'Holy crap, that's it!'" By mapping known subatomic particles, plus 20 imaginary ones, onto the 248 points of the E8 lattice, and then rotating the lattice in a computer model, Lisi shows how the particles elegantly combine to form three of the four forces. The imaginary ones combine to form gravity, for which subatomic particles have only been theorized. "Some incredibly beautiful stuff falls out of Lisi's theory," David Ritz Finkelstein of Georgia Tech tells New Scientist. "I think that this must be more than coincidence and he really is touching on something profound." But Professor Marcus du Sautoy of Oxford tells Britain's Daily Telegraph that "there seem to be a lot of things still to fill in." For his part, Lisi self-mockingly calls his finding "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything," and downplays the suggestion that it may be the Grand Unified Theory. "The theory is very young, and still in development," he tells the Daily Telegraph. "Right now, I'd assign a low (but not tiny) likelihood to this prediction." He hopes the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, currently being built on the Swiss-French border will find some of his 20 imaginary gravity-related particles. "This is an all-or-nothing kind of theory — it's either going to be exactly right, or spectacularly wrong," Lisi tells New Scientist. "I'm the first to admit this is a long shot. But it ain't over till the LHC sings." more... See video here.
| Technology |

In event of emergency ... call out the military? WorldNet Daily (November 16, 2007) - New federal legislation shows the Bush administration has begun systematically putting in place authorization for the president to federalize the National Guard and use the U.S. military in domestic emergency situations. A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 1585) requires the secretary of defense to prepare and submit to Congress by March 1, 2008, and each subsequent March 1 a plan to coordinate the use of the National Guard and members of the Armed Forces on active duty when responding to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters. Section 1806 of H.R. 1585 requires the secretary of defense to prepare two versions of the plan, one using only members of the National Guard, and one using both members of the National Guard and members of the regular components of the armed services. The section also requires the secretary of defense's plan to specify "Protocols for the Department of Defense, the National Guard Bureau, and the governors of the several states to carry out operations in coordination with each other and to ensure that governors and local communities are properly informed and remain in control in their respective states and communities." Critics are concerned that when legal infrastructure for the president to involve the military in a domestic emergency situation, or to federalize the National Guard, is in place, a president intent on a power grab could declare a national emergency under NSPD-51 or HSPD-20, and impose federal martial law, by-passing civilian control. In an exclusive interview with NORAD-USNORTHCOM commander, Gen. Gene Renuart, separately published in WND today, WND posed these questions. Renuart responded by emphasizing the importance of respecting the U.S. Constitution, including civilian control of the military. He expressed caution that the military and USNORTHCOM in particular should be careful not to engage in legal or political questions involving presidential directives such as NSPD-51 and HSPD-20. Renuart was also clear to affirm that, "Our involvement at USNORTHCOM would be at the specific direction of the secretary of defense, on orders from the president." The answer implied that USNORTHCOM would respond to a direct order from the secretary of defense, on orders from the president, to become involved in a domestic emergency situation, without attempting to resolve thorny questions of civilian control that a president in a power grab might attempt to obviate. WND observed nothing in the operation of NORAD-USNORTHCOM in Vigilant Shield 08 which would substantiate a charge that the Bush administration is preparing to utilize the military in domestic situations to supersede civilian control in a domestic emergency. more...
| America |

Moscow Comes between Israel and Syria Kommersant (November 16, 2007) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov and special representative of the foreign minister for the Middle East Sergey Yakovlev arrived in Israel yesterday. The main topic of their talks there will be a Syrian-Israeli settlement. Russia hopes that its influence on Syria will permit it to overtake the United States as peacemaker in the Middle East. The Russians' visit is being given low-key treatment. They met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni yesterday. The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment on their talks. The Russians also met with head of the Israeli National Security Council Ilan Mizrahi. Officially, the topic of their talks was the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian meetings in Annapolis, Maryland. Other sources say they talked about a conference in Moscow, which the Kremlin has been hoping for since 2005. Since Israel prefers to deal with the Palestinians directly and recognizes only the U.S. as an intermediary, Moscow has revamped its proposal as a conference on Israeli-Syrian settlement. The possibility of returning the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967, in return for a peace settlement, is more and more frequently mentioned in Israel now. The U.S., although jealous of its role as peacemaker in the Middle East, has indicated that it would agree to such a conference in Moscow. Damascus had made it know that, during the summit in Annapolis, it would host a summit of anti-Israeli forces. Former Russian prime minister and head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Evgeny Primakov was able to dissuade Syria from that plan during a visit there at the beginning of the month. Instead, Syrian President Bashar Asad will send his own envoy to Annapolis. In return, Syria is demanding that the conference in Moscow take place, as the first step in its recovery of the Golan Heights.
| Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Hillary Clinton to Attend Saddleback Church AIDS Event Lighthouse Trails (November 15, 2007) - According to a CBS report Hillary Clinton will be attending the Global Summit on AIDS and the Church, to be held at Saddleback Church in California from November 28th to December 1st. The CBS news story states: "Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will attend a meeting on AIDS at the Saddleback Church hosted by pastor and "The Purpose Driven Life" author Rick Warren and his wife Kay, church officials announced Thursday." The article quotes Clinton as saying: "I commend Rick and Kay Warren for their work to fight HIV/AIDS ... Our churches have a powerful role to play in raising the consciousness of the nation and the world to this pandemic and urge compassion for the sick and the suffering." A PR News Wire press release issued on 11/15 from the Global Summit on AIDS and the Church office in Lake Forest, California states:

Rick Warren has, on a number of public occasions, discussed his global peace plan and what he calls a new reformation which he says will include people from all faiths:

Under the recommended reading list for Saddleback's HIVAIDS Community are two books by mystic Henri Nouwen. 1 One of the books, In the Name of Jesus, is also recommended by Kay Warren on www.pastors.com. This is the book where Nouwen says Christian leaders must move from the moral to the mystical:

After years of following the mystical way, this same Henri Nouwen, near the end of his life, stated:

For more information on Warren's global peace plan and other related topics, see www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com. Speakers at this year's AIDS event at Saddleback.

Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed BBC (November 15, 2007) - An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped. The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack. When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them. The attackers' sentences - originally of up to five years - were doubled. According to the Arab News newspaper, the 19-year-old woman, who is from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, was gang-raped 14 times in an attack in the eastern province a year-and-a-half ago. Seven men from the majority Sunni community were found guilty of the rape and sentenced to prison terms ranging from just under a year to five years. But the victim was also punished for violating Saudi Arabia's laws on segregation that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a strange man. On appeal, the Arab News reported that the punishment was not reduced but increased to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence. The rapists also had their prison terms doubled. But the sentences are still low considering they could have faced the death penalty. The Arab News quoted an official as saying the judges had decided to punish the girl for trying to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media. The victim's lawyer was suspended from the case, has had his licence to work confiscated, and faces a disciplinary session.
| Islam |

Don't answer Census, don't face going to jail WorldNet Daily (November 14, 2007) - Another month is coming, and another 250,000 forms are being mailed out in the U.S. Census Bureau's perpetual American Community Survey, which demands responses to personal questions about a family's lifestyle, housing accommodations, work schedules, physical and mental disabilities, income and the like. That means roughly 250,000 times recipients will see the warning that participation is required by law, and there are penalties including fines for not answering each question. But, in fact, U.S. Census Bureau officials say they've never had anyone prosecuted for refusing to provide those intimate details to the government. "The Census Bureau has never prosecuted anybody," spokesman Clyve Richmond told WND. "We try to work with people and explain how useful the information is." As WND has reported, the U.S. Census Bureau switched from the surveys once every 10 years, called for in the U.S. Constitution, to annual surveys sent to three million households, to keep the government's data more up-to-date. The issue arises periodically about the invasion into a family's privacy by the questions, including:

There are several Internet blogs where consumers sound off, including Survivalerts, where "Mark" submitted a copy of a letter to his state senator asking if he supported the survey, and "under what authority I am being required – under the penalty of fines – to give up my privacy under the Bill of Rights and be forced to give the Census Bureau information on my private life." more...
| America |

American Gangster's Wad of Euros Signals U.S. Decline Bloomberg (November 14, 2007) - "It may be our currency, but it's your problem'' was Treasury Secretary John Connally's taunt when the U.S. unhooked the dollar from the gold standard in 1971, unilaterally rewriting the rules of world business in America's favor. Now the world is taunting back. Almost four decades after the U.S. tore up the monetary arrangements that governed the post-World War II international economy, the dollar's fall from grace amounts to a tectonic shift in the global hierarchy. This time, the U.S. currency is on the losing side. After declining in five of the last six years, the weakest dollar in the era of floating currencies reflects a period of diminished U.S. political and economic hegemony. Whoever wins the White House next year will confront two unpopular choices: Accept the fall in U.S. clout and the rise of new rivals, or rein in record public and consumer debt that the rest of the world no longer wants to bankroll. "What we're seeing is a very broad rebalancing of economic and political power in the world,'' says Jeffrey Garten, a Yale School of Business professor who was the Commerce Department's undersecretary for international trade in the Clinton administration. ``The scales are moving, and they're moving quite fast.'' The dollar blues have migrated from the halls of central banks to images of rap musicians. In a video for the movie "American Gangster,'' hip-hop maestro Jay-Z thumbs through a wad of 500-euro notes on a night of cruising through the concrete canyons of New York, a city where the euro isn't legal tender. The euro gained against the dollar today as European economic growth in the third quarter accelerated more than forecast. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

Israeli relations with the European Union to be enhanced Reuters (November 14, 2007) - Israel and the European Union have established a "reflection group" to find ways to enhance Israeli relations with the EU beyond the existing and developed relations, with the purpose of expanding pre-existing Israeli cooperation in European programs. In March 2007, the Israel-European Union Association Council, headed by Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and her German counterpart, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, established a "reflection group" to find ways to enhance Israeli relations with the EU beyond the existing and developed relations within the framework of the Israel-EU Association Agreement and within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. A key part of the enhancement is based on Israel's incorporation in European agencies and programs in matters of mutual interest, including: financial issues, research and development, trade, energy, environmental protection, culture, the media, youth issues, etc. The purpose is to expand the already existing cooperation in European programs such as the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development, the framework of the GALILEO European Satellite Navigation System project and the framework of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), which Israel recently joined. To promote Israel's incorporation into European agencies and programs, the MFA held an interministerial meeting on Tuesday 13 November with Dr. Andreas Herdina, head of the Sector Coordination Unit for European Neighbourhood Policy in the European Commission in Brussels and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism and also the Bank of Israel, the Council for Higher Education, the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Manufacturer's Association of Israel, the Standards Institution of Israel, and the Economic-Social Council. In his opening remarks, MFA Deputy Director General Rafael Barak emphasized that Israel has significantly advanced it relations with the European Union within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy, and stressed Israel's ambition to further enhance the relationship. Dr. Herdina stated that the EU is willing to open additional agencies and programs to Israeli participation and described the practical means to do so. The EU has budgeted Euro 8 million to support the operative program with Israeli ministries for the period 2007-2010.
| Israel | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom |

Magnitude 7.7 quake hits northern Chile Reuters (November 14, 2007) - A powerful magnitude 7.7 quake hit mineral-rich northern Chile on Wednesday, injuring at least 20 people, damaging buildings and halting operations at some of the world's biggest copper mines. Copper prices jumped by as much as 6.29 percent to $3.3040 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division as huge copper mines reported they were without power. The quake made buildings sway hundreds of miles away in neighboring countries and the Chilean capital Santiago. Officials said there were no reports of deaths, but at least 20 people were injured when roofs caved in and balconies crumbled on weaker, older buildings, mostly in Tocopilla, 75 miles north of coastal mining city Antofagasta. "One of the most affected zones could be Tocopilla where some houses in the western part of town, which are made of lighter materials, have been affected and we have some injured people," Deputy Interior Minister Felipe Harboe said on television. Television images showed cars crushed under the concrete awning of a hotel in Antofagasta, where power and phone services were knocked out by the quake. Frightened residents stood in the streets. "People ran out into the streets because of how prolonged the quake was. There was a lot of alarm but no material or human damage," said Police Chief Hernan Tamayo in Arequipa, a town farther north near the Peruvian border. The United States Geological Service, or USGS, said the quake, 36.7 miles deep, was centered 66 miles west of the town of Calama and struck at 12:40 p.m. local time. The quake was initially reported at 7.8 magnitude by the U.S. agency and later verified at 7.7. Just two hours later, a second quake of 5.7 magnitude struck. The USGS said this quake, 25.5 miles deep, was centered 36 miles northwest of Antofagasta and struck at 1744 GMT. The second quake was initially reported at 6.0 magnitude by the agency and later verified at 5.7. more...
| Earth Changes |

Say Goodbye To Privacy Haaretz (November 13, 2007) - Privacy doesn't mean anonymity. Think about that for a bit - and get used to it. Or if you don't like it, get a plan. But it had better be a good one. On Oct. 23, Donald Kerr, deputy director of the Office of National Intelligence, outlined the new order of things: "Too often, privacy has been equated with anonymity; and it's an idea that is deeply rooted in American culture." Well, yes, the Bill of Rights, for instance, includes protections against "search," as well as "seizure." But that was then. As Kerr put it, "In our interconnected and wireless world, anonymity - or the appearance of anonymity - is quickly becoming a thing of the past." Kerr's speech got little notice until The Drudge Report highlighted an Associated Press write-up. No doubt, of course, the Office of National Intelligence will soon issue a soothing statement assuring us that the government indeed respects your privacy and your anonymity. And we've all heard that line before: "Nothing to see here folks, just move along." Then Uncle Sam will resume perfecting his warrantless surveillance. In fact, the old equation - privacy equals anonymity - is being buzz-sawed six ways. First and most obviously, terrorism concerns. If you're walking through Times Square carrying a backpack and acting strangely, inquiring minds will want to know why. And Godspeed to cops brave enough to tap that shoulder. Second, and closely related, the proliferation of cameras and Webcams. Nobody likes to be spied on, but many people - including parents keeping tabs on baby-sitters - like to spy. In the coming face-off, the spies have it. Third, health insurance. We have decided, collectively, to be generous with each other in terms of "human services." But though most Americans are happy to operate a welfare state for Americans, they draw the line at subsidizing the world. So as a matter of administrative necessity, the Nurse State will have to know exactly who you are - and your legal status. Fourth, the reality that medical treatment now depends on medical information. If doctors are to help you, they need to know your medical history - not just blood type and allergies, but everything about you, including your genetic background. Such monitoring is fraught with controversy - recent headline in The New York Times: "In DNA Era, New Worries About Prejudice" - but this is the era of the instant Q-Tip identity test. more...
| Technology | NewWorldOrder | America |

Rice: Israelis are prepared to give up West Bank for peace Haaretz (November 13, 2007) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday she believes that the majority of Israelis are prepared to give up the West Bank in exchange for peace. Rice made the comments at the final panel of the yearly General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities (GA), in Nashville Tennessee, which ended Tuesday. Rice added that Israelis must be prepared for difficult and painful sacrifices to some of their longest-held aspirations during upcoming talks with Palestinian leaders. Rice did not specify what sacrifices might be needed but added that the Palestinians must also be prepared for sacrifices. "The threat from violent extremists means that failure of the talks is not an option," she said. "What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the Middle East," she added. Rice expressed optimism ahead of the upcoming U.S.-hosted Annapolis summit planned for the end of November, and said that the situation in the past years had improved greatly. She maintained that Israelis believe today that the establishment of a Palestinian state could benefit Israel, and that most Arab states are not questioning whether Israel will exist, but rather what the conditions for peace are. "In our view, the security of the democratic Jewish state required the creation of a responsible Palestinian state," she said. She suggested that the Palestinian state also could serve as a bulwark against the threat from violent extremists. She praised President George W. Bush for realizing a Palestinian democracy was a necessary precondition for meaningful negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. "Some think that this focus on democracy backfired with the election of Hamas," she said. "I disagree with that conclusion. Hamas always had power. What it never had was responsibility for power." "Hamas has chosen violence rather than responsible government," she said, "and for that reason it is isolated by the international community." Rice said a two-state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians was more urgent than ever because of the threat from violent extremists in the Middle East, referring specifically to Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Iran. "Iran is choosing to destabilize the Middle East, pursue nuclear capabilities and threaten our allies, especially Israel," she said. She also warned that the mere thought of a nuclear Iran is unacceptable for the U.S., and should be unacceptable for the international community as well. She praised the Iranian people, maintaining that their leadership does not properly represent them - investing million in financing terror and developing nuclear weapons while the citizens of Iran are struggling to find jobs.
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | America |

