News for April 30, 2008

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Mapping Sharia in America Project - David Yerushalmi explains Mapping Shari'a to Michael Savage Intelligence sources, both public (i.e., “open”) sources and clandestine ones, inform us that al Qaeda and many related, affiliated or kindred Muslim terrorist organizations and operational cells are located in the United States. Some are actively planning and preparing for the next major wave of terrorism on our Homeland. Others are “sleeper” cells, biding time and waiting for the right opportunity and command instructions from overseas. What we also know from our intelligence sources, and again much of this is public information, is that the ideological infrastructure is already in place for the Islamic assault on American from within America. This includes Islamic mosques, day schools, and social clubs and other organizations openly teaching historical, traditional and authoritative Islamic law or Shari’a. Islamic law is the source of the command for faithful Muslims to war against the infidel. Sometimes this “Jihad” is taught as a personal introspective battle against the Muslim’s own demons, but just as often this Jihad is taught as a war against non-Muslims and Muslims who have gone astray. Jihad, or Islamic holy war, can be waged peacefully through persuasion and even democratically (i.e., lobbying for electoral results), through coercion and threats, and of course through death and destruction. Many Islamic organizations in America appear to adhere to a peaceful Jihad. Some in fact do adhere to legal and non-violent Jihad to persuade Americans to embrace Islam as a religion and even as a political ideology. Many Islamic groups operate “underground” and explicitly advocate violence and Islamic holy war against America as the Great Satan.

Study: 3 in 4 U.S. mosques preach anti-West extremism World Net Daily (February 23, 2008)
| Islam | America |

Rising Prices: Food Slammed on all Sides Steve Quayle (April 30, 2008)

An image showing the cause and effects of several factors contributing to current global food shortages.

Global Paradigm Shift: From Free Market Capitalism to State Controlled Socialism McAlvany Weekly Commentary (April 30, 2008)

While listening to this audio, keep in mind that according to Bible prophecy, there will be a global cashless economic system. One of the precursors to that, according to some interpretation of scripture, is an economic and food crisis, the third seal, which could lead to the implementation of a new financial system.

| NewWorldOrder | Economic Crisis |

EU warns Russia against boosting troops in Georgian breakaway regions EU Observer (April 30, 2008) - In a sharp escalation of tensions in the South Caucasus, Russia has claimed that Georgia is set to invade its breakaway region of Abkhazia and is increasing the number of Russian troops there and in South Ossetia in response. The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has warned Russia against such a move. "Even if the increase in peacekeepers is within limits, if we want to diminish the perception of tensions, I don't think it is a wise measure to increase now," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday (29 April), adding that the union continues to defend the territorial integrity of Georgia. The statement came only hours after Russia had accused Georgia, a part of the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1991, of attempting to invade Abkhazia, something that Tbillisi denies. "If Georgia puts in place the threat it has made on a number of occasions about the use of force in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, we would be forced to take retaliatory measures to protect the lives of our citizens," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told press, after talking to his European counterparts in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The Russian foreign ministry has accused Georgia of sending 1,500 of its own troops and police in the upper Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia, which is still under Tblisi's control. "A bridgehead is being prepared for the start of military operations against Abkhazia," reads a ministry statement. Georgia has denied any plans or troop build-up, and regarded the Russian move and accusations as provocative. Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said: "From now on, we consider every [Russian] soldier or any unit of military equipment coming in [to Abkhazia and South Ossetia] as illegal, potential aggressors and potential generators of destabilisation." "We consider this to be an utterly irresponsible step. We think this step will utterly destabilise this region," he added. Meanwhile, according to AFP, Georgian interior minster Shota Utiashvili said: ""This is not acceptable to us ... [Russia] cannot increase the number any further." "It is the Russians who are taking provocative actions, not Georgia," he added. "Deploying additional troops is certainly a very provocative move." "There has been no increase in forces from the Georgian side, nothing at all. The Russian statement is simply not true," he continued.
| Gog/Magog | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana |

It seems the divisions that will lead to a Russian, Turkish, Iranian and Libyan alliance apart from the rest of the world are becoming clearer. Europe is working to bring peace while the other side keeps provoking and seemingly working against it. I believe it is this group that will get "spanked by God" when they attack Israel which could lead to a time of more relative peace, albeit short half-peace, before all hell breaks loose at the abomination of desolation. For now Europe and the West are at odds with Russia and the more radical Islamic nations. There are many things that could shift these relationships dramatically and quickly. While I don't have all the answers, I'm still watching! The end will come as foretold, we just have to go through the stages to get there to really understand how.

Iran completely stops conducting oil transactions in US dollars USA Today (April 30, 2008) - A top Oil Ministry official says Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer, has completely stopped conducting all its oil transactions in U.S. dollars. Iran has dramatically reduced dependence on the dollar over the past year in the face of increasing U.S. pressure on its financial system and the fall in the value of the American currency. Oil is priced in U.S. dollars on the world market and the currency's depreciation has concerned producers because it has contributed to rising crude prices and eroded the value of their dollar reserves. Iran has already said it was shifting its oil sales out of the dollar into other currencies. Oil Ministry official Hojjatollah Ghanimifard said Wednesday all oil transactions are now being carried out in euros and yen.
| Iran | America | Economic Crisis |

