Watchman Newsletter for December 14, 2007

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Topical News
| Signs of the Times | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1^st Seal | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount |
| RCC | Technology | NewWorldOrder | America | Apostasy | Earth Changes | UFO |

Energy source of northern lights found Associated Press (December 14, 2007) - Scientists think they have discovered the energy source of the spectacular color displays seen in the northern lights. New data from NASA's Themis mission, a quintet of satellites launched this winter, found the energy comes from a stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting Earth's upper atmosphere to the sun. The energy is then abruptly released in the form of a shimmering display of lights visible in the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, said principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California, Los Angeles. Results were presented Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union meeting. In March, the satellites detected a burst of northern lights, or auroras borealis, over Alaska and Canada. During the two-hour light show, the satellites measured particle flow and magnetic fields from space. To scientists' surprise, the geomagnetic storm powering the auroras raced 400 miles in a minute across the sky. Angelopoulos estimated the storm's power was equal to the energy released by a magnitude 5.5 earthquake. "Nature was very kind to us," Angelopoulos said. Although researchers have suspected the existence of wound-up bundles of magnetic fields that provide energy for the auroras, the phenomenon was not confirmed until May, when the satellites became the first to map their structure some 40,000 miles above the Earth's surface. Scientists hope the satellites will record a geomagnetic storm next year that's now in the making, and end the debate about when the storms are triggered.

New England digs out after record snowfall Reuters (December 14, 2007) - New England dug out on Friday from a record-setting storm that dumped 10 inches of snow on Boston, more than the city typically sees in the entire month of December. Thursday's storm hit hours before the afternoon commute, snarling roadways and leaving some travelers -- many of whom left their offices early only to face the storm's full force on the road -- stranded for hours during their trips home. Others had to abandon their cars or sleep in them after running out of fuel, local media reported. More than 400 flights were canceled at Boston Logan International Airport. The National Weather Service said the region could expect another blast over the weekend, when a second storm is expected to drop 6 inches of snow and sleet starting on Saturday evening. "It is a powerful Northeaster," said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts. "The difference in this storm is that it is going to occur during the overnight hours and on the weekend, so we wouldn't expect it to have the impact that this thing yesterday did. Thursday's snowfall set a new one-day record for December 13, and was more than the 7.8 inches that typically falls during the entire month of December. Foley said temperatures were expected to reach 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 C) on Friday, warm enough to melt some of the snow. Logan Airport had returned to normal operations by Friday, with about 41 outbound flights canceled, said spokesman Phil Orlandella. "The airlines will have to play catch up for a couple of days," Orlandella said. "It's not a madhouse here, things are moving pretty well." He said airport management did not yet know how their operations would be affected by the coming weekend storm.
| Earth Changes |

Ahmadinejad invited to be pilgrim BBC News (December 13, 2007) - It will be Mr Ahmadinejad's third visit to Saudi Arabia, seat of the Kaaba. Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will this week become the first sitting president of the Islamic republic to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, his office said. It follows a formal invitation from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, seat of the Islamic holy places and a long-time regional rival of revolutionary Iran. It is not clear if he has performed the Hajj before, or if past presidents have been to Mecca after leaving office. An official said the invitation was an important event in Saudi-Iranian ties. "It is the first time in the history of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia that the king of this country invites a president of the Islamic republic to make the pilgrimage to Mecca," said presidential aide Ali Akbar Javanfekr. Relations between revolutionary, Shia Iran and the conservative, Sunni monarchy of Saudi Arabia have been steadily improving since the first visit to Riyadh by an Iranian president in 1999. Twelve years earlier, more than 400 people, mostly Iranians, were killed in clashes between Iranians and Saudi security forces during the Hajj. Earlier this month Mr Ahmadinejad became the first Iranian president to attend the annual summit of six Arab Gulf states - all strong US allies - in neighbouring Qatar. Iran and Mr Ahmadinejad in particular are among Washington's most vocal critics in the region. It will be his third visit to Saudi Arabia as president. The pilgrimage rites, which last for five days and are performed by at least 1.5 million Muslims, are expected to begin on 18 December.
| Iran |

EU leaders sign landmark treaty BBC News (December 13, 2007) - EU leaders have signed a treaty in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, that is expected to greatly alter the way the 27-nation body operates. The treaty creates an EU president and a more powerful foreign policy chief. The document, signed at a ceremony at the city's historic Jeronimos Monastery, also scraps veto powers in many policy areas. It is a replacement for the EU constitution, which was abandoned following French and Dutch opposition. EU leaders insist that the two texts are in no way equivalent. But the Lisbon treaty incorporates some of the draft constitution's key reforms, and several governments face domestic pressure over the document. In a speech before the signing, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on European leaders to use the treaty to make freedom, prosperity and solidarity an everyday reality for all European citizens. "From this old continent, a new Europe is born," he said. Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the treaty would create a more modern, efficient and democratic union. "The world needs a stronger Europe," he said. The leaders signed the treaty, translated into the EU's 23 official languages, using specially engraved silver fountain pens as a choir sang Beethoven's Ode to Joy. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown signed the treaty later in the day after missing the ceremony, citing a prior engagement in the British parliament. Foreign Secretary David Miliband attended the signing ceremony. The UK's opposition Conservatives accused Mr Brown of "not having the guts" to sign the treaty, which is politically controversial in Britain, in public. Having started this year with a celebration of its 50th birthday, the EU hopes the signing of the Lisbon treaty will end the serious mid-life crisis brought about by the death of the constitution, the BBC's Oana Lungescu reports. There will be a lot of relief, said a senior European diplomat, but also some apprehension about what happens next. Ireland is the only country planning to hold a referendum, but most voters there seem either undecided or indifferent. Parliaments in Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark are also expected to give a turbulent reception to the 250-page text. However, Germany, France and Poland have pledged to be among the first to ratify it, so that the new reforms can come into force in 2009 as planned. The treaty is a slimmed-down version of the European constitution, with a more modest name and without any reference to EU symbols such as the flag and anthem. It is meant to ease decision-making, by scrapping national vetoes in some 50 policy areas, including sensitive ones such as police and judicial co-operation. There will also be a foreign policy chief, controlling a big budget and thousands of diplomats and officials, and a permanent EU president appointed for up to five years. But some already fear that instead of giving Europe a strong single voice in the world, the new posts will only generate more rivalry, our correspondent adds.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder |

According to Bible prophecy, this consolidation of power will continue despite opposition to it and eventually all will wonder at the beast and worship him when he declares himself god. Except those for whom the coming war on the saints will be waged.

