THE LORDS PRAYER THEY WANT REMOVED.
THE LIBERALS IN POWER IN ONTARIO WANT TO CHANGE OR STOP SAYING THE LORDS PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PARLAMENTRY SESSION. THIS IS JUST TERRIBLE WE CAN NOT LET THE GODLESS TAKE OUR SAVIOR OUT OF ALL CANADIAN LIFE. WE HAVE TO STOP THEM FROM TAKING GOD OUT OF EVERYTHING. PRAY PEOPLE THAT GOD WILL GIVE US MERCY AND KEEP THE LORDS PRAYER IN GOVERNMENT AND CHANGE THE LUKEWARM GODLESS HEARTS AGAINST THIS MOVE.
LOOK HOW AWESOME GOD IS TO US IN MATTHEW 6 AND THE GODLESS WANT HIM OUT OF EVERYTHING OUTRAGES.
Matthew 6 1:34 King James Bible
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
PEOPLE NOT ONLY WANT TO TAKE GOD OUT OF EVERYTHING, BUT THESE ISLAMISTS AND SIKHS MINORITIES WANT THEIR RIGHTS INSTEAD OF OBEYING THE COUNTRY THEY LIVE INS LAWS. THIS IS SICK THAT THEY CAN GET THEIR RIGHTS AND CHRISTIANS ARE HATED AND GOT NO RIGHTS AT ALL. GOD IS DESPISED AND THESE SO CALLED RELIGOUS GROUPS ARE SMELLING LIKE ROSES, WERE IS THE EQUAL RIGHTS IN THIS I MIGHT ASK. JUST LIKE THE
ISLAMISTS THINKS THEY CAN HAVE WORLD CONTROL THESE SIKHS THINK THEY CAN GET CONTROL OF TORONTOS LAWS.
Turben Versus Helmet Rights group backs Sikh Biker By Bryn Weese FEB 15,08
BRAMPTON -- Section 104 of the Highway Traffic Act seems quite clear -- you've got to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle. But for Brampton's Baljinder Singh Badesha, a ticket he was given in September 2005 for just such an offence was just unacceptable and yesterday in a courtroom his fighting began. Badesha's a devout Sikh who can't wear a motorcycle helmet because of his turban, and he's now fighting the $110 ticket on the grounds it violates his religious freedom. He had only been riding for three weeks in Ontario prior to the ticket. His case has now caught the attention of the province's Human Rights Commission, which intervened on his behalf in court yesterday. Today, court will hear the Crown's submission.
If he just paid the ticket, he's admitting that he should wear the helmet, his lawyer, Melvin Sokolsky, told the Sun outside the Ontario Court of Justice yesterday. He doesn't want to admit he has to wear the helmet because it's a violation of his religious freedom to wear the turban.Badesha doesn't only like to ride. He owns a used car dealership near Kennedy Ave. and Queen St. in Brampton that also sells motorbikes. He needs to be able to test drive them in order to sell them for what they're worth. He pointed out motorbikes are also more environmentally friendly. But more importantly, he doesn't want to be excluded from what Scott Hutchison, who represented the commission in court yesterday, called a government service -- riding on the province's roadways -- because of his creed. But the law, while not discriminatory in its intent, has the effect of discrimination and therefore must be rewritten, Hutchison told the court. You have a rule, or a requirement that Mr. Badesha cannot comply with, he said. The effect is to exclude Mr. Badesha from a service that is available to everyone else in Ontario. The effect of this is to exclude all observant Sikhs.In 1990, the federal government removed the ban preventing Sikhs in the RCMP from wearing turbans following Officer Baltej Singh Dhillon's challenge that he could do both. I want to be treated like an ordinary citizen of Ontario, Badesha told the Sun outside the courtroom yesterday. I have the same rights.
While Badesha's lawyers will base their case on human rights and Canadian law as defined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the government is expected today to outline the costs to the taxpayers to pay for increased health-care costs as a result of people riding motorcycles without helmets. For such a small fine, everyone seems impressed by the implications of the case. This little traffic ticket has repercussions because it deals with Mr. Badesha's religious freedom, Sokolsky said. He's a devout Sikh ... and he can't wear the helmet because he has to wear the turban.
LUKE 16:19-31(THE WAITING CELL FOR SINNERS)(THE LOCAL JAIL)
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
REVELATION 20:11-15(THE FINAL JUDGEMENT OF SINNERS)(THE PENITENARY)
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
THIS IS DONE WHEN ISRAEL KILLED ONE OF HAMAS LEADERS A FEW DAYS AGO. IT FITS RIGHT IN WITH THESE SO CALLED MINORITY GROUPS THAT THINK THEY CAN GET THEIR RIGHTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES BY VIOLENCE.
THE TORMENTS THIS MURDERER IS IN, IN HELL RIGHT NOW IS HIS REWARD FOR STARTING THE MURDEROUS GROUP HE DID. THE DEMONS WILL BE ENJOYING RIPPING HIS FLESH OFF HIS BODY. HE CAN SEE HITLER AND ALL THE OTHER MURDERERS THAT CAME AGAINST ISRAEL ALSO DOWN THERE IN TORMENTS. HE CAN SEE ALL THE SO CALLED MARTYRS OF ISLAM DOWN THERE ALSO THAT WERE DECIEVED INTO THINKING THEY WOULD GO TO PARADISE FOR MURDERING IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MEANWHILE ENDING UP IN TORMENTS IN THE WAITING CELL OF HELL UNTIL JESUS LATER ON IN THE FUTURE SENDS THEM ALL TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER. THESE ARE NOT MY WORDS, THE BIBLE SAYS MURDERERS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL BE SENT TO HELL (1ST),THE LOCAL JAIL, THEN AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT IN JESUS' PRESENCE, THEIR DEEDS AND MOTIVES AND SINS WILL BE REVEALED AND THEY WILL BE THROWN IN TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER, THE PENITENTARY OF HELL THE FINAL BURNING FOR ALL TIME TO COME.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
MORE END TIME SIGNS
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY HAVE A GREAT ONE.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Strong earthquake strikes Greece FEB 14,08
A strong earthquake has struck southern Greece, shaking buildings over an area from the southern Peloponnese region to the capital, Athens. The earthquake struck at about noon (1000 GMT) and geologists said its magnitude was between 6.5 and 6.7.
Seismologists said the epicentre was beneath the seabed off Kalamata, about 230km (140 miles) south of the capital. Witnesses in Athens said it lasted at least 15 seconds, and there were no reports of casualties or damage. We were shaken for quite a long time, swaying back and forth, Tanya Spiropoulou from the northern Athens suburb of Marousis told Reuters news agency. A farmer in Kalamata told the agency that the quake was not as strong as other times, but we felt it. Seismologists said aftershocks were possible, and Greek television stations warned people in areas near the epicentre, to stay away from buildings. The tremor was felt as far away as Cairo, in Egypt. Earthquakes are common in Greece, and the last serious earthquake there killed more than 100 people in September 1999.