Israel determined not to let peace meet fail: Peres AFP (November 12, 2007) - Israeli President Shimon Peres pledged Monday that his country would work for a tangible result at an upcoming US-sponsored Middle East peace conference, saying that the Jewish state is ready to make peace with the Palestinians. "Israel has decided to make Annapolis a success, to bring an end to the conflict, to finally make peace between the Palestinians and ourselves," Peres told a news conference here after talks with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. "It takes time to make peace... but I believe we can make peace now with the Palestinians," he said. The United States is expected to host an international conference in Annapolis, Maryland, later this year aimed at reviving the Middle East peace process that broke down seven years ago. "All parties concerned are decided... not to let this chance pass away," Peres said, but warned against expecting a quick result from the meeting he described as a "station on the road to peace". Gul said Turkey expects the Annapolis meeting to yield "concrete" results to pave the way for comprehensive peace talks, but stressed that all parties to the Middle East conflict, including Syria, should attend the talks. Peres said those attending the talks should be "all moderate countries which are for peace." "The more countries participate, the stronger the voice of peace becomes," he said. No invitations have yet been issued for the Annapolis conference, but US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday it was likely Syria would be invited. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that Damascus will stay away from Annapolis unless the Israeli-Arab conflict at large is discussed, including the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Peres said Ankara would participate in the conference and described it as a move that will bring "spirit, example and contribution to make peace". Muslim-majority, secular Turkey believes it is in a position to facilitate peace efforts in the Middle East, counting on its close ties with Israel and the Palestinians both, as well as a recent rapprochement with former foe Syria. Gul said Turkey was also ready to launch negotiations for the release of two Israeli soldiers captured last year by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah. Peres is scheduled to meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan later Monday. The highlight of his trip will be on Tuesday when he addresses the Turkish parliament in Hebrew, becoming the first Israeli head of state to speak before the legislature of a Muslim-populated country. more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | 1st Seal |

Israel on alert for Syria air strike Times Online (November 11, 2007) - THE defensive missile shield around Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor was placed on red alert 30 times last week amid fears of an air strike by Syria. A battery of American-made Patriot antiaircraft missiles has been moved to Dimona in the Negev desert following intelligence that a strike may be launched in retaliation for Israel’s bombing of a suspected nuclear site in Syria two months ago. In a highly unusual move, the officers in charge of the missiles were permitted to talk to Israeli state television about their preparations. “We’re ready to launch the missiles in seconds, once we’re on full alert,” said First Lieutenant Adi, a young female officer who is the deputy commander of the battery. Tension with Damascus has heightened since September 6 when Israeli fighters destroyed the suspected nuclear installation in northern Syria. “The fact that the Syrians didn’t launch an immediate strike against Israel doesn’t mean that they won’t retaliate in due course,” said an Israeli defense source. “Dimona is on the top of their list.” Tension is mounting in Israel. “Every civilian aircraft en route from Cairo to Amman, or from Jeddah to Cairo and vice versa, which deviates even slightly from its route, sets off an alarm and risks a missile being fired,” said the female commander of the Patriot battery. The unit is authorized to shoot down any aircraft which approaches, civilian or combat. An Israeli Mirage jet that approached Dimona by mistake was shot down during the Six-Day War in 1967, while a Libyan Boeing 727 which lost its way in a storm in 1973 and approached Dimona was also downed. All 113 on board were killed.
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Remnant of Yellowstone volcano rising: study Reuters (November 9, 2007) - A big blob of molten rock appears to be pushing up remnants of an ancient volcano in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, scientists reported on Friday. They say no volcanic explosion is imminent -- that already happened 642,000 years ago, creating the volcanic crater known as a caldera where part of Yellowstone Lake sits. But satellite readings show just how volcanically active the area remains, the researchers reported in the journal Science. From the middle of 2004 through 2006, the floor of the caldera rose 7 inches at a rate of 2.8 inches a year -- the biggest rise ever measured, they reported. "There is no evidence of an imminent volcanic eruption or hydrothermal explosion. That's the bottom line," University of Utah seismologist Robert Smith said in a statement. "A lot of calderas worldwide go up and down over decades without erupting." Yellowstone is North America's largest volcanic field, produced by what is known as a hotspot, a plume of hot and molten rock squirting up from 400 miles beneath the planet's surface. Monstrous eruptions took place there starting 2 million years ago but activity bubbles along much more calmly now -- akin to similar volcanic fields such as the Campi Flegrei just outside Naples in Italy. Beneath the field lies what is known as a magma chamber, which is actually similar to a wet sponge in structure. "Our best evidence is that the crustal magma chamber is filling with molten rock," Smith said. "But we have no idea how long this process goes on before there either is an eruption or the inflow of molten rock stops and the caldera deflates again." Heat from the chamber warms the park's hundreds of hot springs and geysers, including "Old Faithful," perhaps the world's best-known geyser. Established in 1872 as the first U.S. national park, Yellowstone also stretches to parts of Montana and Idaho.
| Earth Changes |