Palestinian factions agree to truce with Israel: MENA Reuters (April 30, 2008) - Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo for talks with Egyptian security officials have agreed to an Egyptian proposal for a truce with Israel starting in the Gaza Strip, state news agency MENA said on Wednesday. But a number of factions were equivocal in their support for the truce, and some said they reserved the right to retaliate against Israeli attacks. "All the Palestinian factions have agreed to the Egyptian proposal on a truce with Israel," MENA said, citing an unnamed high-level Egyptian official. The official said the proposal included a "comprehensive, reciprocal and simultaneous truce, implemented in a graduated framework starting in the Gaza Strip and then subsequently moving to the West Bank," MENA added. MENA said the proposal was part of a broader plan eventually leading to the lifting of the blockade which Israel, with Egyptian help, has imposed on Gaza since last June. The plan includes attempts to reconcile the two biggest Palestinian factions -- the Hamas Islamists who control the Gaza Strip and the Fatah group which controls the Palestinian Authority from its base in the West Bank.
| Israel | Islam |

Quake series stresses Reno-area residents USA Today (April 30, 2008) - Residents here are being shaken, literally, by an ongoing series of earthquakes, which experts warn could be a precursor to a major seismic event. Since late February, hundreds of earthquakes have rattled parts of west Reno. The strongest quake — with a magnitude of 4.7 — hit shortly before midnight last Friday, cracking walls and breaking windows, according to the Nevada Seismological Laboratory. More than 200 additional small quakes have followed, the lab reported, including two Monday evening and some small earthquakes Tuesday. "My nerves are shot. I can't do it anymore," said Cindy Thomas of Mogul, a community west of Reno. She and husband Larry moved to a relative's house in the southern part of Reno, away from where the quakes have clustered. She plans to stay away "as long as it takes." Scientists at the seismological laboratory — who met with Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons on Tuesday — say the Reno earthquake swarm is unusual. That's because a primary earthquake usually is followed by aftershocks diminishing in strength. These quakes started out small and the general trend shows them building in strength. A magnitude-6 quake hitting Reno "wouldn't be a scientific surprise," said John Anderson, the lab's director. Any earthquake measuring above a magnitude of 6 is considered a strong earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Reno-area police and fire agencies have plans in place to respond to a major earthquake, and the state is ready to jump to the aid of Washoe County should one occur, said Gary Derks, operations officer for the Nevada Division of Emergency Management. Aaron Kenneston, emergency manager for Washoe County, is encouraging residents to prepare for a serious quake by stocking up on food, batteries, flashlights, first-aid supplies and at least 1 gallon of water per family member. Joe Bernardo spent last Friday night sweeping up broken glass inside his home, only to be jolted awake by another quake about 4:30 a.m. Monday. "Sleep-deprived? Yeah, you could say that," said Bernardo, 63. Sandy Jung and her husband are sleeping in a motor home for safety. Previously a California resident, Jung said she's accustomed to earthquakes, and has experienced bigger ones than are occurring in Reno. "But not swarms of them. Not day after day after day," Jung said. "It's getting very tiresome."
| America | Earth Changes |

U.N. and World Bank say to tackle Food Crisis Reuters (April 29, 2008) - U.N. agencies and the World Bank pledged on Tuesday to set up a task force to tackle an unprecedented rise in global food prices that is threatening to spread social unrest. The international bodies called on countries not to restrict exports of food to secure supplies at home, warning that could make the problem worse. "We consider that the dramatic escalation in food prices worldwide has evolved into an unprecedented challenge of global proportions," the United Nations said in a statement. This had become a crisis for the world's most vulnerable people, including the urban poor, it said after a meeting of 27 international agency heads in the Swiss capital, Berne, to chart a solution to food price rises that have caused hunger, riots and hoarding in poor countries. "Though we have seen wheat prices fall over the last few days, rice and corn prices are likely to remain high, and wheat relatively so," World Bank President Robert Zoellick told a joint news conference. Higher costs of wheat, rice, and other staples have put extreme pressure on aid providers such as the World Food Programme (WFP), a U.N. agency aiming to feed 73 million people this year. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to provide the WFP all of the $755 million in emergency funds it needs for the crisis. "Without full funding of these emergency requirements, we risk again the spectre of widespread hunger, malnutrition, and social unrest on an unprecedented scale," Ban said. Concern about soaring food costs and limited supplies have toppled Haiti's government and caused riots in parts of Africa. The task force, bringing together the heads of U.N. agencies, funds and programmes, the IMF and the World Bank under the leadership of Ban, will set priorities for a plan of action and make sure it is carried out. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | 3rd Seal |

Virginia residents inspect twister damage Associated Press (April 29, 2008) - Weary residents and business owners, some awakening in emergency shelters, braced themselves to see what was left of their homes and livelihoods Tuesday after three tornadoes smashed houses, piled cars on each other and injured more than 200 people. One twister in this city outside Norfolk cut a zigzagging path 25 miles long through residential areas, obliterating some homes in sprays of splintered lumber while leaving others just a few feet away untouched. Search teams with dogs found no sign of deaths or any additional injured victims, Suffolk City Fire Chief Mark Outlaw said. Several roads were closed Tuesday morning, and traffic was backed up leading into downtown Suffolk, a city of approximately 80,000 outside Norfolk. Of the 200 injured, only six were listed in critical condition and six were listed as serious. Officials listed 125 Suffolk homes and 15 buildings as uninhabitable. The National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes struck Suffolk, Brunswick County, about 60 miles west, and Colonial Heights, about 60 miles northwest. Meteorologist Bryan Jackson described Suffolk’s as a “major tornado.” The Brunswick County tornado was estimated at 86 mph to 110 mph, and cut a 300-yard path, Jackson said. It struck first, at about 1 p.m., said Mike Rusnak, a weather service meteorologist in Wakefield. The second struck Colonial Heights around 3:40 p.m., he said. The tornado believed to have caused damage over a 25-mile path from Suffolk to Norfolk touched down repeatedly between 4:30 and 5 p.m., Rusnak said. more...
| America | Earth Changes |