Revelation 13:4-8
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Children promise to 'wipe out' Zionists WorldNet Daily (December 13, 2007) - Two children have made an appearance on Hamas Television's children's show called "Liberate" to exhort a liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and to promise to "wipe out" Zionists. The new video captured from Hamas Television is being made available by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors and publicizes media reports throughout the Middle East. MEMRI also has a web page that is devoted to Al-Aqsa television clips. The boy, in the Dec. 3, 2007, appearance, launches the message: "My beloved brothers, as you know, today the Al-Aqsa Mosque is crying out: 'Where are the people of the frontline, the Palestinian people?' Yes, my dear brothers, that is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The subject of our lesson today is Jerusalem, to where your Prophet made his nocturnal journey - the Al-Aqsa Mosque," he says. "Yes, my beloved brothers, as you know today, and as you knew yesterday and the day before, the Al-Aqsa Mosque has fallen into oppressing and malicious hands, the hands of those who know nothing but injustice. But let me tell you how the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be returned, how we shall rescue it from the shackles of the occupation, from the shackles of the Zionist entity. "Will it be through conferences? No, not through conferences, but by means of force, because the Zionist entity, your enemy, the enemy of Allah, the enemy of Islam, knows nothing but injustice and the killing of Palestinians, the persevering people on the frontline. Indeed, the [mosque] will be returned only by means of force," he says. He continues to warn about "what the Zionist enemy has done," lumping Israel and America together. "But is it too late? No, it is not too late. If we all unite, the Al-Aqsa Mosque will not remain in the hands of the Zionist enemy, it will not remain in the hands of your enemy, despite all their conspiracies against the Palestinian people…" the boy says. The girl then takes over, saying, "To Al-Aqsa, to Al-Aqsa - we shall unite our ranks. We will wipe out the people of Zion, and will not leave a single one of them." The mosque has been the subject of discussion in recent weeks, as President Bush's Annapolis summit was held with the intention of getting a focus on the issues that remain to be negotiated for a two-state Middle East, a goal he has set to reach before his second term expires in a little more than a year. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount have been included in those talks, and Palestinian leaders have told WND Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed a willingness to give up control of the Temple Mount. That is the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built on the location where the first and second Jewish temples, once housing the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant, stood. The Temple Mount currently is under Israeli control, but both Jews and Christians are barred from praying there. It was opened to the general public until 2000, when Palestinians launched an intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers. The Israeli government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, but reopened it in 2003. The mosque, however, falls under control of the Waqf, which monitors and enforces its rules against visitors. The mosque was built around A.D. 709.
| Israel | Islam | Temple Mount |

Revealed: Israel agreed to forfeit Temple Mount WorldNet Daily (December 13, 2007) - In spite of longstanding denials by top officials here, the Israeli government in 2000 agreed to relinquish the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – to the Palestinians during U.S.-backed negotiations, according to declassified documents made public today. The information comes as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier this month denied talks started at November's Annapolis summit would lead to Israel giving up its sovereignty over the Temple Mount, while chief Palestinian negotiators tell WND the Jewish state already agreed to forfeit Judaism's holiest site to a coalition of Arab countries. According to declassified Israeli government documents published today by Israel's Haaretz newspaper, during U.S.-led negotiations in 2000 at Camp David, Ehud Barak, then prime minister, agreed sovereignty over the Temple Mount would be either "ambiguous" or control would be determined based on the bond of each party to the site. The Palestinians would therefore control the upper sections of the Mount, which houses the Al Aqsa Mosque and also is the site of the First and Second Jewish Temples. The 2000 negotiations fell through after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected an offer of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem. Barak at times denied he offered the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, but he also indicated during interviews he was willing to compromise over the site. Haaretz published excerpts from a 26-page document it obtained, signed by Barak's negotiator Gilad Sher and said to be summaries of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The document was titled "The Status of the Diplomatic Process with the Palestinians Points to Update the Incoming Prime Minister." Sher also wrote in his book published after the 2000 negotiations, titled "Beyond Reach," that President Bill Clinton floated a plan that called for the Temple Mount to become Palestinian sovereign territory, while the Western Wall below and its complex would fall under Israeli sovereignty. Barak was said to have initially rejected that plan, but according to participants at the negotiations summit, he was ultimately willing to forfeit the Temple Mount. The 26-page document published by Haaretz also said Barak was willing to give up most of the West Bank and split Jerusalem into two capitals, one called Jerusalem and another Al-Quds. Negotiations would have seen Arab sections of Jerusalem being turned over to the Palestinians. The release of the document follow's last month's Annapolis summit at which Olmert committed to aim at creating a Palestinian state before the end of next year, handing strategic territory to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In a briefing to reporters upon returning to Israel from Annapolis, Olmert claimed Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for discussion. He said negotiations started at this week's Annapolis summit had no bearing on the situation on the Temple Mount. But a chief Palestinian negotiator, speaking to WND on condition of anonymity, said Olmert's denials were "false." "What Olmert said (regarding the Mount) is absolutely false. I think he's not yet ready to tell the Israeli public and is waiting for the right time, and he fears his coalition with religious extremists will fall apart if he announces it now," said the negotiator. Olmert's maintains a government coalition with the religious Shas party and Russian Yisroel Beiteinu party, but if those two bolt, the prime minister could create a new coalition with leftist parties. The chief Palestinian negotiator said that in the months leading up to Annapolis, the Palestinian team was "surprised" by Olmert's willingness to give up the Mount. "We had intense debates on many topics, which remain open and unsettled, but the Harem Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) is not a sticking point. The Israelis didn't argue with us. We were pleasantly surprised Olmert didn't debate about giving the lower section of the [Mount] either, which was a sticking point in the past." more...

Gore: US blocking climate talks progress Associated Press (December 13, 2007) - Nobel laureate Al Gore accused the United States on Thursday of blocking progress at the U.N. climate conference, and European nations threatened to boycott U.S.-led climate talks next month unless Washington compromises on emissions reductions. The former vice president urged delegates to take urgent action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, and told them that the next U.S. president will likely be more supportive of international caps on polluting gases. "My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali," said Gore, who flew to Bali from Oslo, Norway, where he received the Nobel Peace Prize for helping alert the world to the danger of climate change. Asked about Gore's charge, Kristen Hellmer, a member of the American delegation in Bali, said: "The U.S. is being open and working very constructively with the other countries that are here. We are rolling our sleeves up and really working to come up with a global post-2012 framework." Earlier, the United Nations warned that time was running out for an agreement aimed at launching negotiations for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012 and the talks in Bali were in danger of "falling to pieces." The United States, Japan and several other governments are refusing to accept language in a draft document suggesting that industrialized nations consider cutting emissions by 25 percent to 40 percent by 2020, saying specific targets would limit the scope of future talks. European nations said they may boycott a U.S.-led climate meeting next month unless Washington compromises. "No result in Bali means no Major Economies Meeting," said Sigmar Gabriel, top EU environment official from Germany, referring to a series of separate climate talks initiated by President Bush in September. "This is the clear position of the EU. I do not know what we should talk about if there is no target." The European Union and others say the proposed emissions caps reflect the measures scientists say are needed to rein in global warming and head off predictions of rising sea levels, worsening floods and droughts, and the extinction of plant and animal species. The U.S. invited 16 other major economies, including European countries, Japan, China and India, to discuss a program of what are expected to be nationally determined, voluntary cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions. more...
| America | Apostasy | Earth Changes |

Russia, France, Germany, Algeria and US Training Fatah Commandos Israel National News (December 13, 2007) - PA Arabs belonging to the Fatah terrorist group loyal to PA President Mahmoud Abbas are being trained in Russia, France, Germany and Algeria for “counter-terror” operations against Hamas. According to the New York Daily News, the PA forces are receiving covert training at a secret Russian base in Moscow in an effort to stave off a Hamas takeover of Judea and Samaria. The Fatah men are being trained by Russian commandos who fought Islamist terrorists in Chechnya. The PA force is named “al-Himaya Wal-Isnad" (defense and reinforcement) according to the report and includes 25 PA intelligence officers. The course will last for a month and will involve extensive weapons and combat training.  According to the Daily News report, similar training courses are being provided in France, Germany and Algeria – with plans to send PA units to other countries for training as well. "They are getting good training over there," PA official Dr. Ibrahim Khraishi told the Daily News. Meanwhile, in Judea and Samaria, PA forces continue to receive equipment and training from the US, with General Keith Dayton continuing to oversee the program even after the American-supplied arms and equipment supplied to Fatah in Gaza was inherited by Hamas with little resistance shown by Fatah forces. Dayton even testified to Congress just a few weeks before the fall of Fatah in Gaza, saying that the PA forces his men trained had progressed significantly. Abu Yousuf, a Fatah terrorist from Abba's own Force 17 security forces, told WorldNetDaily earlier this year that while some of the weapons may be used in confrontations against Hamas, the bulk of the American arms and training would be utilized to "hit the Zionists." He also said if there is a major conflict with Israel, U.S. weapons provided to Fatah may be shared with other "Palestinian resistance organizations."
| Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America |