Strong quake off Indonesia's Maluku, tsunami alert issued Wed Feb 13, 4:13 PM ET
JAKARTA (AFP) - A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku early Thursday, prompting a tsunami alert that was later lifted, the meteorology and geophysics office said here. The earthquake, which struck at 2:58 am (2000 GMT Wednesday), was centred 275 kilometres (171 miles) southwest of Maluku province, some 10 kilometres under the seabed, a text message from the office said.There is the potential for a tsunami, it added.A second message sent one hour later said that the alert had been lifted.The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at 5.9 and said it occurred 299 kilometres west of Saumlaki, in Indonesia's Tanimbar Islands, and 341 kilometres east of the East Timorese capital Dili.A policeman stationed in Saumlaki district who identified himself as Kamanasa told AFP that the quake was not felt in the surrounding area.We didn't feel any shakes here, he said.Yanuarsih, from the meteorological agency in Jakarta, told AFP that the agency had not received any reports of damage from the quake.
Tsunami warnings are routinely issued in Indonesia for strong quakes occurring at a depth of 10 kilometres or less.Equipment is not currently in place to measure a change in water depth commensurate with a tsunami forming off a coast.Dili is currently under an evening-to-dusk curfew following failed assassination bids on its president and prime minister on Monday.Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.The archipelago nation was hardest hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004. Some 168,000 people alone were killed in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Flooding, power outages left in N.B. storm's wake
Thu Feb 14, 8:50 AM
A winter storm packing high winds, snow, ice pellets, freezing rain and later rain has left thousands of people in New Brunswick without power on Thursday.More than 8,500 NB Power customers are in the dark in Fredericton on Thursday morning while scattered outages are affecting Woodstock and Bouctouche.Outages started being reported around 8 p.m. Wednesday.More than 20 crews have been sent to the Fredericton area to repair the widespread damage caused by ice buildup, said NB Power officials. There is no estimate on when the power will be restored.Fredericton city services, transit and many businesses closed early on Wednesday as about 20 centimetres of snow piled up in the city.As the temperatures rose and the snow and ice pellets changed to freezing rain and then rain overnight, flooding hit Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton.
Flooding hits city streets
Roads in Fredericton were not in good shape Thursday morning, said Sean Lee, manager of the city's roads and streets.The combination of snow, ice pellets and heavy rain made a pretty heavy slush that froze over most of the catch basins in the city, Lee said.Public works crews in Moncton spent the night trying to clear the city's main streets, but there are reports of flooded and icy streets in many subdivisions.The whole city was a mess at midnight, said Mike Coster, public works supervisor. It was a real downpour. We had a hard time getting raid of the water.Salt, sand supplies depleted
With some improvement in the floodwaters on Thursday morning, crews are now turning their attention to salting the slippery streets, Coster said.Unlike Saint John, Moncton still does have a supply of road salt. The southern city was reporting Thursday morning that it is now completely out of salt and sand following the storm.Saint John city officials warned on Wednesday that motorists and pedestrians should proceed carefully because as the 10th storm hit the province they were almost out of salt and sand supplies.The city budgeted properly for snow removal and salting this winter, but the storms in the province have meant the Sussex salt supplier hasn't be able to keep up, said Shayne Galbraith, director of city works for Saint John.Saint John is also struggling with flooding that has closed Rothesay Avenue and highway ramps, Galbraith said.
On Wednesday afternoon, some areas of the city had water levels reaching the axels of cars trying to get through the roadways.Crews worked through the night to try to clear drainage areas so the 70 millimetres of rain water had somewhere to go, Galbraith said.Fire crews in the city received 55 calls overnight related to water levels, said fire Chief Eric Garland, many related to flooded basements, leaking roofs and alarms being set off.
School cancelled again
Some school districts in the province are closed, and universities have cancelled classes.The number of snow days the province has had is becoming a concern, said Karen Branscombe, superintendent of School District 2.Students at the eastern New Brunswick district's schools have lost seven days so far this winter because of weather, Branscombe said.The lost class time means teachers are having to change their plans to ensure students get their full curriculum, she said.My expectation is that when we do have students in class, we're going to focus really on what has to be taught, Branscombe said.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press Thu Feb 14, 6:29 AM ET
Precipitation was expected to gradually cease throughout the East Coast on Thursday, although morning snow showers were likely in the Mid-Atlantic and in northern New England. Relatively cold air was expected to press into the northeastern third of the country.
Meanwhile, significant snow was forecast from the Dakotas through the Great Lakes. Dangerously low wind chills to -40 degrees were expected.Also, significant snow was predicted in the Four Corners region. The precipitation was expected to move into the Southwest as the day progresses. Strong winds of up to 45 mph are anticipated for parts of California and the Great Basin.Temperatures in the Northeast were to be in the 20s and 30s, while the Southeast should have temperatures in the 60s and 70s. The Northern Plains should struggle to rise above 0 degrees, while the Northwest was expecting temperatures in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Tuesday ranged from a low of -19 degrees at International Falls, Minn., to a high of 87 degrees at El Centro, Calif.
On the Net:Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com
National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov
Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com
WITNESS: Hurricane Katrina was big, but God is bigger
Wed Feb 13, 11:10 PM
Jon Hurdle has been reporting for Reuters from Philadelphia since 2004. A native of England, he has been a print journalist for 25 years. In the following story he recounts his experiences as a volunteer helping to rebuild after the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina 2-1/2 years ago.By Jon Hurdle
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi (Reuters) - At 6 a.m., the lights come on at Camp Victor, a base run by the Lutheran Church for volunteers helping with recovery efforts 2-1/2 years after Hurricane Katrina slammed into Mississippi's Gulf Coast.I climb out of my wooden bunk and stand in the breakfast line with about 100 other volunteers from around the country.We eat oatmeal or pancakes, fuel for a long day's labor on the thousands of homes that are still in need of repair long after one of the worst natural disasters in the United States.My fellow campers are mostly middle-aged men from Lutheran churches in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa who have taken a week off work or away from retirement to cut lumber, paint walls or clear debris from the homes that were badly damaged or destroyed in the August 29, 2005 hurricane. The storm killed more than 1,400 people along the U.S. Gulf Coast.Some come with construction experience; others sweep floors or cook food; all are motivated by the goodwill that has brought more than 11,000 volunteers to the camp since the storm hit the Gulf Coast and collapsed the levees protecting nearby New Orleans from the sea.
The Lutheran Disaster Relief camp can take as many as 220 volunteers at a time. It is in a former garment factory in Ocean Springs, a pretty coastal town that seems to have been spared the worst of the storm.I went as a Quaker -- albeit an aspiring one -- rather than as a journalist, and hoped the humanitarian work would be a rewarding experience for me as well as a practical help.But long journalistic habits also led me to observe and record. I had time, given that I often stood aside while others with the necessary construction skills did the rebuilding work.
HELPING MISS HATTIE
On the first of our five days, our group of eight from a Quaker community near Philadelphia is sent to the home of Miss Hattie, an elderly black woman whose roof, previously repaired after hurricane damage, has been hit again by a falling tree.Lacking roofing skills, we are put to work chain-sawing the fallen tree into pieces and stacking them in the front yard.We cut as much as we can but our small chain saw is finally defeated by the tree's girth, and the camp managers can't find a larger saw, so we break for a lunch of spaghetti and sweet potatoes in Miss Hattie's kitchen.She is grateful, charming and glad of our company. But I wonder if clearing a tree from the yard of a perfectly habitable house is the most important thing in a state where some 13,000 hurricane victims are still living in trailers supplied by the much-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency.Later, I help deliver a new washing machine and two clothes dryers to two homes that have been renovated after flooding by hurricane-driven seawater.Outside one house, a saucepan on a string dangles from a tree branch about 20 feet off the ground. The pan was probably blown there by the hurricane, the homeowner says.In Waveland, west of Biloxi, it's plain that Katrina did a lot more than deposit saucepans in trees.