Pat Robertson Backs Giuliani Breitbart.com (November 7, 2007) - Televangelist Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday. "It is my pleasure to announce my support for America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans," Robertson said during a news conference with Giuliani in Washington. The former New York mayor backs abortion rights and gay rights, positions that put him in conflict with conservative GOP orthodoxy, and has been trying to persuade evangelical conservatives like Robertson to overlook their differences on those issues. Evangelicals have split in their support for the leading Republican candidates. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a favorite of Christian conservatives who dropped out of the race last month, endorsed fellow Sen. John McCain of Arizona on Wednesday. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recently announced that Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III were on board with his candidacy. Asked about the Robertson endorsement, McCain, at a news conference with Brownback in Dubuque, Iowa, said: "Every once in a while, I'm left speechless. This is one of those times." Giuliani is best known to voters for leading New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Shortly after 9/11, Robertson released a statement in which he said the attacks occurred because Americans had insulted God and lost the protection of heaven by allowing abortion and "rampant Internet pornography." Robertson made no mention of his differences with Giuliani on social issues in Wednesday's statement. "Rudy Giuliani took a city that was in decline and considered ungovernable and reduced its violent crime, revitalized its core, dramatically lowered its taxes, cut through a welter of bureaucratic regulations, and did so in the spirit of bipartisanship which is so urgently needed in Washington today," Robertson said. Robertson, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988, founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Christian Coalition and Regent University in Virginia Beach. Also Wednesday, Giuliani said he asked two GOP friends in Congress, Rep. Peter King of New York and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, to introduce bills to keep states from giving licenses or similar identification to illegal immigrants. The Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, was criticized after a televised debate last week when she hedged an answer on whether she supported New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's effort to grant licenses to illegal immigrants. Her aides say she generally supports the idea in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform.
| America | Apostasy |

Solana Links Mideast Peace to Euro-Med Partnership Fulfilled Prophecy (November 5,6, 2007) - Mr Solana underlined to ministers the importance of the meeting on the Middle East peace process to be held in Annapolis and the need for all the parties to play a constructive part. The same was true of the presidential election in Lebanon: all parties must be constructive. As regards the Barcelona Process, Mr Solana stressed the importance of discussing security and energy issues in the Euro-Mediterranean forum and pointed to the progress made in the past year.

At the joint press conference with the Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council, Luis Amado, Mr Solana pointed to the strength and dynamism of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The work over the past year, the communiqué - a joint text agreed by everyone - and the fact that other countries wanted to join the club, reflected this.

U.K. Christian Students, Faculty Forced to Don Muslim Garbs The Christian Post (November 2, 2007) - Students and teachers at a primary school in England were forced to dress up as Muslims to celebrate a belated Muslim festival although most were Christians. All 257 students and 41 teachers at Rufford primary school in Lye, England, were ordered to wear traditional Muslim dress in an effort to promote multi-culturalism, reported the U.K.-based Daily Mail newspaper on Wednesday. It is said that in the entire school only two staffs were Muslims – a part-time teacher and an assistant teacher. “Staff have got to go along with it – or let’s face it, they would be branded racist,” reportedly said a relative of one of the staff, according to British tabloid The Sun. “Who would put their job on the line?” the relative added. “They have been told they have to embrace the day to show their diversity. But they are not all happy.” The Muslim dress up was in observance of Eid, the end of Ramadan. The school held a morning assembly to mark the event and an afternoon party only for women – in adherence with the Muslim tradition of wives not mixing with other men. Father Jonathan Morris, an analyst for Fox News pointed out that the story will probably not receive much attention in the United States because of the “can-do-no-wrong” thinking linked to diversity, pluralism, and multi-culturalism among mainstream media. Instead, they would agree that promoting tolerance in any way is good. “And I would agree,” said Morris in a Fox News column. “But I would add that there is nothing tolerant about imposing a minority group’s traditions and beliefs on the majority. There is nothing tolerant about glorifying all expressions of culture except one’s own. “There is nothing tolerant about cowing Christians into acting like Muslims, intimidating Jews into acting like Christians, scaring Muslims into acting like Westerners, or even worse, suggesting that we should all be nothing,” said Morris. “This, I would say, is a sign of a dictatorship of cultural relativism. Such absurdity has nothing to do with tolerance.” The Roman Catholic priest warned that if the United States continues “to buy” the ideology of cultural relativism then “America as we know it will cease to exist.” Morris advised the United States promote and celebrate its cultural and religious heritage, while also respecting minority “in as much as they promote the common good for society.”