Colorado Church Gunman Left Twisted Trail ABC News (December 13, 2007) - Matthew Murray's world was haunted by demons. Somehow, a child of a prominent doctor, someone who was home schooled in a comfortable Denver suburb, evolved from would-be Christian missionary to a killer trying to rain Columbine down on the Christian world. A family spokesman said Murray grew up in a loving home. But other interviews and what appear to be Murray's own online ramblings portray a disturbed individual who resented his sheltered upbringing, had problems with his mother, heard voices in his head, felt rejected and abused and yet appeared to be searching for a place to belong. He sought refuge in everything from an online forum for recovering Pentecostals to an occult group. Those volatile ingredients combined Sunday morning when the 24-year-old Murray killed five people, including himself, and injured several others in a rampage that spanned 70 miles, from a missionary training center that expelled Murray to Colorado Springs' New Life Church, a symbol of the Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity he so despised. Murray, as promised on the Web, came "armed to the teeth" with an assault rifle, handguns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. An armed church security guard, a new Christian believer, cut him down in a spray of bullets before he could carry out even more violence. An autopsy showed Murray delivered the final, fatal shot to himself. By all accounts, Matthew Murray grew up in a deeply Christian home. His father, Ronald, is a well-known neurologist who helped develop a tissue bank used by researchers fighting multiple sclerosis. His mother, Loretta, worked as a physical therapist before devoting herself to raising and home-schooling her two boys, Matthew and his brother, Chris. "Matthew Murray was surrounded by love and support," Casey Nikoloric, a family friend and patient of Ronald Murray's, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "His family is heartbroken, devastated and simply lost in grief." Most information about Murray has become known in recent days through ranting Internet posts that appear to be the shooter's words. On one, a poster called Chrstnghtmr complained of not being able to "socialize normally" after being home schooled and described being an outcast who was always left out of everything.
| Signs of the Times |

Children reach a village with the Gospel in India Mission Network News (December 13, 2007) - A church planter in India's Assam State was struggling to launch a Bible-based Adult Literacy class. Elian had trained through Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India. Many times, he tried approaching homes in the area and offered to pray with the residents. But most people slammed the door in Elian's face. Hoping to share the Gospel as he developed a relationship with people, he tried to generate an adult literacy class, but again, as most of the adults were tired after a long day in the fields, Elian got discouraging response. Although he couldn't get the adults interested in coming, he noticed the children in the villages were unattended during the day. There wasn't a school in the area, but Elian was there. Since his church planting materials included information on how to start a Children's Bible Club, he decided to try it. According to Mission India, the day he decided to start it, he stood at the roadside where he knew the children would pass by him, and he began to sing. Soon, he had a crowd of children around him, singing and dancing to worship songs. Since that day, Elian's ministry in the northeastern state of Assam has grown. Just as he hoped, the children shared the songs and Bible stories with their parents at night. At least 10 families are now following Jesus. If you want to provide training for a church planter like Elian, click here.

Russia-Iran trade doubles to $2.2 bln in 9M07 - official Russian News & Information Agency (December 12, 2007) - Trade between Russia and Iran more than doubled in January-September 2007 to $2.2 billion, the Russian co-chairman of the bilateral inter-governmental commission said on Thursday. Sergei Kiriyenko, who was yesterday appointed by the Russian president to head state-controlled nuclear power corporation Rosatom, and Iran's Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki chaired on Thursday a session of the inter-governmental commission. Iran has proposed that both countries should establish consortiums in electric power, energy and other spheres and set up an investment fund for the implementation of joint projects, Mottaki said. "The establishment of a gas company could become another area of mutual cooperation," Mottaki said. The Iranian diplomat also said the drafts of Russian-Iranian agreements on air transport and investment were almost ready and could be signed soon.
| Iran | Gog/Magog |

Gold & Mortgage Failure Avalanche Financial Sense (December 12, 2007) - An avalanche comes in 2008. Its wreckage will hit both the USEconomy and banking world. The greatest deception in the bank sector this year has been the misrepresentation of the mortgage debacle as a subprime problem. That is akin to calling an iceberg only a problem for what one can see, when 90% of its mass lies below water. Ice is lighter than water. Most mortgage bonds are like acidic stones weighing down bank and investor balance sheets. Wall Street and the USGovt con artists, using tools are fraud and distortion, prefer the public and investment community to think of the ‘Subprime Problem’ as the source of distress. On mortgage bonds, collateralized debt obligation derivatives, structured investment vehicles, all dominant in the news, reports constantly stress how the problem is traced to subprime mortgages to all those unworthy home loan borrowers who never should have been given such loans, even at higher mortgage rates. The systemic threat, both to the US banking system and USEconomy, has entered a new stage. The remedy addressed is sure to force the USDollar lower and the gold price higher, to occur in the next gear. Breakouts are coming which will seem to lose control, like what was seen in September and October. Official policy in reaction to the USEconomic threat of recession will spill money into every corner and crevice. Gold and mining stocks will benefit. My forecast stated all summer long is that the USGovt maestros will gradually introduce increasingly broader rescue elements, since everything they try at early stages will fail. The USFed remains badly behind the curve, as yesterday they cut the official Fed Funds target rate, but did not sufficiently cut the Discount Window rate that imposes a Stigma Tax. Today, the USFed announced a much broader bank liquidity policy, focused upon more auctions at set rates and a swap line with the Euro Central Bank. They have announced more coordination with the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, the Swiss National Bank, and the US Federal Reserve. This is part of my forecast. They must have been working all night long. By summertime 2008, the requirements for a grandiose Resolution Trust platform will be etched more clearly. The key to the gold price lies in two spots: 1) massive monetary inflation to treat the banking problems and prevent recession, 2) realized price inflation in a manner lacking disguise. John Mauldin uses the metaphor of fire trucks being called to the scene. The USFed has been amazingly shamefully slow in recognizing the problems. Stuck in their stupid “inflation versus growth” framework mindset, they miss both the interbank system seizures and home mortgage avalanche coming outside the prime mortgage corral. The threat to the banking system will be staggering. The threat to the economic system will be broad and deep. The avalanche will expose the combined system as insolvent, broken, in need to total rescue. The damage will necessitate rescue platforms to undermine the entire US$-based monetary system, certainly sufficient to lift gold well past the $1000 level. By the time 2009 approaches, the system will be recognized as totally broken. The new question will be whether that system can indeed be repaired. As measures put in place and debated for consensus approval, the urgently demanded movement should be the particulars on the new Resolution Trust Corporation. The desperation no longer hidden (like on Bernanke’s face) will lift gold well past the $1000 mark. The impetus behind the gold price will turn to inflation much more than the US$ counter-lever. All major currencies will be inflating heavily, as seen in recent central bank decisions either to cut official interest rates or to hold steady. Major currencies will begin to be compared in a manner to judge which ones are weaker as they are undermined during stimulus to discourage economic recession and credit flow interruptions. more...
| America | Economic Crisis |