Leaving the highway, we drive down a muddy road into an apocalyptic landscape of broken trees, bare concrete pads where houses once stood, and some piles of debris.On the cinder-block foundation of one house, a stack of belongings sits rotting in the rain. A tattered tarp, which presumably once covered these possessions, flaps in the wind.Outside a nearby church -- which occupies what looks like a large shed -- is a hand-painted sign saying Katrina was big but God is bigger.It's a more cheerful picture in Pascagoula where volunteers are making good progress rebuilding a home in which floodwaters rose near to the ceiling of the first floor. The new one is built on 9-foot (2.7-metre) stilts to ensure no repeat.The owner, 81-year-old Miss Ruby -- who lives in a trailer on the site -- cooks a fried chicken lunch for the volunteers.As we eat in the warm January sunshine, she pulls out a karaoke machine and, balancing her high heels on a sheet of plywood, serenades us with renditions of classics including Patsy Kline's Crazy and Elvis Presley's Hound Dog.Our efforts may be just a drop in the post-Katrina bucket but it's clear we've made one old lady very happy.(Editing by Michael Christie and Frances Kerry)
(To read more Reuters Witness stories click here: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/reutersWitnesses)
Dear Friend of Israel FEB 13,08
An important resolution in support of Israel is now before the U.S. House of Representatives — and your help is needed to see that it passes.
H. Res. 951 strongly condemns the ongoing Palestinian terrorist rocket and mortar attacks directed at Israeli civilians that have caused death, injury, trauma, and severe disruption of economic life in areas of Israel bordering Gaza, including the city of Sderot. It places the blame for those attacks, which have continued unabated for years, squarely on the shoulders of Hamas and other terrorist groups, as well as terrorist-supporting nations like Iran and Syria. At the same time, it reaffirms the strong and unyielding friendship between the governments and the people of Israel and the United States.
This resolution will soon come up for vote in the House. By mobilizing now, we can ensure that a strong message of solidarity will be sent to Israel and her people. We’ve made it easy for you to email your representative today and urge him or her to support H. Res. 951. Read the text of H. Res. 951 or take action now!
https://secure2.convio.net/ifcj/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=211&JServSessionIdr004=lr66onqgp1.app7b
No Justification for Shas to Remain in the Government
February 13, 2008...
The Shas party of Israel has stated publicly that it will leave ruling government coalition should Prime Minister Olmert make any concessions to the Arabs about the status of Jerusalem . Should Shas leave Olmert's government, this action very well could take down the coalition, bring about new elections and end the ongoing peace process charade.In Israel , though, things are not always as they seem.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has assured Shas that Jerusalem will not be discussed until the end of the negotiations. Olmert is using the loophole that Shas handed to him to enable him to further his concessions to the Arab enemy which will be suicidal for Israel . It appears that Shas is willing to sit in the Olmert government until G-D forbid it is too late, just as Bibi Netanyahu sat in the Sharon government until it was too late to save Gush Katif and northern Samaria It is clear to all observers that Sharon's Expulsion has been a disaster for Israel on all levels.
Netanyahu voted in favor of Sharon 's Disengagement plan in the Knesset. He constantly threatened to resign his post which probably would have ended all chances of Sharon being able to achieve the necessary approvals. In a crass political maneuver, Netanyahu finally resigned his post one week prior to the plan's implementation - after it was already too late to stop the plan by legal means. Manhigut Yehudit would like to make it clear to Shas that by keeping Olmert in power, they share in the responsibility for the harm that the government is causing and for the coming Jewish bloodshed due to this government which makes decisions without Jewish values.Shas has had every opportunity to leave this coalition. Why do they remain? The Labor party's chairman, Ehud Barak, just reneged on a promise to pull Labor out of the coalition after the issuance of the Winograd report on the 2006 Lebanon War. Why does Labor remain? Moshe Feiglin, head of the Manhigut Yehudit faction in Likud stated that he suspects that the deal was closed with Shas and the Labor party before [Yisrael Beiteinu] was forced out of the government. Shas received its hush money and the Labor party got the war against the [settlements], creating more pressure on Barak to stay in the government. That suits him well, because he prefers to stay. When all the elites want the government to remain in power, that is exactly what will happen.
Moshe Feiglin says he can see no justification for the actions of the Shas party, but hopes that its voters will draw the correct conclusions. Our goal, he said, is to create a Jewish leadership alternative for the Nation of Israel so that all the people disenchanted from their previous political allegiances will have a political home on election day.Feiglin added that it is time for the Religious Zionist camp to lead the country. When we flee the call to lead, neither Shas nor the conventional Likud politicians will lead as we see fit. No matter who wins, the Left’s policies will continue to rule. It is our obligation to lead Israel with fear of Heaven in our hearts.Manhigut Yehudit officials point out that the practice of courting religious parties - like Shas - with major financial incentives and promises in exchange for supporting policies that endanger all Jews is tantamount to bribery by those offering the incentives, and at best, an error in judgment on the part of those who accept them. It comes as no shock that those who brought about and/or continued the suicidal Oslo Accords would employ such methods.Much more problematic is the acceptance by religious parties of benefits and protexia from the above mentioned sources. The land-for-peace formula has proven to have cost in Jewish blood. The direct correlation between the amount of land that Israel cedes and the amount of Jews who are murdered is a fact that can not and must not be ignored by any of us.The Torah is clear about Israel 's Biblical borders. Therefore it is a matter of pikuah nefesh (saving a life) NOT to use our Land as a bargaining chip. How will the leaders of Shas explain to the future grieving mothers that it was worthwhile to take this money from Olmert?
EU executive calls for creation of a European border patrol
By Stephen Castle Published: February 13, 2008 IHT
BRUSSELS: The European Commission called Wednesday for the creation of a European border patrol as it published plans to strengthen frontiers by requiring travelers to submit their fingerprints before entering European Union countries.The far-reaching package, designed to combat terrorism, illegal migration and organized crime, would involve setting up a comprehensive electronic register of travelers' biometric data.It also proposes greater cooperation and use of technology, including high resolution satellites and unmanned aircraft, to monitor remote areas for movements of migrants.We cannot have mafia, or traffickers, or terrorists, using better technology than our police, said Franco Frattini, the European justice and home affairs commissioner. He added that he would like to see border guards from EU member states wearing national uniforms with a European flag, forming a corps, trained according to the same standards and ready to react.The measures would apply to the 24 nations within the EU's Schengen zone for passport-free travel. EU states except Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria are part of the border-free area, to which non-EU members Norway and Iceland also belong. Britain, which could opt into the arrangements, said it was studying them.