Mississippi River Flooding Dooms Farmers Associated Press (April 28, 2008) - 855,750 acres are under water, the worst since 1973. Farmers here are experiencing water torture as they wait for the flooded Mississippi River to recede and give them a chance to salvage what's left of what might have been the best season in memory. The muddy Mississippi is at levels not seen in more than three decades, putting hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland under water. It's impossible to gauge overall agricultural losses at this point, federal and state officials say, but most agree the cost will be expensive and the damage extensive. At Pig Willie's barbecue joint, a cinderblock and cement floor affair attached to a gas station along Highway 61 as the blacktop begins its long, flat run through the Delta, independent farmers recently gathered for lunch and to share their blues. "Right here in this room it will cost over $1 million," Karsten Simrall said of the difficulties facing farmers. They are wagering potential profits offered by some of the richest soil in the country against the whims of the mercurial Mississippi. "It'll take us five years to get out of this. It's going to put people out of business," Simrall said. "There's no telling what's going to happen." The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says a total of 855,750 acres are under either Mississippi floodwater or backwater from the Yazoo River, which drains much of the board-flat Mississippi Delta into the Mississippi River. About 273,000 of those flooded acres are cleared for wheat, cotton, soybeans, corn and other crops. Simrall recently knocked a hole in a levee his family built more than a century ago to protect their land north of Vicksburg. After failing to keep water out, he feared it will keep in receding floodwaters. The flood hit just as farmers were preparing to harvest wheat and plant corn, soybeans and cotton. Some, like farmer Brad Bradway, were forced to watch as water crept inch by inch over his 110 acres of wheat until his fields sat under 8 feet of water. more...
| America |

Iran tells Russia of plan to solve world problems Brietbart.com (April 28, 2008) - Iran's top national security official on Monday held talks with his Russian counterpart about a new Iranian package aimed at solving world problems, including the nuclear standoff with the West. "The package is about the great questions of the world and the nuclear question could be the subject of discussion," Iran's top national security official Saeed Jalili said after talks with Russia's Valentin Sobolev. Jalili gave no further details over the contents of the package, which appears to be an all-embracing attempt to solve the problems of the world rather than a specific offer to end the nuclear crisis. "Our approach could be a good basis for negotiation between the influential powers of the world," he said. The package appears to emphasise what Iran sees as its growing power in the world and the supposed decline of the great world powers such as Britain and the United States. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said in recent weeks that Iran is the most powerful nation in the world and capitalist superpowers are on the verge of collapse. Ahmadinejad appointed his close ally Jalili as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in a surprise move last year, replacing the more moderate Ali Larijani. "The world is no longer unilateral," Jalili told a news conference alongside Sobolev, who is the acting head of Russia's security council. "There are different powers in the world. Decisions should be made taking into account these different powers and the capacity and power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the world," said Jalili. He added that the package would not yet be made public. It would be a major surprise if the package contained any concession from Iran to break the deadlock in the nuclear standoff as Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said Tehran will not cede an inch in the dispute. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog |

Iran may be very close to the prophesied attack on Israel, Ezekiel 38,39, in which God will intervene and destroy the attackers. Ahmadinejad's feeling of power in seeing the decline of Western power could lead to confidence in attacking Israel and the world not doing anything about it. There is also the possibility that they are led to attack because of an Israeli pre-emptive attack on Damascus, Isaiah 17, which would give them even more confidence to attack. Keep watching!

EU Condemns Israel, Hamas Israel National News (April 28, 2008) - The European Union condemned Israel on Sunday for restricting the supply of fuel delivered to Hamas-controlled Gaza. In a response to rumors of a critical fuel shortage, the EU’s message called on Israel to partially re-open Gaza crossings and resume regular deliveries of fuel. Regular deliveries have been stopped due to frequent terrorist attacks on the crossings, but emergency fuel supplies have been let through. The EU also condemned Hamas, saying terrorist groups in Gaza “have their share in aggravating the humanitarian situation” by their attacks on Israeli crossings, “which only lead to further suffering of the population.” Foreign Ministry officials expressed satisfaction with the message, pointing out that the EU rarely criticizes Hamas by name. The message shows that the EU took terrorist attacks into consideration when distributing blame for Gaza’s problems, they said.
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom |

As polls narrow, Irish PM warns of 'disaster' if EU treaty defeated EU Observer (April 28, 2008) - Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has issued a stark warning on the consequences of rejecting the EU treaty as the latest poll shows a narrowing gap between the yes and no side. A no vote would have "repercussions that would do immense damage to Ireland," and would be a "disaster for the country," he said on Sunday (27 April), according to the Irish Times. His words were in reaction to a poll published by the Sunday Business Post that showed that 35 percent were in favour of the treaty, 31 percent said they were against and 34 percent remain undecided. The results represent a decrease for the Yes side of eight percentage points, an increase for the No side of seven percentage points and an increase of one point for the undecided category when compared with a similar polls taken two months ago. The high percentage of those who do not know how they will vote, as well as stronger showing for the no camp, comes just six weeks ahead of the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, set for 12 June. The government is increasingly concerned that farmers may exercise their anger about current world trade negotiations during the treaty vote. The leader of the Irish Farmers Association, Padraig Walshe, has repeatedly connected the two issues. Addressing a rally of around 10,000 farmers in Dublin earlier this month - the biggest in recent years, Mr Walshe said: "Sell us out and we will have our say on the 12th of June." He was referring to negotiations being conducted by EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson on behalf of the European Union, on a world deal on liberalising trade. Part of securing a deal with developing countries is set to involve concessions by the EU on its farm subsidies regime. Mr Ahern addressed farmers specifically on Sunday, pointing out how much the farming community had gained from the EU. "The biggest beneficiaries [of the European Union] are the agricultural communities and they should be the ones leading this campaign for it," he told RTE, the state radio. He added that the trade talks will be resolved and that he hoped that the "agricultural community quickly turn around their attitude to get behind the Lisbon agenda. It's in their interest more than any other interest or any other section in this country." All member states need to approve the treaty for it to come into force. So far 11 of the 27 have done so. Ireland is the only country having a referendum on the document, with a no vote likely to put the treaty on hold for good. This means the country is under extreme pressure to secure a yes vote, with much of high politics in Brussels on hold until after 12 June. A series of senior politicians have visited Ireland to try and woo voters, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The referendum comes at a time of change in Irish politics, with the long-serving Mr Ahern due to step down on 6 May to be replaced by current deputy prime minister Brian Cowen, as well as general uncertainty amid signs of a slowdown in the Irish economy.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom |

Israel: UNIFIL is hiding information about Hezbollah from Security Council Haaretz (April 28, 2008) - The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is intentionally concealing information about Hezbollah activities south of the Litani River in Lebanon to avoid conflict with the group, senior sources in Jerusalem have said. In the last six months there have been at least four cases in which UNIFIL soldiers identified armed Hezbollah operatives, but did nothing and did not submit full reports on the incidents to the UN Security Council. The Israel Defense Forces and the Foreign Ministry are reportedly very angry about UNIFIL's actions in recent months, especially about the fact that its commander, Major General Claudio Graziano, is said to be leniently interpreting his mission, as assigned by Security Council Resolution 1701, passed at the end of the Second Lebanon War. Senior IDF officials said recently behind closed doors that Graziano is "presenting half-truths so as to avoid embarrassment and conflict with Hezbollah," and that Resolution 1701 has been increasingly eroded in recent months. A senior government source in Jerusalem said that, "There is an attempt by various factors in the UN to mislead the Security Council and whitewash everything having to do with the strengthening of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon." The source also said, "The policy of cover-ups and whitewashing will not last long and, hopefully, now that the concealing of information has been revealed, things will change." Israeli anger reached boiling point over a week ago after the release of a new report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with regard to another Lebanon-related Security Council resolution, 1559. The report briefly mentioned an incident at the beginning of March in which UNIFIL soldiers encountered unidentified armed men, and included no additional details. Officials in Israel, familiar with the incident, reportedly were aware that the Security Council had not been apprised of numerous details of the incident. A day after the release of the report, Haaretz revealed that the incident described in the report had actually been a clash between UNIFIL and armed Hezbollah activists. The latter, driving a truck full of explosives, threatened the Italian UNIFIL battalion with weapons. Instead of using force as required by their mandate, the UN soldiers abandoned the site. A diplomatic source at the UN told Haaretz that senior officials in UNIFIL and in the UN Secretariat brought heavy pressure to bear to have the incident erased from the report or at least to blur it. When the incident was made public, UNIFIL was forced to admit that it had indeed occurred and to request Lebanon's assistance in investigating it. UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane said that during the incident, which took place near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, five armed men had threatened UNIFIL troops. more...
| Iran | Israel | Islam | Gog/Magog | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom |

Report: Hezbollah man says new attack on Israel is question of 'when, not if' Haaretz (April 27, 2008) - Two years after the Second Lebanon War, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization has bolstered its recruitment efforts at an unprecedented rate in preparation for a fresh war with Israel, The Guardian reported Sunday. The report quoted an unnamed Hezbollah fighter as saying: "It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah [Hezbollah chief] commands us" to attack. According to the report, the Islamist group has of late been sending "hundreds, if not thousands" of recruits to training camps in Lebanon, Syria and Iran in ancticipation of conflict with Israel. "The villages in the south are empty of men," an international official was quoted as saying. "They are all gone, training in Bekaa, Syria and Iran." Israel and the Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in the summer of 2006, sparked by the militant group's cross-border raid and abduction of two Israel Defense Forces reservists. more...
| Iran | Israel | Islam | Gog/Magog |

Earthquake rattles Mexico City CNN (April 27, 2008) - A moderate earthquake of 5.8 magnitude struck southwestern Mexico on Sunday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Rafael Abreau of the USGS said there were no reports of damage from the earthquake, which was centered about 54.5 miles (87.7 kilometers) below ground, and about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south-southwest of Mexico City. Abreau said the USGS had received reports that the earthquake had been felt in the country's capital. Because of the depth of the earthquake, Abreau said, "we may see some minor damage." "Yes, it scared us," Julio Lara, 38, a parking attendant in downtown Mexico City told The Associated Press. "It was strong." The earthquake struck at 7:06 p.m. local time (8:06 p.m. ET).
| Earth Changes |