Central Banks Pumping Billions into World Financial System International Herald Tribune (December 12, 2007) - Central banks in Europe and North America moved Wednesday to increase the amount of money they could lend to banks and to make it more readily available in an attempt to ease the credit squeeze. It was the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and on the Pentagon that these central banks have coordinated their support of financial markets. Stock markets rose in Europe and the Americas after the announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank. In the United States, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index made up nearly half of its losses from Tuesday, when stocks fell after the Fed cut interest rates modestly, but then dipped, closing up 8.94 points at 1,486.59. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600, a broad measure of European markets, rose 1.20 points to close at 374.75. Fed officials said the united move was an effort to improve financial markets, not a response to problems at any individual bank. "This is not about particular financial institutions with particular problems," a senior Fed official said in a background briefing for reporters. "It is about market functioning." Economists and market specialists welcomed the Fed's intervention but expressed some skepticism whether it would be enough to allay the biggest problems in the credit markets related to the sharp drop in the value of U.S. mortgage securities. "We have a Fed now that seems to understand the liquidity problem of the marketplace," said William Gross, the chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management, the bond management firm. "These measures, while limited in size and with limitations in acceptance of collateral, should certainly instill a measure of confidence to the private market." Gross added, "Now it's up to the private market to gain a little confidence and turn a little macho and start performing on its own." more...
| NewWorldOrder | America | Economic Crisis |

Vladimir Putin the President cleared to become Prime Minister of Russia Times Online (December 12, 2007) - Vladimir Putin completed his plan yesterday to retain power in Russia, without the involvement of a single voter. Dmitri Medvedev repaid the compliment of being chosen as his successor in the Kremlin by declaring that Mr Putin should serve as Prime Minister after he leaves the presidency. The development clears the way for Mr Putin to rule Russia as premier while his protégé Mr Medvedev acts as a figurehead leader. The announcement settled within 24 hours the two key questions that have dominated Russian politics for months ahead of the presidential election next March: the identity of Mr Putin's successor and his own future role. Mr Medvedev, 42, is Russia's first deputy prime minister but has never run for elected office and is reliant on Mr Putin's support. The backing of the Kremlin will reduce the election to little more than an invitation for voters to endorse yesterday's arrangement. In a televised address, Mr Medvedev declared that Mr Putin had saved Russia from economic collapse and civil war after the chaos of the 1990s. His policies had restored Russia's “overpowering position in the world community” and brought economic success. “To follow this course it is not enough to elect a new president who agrees with this ideology. It is no less important to keep the unity of the team formed by the current president,” Mr Medvedev said. “I appeal to him to give his agreement in principle to head the government of Russia after a new president of our country has been chosen.” The invitation has not yet been accepted but it is unthinkable that Mr Medvedev would have announced it without Mr Putin's approval. Mr Putin has ruled since 2000 but is barred by the constitution from a third successive term. Mr Medvedev will now run as “Putin's candidate” with a clear pledge that a vote for him will be a vote to restore Mr Putin to real power. The initiative is not without risk for Mr Putin, however, since the Prime Minister is subservient to the President under the Constitution.
| Gog/Magog |

U.S. says homegrown attack poses biggest risk Reuters (December 12, 2007) - The United States faces a heightened threat of terrorist attack "for the foreseeable future" but any attack will likely be homegrown, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Wednesday. Chertoff, who said over the summer that he had a "gut feeling" that the country faced a heightened risk of attack, said that assessment still stands. "It's not something that's going to evaporate in a week or two. I think it's something that's going to be with us for a while," he told a small group of reporters in a phone call. Chertoff, who is in charge of ensuring that the country does not face another attack like that of September 11, 2001, said the heightened risk was not based on any intelligence predicting a specific, imminent attack. "I said we were beginning to enter into a period like this. And that didn't mean it was going to be a week, it meant it's for the foreseeable future," he said. "There's probably a greater risk in terms of likelihood from a homegrown attack than from a massive international attack," he added. Chertoff described that sort of "homegrown" attack as a single person or small group of people living in the United States who were "recruited" on the Internet and had pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. "I think the consequence of that kind of attack is likely to be less cataclysmic than the kind of attack that would be launched from outside like the London plot of 2006 against the airlines," he said, referring to a thwarted plot to bomb transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives.
| NewWorldOrder | America |

France scores symbolic victory against Turkish EU membership EU Observer (December 12, 2007) - France has scored a symbolic victory in its battle against Turkey joining the European Union by succeeding in removing the word 'accession' from an EU document on the state of negotiations. A statement on the EU's enlargement strategy, agreed by foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday (11 December), refers only to an intergovernmental conference with Turkey and Croatia later this month, rather than to accession or membership negotiations. The normal phrasing for these meeting to discuss progress on membership negotiations is "accession conferences." But France, strongly opposed to Turkey joining the EU, got its way yesterday after putting diplomatic pressure on for around two weeks before the meeting. Britain and Sweden were amongst the countries that were against the French move. "We do not see any rationale for backtracking either on the Treaty of Rome or on these commitments," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said before the meeting, according to Reuters. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has made no secret of his staunch opposition to Ankara's membership bid. It featured during his presidential campaign in the first half of 2007 while after his election Mr Sarkozy suggested Turkey become a member of a Mediterranean Union he wants to set up and that the EU's final borders are discussed in a wise committee - both suggestions are seen as part of an overall aim to derail Turkey's bid. Germany is also against Turkish EU membership, but has been less vocal at the European level on the issue than France. It prefers instead a privileged partnership - essentially granting Ankara closer ties with the EU but no decision-making powers. Turkey opened membership talks with the EU in 2005. But it has only made small progress so far. Talks have been blocked in a number of areas because of Ankara's position on Cyprus - it refuses to trade with it - while France has blocked the opening of talks in areas that smack too much of leading to EU membership. Turkey itself has also been slow to undertake internal democratic reforms, which has led to criticism from the EU side. more...
| Gog/Magog | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom |

Study says humans not heating up the planet One News Now (December 11, 2007) - A new peer-reviewed study disputes the claim of former Vice President Al Gore and other green activists that global warming is caused by human activity and constitutes a "planetary emergency." The study -- conducted by climate scientists at the University of Rochester, the University of Alabama, and the University of Virginia -- finds that atmospheric warming patterns, or "fingerprints," over the last 30 years are not caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The report is published in the December issue of the International Journal of Climatology. Results from the study greatly contradict the findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Dr. S. Fred Singer, professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Virginia -- and president of the Science and Environmental Policy Project -- says he is "fairly" sure that the current warming trend is due to changes in the activities of the sun. "The sun is constantly active, emitting particle streams that carry magnetic fields; and they in turn have an influence on the climate of the earth," he says. Singer says he and other global warming skeptics have grown accustomed to claims that they are beholden to the oil and gas industry. "Of course that's not only untrue, but it's completely immaterial," says Singer. "In other words, we are using the data that is furnished by the IPCC. They are published, we use only published work. What we are basically doing is to make a comparison of model results and observations." The report concludes that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant and therefore "attempts to control CO2 emissions are ineffective and pointless -- but very costly."
| Earth Changes |