Today in Europe
EU executive calls for creation of a European border patrolIn exile in London, Georgian opposition figure dies suddenlyCartoons of Muhammad reprinted as Denmark protests plot to murder artistThe plans are sensitive in Europe where many governments regard the policing of frontiers as a fundamental aspect of national sovereignty. And there are growing reservations in some countries about the extent to which personal data is being collected by the authorities.Under the proposals, all non-Europeans would have to submit biometric data to enter the EU even if they come from countries, such as the United States and Canada, from which visa-free travel is currently permitted.Frattini said that the EU would open to non-Europeans the possibility of using fast-track, automated, frontier crossing points if they submitted biometric data in advance. These would be available to European nationals who carry travel documents with biometric data.The commission said that there were up to eight million illegal immigrants living within the European Union in 2006, about four-fifths of them within the Schengen area.The commission believes that more than half of all illegal immigrants enter the EU with valid paperwork but overstay their permitted time. The EU has no centralized system for registering when visitors enter and exit, and the movements of those who leave from a different country than their point of entry are often not recorded.The proposed electronic register, similar to a policy adopted by the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, could go into effect by 2015 if governments and European legislators agree. Once a visitor overstayed the allotted time, an alert would be sent to all member states.
However the plans come at a time of growing concern in Europe about surveillance of individuals and storage of personal data. The German justice minister, Brigitte Zypries, said she was concerned that the proposals marked a step toward a state that is already monitoring and policing citizens without prior cause.Hugo Brady, research fellow at the Center for European Reform research institute in London, said that the proposals reflected the new possibilities to track individuals created by technology.This is the first time that technology has moved closer to public demands for certainty over borders, Brady said. Progress on technology has got to the point where we can move forward on border security and it is probably one are in which all member states can agree to try.
Plans for a European border guard were controversial but might be acceptable to governments which face an influx of migrants and are anxious to share the burden of policing their frontiers, he added. If people want 100 percent security at borders, these are the sort of technocratic solutions you will find, he said.Meanwhile, the European Commission criticized apparent efforts by the United States to negotiate bilaterally with some countries that joined the EU in 2004 the terms under which they could take part in America's visa waiver program.Jonathan Faull, the director general for justice and home affairs, said the EU did not negotiate with individual U.S. states on issues that were the responsibility of the federal government.That would be disrespectful and we expect the U.S to be similarly respectful of our law and of our system here, Faull said.
Chad rebels say French EU peacekeepers not neutral
12.02.2008 - 09:30 CET | By Leigh Phillips
Chad's rebels have warned the EU not to send peacekeepers to the country, fearing the troops will not be neutral in the dispute between them and General Idriss Deby, the country's ruler.The rebel alliance issued a statement on Monday (11 February) from Gabon saying they do not trust a force composed mainly of French troops, the former colonial master. They believe the troops will be there to support the Deby government.European commanders say they are to remain neutral and are only there to ensure the safety of refugees displaced from Sudan's Darfur region and due to other regional conflicts.Deployment of a European peacekeeping force, EUFOR-Chad-CAR, was delayed at the start of February when rebels made a lightning advance on the capital, N'Djamena. However, the N'Djamena airport reopened on Monday, permitting deployment of the 3,700-strong EU force. A spokesperson for the force said that if the airport allowed EUFOR-Chad-CAR's cargo planes to land, the deployment could resume today (12 February), according to an AFP report.During the rebel advance, French troops on the ground offered medical and logistical support to government forces.
France has denied reports in their domestic press that French special forces have already engaged in combat with rebels.French daily La Croix reported that Deby's forces pushed rebels back from the capital with help from members of the French special operations command.Responding to the reports, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said: There was no involvement of the French special forces - not by Thursday night, in any case, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the 400 Irish troops that are taking part in the deployment have been told they will be viewed as a hostile force if they arrive along with the French troops. The rebels have called on Ireland to pull out of the EU force, according to the Irish Times.
If EUFOR is made up of forces other than French, we don't have a problem with it, a rebel spokesperson said, the Irish daily reports.
Blair wins backing of minister for EU President job
Last updated at 21:33pm on 13th February 2008
It is the first indication that the Government is prepared to back the ex-Prime Minister in an attempt later this year to become full-time president of the EU council. The move would infuriate Eurosceptics in Britain, since the post is being created under the revived EU constitution which Mr Blair negotiated. The Government has since reneged on its promise of a referendum on the blueprint, arguing the constitutional elements have been abandoned. Mr Blair, currently the Middle East envoy for the U.S., Russia, EU and the UN, is said to be willing to put himself forward for the EU job if it comes with real powers. It is also expected to command a salary of £200,000 plus generous expenses, accommodation and chauffeur-driven cars, making the whole package worth nearly half a million pounds. Mr Blair is being actively promoted by the French president Nicolas Sarkozy but Jim Murphy's endorsement is the first from a senior Government minister.
U.N. Weighs a Ban on Weapons in Space, but U.S. Still Objects By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE February 13, 2008
GENEVA — The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on Tuesday presented a Russian-Chinese draft treaty banning weapons in space to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, an idea that was quickly rejected by the United States.Russia and China have pushed for years for a treaty to prevent an arms race in space, a threat underlined by China last year after it shot down one of its own aging satellites. Responding to previous American assertions that there is no arms race in space and therefore no need for a treaty, Mr. Lavrov instead submitted a draft on prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space, the threat or use of force against outer space objects. Weapons deployment in space by one state will inevitably result in a chain reaction, Mr. Lavrov warned. And this in turn is fraught with a new spiral in the arms race, both in space and on the earth.
The draft treaty aims to fill gaps in existing law, create conditions for further exploration and use of space, and strengthen general security and arms control, Mr. Lavrov said. It is time to start serious practical work in this field, he said. The White House responded to the proposal on Tuesday afternoon, saying it opposed any treaty that sought to prohibit or limit access to or use of space.Dana M. Perino, the White House press secretary, said such a treaty would also be impossible to enforce. Any object orbiting or transiting through space can be a weapon if that object is intentionally placed onto a collision course with another space object, she said in an e-mail message. This makes treaty verification impossible.Instead, she said, the White House favored discussions aimed at promoting transparency and confidence-building measures.
The Russian-Chinese proposal was first circulated last year, but the presentation on Tuesday provided the 65-member conference with a basis to discuss a future treaty. Mr. Lavrov was the latest in a series of dignitaries seeking to inject momentum into an organization that is the only forum for multilateral disarmament negotiations but which last delivered an arms-control measure — on chemical weapons — in 1997. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, opened the current session last month by reminding the conference that its successes were distant memories and that we need progress.Last week, Britain’s defense secretary, Des Browne, called for a meeting of the five signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to discuss verifying nuclear disarmament. Thomas P. D’Agostino, administrator of the United States National Nuclear Security Administration, also attended last week, reviewing American progress in dismantling nuclear weapons. The fact that these governments are sending very high-level people to the conference means they want to get things going, said Patrick McCarthy, coordinator of the Geneva Forum, a tripartite body that includes the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. We’re at a rather decisive point where we either move onto substantive negotiations or back to more years of fruitless discussion, Mr. McCarthy said.