Glenn Beck Interviews Joel Rosenberg about the End Times

Euro dives as wheels fly off eurozone economy Telegraph UK (April 26, 2008) - The euro has suffered its sharpest drop in four years as a blizzard of weak data from Germany, Belgium, France, and Spain spark fears that economic contagion may be spreading from the Anglo-Saxon world to Europe. Spain's business federation warned that Spanish unemployment will rise by 500,000 by the summer unless the government takes "valiant measures" to offset the housing and construction crash. "For every dwelling not built, two workers will lose their jobs," said the group's president, Gerardo Diaz Ferran. The country's credit group ASNEF said the volume of personal loans had dropped 30pc in the first quarter, the worst performance since the country's financial crisis in the early 1990s. Troubling data in Spain has been building for months, but investors have tended to focus on Germany as a proxy for the whole eurozone. A shock drop in Germany's IFO business confidence index yesterday caused an abrupt change of mood in the currency markets. The euro plunged to $1.5646 against the dollar, down from its all-time peak of $1.6018 on Tuesday. It is still 27pc above its level two years ago. The German data follows a slide in the Belgian index, which captures crucial port activity in Antwerp. The headline confidence figure fell to -7.4 in April from plus 1.2 in March, with a dramatic slump in the export order books to -14. This is flashing near-recession warnings. David Owen, an economist at Dresdner Kleinwort, said Europe would soon be engulfed by the twin effects of a "collapse in export volumes" and a slow motion credit squeeze. "The wheels are coming off the eurozone economy," he said. BNP Paribas warned clients yesterday that the "decoupling story" was no longer credible. "We see Europe in the early stage of a credit crunch, and if we are right credit supply will shut down," it said. Key governors of the European Central Bank began to back away from their hawkish stance of recent weeks, clearly disturbed by the market perception that they are mulling a rate rise to choke off price rises. Inflation has reached a post-EMU high of 3.6pc on surging oil and food costs. Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, went out of his way yesterday to brief journalists that "sharp" currency moves had "possible implications for financial and economic stability", a coded threat of co-ordinated intervention by world central banks. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | Economic Crisis |

Keep in mind that while Europe is the center of power in Bible prophecy, there is going to be a new global economic system that I believe will replace paper money with electronic money linked through technology to RFID that will require a mark to buy or sell. The world central banks seem to be the ones with the power to bail out anyone and they are some of the greatest proponents of a global governance scheme. I think its a matter of time before this comes about and if the timing I've come across is accurate it could be within a year. Is that possible? Given the events that are coming about, it just may be but I'm still watching too.

Bush backs peace deal as Hamas offers truce Euro News (April 25, 2008) - With the clock ticking down on his administration, President Bush says he remains committed to securing a Middle East peace deal. He's held talks with his Palestinian counterpart in Washington ahead of his trip to the region in mid-May. Negotiations have stalled since Bush pledged to achieve an agreement by the end of this year. Bush said: "I assured [President Abbas] that a Palestinian state's a high priority, for me and my adminsitration, a viable state, a state that doesn't look like Swiss cheese, a state that provides hope." But one of the biggest holes in the plan has been the rise of Abbas's political rivals Hamas, who captured the Gaza strip last June. They too are pushing for peace - at least temporarily. Former foreign minister Mahmoud al-Zahar offered Israel a six-month truce in Gaza with an option to extend it to the West bank. In return they want end to the Israeli blockade of the territory. Israel's UN ambassador dismissed the deal. Menawhile Gaza is at breaking point. The UN has had to suspend its aid operations in the Strip after an emergency fuel shipment was blocked by petrol-hungry farmers. Israel says it has cut shipments of fuel and other supplies in response to cross border rocket attacks by Hamas militants. The EU sent a shipment of diesel to Gaza's only power station after engineers warned it was about to shut down. They say the generators will grind to a halt on Sunday if no more fuel is allowed through.
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | America |

Hamas Offers Israel Six-Months ''Calm'' Bridges For Peace (April 25, 2008) - “The movement agrees to a truce in the Gaza Strip…fixed at six months, during which period Egypt will work to extend the truce to the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], said former Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar reading from a prepared Hamas statement. Speaking from Cairo after meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman he insisted the truce bring an end to the Israeli blockade of the coastal strip. “The truce must be mutual and simultaneous and the blockade must be lifted and the crossing points opened, including the Rafah crossing point (between Gaza and Egypt),” he demanded. A meeting will be called on April 29–30 with terrorist groups including the Islamic Jihad to ensure Palestinian consensus to the proposal. Suleiman will host those meetings before making a formal proposal of peace to Israel. While Israel would appreciate peace on the border, officials are wary of the Hamas proposal. Spokesman for the Prime Minister, Mark Regev said, “We can’t have a period of quiet that will just be the quiet before the storm.” Israeli officials said they are not negotiating a truce with Hamas but there would be no reason to take military action into the Palestinian territories if violence from the region ceased. Meanwhile Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas [Abu Mazen] is in Washington meeting with President George W. Bush. He is telling the President that all efforts must be made to establish the proposed Palestinian state before his presidential term ends in eight months. Abbas, whose popularity within the West Bank has deteriorated dramatically, will warn the President that if the peace agreement does not proceed rapidly, the situation in the region will “deteriorate.”
| Israel | Islam |