Honda Robots Pair Up to Lend a Hand Associated Press (December 11, 2007) - As if the idea of having one robot to serve you wasn't unusual enough, Honda says its humanoids are now ready to work in pairs—and they can even serve drinks. At a demonstration Tuesday at its Tokyo headquarters, automaker Honda Motor Co. showed off two of the child-sized Asimo robots serving tea and performing other tasks in coordination with one another. The bubble-headed robots seemed to pick their steps carefully as they made their way around the room, picking up and putting down drink trays and pushing around a refreshments cart. Honda said it has developed a system to link its robots together so they can share information about where each one is and what each is doing. The 51-inch tall Asimo is "smarter" now, thanks to upgrades that allow it to do more tasks without human help, the company said. The robot can, for example, recognize drink choices and carry a tray with the requested drink to the person who placed the order. The Asimo, which looks like a child in a white spacesuit, also does a better job of moving around people because of technology that allows it to better predict people's movements so it doesn't get in the way. The robot can even automatically head off to the nearest charging station when its batteries fall below a certain level. Honda has been working on robots since 1986. Rival Toyota Motor Corp. has been aggressively beefing up its own robotics team, showing off last week a robot that could play the violin. The Japanese government has been pushing companies and researchers to make robotics a pillar of this nation's business. Other companies, including Hitachi Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp., are also developing robots. Asimo—which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility and is play on the Japanese word for "legs"—first became available for rental in 2000. It's considered one of the world's most advanced humanoids. It can walk, even jog, wave, avoid obstacles and carry on simple conversations. "By the end of 2010s, we'd like to see these robots working at every street corner of the city," said Tomohiko Kawanabe of Honda's Fundamental Technology Research Center.
| Technology |

Medvedev: Putin should be prime minister Associated Press (December 11, 2007) - The man tapped by President Vladimir Putin as his successor called Tuesday for the popular president to return as prime minister after the March 2 election — a shuffling of Kremlin duties that would keep the main levers of power in Putin's hands. The brief announcement by Dmitry Medvedev, almost certainly approved in advance by Putin, was the second major development from the Kremlin in as many days. On Monday, Putin endorsed Medvedev for president. In this way, Putin and his longtime aide appear to answer a question that has long been the subject of conjecture and anxiety: whether the two-term president would relinquish power, and if so to whom. The emerging scenario — one that Putin himself hinted at months ago — would see the popular president wielding considerable and possibly ultimate power from a beefed-up prime minister's position. Putin, who took over from Boris Yeltsin about eight years ago, is barred by the constitution from a third consecutive term. In a three-minute televised speech, Medvedev said Putin "prevented the collapse of the economy and social sphere in our country, a course that prevented civil war." It was vital to retain Putin's team, he said. "Therefore, I think that is principally important for our country that we keep in the most important post in government — the position of chairman of the Russian government - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin," he said. "Having expressed my readiness to run for president of Russia, I appeal to him with a request to give his principal agreement to head the Russian government after the election of the new president of our country," Medvedev said. Putin clearly wants to retain a powerful role once he steps down. Medvedev's proposal would provide such a role, especially if the constitution is amended to increase the prime minister's powers — which could be done readily with the new parliament dominated by pro-Putin politicians. more...
| Gog/Magog |

Security Guard Who Stopped Shooter Credits God CNN (December 10, 2007) - "It seemed like it was me, the gunman, and God," said Jeanne Assam, describing her feelings as she confronted a man who charged into her Colorado Springs church Sunday firing a weapon. Assam, a church security guard with law enforcement experience, fired her own weapon at the invader and stopped his attack, police say. Police on Monday identified the gunman as Matthew Murray and said he was also responsible for an attack earlier Sunday at a missionary center some 80 miles away. The two incidents left four people dead, in addition to the gunman, and five wounded. Police said forensic evidence showed a positive match between a handgun found at the church and shell casings found at the missionary center in Arvada, a suburb of Denver. Officials from the Colorado Springs and Arvada police departments appeared at a joint news conference to brief reporters on what they had pieced together about Sunday's events. The first incident took place Sunday at about 12:30 a.m. at Youth With a Mission in Arvada. Police said a man with a beard, wearing a dark jacket, glasses, and skullcap, entered the facility, got into a dispute with a staff member about whether he could stay there for the night, and then opened fire. Two staff members, Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24, died later Sunday from their injuries, Youth With a Mission co-founder Peter Warren said. Two other staff members were injured, and one was in critical condition. Investigators tried to track the gunman through fresh snow with the help of dogs, but lost his trail in a heavily walked area, Deputy Chief Gary Creager of Arvada police said. About 12 hours later, police say, Murray showed up at New Life Church as a service was letting out. Police said Monday he had an assault rifle and two handguns, and may have had as many as 1,000 rounds of ammunition. He fired on a family who were in or near their car. Two sisters, identified by police as Rachael Works, 16, and Stephanie Works, 18, were killed, and their father, David Works, 51, was also shot and is hospitalized in fair condition with two gunshot wounds. Murray then entered the church, police say, where Assam was one of several volunteer security guards on duty. "I saw him coming through the doors," she told reporters on Monday. "I took cover, and I waited for him to get closer, and I came out of cover and identified myself, and engaged him, and took him down. And that's pretty much it." more...

Fourteen dead as ice storm sweeps Plains Reuters (December 10, 2007) - A vicious ice storm sweeping through the U.S. Plains left more than 600,000 people without power as frigid temperatures plunged and contributed to at least 14 deaths, authorities said on Monday. The icy blast downed tree limbs and power lines, leaving more than 500,000 people without power in Oklahoma, where shelters opened throughout the region for those driven from cold and dark homes, and national guardsmen and volunteers were transporting food and water to hard-hit areas. "This particular storm is now the worst in company history in terms of customers affected," said Brian Alford, spokesman for Oklahoma Gas and Electric. Crews were sent from Texas, Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi to help repair power lines, which snapped seemingly as quickly as they could be repaired. The storm also shut down electricity service to more than 102,000 people in Missouri, more than 11,000 people in Illinois and about 5,000 in Kansas. In all, ice storm warnings were issued from Texas up through Oklahoma and Kansas and east across Missouri into Illinois, with up to an inch of ice accumulation possible in some areas. Iowa and Arkansas were also affected. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency, calling out the state National Guard to aid communities hit by the storm. "We are only just beginning to see the devastation from this series of storms," he said. Ice-slicked roads contributed to the deaths of 12 people in Oklahoma during the weekend, state officials said. One Oklahoma man died of hypothermia. A Missouri motorist died when he stopped to help another driver and was hit by a car skidding on ice. Parts of several highways and interstates were closed and hundreds of flights were canceled at major airports in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis and Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service office predicted another icy blast on Tuesday night, with more significant ice accumulations possible.
| Earth Changes |