EU crisis has parallels with collapse of Austro-Hungarian empire FEB 13,08By WES MITCHELLDirector of research, Centre for European Policy Analysis, Washington DC
IF A European Union bureaucrat could travel to fin de siècle Vienna, he would be surprised by how closely the Hapsburg Empire resembled today's European Union. Like the EU, Austria-Hungary was an experiment in supra-national engineering, comprising 51 million inhabitants, 11 nationalities and 14 languages. Presiding over this microcosm of Europe was a double-throned emperor-king and twin parliaments representing the largely independent Austrian and Hungarian halves of the realm. The Hapsburg Empire acted as a stabilising force for its peoples and for Europe. To its scattered ethnic groups, it performed the twin roles of referee and bouncer, pacifying indigenous rivalries and protecting pint-sized nations from predatory states. It also filled a geopolitical vacuum at the heart of the continent, placing a check on Germany and Russia.
So long as it performed these functions, Austria was viewed as a European necessity – a balancer of nationalities and of nations for which there was no conceivable substitute. But, by the early 1900s, the empire faced two problems that cast doubt on its ability to fulfil these missions. First, it proved incapable of reconciling and representing its constituents' interests. The heart of the problem was the 1867 Compromise, which divided the empire into Austrian and Hungarian halves. By excluding the Slavs – who accounted for half the empire's population – the compromise was seen as a vehicle for German/Magyar domination. All attempts at modifying the arrangement stopped short of what was needed: a political settlement between Germans and Slavs like that between Germans and Magyars.
Second, due in part to internal nationalist crises, the empire found it increasingly difficult to chart a unified, independent course in international affairs. Confronted after 1906 with a more assertive Russia, Austria-Hungary resorted to increasing reliance on Germany, thereby relinquishing the empire's status as a geopolitical stabiliser. These problems inflicted irreparable damage to Austria-Hungary's image as a necessity – both for its subjects, who came to see national self-determination as a superior alternative to supra-nationalism, and for outside powers, which dismembered the empire in 1918. So ended the first European union.
Like Austria-Hungary, the EU's raison d'être consists in its ability to transcend the indigenous balance of power among its members, and the service this renders to the international system. On both counts, the EU confronted challenges in 2007 much like those confronting Austria-Hungary in 1907. Many of the EU's newest members continue to grapple with questions of geopolitical trust. This is revealed in the tensions that have existed between Poland, which fears domination by the EU's steering group, and Germany, which is reluctant to shoulder the financial burden for a union in which it is under-represented. If allowed to fester, this feud could metastasise, leaving the EU in a state of crisis like that which plagued Austria-Hungary.
THIS IS JUST TO MUCH BY HAMAS AS USUAL.
Hamas TV unveils Jew-eating bunnyBy staff writers
February 13, 2008 04:31pm
A JEW-eating rabbit named Assud has become the newest star of a militant Palestinian children's television show after the death of his brother.The Pioneers of Tomorrow children’s series produced by Palestinian group Hamas and made famous by a Mickey Mouse-looking character declaring jihad on Israel and the US, introduced Assud the Bunny. Assud - who said in his first episode that he would get rid of the Jews, Allah willing, and… will eat them up - replaced his brother, Nahoul the Bee, according to the translation from the Middle East Media Research Institute. In an interview with the program’s host, a young girl purportedly named Saraa Barhoum, Assud talked about becoming martyrdom. We are all martyrdom-seekers, are we not, Saraa? Assud said on the show. Saraa said: Of course we are. We are all ready to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of our homeland. We will sacrifice our souls and everything we own for the homeland.According to the program’s plotline, Nahoul died because he could not leave Gaza to seek medical treatment from neighbouring Egypt. Nahoul himself replaced the program’s original star, Farfur the Mouse, who was killed by an Israeli soldier.
Sarkozy pleads for coherent EU space policy
12.02.2008 - 17:31 CET | By Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy has added planet Mars to the already long to-do list he has planned for the EU saying he wants space policy cooperation with the US, particularly regarding the exploration of this little-known planet.
Speaking in French Guyana on Tuesday (12 February), Mr Sarkozy, who has a reputation for getting personally involved in a wide range of issues, said the EU should have a sensible and coherent space policy.I speak for France, and suggest to our European partners, that it is out of the question that we reduce our efforts or our ambitions for the area of space, said the president, according to AFP news agency.Because Mars is there and Mars is accessible to the technologies available to humanity, we cannot refuse to attempt this adventure, he continued, speaking to journalists at the launch site for Ariane rockets.He pointed out that Europe had experts in areas such as transport and technology while the US, which already has a Mars exploration programme, had the technical and scientific competences.I am convinced that an exploration programme can only be global, without exclusivity or appropriation by one nation or another... Each will be able to take part with their capabilities, their strengths and their choices, he said, according to Reuters.
While emphasising that he did not want Europe to be in competition with the US, Mr Sarkozy also referred to military space policy, which he said is the price for strategic autonomy and freedom to manoeuvre for European governments.In an aside to France's nuclear strength, the French president said there should be a decided rise in the military space budget. He spoke particularly of surveillance and spy satellites, for which the EU is strongly dependent on the US.Despite Mr Sarkozy's vision, Europe has in the past been slow to commit to itself to space. Its flagship satellite project, known as Galileo, was agreed only at the eleventh hour last year after protracted wrangling over how it should be financed.To be in place by 2013, five years after originally planned, it is supposed to end the EU's reliance on Washington's Global Positioning System.
Meanwhile, the European Commission early last year proposed a collective space policy in the EU but the communication only set out a loose set of aspirations in the area, rather than concrete measures.But reticence in other member states about certain EU policies has not thwarted Mr Sarkozy's enthusiasm in the past.In what is expected to be a very busy French EU presidency in the second half of this year, Mr Sarkozy has said he wants Europe to have an immigration policy, a defence policy, an energy policy and an environment policy by the end of 2008.
Report: Livni Holding Secret Talks on Dividing Jerusalem
Is Olmert Lying to Shas? By Amihai Zippor
(IHC News Analysis, 12 February 2008) According to a Jerusalem Post report, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been holding secret talks with Palestinian negotiators over dividing Jerusalem. Livni’s office has not denied the reports and it is unclear if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been instructing her.Olmert had promised Shas that there would not be any discussions over Jerusalem until all other issues were resolved. The promise was made in order to keep Shas in the government at a time when the coalition is on its last legs and Olmert hopes to reach a final agreement with the Palestinians by the end of the year. However, on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 a top Shas official said the party is not optimistic on the matter but is waiting for Olmert to return from a trip to Germany to question him. We get the impression that Jerusalem is being discussed, Communication Minister Ariel Atias said.Olmert has to decide whether he wants Shas in the government or whether he wants what Livni is doing, Atias said. When the story broke early Monday Shas Chairman Eli Yishai told The Post, I will check the story and if it's true, Shas will leave the government.If it is true it will mean Olmert lied to Shas and will further deteriorate any credibility the beleaguered PM has with the people around him or the Israeli public. Israel Hasbara Committee, 12 February 2008.
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE FEB 13,08
What about earthquakes, global crime, and the
many strange activities presently occurring in
space? How do these signs suggest that
Christ’s return is at hand?
Earthquakes
When they read Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, or Luke 21:11, some men foolishly observe, We've always had earthquakes. How can this be a sign? The Lord made this prediction around A.D. 30. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, from 1890 to 1930 there were only 8 quakes measuring 6.0 or larger. From 1930 to 1960, there were only 18. From 1960 to 1979, however; there were 64 killer quakes. And from 1980 to the present, there have been more than 200. Think of it! More than 200 major quakes in less than three decades-an earth-rattling reminder that the Rapture is near.