Israeli envoy to UN calls Carter 'a bigot' for meeting Meshal Haaretz (April 25, 2008) - Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday called former President Jimmy Carter "a bigot" for meeting with the leader of the militant Hamas movement in Syria. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, "went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas," Ambassador Dan Gillerman told a luncheon briefing for reporters. The diplomat was questioned about problems facing his country during a wide-ranging discussion with reporters lasting more than an hour. The briefing was sponsored by The Israel Project, a Washington-based, media-oriented advocacy group. The ambassador's harsh words for Carter came days after the ex-president met with Meshal for seven hours in Damascus to negotiate a cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers. Carter then called Meshal on Monday to try to get him to agree to a one-month truce without conditions, but the Hamas leader rejected the idea. The ambassador called last weekend's encounter "a very sad episode in American history." He said it was "a shame" to see Carter, who had done "good things" as a former president, "turn into what I believe to be a bigot." Reacting to the ambassador's comments, former Meretz chairman MK Yossi Beilin on Friday urged the state to recall Gillerman from his post. Telephone calls by The Associated Press to two Atlanta numbers for Carter were not immediately returned Thursday. During Carter's visit, Gillerman said, Hamas "was shelling our cities and maiming and injuring and wounding Israeli babies and Israeli children." The ambassador noted that Hamas is armed and trained by Iran, whose president once called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." "The real danger, the real problem is not the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the real threat is Iran," he said. ... Gillerman called Syria a "destabilizing influence" in the Middle East. "You see Syria's hosting, very hospitably and warmly, over 10 terror organizations in Damascus," the ambassador said, adding that the country also supports Hezbollah, an anti-Israeli Shiite group in Lebanon with close ties to Iran and Syria. "Basically, Syria and Iran, together with Hamas and Hezbollah, are the main axes of terror and evil in the world," the Israeli ambassador said. more...
| Iran | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

If Israeli intelligence warns of a serious threat from those 10 terror organizations in Damascus, and Syria's nuclear reactor ambitions are laid bare, more here and here, could this lead to Israel preemptively attacking Damascus as stated in Isaiah 17? Keep in mind that Israel's existence is at stake as far as the secular state is concerned. Many of their neighbors are vying for their destruction, will she react? Keep watching.

At Expense of All Others, Putin Picks a Church The New York Times (April 24, 2008) - It was not long after a Methodist church put down roots here that the troubles began. First came visits from agents of the F.S.B., a successor to the K.G.B., who evidently saw a threat in a few dozen searching souls who liked to huddle in cramped apartments to read the Bible and, perhaps, drink a little tea. Local officials then labeled the church a “sect.” Finally, last month, they shut it down. There was a time after the fall of Communism when small Protestant congregations blossomed here in southwestern Russia, when a church was almost as easy to set up as a general store. Today, this industrial region has become emblematic of the suppression of religious freedom under President Vladimir V. Putin. Just as the government has tightened control over political life, so, too, has it intruded in matters of faith. The Kremlin’s surrogates in many areas have turned the Russian Orthodox Church into a de facto official religion, warding off other Christian denominations that seem to offer the most significant competition for worshipers. They have all but banned proselytizing by Protestants and discouraged Protestant worship through a variety of harassing measures, according to dozens of interviews with government officials and religious leaders across Russia. This close alliance between the government and the Russian Orthodox Church has become a defining characteristic of Mr. Putin’s tenure, a mutually reinforcing choreography that is usually described here as working “in symphony.” Mr. Putin makes frequent appearances with the church’s leader, Patriarch Aleksei II, on the Kremlin-controlled national television networks. Last week, Mr. Putin was shown prominently accepting an invitation from Aleksei II to attend services for Russian Orthodox Easter, which is this Sunday. The relationship is grounded in part in a common nationalistic ideology dedicated to restoring Russia’s might after the disarray that followed the end of the Soviet Union. The church’s hostility toward Protestant groups, many of which are based in the United States or have large followings there, is tinged with the same anti-Western sentiment often voiced by Mr. Putin and other senior officials. The government’s antipathy also seems to stem in part from the Kremlin’s wariness toward independent organizations that are not allied with the government. more...

You can watch a video report as well here. As David at Fulfilled Prophecy wrote in his post where I learned of this story, "If the NY Times can recognize the crackdown on Protestants in Russia it must really be bad."

On St George's Day, EU wipes England off map Telegraph UK (April 24, 2008) - England has been wiped off a map of Europe drawn up by Brussels bureaucrats as part of a scheme that the Tories claim threatens to undermine the country's national identity. The new European plan splits England into three zones that are joined with areas in other countries. The "Manche" region covers part of southern England and northern France while the Atlantic region includes western parts of England, Portugal, Spain and Wales. The North Sea region includes eastern England, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and parts of Germany. A copy of the map, which makes no reference to England or Britain, has even renamed the English Channel the "Channel Sea". Each zone will have a "transnational regional assembly", although they will not have extensive powers. However, the zones are regarded as symbolically important by other countries. German ministers claimed that the plan was about "underlying the goal of a united Europe" to "permanently overcome old borders" at a time when the "Constitution for Europe needs to regain momentum". The Tories are drawing attention to the plan today, St George's Day. Eric Pickles, the shadow secretary of state for communities and local government, said: "We already knew that Gordon Brown had hoisted the white flag of surrender to the European constitution. "Now the Labour government has been caught red-handed, conspiring with European bureaucrats to create a European super-state via the back door." The disclosure of the European map comes as a YouGov poll commissioned by The Daily Telegraph showed that one third of people want England to have its own parliament. Twenty per cent want England to be an independent country and for Britain to be broken up.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder |

Concerns mount ahead of US briefing on IAF strike in Syria The Jerusalem Post (April 23, 2008) - US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Wednesday that the American public would "soon" learn the details of North Korea's nuclear involvement with Syria, despite fears in Jerusalem that such revelations could push Syria to attack Israel. Israel has registered its opposition to releasing details connected to the IAF's September 6 strike on what foreign media reports have said was likely a nuclear reactor being built in northeastern Syria with the help of North Korea. But members of Congress have been clamoring for briefings on what the administration knows about the incident and what it means for North Korean nuclear proliferation amid concerns over US concessions to the East Asian country in exchange for ending its nuclear program. Select congressional panels, including the Senate and House intelligence committees, are set to receive closed briefings Thursday on what the administration knows about North Korean-Syrian nuclear ties. Top defense officials expressed concern Wednesday that the details revealed in the congressional hearing would "embarrass" Syrian President Bashar Assad - who has refused to confirm reports on the nature of the site - and might create pressure from within his regime to respond militarily against Israel. "Syria thinks it owes us for what happened in September," a senior Israeli defense official said, adding that the congressional hearing could also force Assad to reject peace talks with Israel to show leadership in the face of growing internal criticism. Since the air strike, Israel has refused to publicly reveal details on the site, and the military censor has imposed tight restrictions on what details the Israeli press is allowed to publish. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that US intelligence officials would tell the US legislators that North Korea was helping Syria to build a plutonium-fueled reactor. Following the September 6 air strike, the Syrians razed the site. At a press briefing on Wednesday morning, Gates would not elaborate on the nature or timing of the revelations to be made public, beyond his statement that they would come "soon," and neither would spokesmen from the State Department and White House when asked later in the day about his comments. There has been speculation, however, that members of the media will be given information following the closed congressional briefings. The United States recently has stepped back from its push for a detailed declaration addressing the North's alleged secret uranium enrichment program and nuclear cooperation with Syria. Now, the United States says it wants the North to simply acknowledge the American concerns and then set up a system to verify that the country does not continue such activity. more...
| Islam | Isaiah 17 | America |

Europe's role in the Middle East: Model or mediator? The Jerusalem Post (April 23, 2008) - Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, is the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Secretary-General of both the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU). He was named Secretary General of the 10 permanent members of the Western European Union in November 1999. Solana is a physicist who later became a politician, serving as a minister in Spain for 13 years under Felipe González before serving as Secretary General of NATO from 1995 to 1999. Since October 1999, Javier Solana has served as the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. In 2004, Solana had been designated to become the EU's Minister for Foreign Affairs for when the European Constitution was to come into force in 2009, but it was not ratified and his position has been renamed under the Treaty of Lisbon. Here are Solana's e-mail responses to questions sent to him by this columnist:

The EU (in its early version as a common market) came about as an attempt to bring a halt to hostilities among European countries, especially France and Germany. [Note how the free-trade process is now working for a North American Union] How relevant is this experience for the current Middle East situation, and what role could the EU play in facilitating similar developments?

It is true that the driving force behind European integration from its very beginning was a clear desire of the then European leaders to overcome old differences and assure a peaceful development of Europe for future generations of our continent. This idea of peace is still very much relevant today - but not only for us, Europeans - it represents a condition sine qua non for the development and a successful future of all the peoples of the Middle Eastern region.

As The High Representative of the European Union for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, both in my EU capacity and within the framework of the international Quartet, I strongly and consistently keep advocating a comprehensive and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict in general and Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular. It is indeed a strategic priority for the European Union. I continue to be convinced that despite all difficulties we can achieve the goals set most recently at the Annapolis meeting and the Paris donors' conference organized at the end of 2007.

How could the EU help Israeli and Arab companies pursue business joint ventures through the auspices of the European Union?

Any effort, any initiative to promote economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians and conducive to building trust between them is to be supported. But we cannot forget that peace and security are fundamental for economic development and in order to create the conditions for such initiatives to be viable. I think that it is evident to everybody that economic normalization goes hand-in-hand with desirable normalization of political relations.

The EU will continue relentlessly to help Israelis and Palestinians in finding a lasting solution to their conflict - through political and diplomatic efforts but also through economic cooperation. Within this context, I recognize the crucial role that Arab states play in support of the Middle East peace process and I stress in this respect the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.

We also hope very much that the access and movement agreement will be implemented without delay since this will allow Palestinians to rebuild their economy and be an important step on the path of normalization. Overcoming old antagonisms and resolving current disputes is necessary to confront the new challenges we are all facing today.

Do you believe there is interest from Arab business sectors in different countries to strengthen economic ties with Israel?

I strongly believe that not only the business community, but all people in the Middle East are tired of a decades-long Israeli-Arab conflict, and deserve to have normal relations including, of course, ever stronger and mutually profitable economic relations.

Do you as EU High Representative see it as part of your agenda to promote a Free Trade Area or other economic cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbors?

It was our own European experience which led us to launching the Barcelona process in 1995 and offering our Mediterranean partners, including Israel, a much needed multilateral approach. The European Neighborhood Policy was designed later to develop the Barcelona process and assists us further in this effort. I can just confirm that Israel plays a very important role in this Partnership, where our main objective is to create a common area of peace, stability and prosperity, including the creation of a Free Trade Area by 2010.

The EU could afford to concentrate on first economic matters and then deeper integration thanks to the defense umbrella provided by the US during the cold war. Could the EU play a similar role today for the Middle East?

In my view, any historical comparison or simplification is very risky. The situation in Europe after the Second World War was very complex and definitely influenced by the antagonism of the two major superpowers. Today we are trying to build a new world, where a multilateral approach to our common problems and challenges would be predominant.