A Shocking “Confession” from Willow Creek Community Church Crosswalk.com (October 30, 2007) - If you are older than 40 the name Benjamin Spock is more than familiar. It was Spock that told an entire generation of parents to take it easy, don’t discipline your children and allow them to express themselves. Discipline, he told us, would warp a child’s fragile ego. Millions followed this guru of child development and he remained unchallenged among child rearing professionals. However, before his death Dr. Spock made an amazing discovery: he was wrong. In fact, he said:

Oops. Something just as momentous, in my opinion, just happened in the evangelical community. For most of a generation evangelicals have been romanced by the “seeker sensitive” movement spawned by Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. The guru of this movement is Bill Hybels. He and others have been telling us for decades to throw out everything we have previously thought and been taught about church growth and replace it with a new paradigm, a new way to do ministry. Perhaps inadvertently, with this “new wave” of ministry came a de-emphasis on taking personal responsibility for Bible study combined with an emphasis on felt-needs based “programs” and slick marketing. The size of the crowd rather than the depth of the heart determined success. If the crowd was large then surely God was blessing the ministry. Churches were built by demographic studies, professional strategists, marketing research, meeting “felt needs” and sermons consistent with these techniques. We were told that preaching was out, relevance was in. Doctrine didn’t matter nearly as much as innovation. If it wasn’t “cutting edge” and consumer friendly it was doomed. The mention of sin, salvation and sanctification were taboo and replaced by Starbucks, strategy and sensitivity. Thousands of pastors hung on every word that emanated from the lips of the church growth experts. Satellite seminars were packed with hungry church leaders learning the latest way to “do church.” The promise was clear: thousands of people and millions of dollars couldn’t be wrong. Forget what people need, give them what they want. How can you argue with the numbers? If you dared to challenge the “experts” you were immediately labeled as a “traditionalist,” a throwback to the 50s, a stubborn dinosaur unwilling to change with the times. All that changed recently. Willow Creek has released the results of a multi-year study on the effectiveness of their programs and philosophy of ministry. The study’s findings are in a new book titled Reveal: Where Are You?, co-authored by Cally Parkinson and Greg Hawkins, executive pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. Hybels himself called the findings “earth shaking,” “ground breaking” and “mind blowing.” And no wonder: it seems that the “experts” were wrong. If you simply want a crowd, the “seeker sensitive” model produces results. If you want solid, sincere, mature followers of Christ, it’s a bust. In a shocking confession, Hybels states:

Incredibly, the guru of church growth now tells us that people need to be reading their bibles and taking responsibility for their spiritual growth. Just as Spock’s “mistake” was no minor error, so the error of the seeker sensitive movement is monumental in its scope. The foundation of thousands of American churches is now discovered to be mere sand. The one individual who has had perhaps the greatest influence on the American church in our generation has now admitted his philosophy of ministry, in large part, was a “mistake.” The extent of this error defies measurement. more...
| America | Apostasy |

"Kent identifies Scot McKnight as part of this mystical shift. McKnight acknowledges the Catholic connection to contemplative practices, and amazingly, Kent brings into her article Catholic priest Richard Rohr. Why amazing? Rohr's spirituality would be in the same camp as someone like Matthew Fox who believes in pantheism and panentheism. For Willow Creek to include him in Willow speaks volumes about the level of spiritual deception that Willow Creek is now under. If Kent is right that spiritual formation is now mainstream, then this deception is mainstream as well. Incidentally, Richard Rohr wrote the foreword to a 2007 book called How Big is Your God? by Jesuit priest (from India) PaulCoutinho. In Coutinho's book, he describes an interspiritual community where people of all religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity) worship the same God. Is this where Willow Creek is heading?"

House Passes Thought Crime Prevention Bill RogueGovernment.com (October 25, 2007) - The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed HR 1955 titled the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. This bill is one of the most blatant attacks against the Constitution yet and actually defines thought crimes as homegrown terrorism. If passed into law, it will also establish a commission and a Center of Excellence to study and defeat so called thought criminals. Unlike previous anti-terror legislation, this bill specifically targets the civilian population of the United States and uses vague language to define homegrown terrorism. Amazingly, 404 of our elected representatives from both the Democrat and Republican parties voted in favor of this bill. There is little doubt that this bill is specifically targeting the growing patriot community that is demanding the restoration of the Constitution. First let’s take a look at the definitions of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism as defined in Section 899A of the bill. The definition of violent radicalization uses vague language to define this term of promoting any belief system that the government considers to be an extremist agenda. Since the bill doesn’t specifically define what an extremist belief system is, it is entirely up to the interpretation of the government. Considering how much the government has done to destroy the Constitution they could even define Ron Paul supporters as promoting an extremist belief system. Literally, the government according to this definition can define whatever they want as an extremist belief system. Essentially they have defined violent radicalization as thought crime. The definition as defined in the bill is shown below.

The definition of homegrown terrorism uses equally vague language to further define thought crime. The bill includes the planned use of force or violence as homegrown terrorism which could be interpreted as thinking about using force or violence. Not only that but the definition is so vaguely defined, that petty crimes could even fall into the category of homegrown terrorism. The definition as defined in the bill is shown below.