Crimes against Humanity
Christ went on to say in His pronouncement of signs, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12). What a portrait of modern-day America and the world! The U.S. Justice Department reports that about 30 percent or more of the nation's households are victimized by serious crime every year. The U.S. attorney general says that on average one of every sixteen American families is brutalized by violent crimes such as murder, rape, and aggravated assault. The FBI index also paints a grim picture, giving us the unsettling information that a murder occurs every twenty-four minutes, a forcible rape each seven minutes, a robbery every sixty-eight seconds, and an aggravated assault each fifty-one seconds. The total figures show that a violent crime is committed every twenty-seven seconds, a property crime every three seconds. Judge for yourself: Are things getting better or worse? The answer is obvious.
Signs in Space
Matthew 24:27-31 tells us: For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
I quote from these scriptures in Matthew because many believers are confused by this scenario. It is important to note that the reference here is to the Revelation-the revealing of Christ to the entire world as He returns to earth as King of kings-not the Rapture. The elect mentioned in this text are the elect Israelites of Romans 11:28. He gathers them together from the four winds. Gentile believers are not listed with the twelve tribes who mourn as Christ returns. Again, these are Jewish signs pointing to Christ's coming as King of kings and LORD of lords. The people of the Tribulation Hour will know when the momentous event is near because Matthew 24:29 pinpoints the time: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. The space signs are for the close of the Tribulation Hour. There is no way that they could point to the pretribulation Rapture, for we Christians will be gone when the dreadful bombardment of earth, probably with meteorites from space, occurs.
Luke adds to this account, And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken (Luke 21:25-26). These signs point to the close of the Tribulation Hour because they signal the return of the King to earth. Verse 27 adds, Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. This describes the coming of Christ to set up His glorious millennial reign (Revelation 20:4).
Space signs, which are to take place at the conclusion of the Tribulation Hour or almost seven years after the believers' departure via the Rapture, are already showing partial fulfillment. Such feats as humans walking, driving, and planting a flag on the moon make us realize these signs are only for twentieth-century citizens-for you and me. If a person had made such a prediction at the turn of the century, he would have become a candidate for a mental hospital. Space activity has become so commonplace today that no one even talks about the first step Neil Armstrong took on the moon in 1969.
We have always had signs, some skeptics say. Nothing has changed. It's the same as it was in Grandma's day. My response to that ostrich stance is simply to get your head out of the sand and fix your eyes on the heavens. The Space Age is with us, and Christ's prophecies are occurring with such rapidity that only a hardened heart could doubt it. Each new venture will incorporate additional methods of placing the potentials of space on earth. Christ's astounding prophetic statements about space are beginning to fill the skies. Some scientists and space writers are raising the possibility that the next large-scale war could be fought entirely in space. This possibility means that Satan and his demonic hosts could use the world's inventions for the war of wars described in Revelation 12:7-9: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
The Signs and Space Phenomena
I believe the rash of reports about UFOs are connected with the spirit world. The question Is there life on other planets? is unimportant. There is life in the heavens, for they are full of live, demonic spirits. This could easily explain the thousands of saucer sightings in recent years. Ezekiel 1 and 2 Kings 2:11 talk about angels and chariots of fire. Whoever controls them is incidental. What is important is that these strange signs in space are prophesied for the latter days. Those days are now upon us and should make us realize the coming of the Savior is near.
Do Old Testament signs primarily
speak of Christ’s return to earth?
What about the signs
in the Epistles?
I am asked this question repeatedly. While the Old Testament and four Gospels are filled with scores of references to Christ's return or the Revelation, the Epistles also contain a rich storehouse of scripture that speaks about Christ's return to earth. Look at the description in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.Let's look at several of the signs-as recorded in the Epistles-concerning the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to earth.
Selfishness
Men shall be lovers of their own selves. What a picture of the hour in which we live. You do not need to watch CNN for more than a few minutes to understand that people are living a life dedicated to self. Moreover, it is not only unbelievers who live such lives. When church members are so busy satisfying their flesh with the world's goodies and pleasures that they have no time to pray or witness to lost souls-that is the height of selfishness. You will remember the Bible passage about the scribe who came to Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 and said, Master, which is the great commandment... ? Jesus said unto him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
How different are we today, really? We, too, are lovers of our own selves. A person might expect this attitude in the ungodly world of pagans, but how sad when it occurs among those who are supposedly of the family of God. As selfishness accelerates and becomes the central theme at the beginning of a new century, you can be sure it is a sign that the end of the age is near.
The Love of Money
In the first century, Peter could say, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk (Acts 3:6). Churches today have incredible wealth. We build huge buildings and enjoy elaborate campuses. Much of this is good. However it is also a problem for many ministries, because the tail is wagging the dog. Furthermore, money does not have the power to perform miracles. As we approach the return of Christ, we need to recognize that we are living in the Laodicean age. Revelation 3:15-16 declares, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. God is saying, You lukewarm parishioners make Me sick! Why? Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (v. 17).
In our churches, many regard themselves as upper crust. They have money, power, and influence. Many of these Christian elite personalities feel they are too important to help others or to carry out acts of kindness in the Savior's name-no time for anything except to earn a few more dollars. God declares, The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).
Pride
God says, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:10). Satan fell because of pride. Moreover millions more have followed in his wake. Imagine the gall Satan must have had to say, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:13-14).
Satan has infiltrated the hearts of millions of Christians. A man with tears in his eyes once came to me and said, I was trying to win a young lady to Christ. She was poor and needy. Her parents are alcoholics. She was so destitute that all she had to wear was an old tattered dress. I took her to our church-a Bible-believing fellowship. When she and I walked down the aisle to our seats, I overheard a few snooty people behind me say, Why do they bring that kind of trash to our church! That kind of story breaks my heart, and I hope it breaks yours. However, if you feel your pedigree is better or more important than others, then I pray that God will speak to you and show you that you are one of the signs that Jesus Christ is coming again. Our Savior said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).
Iran has capacity to produce nuclear arms: US intelligence
FEB 13,08
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Iran still possesses the capacity to produce nuclear weapons even though it may have stopped its atomic arms development program, a senior US intelligence official said Wednesday.Thomas Fingar, deputy US director of national intelligence for analysis, told a Congressional hearing that the Islamic republic continues to develop capabilities that could be swiftly adopted for production of nuclear weapons.We judge it has the technical and industrial capability to produce nuclear weapons, he told the House of Representatives armed services committee which held the hearing to make a global security assessment.Lawmakers were particularly keen to find out from senior intelligence officials who testified Wednesday the background behind a new intelligence report in December saying Iran halted its nuclear weapons drive in 2003 and that US charges about Tehran's atomic goals were overblown.The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a consensus view of all 16 US spy agencies, had also cautioned that Iran was keeping its nuclear options open, still bucked international demands to freeze uranium enrichment, and could have the technical ability to make a nuclear weapon sometime between 2010and 2015.