Russian 'bear' who loves Black Sabbath set to succeed Putin RIA Novosti (December 10, 2007) - The man backed by Vladimir Putin for next year's presidential election is a heavy-metal loving 42-year-old whose surname comes from the Russian word for 'bear'. First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was nominated by the ruling United Russia party and three other smaller pro-Kremlin parties on Monday afternoon. President Putin later said on national television: "I have known Dmitry Medvedev well for over 17 years, and I completely and fully support his candidature." In view of Putin's high popularity rating and full support of most of the legislature, his backing of the nomination is likely to guarantee Medvedev the presidency. Medvedev's surname comes from the Russian word 'medved', meaning bear, an animal which has long been associated with the country. The bear is also the symbol of United Russia, and Bear bombers have contributed to increasing tension between the West and Russia of late with their strategic long-range patrols. In a recent interview with the Russian magazine Itogi, Medvedev revealed his passion for rock music, saying that, "vinyl really sounds better than CDs." The man who may well become leader of the largest nation on Earth said he had spent much of his youth compiling cassettes of popular Western groups, "Endlessly making copies of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple." All these groups were on state-issued blacklists during Medvedev's Soviet-era schooldays. "The quality was awful, but my interest colossal," he said. Medvedev went on to boast of his collection of Deep Purple LPs, saying that he had searched for the albums for many years. "Not reissues, but the original albums," he added, concluding that, "If you set yourself a goal you can achieve it." Medvedev, seen as a pro-business moderate, chairs the board of Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom and is overseeing an ambitious multi-billion-dollar "national project" to improve living standards in the country.
| Gog/Magog |

That Putin backs him, Russia's prophetic role in the Middle East and his choice in music given the video They Sold Their Souls For Rock N' Roll, all points me to him indeed of the same ilk of Putin in aligning with the anti-Israel Middle East both politically and spiritually. Keep watching.

Bringing Ancient Human Viruses Back to Life: A Jurassic Park or Salvation? Daily Galaxy (December 10, 2007) - When the mapping of the human genome was completed in 2003, researchers discovered a shocking fact: our bodies are littered with the shards of retroviruses, fragments of the chemical code from which all genetic material is made. This discovery has created a new discipline, paleovirology, which seeks to better understand the impact of modern diseases by studying the genetic history of ancient viruses. Highly infectious viral diseases -including the Plague, yellow fever, measles, smallpox and he Spanish Flu, which killed 50 million people at the end of the First World War, moving from one cell to the next, transforming each new host into a factory that makes even more virus. In this way, one infected cell soon becomes billion -that die when the host dies. Endogenous retroviruses, however, once they infect the DNA of a species they become part of that species:  they reside within each of us, carrying a record that goes back millions of years. Molecular battles of endogenous retroviruses that raged for thousands of generations, have been defeated by evolution. These viral fragments are fossils that reside within each of us, carrying a record that goes back millions of years. Because they no longer seem to serve a purpose or cause harm, these remnants have often been referred to as “junk DNA.” Although many of these evolutionary relics still manage to generate proteins, scientists have never found one that functions properly in humans or that could make us sick. That is until Thierry Heidmann who runs the laboratory at the Institut Gustave Roussy, on the southern edge of Paris,  brought one to life. Heidmann long suspected that if a retrovirus happens to infect a human sperm cell or egg, which is rare, and if that embryo survives—which is rarer still—the retrovirus could have the evolutionary power to influence humans as a species becoming part of the genetic blueprint, passed from mother to child, and from one generation to the next, much like a gene for eye color or asthma. In a brilliant essay if The New Yorker, author Michael Specter brings Heidmann's discovery to life, showing how by "combining the tools of genomics, virology, and evolutionary biology, he and his colleagues took a virus that had been extinct for hundreds of thousands of years, figured out how the broken parts were originally aligned, and then pieced them together. After resurrecting the virus, the team placed it in human cells and found that their creation did indeed insert itself into the DNA of those cells. They also mixed the virus with cells taken from hamsters and cats. It quickly infected them all, offering the first evidence that the broken parts could once again be made infectious. The experiment could provide vital clues about how viruses like H.I.V. work. Inevitably, though, it also conjures images of Frankenstein’s monster and Jurassic Park." more...

‘America has abandoned us’ Jerusalem Watchman (December 9, 2007) - The newspapers here in Israel made for sobering reading this weekend. In the words of a visiting compatriot in the cause of Christian Zionism, it is as if, after years of moving towards a cliff in Israel-US relations, we have suddenly arrived, and tipped over the edge. The United States has betrayed the trust of its once “faithful friend” in the Middle East, and things are spiraling at an alarming speed - seemingly out of control. Israelis today believe that Washington successfully worked to lure them to Annapolis by promising to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish state against Iran’s fevered efforts to obtain, deploy and possibly use nuclear weapons. Largely as a result of this “guaranteed” alliance, the Olmert government went to Annapolis despite the refusal of the Palestinian Arabs to, among other things, recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Once there, believing that America truly has Israel’s best interests at heart, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to work towards the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of the Bush presidency, and gave the US the right to judge whether or not Jerusalem is complying with its commitments under the Road Map. And then, with this Israeli commitment in its pocket, and before the news crews had barely departed the US Naval Academy, Washington suddenly lifted its threat to use force against Iran, issuing a report whose heading announced that the genocidal mullahs had in fact halted their nuclear weapons program in 2003 and therefore no longer posed a serious threat to Israel or anyone else within reach of their long range, surface-to-surface missiles. The fact that the body of the National Intelligence Estimate report soundly contradicts its headline has done little if anything to alleviate the fallout from its release. For Israelis, the announcement means that America has left it dangling before the diabolical designs of the Islamic world - and particularly of holocaust-threatening Tehran. This was the consensus of understanding, at least on the staff of The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s biggest-circulation English-language daily, who expressed their sense of shock and disbelief: We have been “bushwacked” exclaimed disbelieving editor-in-chief David Horowitz. America has “dropped a bomb on Israel” said reporter Ya’akov Katz. An American guest columnist, Jonathan Tobin, said the “intelligence bombshell [had left] Bush’s approach to Middle East peacemaking in ruins and Jerusalem isolated.” And Post deputy managing editor and columnist Caroline Glick wrote a requiem for Israel-US relations in her “Column One” piece hauntingly headlined: “The abandonment of the Jews.” Elsewhere, in a Ynetnews report Sunday Shas Party Minister Yitzhak Cohen slammed “the manner in which the Americans relate to the intelligence report on Iran [as] similar to the way in which they viewed those reports they received during the Holocaust on railways transporting hundreds of thousands of Jews to their death at Auschwitz. more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | NewWorldOrder | America |

Jerusalem To Be Divided, Declares Israeli Official WorldNet Daily (December 9, 2007) - A top member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government today announced Israel "must" give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem "to whatever they want." "We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon. Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert's Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy. Ramon's statements follow last month's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit at which Olmert committed to aim at completing negotiations by next year to create a Palestinian state, with Israel expected to evacuate swaths of Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank. Ramon said due to the city's demographics, Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem "should not be under Israeli sovereignty, because they pose a threat to Jerusalem being the capital of a Jewish Israel." About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods. The city has an estimated total population of 724,000. Ramon listed population statistics as the reason Olmert's government finds it necessary to split Jerusalem. But WND broke the story last week that according to Jerusalem municipal employees, during 10 years as mayor of Jerusalem, Olmert instructed city workers not to take action against hundreds of illicit Arab building projects throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem housing over 100,000 Arabs squatting in the city illegally. The workers and some former employees claim Olmert even instructed city officials to delete files documenting illegal Arab construction of housing units in eastern Jerusalem. Olmert was Jerusalem mayor from 1993 to 2003. As mayor he made repeated public statements calling Jerusalem the "eternal and undivided capital" of Israel. Jerusalem municipal employees and former workers, though, paint a starkly contrasting picture of the prime minister. "He did nothing about rampant illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem while the government cracked down on illegal Jewish construction in the West Bank," said one municipal employee who worked under Olmert. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she still works at the municipality. One former municipal worker during Olmert's mayoral tenure told WND he was moved in 1999 to a new government posting after he tried to highlight the illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem. He also spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his current job. more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