Section 899B of the bill goes over the findings of Congress as it pertains to homegrown terrorism. Particularly alarming is that the bill mentions the Internet as a main source for terrorist propaganda. The bill even mentions streams in obvious reference to many of the patriot and pro-constitution Internet radio networks that have been formed. It also mentions that homegrown terrorists span all ages and races indicating that the Congress is stating that everyone is a potential terrorist. Even worse is that Congress states in their findings that they should look at draconian police states like Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom as models to defeat homegrown terrorists. Literally, these findings of Congress fall right in line with the growing patriot community. The biggest joke of all is that this section also says that any measure to prevent violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism should not violate the constitutional rights of citizens. However, the definition of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism as they are defined in section 899A are themselves unconstitutional. The Constitution does not allow the government to arrest people for thought crimes, so any promises not to violate the constitutional rights of citizens are already broken by their own definitions. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

Is America's Sovereignty Obsolete? HumanEvents.com (October 22, 2007) - When Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said, “Americans have lost trust in their government” at the Values Voters’ gathering in Washington, DC, there was more than a wee bit of irony in his words. McCain elaborated on the theme yesterday on “Fox News Sunday,” saying the distrust comes from corruption in Washington, frustration at the Iraq war, incompetence in the Katrina relief and from failure to deal with illegal immigration. The irony is in the confluence of the two McCains: recognition that part of the distrust of government arises from a failure -- now six years after 9-11 -- to secure our borders from incursion by illegal aliens. McCain’s realization is not shared by President Bush whose press secretaries -- first Tony Snow and now Dana Perino -- have said that he is still convinced he was right in the failed “comprehensive” approach to illegal immigration which translated into amnesty for illegal aliens and would not have secured our borders. It is no exaggeration to say that a nation which does not secure its borders cannot claim sovereignty. Sovereignty -- the supremacy of political power a nation has over its own actions -- seems to mean a great deal less to free world leaders than to their Chinese, Russian and Islamist counterparts. It is important to frame the issue just that way because among the free nations, especially in Europe, sovereignty is eroding and unfree nations guard their sovereignty with paranoid fervor. The leaders of too many free nations -- including President Bush -- appear to be in competition to give away their nations’ sovereignty by placing more and more authority in supranational organizations like the UN and the European Union which are not accountable to voters. This week will feature “UN Day” and we’ll again be lectured about international law and how we owe the world -- which means the UN -- respect for the ‘laws’ it adopts. Under the UN charter, which we signed sixty years ago, resolutions of the UN Security Council have the force of international “law.” But what does that mean? Judge Robert Bork memorably wrote in “Coercing Virtue”:

To foreign elites and our “intellectual class”, American sovereignty is passé: a concept that has outlived its time that should be limited at every opportunity by international “law” in the form of treaties and decisions of the Security Council and UN-created courts. American sovereignty is based on our Constitution. There is no provision in the Constitution for US law to be made by the UN or any of the “courts” it creates. George W. Bush may go down in the history books incorrectly as a “unilateralist” president for taking action in Iraq, but his legacy -- most of which is still undecided -- may be just the opposite. George Bush waited six months, from September 2002 to March 2003 -- in military terms, nearly an eternity -- for the UN to act before he threw the most-telegraphed punch in American military history. Conservatives were properly critical when Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and then-Justice Sandra Day O’Connor referenced European law in deciding a case arising under our Constitution. The idea of injecting foreign or “international” law created by any body other than our Congress -- limited by the Constitutional checks and balances of the Congress and the Executive -- is in contradiction to our sovereignty. But as Andy McCarthy wrote here last week, President Bush took a position against Texas’ right to decide its own law in death penalty cases in favor of a treaty from which he had previously withdrawn the United States and which was probably unconstitutional. The president’s whittling away at American sovereignty continues. As Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex) and Chris Horner say elsewhere on our pages today, the UN Law of the Sea Treaty -- rejected long ago by President Reagan -- now awaits Senate ratification because President Bush chose to submit it for that purpose. LOST would establish a tax on deep-seabed mining payable to the UN and controls over America’s economy by regulating pollution that affects the seas. These powers are to be vested in an international court that is unaccountable to US voters and not bound by - and thus violate - the Constitution. European leaders have now decided on a new version of the European Union “constitution” that is essentially the same as the version rejected by French and Dutch voters two years ago. They plan to make it effective without submitting it to the voters again. Britain has no constitution to protect its citizens so even there, where no vote has ever been taken, the Brown government plans to surrender its sovereignty and adopt the EU “treaty,” binding England to the product of the European elites. Europe may be beyond saving, but America is not. We shall, by dint of the work of Sen. Cornyn and like-minded conservatives, survive President Bush’s erosion of America’s political power to decide our own policies and, ultimately, our fate. Who comes after Mr. Bush may continue the erosion or end it and repair the damage. We know Hillary Clinton will do what Kerry promised not to. In her article in “Foreign Affairs” last week (about which more shall appear here), she hinted that she would seek ratification of the Kyoto “Global Warming” treaty, saying we need a, “…binding global climate agreement.” She also called for strengthening and reliance on the whole internationalist alphabet soup of bureaucracies including the International Labor Organization and the World Trade Organization. Will any of the Republicans do better? Mitt Romney last week declared the UN a failure. But how will he -- or any of his competitors -- stop the erosion of our sovereignty and restore it to what the Founding Fathers designed? more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America |

Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part One - Syria David's Tent (October 13, 2007) - Israel has been in the headlines again – a mysterious Israel Air Force attack delves deep into Syria; an upcoming US-prompted peace conference in Annapolis MD discusses a major dividing up of the land of Israel; a brazen new book accuses the American Jewish community and Israel of acting against the interests of the USA, raising the ante of anti-Semitism in the USA. The sharks smell blood and are circling, while the Jewish David, one arm tied behind his back by world pressure and opinion, finds himself confronting many modern-day Goliaths. We are indeed living in significant days! Serious stirrings in Syria Some secret events in Syria have hit the headlines in recent days. Israel's strict censorship rules on military matters forbid direct reporting of certain military matters, but anonymous leaks to major journalists have somewhat dispersed the mists of war. London's Sunday Times reported on September 16 2007 that just after midnight on September 6, the 69^th Squadron composed of eight Israeli F-15Is, F-16s and a UAV crossed the Mediterranean coastline of Syria and headed to a military target 50 miles from the Iraqi border – Deir ez-Zour. Syrian radar was somehow blocked, and a pre-positioned Israeli special forces Shaldag team (air force commandos) painted the target with laser beams. The pinpoint accurate bombing destroyed what Israeli intelligence anonymously describe as either nuclear material or a nuclear device from North Korea which could be fitted on North Korean Scud-C missiles (already in Syria's arsenal). An Israeli source said, "We’ve known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can’t live with a nuclear warhead." Over the years the world's intelligence community has given us some context for this attack. A CIA report from June 2003 stated, "Broader access to foreign expertise provides (Syria) opportunities to expand its indigenous capabilities and we are looking at Syrian nuclear intentions with growing concern." On November 12 2003 John R. Bolton, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the State Department, spoke at a public gathering in Washington DC:

On April 29, 2004 Bolton told the United Nations that the Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan had "several other" customers for his nuclear bomb factories besides Iran, Libya and North Korea. Western diplomats said then that Bolton was clearly referring to Syria (see the Reform Party of Syria's article in www.aina.org/news/20050104115532.htm). The Road To Annapolis (2007) The past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity concerning a possible peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, a city that since American Colonial days has been known as the "Athens of America". Tony Blair recently stepped down from his position as Prime Minister and immediately was appointed Middle East Envoy of the Quartet (US, UK, European Union and Russia) on June 27 2007. He promptly stated that until Israel surrenders more land, there will be no peace in the Middle East. "The absolute priority is to try to give effect to what is now the consensus across the international community - that the only way of bringing stability and peace to the Middle East is a two-state solution" (PM Blair's final press briefing at Downing Street). According to Blair, it seems, Israel holds the key to Middle East and world peace. While there is a sense where Blair's words may be biblically true (Israel does hold the key to life from the dead, according to Romans 11:15), Blair's statement as it stands is grossly inaccurate, ignoring the bloody ongoing inter-Arab conflicts that churn across the Middle East on a daily basis – conflicts that have nothing to do with Israel in even the remotest way! See Dr. Daniel Pipes' article "Arab-Israeli Fatalities Rank 49^th" at www.danielpipes.org/article/4990. The UK and the US seem to have come to a remarkable agreement regarding what to do with Israel. Speaking in Ramallah on October 15 2007 Secretary of State Rice said:

One day before Rice's statement, on October 14 2007 Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai had met with the Secretary of State in Jerusalem. He told her that the status of Jerusalem must be taken off the agenda of the Annapolis conference. According to Yishai's office, Rice responded that "the time has come to deal with issues that we were afraid to touch for many years." (JP Oct 15 2007 p.9 "As Rice arrives …"). Pray for America's and Britain's leaders as they once again attempt to pick up a heavy Jerusalem stone that cannot be lifted (Zechariah 12:1-4). more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 | Dividing the Land | America |

Who Needs Israel Anyway? WorldNet Daily (July 21, 2007) - The above question, either in word or implication, is being voiced by way too many these days, as people and governments cast about desperately for lasting solutions in the Middle East. Many Western and European political leaders – having heard the deprecations and the determination to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, from the likes of Palestinian Yasser Arafat, Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and so many other power brokers in the region – have come dangerously close to deciding that little Israel is the "thorn in the side" of world order. The next logical thought is: "Who needs Israel? Let her be erased, her people dispersed (or whatever), and the Middle East can settle comfortably into a harmonious Islamic community of states. Problem solved!" What folly. What suicidal blindness. I just returned from a momentous event in our nation's capital. An organization called Christians United for Israel, or CUFI, convened 4,000 people from all 50 states in several days of briefings and strategy sessions, culminating in an exhilarating, rousing rally in the D.C. Convention Center featuring Jewish leaders and top Christian ministers celebrating the things we hold in common and the spiritual bonds that unite us. The next day, several thousand of the participants fanned out over Washington and Capitol Hill, lobbying virtually every representative and senator on behalf of Israel and its sovereignty. Why? Couldn't we all see this is an exercise in futility, an unnecessary bother … that we'd all be better off if Israel didn't exist? No, we all see clearly that the world needs Israel. The whole world. What do I mean? Consider:

It goes on and on. The Weizmann Institute of Science has been voted "the best university in the world for life scientists to conduct research." Israeli researchers have:

These are only a few of Israel's recent contributions to the welfare of the world. There are just too many to list here. Water shortage, global warming, space travel, anti-virus, anti-smallpox, blood pressure, solar power, paralysis, diabetes, data storage – these and hundreds more – are being addressed by Israel's scientists. They're pioneering in DNA research, using tiny strands to create human transistors that can literally build themselves – and playing an important role in identifying a defective gene that causes a rare and usually fatal disease in Arab infants! more...
| Israel | Technology |

News for November 20, 2007

The next shoe to fall is consumer credit

CDO – Collateral Debt Obligation – Consumer Credit