It is absolutely clear that Europe should play a significant role in this process and match its major economic potential with an adequate political role. We can witness that the European Union is taking this responsibility seriously, for instance through our many European Security and Defense Policy missions, of which the first two operate in the Middle East.

| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Zechariah 12:1-3 speaks to the whole world being gathered against Jerusalem and it being a burdensome stone for the world. Today, the conflicts of the world seem to center in the Middle East and the effort to solve this problem in the name of peace and security is the desire of most of the world. There are some who thrive on the chaos, but the problems of the Middle East have affected lives around the world. I find it interesting that Europe has taken the lead in this effort to bring peace and security given the prophetic role of the revived Roman Empire in scripture of being the fourth kingdom that will rule the earth during the time of great tribulation. Even more interesting is that following WWII, it was the economic integration of the nations that brought about a common currency and a common foreign and security policy, the same kind of harmonization that is happening today with America, Canada and Mexico. And it is the promise of free trade and economic cooperation that is being used to try and bring peace in the Middle East. And yet even more interesting is that it is being done through a seven-year (week) policy that is a confirmation of a previous foreign policy. It seems the New World Order is centered in Europe and is working with the rest of the world's Western powers, mainly America, to divide Israel for peace and keep running into problems and issues. Are all these things coming together mere coincidence, or could it be that the Bible really has foretold the end and we are in it? I think you know where I stand, but keep watching and decide for yourself.

2012: TEOTWAWKI The Omega Letter (April 8, 2008) - If you are a Christian, and you believe that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled in this generation, then you are probably the oddball in your church. In fact, scratch 'probably'. It is pretty much a dead-bang certainty that you are. It is fascinating to me that a person can be pro-choice, anti-Israel, pro-gay marriage, and be labeled a 'Christian progressive'. But if you believe that God not only knows the future, but recorded it for us in advance, well, then you're a nut. Most Christians are ok with the idea that God created the universe. Whether or not they accept it as a literal 'creation' or some kind of modified evolutionary scheme notwithstanding, few Christians would argue that creation is beyond God's power. For reasons nobody has ever been able to logically articulate to me, Christians have no problem agreeing that the First Advent of Jesus Christ was prophesied. But prophecies pointing to His Second Advent are merely symbolic and not to be taken literally. If YOU do, then you are a nut. There are some churches, on the other hand, that are wholly given over to the study of Bible prophecy for the last days. If you are a member of a church like that, not only are YOU a nut, but you probably belong to a cult. If you wanted to draw a cartoon in which you wanted one of the characters to be instantly recognized as being a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic, the most recognizable way would be to draw a guy with a long beard wearing a burnoose and brandishing a sign saying, "Repent! The end is near!" And that's just the way the subject is treated by other Christians. To the world, if you study Bible prophecy, you are probably not just crazy, but dangerous. If you believe Nostradamus knew the future, you're a harmless eccentric, if you believe the Mayans calculated The End of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) you are an historian. If you believe St Malachy, you are a Catholic theologian. But if you believe that the God of the Universe has a Divine Plan that culminates with the judgment of mankind during the Tribulation Period, based entirely on a literal reading of His Word, then there's something wrong with you. The Mayan Indians, whose culture died out 1400 years ago, developed a complex calendar system that continues to fascinate scientists to this day. The Mayan Calendar divides the history of man into five distinct 'ages' and this present age is scheduled to end exactly at 11:11 am (Greenwich Mean Time), on 24 December, 2012. The Mayans believed that on that date and time, the world as we know it will end with the final destruction of mankind on the earth. Nostradamus is credited with having predicted the 9/11 attacks as kicking off the end of days. According to one celebrated 'quatrain' a King of Terror wearing a blue turban will attack 'the "Great City", etc., etc. Although his most famous quatrain makes reference to the 'King of Terror' "in the seventh month of 1999" and the 9/11 attacks took place in the 9th month of 2000, for Nostradamus fans, that was close enough. An 12th-century Irish priest recorded a prophecy in which he allegedly named the rest of the Popes in human history, from Celestine II (1143-1144) to the last pope at the end of the world. According to St. Malachy, there would be exactly 112 Popes. Malachy predicted the second last Pope would be called 'a Benedictine.' I wrote about St Malachy's 'Benedictine prophecy' in April, 2005, as the new Pope was being selected. Cardinal Ratzinger chose, as his papal name, "Pope Benedict the XVI". According to St Malachy, the Benedictine's reign will be short, (Ratzinger is in his 80's) and he will be succeeded by the last Pope, "Peter the Great." The various adherents of the Mayans, Nostradamus, St Malachy (and there are others) all share the same basic worldview that could be paraphrased thusly: let every man be true and God a liar. All the various secular 'prophets' prove is that Satan knows his time is short. There is a singular difference between secular prophecies and Bible prophecy that reveals the source of the information. Secular prophecies can only 'predict' events, not outcomes. Bible prophecy tells how they turn out.

Isaiah 46:9b-10a
I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.

Satan is the universe's master deceiver. His ultimate goal is to be received as God. Only God is capable of prophecy. But Satan has a counterfeit plan of his own, and he has had six thousand years to develop it. Since he knows what he has planned, it is no trick to reveal the plan to some secular 'prophet'. Satan doesn't know how his plan will turn out, any more than any other created being, but he DOES know what he has in mind. From our dimension of time, it seems like prophecy. Remove the element of time, and what seem now to be prophecy would no more than the outline of a plan. Extra-Biblical prophecies, are part of that overall plan to counterfeit the miracles of God, so that, one day, " he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2nd Thessalonians 2:4) If one examines the extra-Biblical prophecies for the truth they contain, rather than looking for the sensational, what what learns is that it isn't just prophecy nuts who believe in Bible prophecy. Satan believes it, too, or he wouldn't be trying to counterfeit it. What it DOES establish is that even Satan has an idea of the time of the end -- and Satan thinks it will be some time around 2012. We know that, of the day and hour, no man knoweth, but we are told we WILL know that it is 'near, even at the doors.' And from that time, Jesus tells us, "Verily I say unto thee, this generation shall not pass, until ALL these things be fulfilled." (Matthew 24:34) TEOTWAWKI on December 24, 2012? I don't think so. But soon? No doubt about it.