EU to agree Kosovo talks over Reuters (December 9, 2007) - EU leaders are expected to agree this week that efforts to reach a negotiated solution to the Kosovo problem are exhausted, and offer to take responsibility for security and justice in the breakaway Serbian province. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday "artificial deadlines" for finding a solution to Kosovo's status were not binding and could raise risks to stability. EU negotiator Wolfgang Ischinger will brief European Union foreign ministers on Monday on the results of four months of mediation efforts and urge them to help stabilize the Balkan territory by sending in police and justice officials soon. Leaders of the 27-nation bloc are expected to declare in a statement at a summit on Friday that negotiations are at an end and that the future of both Serbia and Kosovo lies in the European Union, diplomats said. They are also likely to confirm they are willing to dispatch police and justice missions and appoint a high representative to oversee Kosovo if asked by the Kosovo Albanian government and the United Nations Secretary-General. "It is clear that the future of Serbia and Kosovo lies in the European Union. That's something that both sides agree on," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper. A troika of EU, U.S. and Russian mediators told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a report on Friday that their mission failed because neither side was willing to give way on the fundamental question of sovereignty over Kosovo. The troika had been given a December 10 deadline to complete its report. "We were given 120 days but if we had been given 1,200 days the outcome would have been the same," an aide quoted Ischinger as telling Solana. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1^st Seal |

Iran Drops the US Dollar Short News (December 9, 2007) - Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari announced that "At the moment selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies." Sales of crude oil will now be priced in euros. OPEC member nations exporting oil in USDs have been hard-hit by the decline in value and have been urged by Iran, the fourth largest producer of crude, to follow their lead. Recently, Iranian banks have also been blacklisted by the US Government for supporting terrorism, and pursuing nuclear weapons.
| Iran | America |

Canada openly proclaims NAFTA Superhighway WorldNet Daily (December 8, 2007) - A Newsweek story critical of Rep. Ron Paul and labeling the NAFTA Superhighway a baseless conspiracy theory has generated approximately 250 adverse reader responses on the "comments" section of Newsweek's website, many citing hard evidence that the proposed transcontinental trade corridor is quite real. "There is a broad coalition of Americans developing across the United States who are opposed to a North American Union and know that Ron Paul is right and we need to take action now before it is too late," Jesse Benton, national press secretary for the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign 08 told WND. Particularly interesting among Newsweek's reader comments were citations of Canadian government websites that openly discuss and declare plans to create a NAFTA Superhighway. Several readers pointed to a Canadian government video clip gaining wide circulation on the Internet. It involves a Nov. 20 "Speech from the Throne," in which John Harvard, lieutenant-governor of the Province of Manitoba, Canada, opened the second session of the 39th assembly of the provincial legislature with comments proclaiming support for the development of a "Mid-Continent Trade Corridor." "Manitoba is also taking a major role in the development of a Mid-Continent Trade Corridor, connecting our northern Port of Churchill with trade markets throughout the central United States and Mexico," Harvard told the legislature. "To advance the concept," Harvard continued, "an alliance has been built with business leaders and state and city governments spanning the entire length of the Corridor. When fully developed, the trade route will incorporate an 'inland port' in Winnipeg with pre-clearance for international shipping." A video posted on YouTube shows excerpts from Harvard's speech juxtaposed with clips of President Bush and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the press conference of the third summit of the Security and Prosperity Partnership in Montebello, Quebec, on Aug. 21, ridiculing the North American Union and the NAFTA Superhighway as baseless conspiracy theories. A Destination-Winnipeg trade group website identifies the Mid-Continent Trade Corridor as "the northern gateway of this vast Corridor, a network of highways and railways linking the business community with cities to the south, through the U.S. and into Mexico." The Canadian government's Canada Transport website describes the Mid-Continent International Trade Corridor as a rail and highway network which stretches from Manitoba to Mexico. Other Newsweek readers provided links to an Alberta government website. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation in Alberta, Canada, has posted on its website a trade corridor map that shows a NAFTA Superhighway clearly designated in the same route, including Interstate Highways 35, 29 and 94, that the North America's SuperCorridor Coalition, or NASCO, designates as the I-35 NAFTA Superhighway. Craig Offman of the National Post writes that this Alberta map of the NAFTA Superhighway on the Alberta Government website is currently Number Two on the popular U.S. web site Digg.com. "Well, now, Mr. Paul might think he has some real fodder," Offman writes. "The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation website uses the exact phrase, showing a thoroughfare that begins in Manitoba and drops all the way down to West Texas." "Why would the Canadian government web page in Alberta show a NAFTA Superhighway if the highway doesn't exist?" asks a Newsweek reader linking to the Alberta site. "Keep on lying to the people, Newsweek, it is what you do best." "We have had that map with the NAFTA Superhighway on our website for 5 years or more," Jerry Bellikka, director of communications for the Alberta Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation told WND in a telephone interview. "The website is a site for truckers," Bellikka explained. "We try to harmonize our trucking regulations with Canada and the United States so truckers can log on and see where they fit on our requirements when they are traveling along these North American corridors." WND asked Bellikka if the Alberta Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation had any intention of changing the NAFTA Superhighway map on its website. "No," Bellinkka answered directly. "We have no plan to change the designation of NAFTA Superhighway on our website."
| NewWorldOrder | America |

NJ parents try to block vaccine mandate Associated Press (December 7, 2007) - Parents concerned about possible vaccine dangers and government intrusion are trying to block New Jersey from becoming the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers. The Public Health Council on Monday is set to consider whether New Jersey should require flu shots as well as three additional vaccines. If approved, New Jersey would become the first state to require annual flu shots for children attending licensed preschool or day care centers. State health department officials also want to require a pneumococcal vaccine for preschoolers, a booster shot to fight whooping cough for sixth-graders, and meningitis shots for school children as young as 11. According to deputy health commissioner Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, the new requirements already have been approved by the state health department and Gov. Jon S. Corzine; they are expected to be rubber-stamped by the Council on Monday. Bresnitz said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports the new requirements and that public health officials in other states are watching and likely to follow suit. Bresnitz said he's convinced the vaccines will reduce the incidence of the diseases, preventable hospitalizations, and the need for parents to stay home with sick children. "It's a great day for public health in New Jersey," he said. But some parents say there is inadequate proof the vaccines are safe and effective. At a Statehouse news conference Friday, about a dozen parents protested the new requirements and urged people to call the governor's office to ask him to stop Monday's vote. "This will be the first jurisdiction anywhere in the world to make the flu shot mandatory" for school attendance, said Jon Gilmore, a board member of Advocates for Children's Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning, or ACHAMP. He blames his 7-year-old son's autism on vaccines. Bresnitz said he didn't know whether jurisdictions outside this country have required flu shots for school kids. Parents on Friday also urged support for a bill that would give parents a right to "philosophical objection" to vaccine mandates. The bill has been sitting in a committee for four years without action. "It is not right for the government and unelected councils to dictate what we put into our children," said Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination. more...
| America |

Strong quake jolts Indonesia Associated Press (December 7, 2007) - An earthquake on Friday rattled Indonesia's resort island of Bali, where thousands of people were gathering for a U.N. climate change conference. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The 5.4-magnitude tremor was centered 150 miles southwest of Bali, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site. It struck around 6 miles beneath the ocean floor. The quake could be felt in Bali, where more than 10,000 people were attending a two-week conference about rising global temperatures, which scientists say could lead to severe droughts and flooding, melting ice caps and rising seas, and the extinction of animals. The walls and floors of massive tents set up in a sprawling complex of five-star hotels shook for around 10 seconds, but officials said they did not have any reports of injuries or damage. The quake was not strong enough to trigger a tsunami warning. Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheavals due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.
| Earth Changes |

Treaty amending the treaty on European Union and the treaty establishing the European community The "Lisbon Treaty" WEU Assembly Documents (December 3, 2007) - The following are excerpts from the document linked above. The purpose is to show in the documentation how power consolidation is being made such that all resources will be available to the High Representative over the military and civilian forces of the EU and UN:

2. The High Representative shall conduct the Union's common foreign and security policy. He or she shall contribute by his or her proposals to the development of that policy, which he or she shall carry out as mandated by the Council. The same shall apply to the common security and defence policy.