Asked by one lawmaker whether Iran, by continuing its uranium enrichment activities, was still within striking distance of developing a nuclear weapon, Fingar said, your logic point is that they have the capacity to resume a weapons program if they wanted to do so.He said the US time frame prediction for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon was based on an indigenous capability for enriching uranium, which could be used to make nuclear fuel but also to make fissile material for atomic bombs.The time frame could be shortened if they procure fissile material elsewhere, he said. It's the centrifuge program -- fissile material production -- which is the main variable, he said.Media reports have said Iran is testing advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, in flagrant defiance of UN resolutions to suspend all enrichment activity until the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, can verify that such activities are entirely peaceful.Iran's refusal to suspend enrichment activities, in defiance of two sets of UN sanctions and the threat of a possible third, have fuelled western suspicions that Tehran is seeking to develop the atomic bomb. Iran insists it has an inalienable right to develop the technology to generate nuclear power to meet the energy needs of a growing population.
EU Diplomats: Iran Advancing Nuclear Program
By VOA News 13 February 2008
A general view shows the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, in southern Iran (File) European Union diplomats say Iran has begun processing small amounts of uranium gas in a further step toward enhancing its nuclear capability.Unnamed diplomats told reporters Wednesday that Iran's new high-tech centrifuges are designed to enrich uranium by at least twice the rate of previous ones. Reuters quoted a diplomat as saying the move is a stunning rejection of repeated U.N. Security Council demands that Iran suspend sensitive nuclear activity.The Council has already imposed two sets of sanctions on Iran for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Officials from Germany and the five permanent members of the Council recently agreed on the text of a resolution that will impose a third round of sanctions against Iran.Earlier Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies that Moscow disapproves of Iran's efforts to enrich uranium and develop rocket technology.
Lavrov says Iran's activities are not forbidden by international law. But he said recent years have shown there are a number of problems related to Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Lavrov warned Iran to refrain from actions that raise tensions and create the impression that Tehran is ignoring the decisions of the international community, the United Nations Security Council, and the IAEA.
Earlier this month, Iran announced it had test-launched a rocket that it said was designed to carry its first homemade research satellite into space.Washington and its allies accuse Iran of trying to master technology to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.Iran has been building its first nuclear power plant near the southern city of Bushehr. Officials say Russia has delivered enough nuclear fuel to run that plant, and that the facility will open later this year.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
Israel, embassies on high alert after assassination of Terrorist No. 1 / Imad Mughniyah killed in Damascus By Barak Ravid, Yoav Stern, and Amos Harel , Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Israel denied yesterday any involvement in the assassination of Hezbollah's most senior military commander, Imad Mughniyah, 45, in an official statement issued by the Prime Minister's Bureau. However, Syria, Hezbollah and its patron Iran accused Israel of being behind the blast in Damascus, which killed the chief of operations of the Lebanese Shi'ite organization believed to be responsible for a decades-long series of mass terrorist attacks throughout the world.Washington welcomed the demise of Mughniyah, who is believed to be the mastermind, most famously, behind attacks on the Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983, as well as the hijacking of American citizens in Beirut during the 1980s. The assassination occurred late Tuesday night when the SUV Mughniyah had entered exploded in an upscale neighborhood of Damascus, not far from an Iranian educational institution. Mughniyah was implicated in the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine and French peacekeeping barracks in Beirut, which killed over 350 people, as well as the 1992 bombing of the Israel Embassy, and the 1994 Jewish cultural center bombing, both in Buenos Aires. More than 100 people died in those two attacks. The United States indicted him for his role in planning and participating in the June 1985 hijacking of a U.S. TWA airliner and the shooting death of 23-year-old Navy diver Robert D. Stethem.
The world is a better place without this man in it, said State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack. He was a cold-blooded killer, a mass-murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost.Israel considered Mughniyah responsible for the Hezbollah raids which captured Israeli soldiers, both at Har Dov in 2000 and in 2006, and also the key liaison between the organization and Iran. He was not only being targeted by Israel, but also by the Americans and many other parties, said former Mossad head Danny Yatom on Israel Radio. He was one of the terrorists with the most amount of intelligence agencies and states chasing him. He behaved with extreme caution for many years. It was impossible even to obtain his picture. He never appeared or spoke before the media. His identity was hidden. His steps were hidden, Yatom said. In an official statement, the Prime Minister's Bureau denied any involvement in the assassination adding that Israel learned from the Lebanese and Syrian media about the assassination of a senior Hezbollah figure, and is still examining relevant details. The statement also rejected the attempt by terrorist organizations to attribute to it any involvement in this incident. We have nothing further to add.Israel's denials do not seem to have affected the impression in the Arab world and Iran that its secret service was behind the killing. Anticipating the possibility that Hezbollah would try to carry out a major attack against Israeli or Jewish targets worldwide in response to the killing, Israel's security issued orders to embassies and delegations abroad to be on high alert. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammed Ali Hosseini, described the assassination as yet another example of state-sponsored terrorism, and the kind of organized crime promoted by Israel.
Describing Mughniyah's actions and period as a senior commander in Hezbollah as a golden age in the period of resistance against Israel, Hosseini said that the free nations will remember forever and with pride the path of this warrior martyr.Syria's reaction to the killing in its own capital of one of the world's most wanted terrorist masterminds was surprisingly muted. The Syrian media did not announce details of the assassination or the identity of the target until well after the news had been released by media in the Arab world. Initially the Syrian Interior Ministry stated that a man was killed in a blast in Damascus, but did not identify him. In the first official reaction, Syrian Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majeed condemned the attack as a terrorist act, and said that an investigation was under way. Syria condemns this cowardly terrorist act and presents its condolences to the Lebanese people and to the family of the martyr, the official SANA news agency quoted him as saying. Hezbollah also blamed Israel for the assassination. Former Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said yesterday that the killing is Israel's revenge for the defeat it suffered at the hands of the organization during the Second Lebanon War.
Hezbollah is set to hold an official funeral for Mughniyah in Beirut today at 2 PM, with the main event being a prerecorded address by the group's general secretary, Hassan Nasrallah. Yesterday, Mughniyah's coffin, draped in a Hezbollah flag and flanked by four men in military uniform, was displayed in a hall where his family and leaders of the Shi'ite group received condolences.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Strong earthquake strikes Greece FEB 14,08
A strong earthquake has struck southern Greece, shaking buildings over an area from the southern Peloponnese region to the capital, Athens. The earthquake struck at about noon (1000 GMT) and geologists said its magnitude was between 6.5 and 6.7.
Seismologists said the epicentre was beneath the seabed off Kalamata, about 230km (140 miles) south of the capital. Witnesses in Athens said it lasted at least 15 seconds, and there were no reports of casualties or damage. We were shaken for quite a long time, swaying back and forth, Tanya Spiropoulou from the northern Athens suburb of Marousis told Reuters news agency. A farmer in Kalamata told the agency that the quake was not as strong as other times, but we felt it. Seismologists said aftershocks were possible, and Greek television stations warned people in areas near the epicentre, to stay away from buildings. The tremor was felt as far away as Cairo, in Egypt. Earthquakes are common in Greece, and the last serious earthquake there killed more than 100 people in September 1999.