3. The High Representative shall preside over the Foreign Affairs Council.

3. The common foreign and security policy shall be put into effect by the High Representative and by the Member States, using national and Union resources.

"Member States which are also members of the United Nations Security Council will concert and keep the other Member States, and the High Representative, fully informed. Member States which are members of the Security Council will, in the execution of their functions, defend the positions and the interests of the Union, without prejudice to their responsibilities under the provisions of the United Nations Charter. When the Union has defined a position on a subject which is on the United Nations Security Council agenda, those Member States which sit on the Security Council shall request that the High Representative be asked to present the Union's position "[…]

2. Furthermore, the Conference recalls that, as regards the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy whose term of office will start in November 2009 at the same time and for the same duration as the next Commission, he or she will be appointed in accordance with the provision of Articles 9d and 9e of the Treaty on European Union.

Please read the Coming War on the Saints post to see how this connects to all power being given to the man of sin over the world in the coming years. I think time is very short and we are now seeing the year from the HIStory, Our Future studies in EU documentation as a time that powers will be implemented giving control to Mr. Europe. Read more about the Treaty of Lisbon

According to the Scriptures The Berean Call (December 1, 2007) - The Bible makes uncompromisingly clear to all mankind its claim to be the infallible, inerrant Word of the only true and living God. It denounces all other gods and scriptures as false, as well as the religions they represent. Of Jesus, God's Word declares, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). Peter told Jewish religious leaders (and was beaten, imprisoned, and killed for testifying to Christ's resurrection): "There is none other name...given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Such unequivocal statements cannot be misunderstood. Jews would not have been persecuted and killed had they presented Yahweh as just one more god to be added to the Roman Pantheon. Christians were considered an even greater threat because in obedience to Christ they preached the gospel everywhere and thereby "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). Even they would not have been persecuted and killed had they presented Jesus Christ as merely one of many possible saviors. It was their firm proclamation of Christ's claim, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6), that threatened Caesar and aroused such vicious hatred. Today, however, to avoid the objectionable exclusivity of their faith, "Christians" often compromise and many ecumenically deny the biblical gospel. Christianity is a biblical faith, and the Bible is not an "ecumenical" book. It makes no compromise with any of the world's religions. Those who support ecumenism to any extent, no matter how loudly they defend their orthodoxy, are not Bible-believing Christians. At worst they are deliberate frauds; at best they are confused into simultaneously professing two contradictory beliefs (syncretism). Which do they really believe? Speaking out of both sides of their mouths is a popular ploy today of both political and "Christian" leaders. Anyone is free to invent any new religion-but not free to call it Christianity. That faith is founded upon facts: Scripture, history, and prophecy, all of which are a matter of clear record and none of which can be changed. These facts cannot honestly be denied. What must we say of "Christian" leaders and even entire denominations that do not follow Christ and His Word? We have exposed many by name and have documented in these pages their inexcusable hypocrisy and deceit, which must be summarily rejected. Away with all duplicity! Whoever (Bush, Rice, et al.) insists that Islam is a "religion of peace" and that Allah is the God of the Bible is either deceived or lying. Islam has its founding prophet, Muhammad, who began his career with numerous murders, attacked peaceful villages and caravans, and beheaded hundreds who surrendered in exchange for his sworn promise of peace and safety. Islam has its scriptures (the Qur'an and Hadith) and 1,350 years of the bloodiest and most violent history of any religion ever known, including the merciless slaughter of millions (more millions in the take-over of India than Hitler killed in all of Eastern and Western Europe). We fully document the truth about Islam in Judgment Day , which every Berean ought to donate to his or her local public library. One can only say that all those (from Bush and Rice on down) who turn a blind eye to the indisputable truth about Islam and call this violent religion "peaceful" are engaged in a cover-up. It is indisputable that today's Islamic terrorism may not honestly be blamed upon "extremists." This is true Islam as it always has been from the beginning! Terrorists are sincere Muslims following both the teaching and example of Muhammad, the obedient example set by his loyal followers, and Islam's scriptures, which command the take-over of the entire world and death to all who will not convert. True, not every Muslim is a terrorist, but nearly every terrorist is a Muslim! more...
| Islam | RCC | NewWorldOrder | America | Apostasy |

North American Union 'a couple years away' WorldNet Daily (November 19, 2007) - Bilderberg author who 1st exposed plot in 1996 sees EU replication as imminent. The next giant step toward world government will be integration of the U.S., Canada and Mexico in European Union-style merger in the next few years, says the author of a best-selling book on the power of shadowy international organizations promoting the move. "I would say [it's just] a couple of years away," reports Daniel Estulin, author of "The True Story of the Bilderberg Group." Estulin, a Canadian now living in Europe, says the original plans for a North American Union involved the U.S. and Canada as the prime participants. It was motivated primarily by the desire to harvest Canada's abundant natural resources. In his new book, Estulin reveals the first efforts in this plan date back to 1996 when the elite Bilderberg Group first discussed plans for the dismantlement of Canada as an independent nation and proposed its merger – minus Quebec – with the United States into a Greater North America. "Actually, the North American Union, or rather a Canada-U.S. merger, was initially discussed shortly after the Reagan-Bush candidacy won the White House," he says in an interview with WND. "Upon taking over the reins of the country, George Bush and Ronald Reagan called in the presidents of the key trans-national companies and asked them for the real picture. The money people told them that if the United States were a corporation it would have to be shut down immediately. It was bankrupt." The solution proposed then, according to Estulin, was merger between the U.S. and Canada. "Canada is virgin country with a multitude of natural resources, water, mines, oil, gas, etc.," he explains. "They decided that it was going to take 14 or 15 years to put the whole project together. In the interval, the economies, social programs and laws of the two countries would be quietly harmonized as much as possible." Back then, part of that harmonization plan involved the separation of Quebec as an independent state, he says. "Actually, when all is said and done, it all comes down to money," Estulin says. "Money makes its own rules. If your goal is to make the most money possible using Canada's natural resources, what would you ask for? Number one, give me control over the sun. Number two, give me control over the air. Number three, give me control over water. Now, we know we cannot control the sun, nor can we control the air. But we can control water. Water, after all, is the most important element that can be controlled." But the plot for a North American Union, as exposed in detail in Jerome Corsi's new bestselling book, "The Late Great USA," is but a prelude, Estulin says, to the ultimate merger – one-world government. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America |

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