Strong quake off Indonesia's Maluku, tsunami alert issued Wed Feb 13, 4:13 PM ET
JAKARTA (AFP) - A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku early Thursday, prompting a tsunami alert that was later lifted, the meteorology and geophysics office said here. The earthquake, which struck at 2:58 am (2000 GMT Wednesday), was centred 275 kilometres (171 miles) southwest of Maluku province, some 10 kilometres under the seabed, a text message from the office said.There is the potential for a tsunami, it added.A second message sent one hour later said that the alert had been lifted.The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at 5.9 and said it occurred 299 kilometres west of Saumlaki, in Indonesia's Tanimbar Islands, and 341 kilometres east of the East Timorese capital Dili.A policeman stationed in Saumlaki district who identified himself as Kamanasa told AFP that the quake was not felt in the surrounding area.We didn't feel any shakes here, he said.Yanuarsih, from the meteorological agency in Jakarta, told AFP that the agency had not received any reports of damage from the quake.
Tsunami warnings are routinely issued in Indonesia for strong quakes occurring at a depth of 10 kilometres or less.Equipment is not currently in place to measure a change in water depth commensurate with a tsunami forming off a coast.Dili is currently under an evening-to-dusk curfew following failed assassination bids on its president and prime minister on Monday.Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.The archipelago nation was hardest hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004. Some 168,000 people alone were killed in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Flooding, power outages left in N.B. storm's wake
Thu Feb 14, 8:50 AM
A winter storm packing high winds, snow, ice pellets, freezing rain and later rain has left thousands of people in New Brunswick without power on Thursday.More than 8,500 NB Power customers are in the dark in Fredericton on Thursday morning while scattered outages are affecting Woodstock and Bouctouche.Outages started being reported around 8 p.m. Wednesday.More than 20 crews have been sent to the Fredericton area to repair the widespread damage caused by ice buildup, said NB Power officials. There is no estimate on when the power will be restored.Fredericton city services, transit and many businesses closed early on Wednesday as about 20 centimetres of snow piled up in the city.As the temperatures rose and the snow and ice pellets changed to freezing rain and then rain overnight, flooding hit Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton.
Flooding hits city streets
Roads in Fredericton were not in good shape Thursday morning, said Sean Lee, manager of the city's roads and streets.The combination of snow, ice pellets and heavy rain made a pretty heavy slush that froze over most of the catch basins in the city, Lee said.Public works crews in Moncton spent the night trying to clear the city's main streets, but there are reports of flooded and icy streets in many subdivisions.The whole city was a mess at midnight, said Mike Coster, public works supervisor. It was a real downpour. We had a hard time getting raid of the water.Salt, sand supplies depleted
With some improvement in the floodwaters on Thursday morning, crews are now turning their attention to salting the slippery streets, Coster said.Unlike Saint John, Moncton still does have a supply of road salt. The southern city was reporting Thursday morning that it is now completely out of salt and sand following the storm.Saint John city officials warned on Wednesday that motorists and pedestrians should proceed carefully because as the 10th storm hit the province they were almost out of salt and sand supplies.The city budgeted properly for snow removal and salting this winter, but the storms in the province have meant the Sussex salt supplier hasn't be able to keep up, said Shayne Galbraith, director of city works for Saint John.Saint John is also struggling with flooding that has closed Rothesay Avenue and highway ramps, Galbraith said.
On Wednesday afternoon, some areas of the city had water levels reaching the axels of cars trying to get through the roadways.Crews worked through the night to try to clear drainage areas so the 70 millimetres of rain water had somewhere to go, Galbraith said.Fire crews in the city received 55 calls overnight related to water levels, said fire Chief Eric Garland, many related to flooded basements, leaking roofs and alarms being set off.
School cancelled again
Some school districts in the province are closed, and universities have cancelled classes.The number of snow days the province has had is becoming a concern, said Karen Branscombe, superintendent of School District 2.Students at the eastern New Brunswick district's schools have lost seven days so far this winter because of weather, Branscombe said.The lost class time means teachers are having to change their plans to ensure students get their full curriculum, she said.My expectation is that when we do have students in class, we're going to focus really on what has to be taught, Branscombe said.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press Thu Feb 14, 6:29 AM ET
Precipitation was expected to gradually cease throughout the East Coast on Thursday, although morning snow showers were likely in the Mid-Atlantic and in northern New England. Relatively cold air was expected to press into the northeastern third of the country.
Meanwhile, significant snow was forecast from the Dakotas through the Great Lakes. Dangerously low wind chills to -40 degrees were expected.Also, significant snow was predicted in the Four Corners region. The precipitation was expected to move into the Southwest as the day progresses. Strong winds of up to 45 mph are anticipated for parts of California and the Great Basin.Temperatures in the Northeast were to be in the 20s and 30s, while the Southeast should have temperatures in the 60s and 70s. The Northern Plains should struggle to rise above 0 degrees, while the Northwest was expecting temperatures in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Tuesday ranged from a low of -19 degrees at International Falls, Minn., to a high of 87 degrees at El Centro, Calif.
On the Net:Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com
National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov
Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com
WITNESS: Hurricane Katrina was big, but God is bigger
Wed Feb 13, 11:10 PM
Jon Hurdle has been reporting for Reuters from Philadelphia since 2004. A native of England, he has been a print journalist for 25 years. In the following story he recounts his experiences as a volunteer helping to rebuild after the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina 2-1/2 years ago.By Jon Hurdle
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi (Reuters) - At 6 a.m., the lights come on at Camp Victor, a base run by the Lutheran Church for volunteers helping with recovery efforts 2-1/2 years after Hurricane Katrina slammed into Mississippi's Gulf Coast.I climb out of my wooden bunk and stand in the breakfast line with about 100 other volunteers from around the country.We eat oatmeal or pancakes, fuel for a long day's labor on the thousands of homes that are still in need of repair long after one of the worst natural disasters in the United States.My fellow campers are mostly middle-aged men from Lutheran churches in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa who have taken a week off work or away from retirement to cut lumber, paint walls or clear debris from the homes that were badly damaged or destroyed in the August 29, 2005 hurricane. The storm killed more than 1,400 people along the U.S. Gulf Coast.Some come with construction experience; others sweep floors or cook food; all are motivated by the goodwill that has brought more than 11,000 volunteers to the camp since the storm hit the Gulf Coast and collapsed the levees protecting nearby New Orleans from the sea.
The Lutheran Disaster Relief camp can take as many as 220 volunteers at a time. It is in a former garment factory in Ocean Springs, a pretty coastal town that seems to have been spared the worst of the storm.I went as a Quaker -- albeit an aspiring one -- rather than as a journalist, and hoped the humanitarian work would be a rewarding experience for me as well as a practical help.But long journalistic habits also led me to observe and record. I had time, given that I often stood aside while others with the necessary construction skills did the rebuilding work.
HELPING MISS HATTIE
On the first of our five days, our group of eight from a Quaker community near Philadelphia is sent to the home of Miss Hattie, an elderly black woman whose roof, previously repaired after hurricane damage, has been hit again by a falling tree.Lacking roofing skills, we are put to work chain-sawing the fallen tree into pieces and stacking them in the front yard.We cut as much as we can but our small chain saw is finally defeated by the tree's girth, and the camp managers can't find a larger saw, so we break for a lunch of spaghetti and sweet potatoes in Miss Hattie's kitchen.She is grateful, charming and glad of our company. But I wonder if clearing a tree from the yard of a perfectly habitable house is the most important thing in a state where some 13,000 hurricane victims are still living in trailers supplied by the much-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency.Later, I help deliver a new washing machine and two clothes dryers to two homes that have been renovated after flooding by hurricane-driven seawater.Outside one house, a saucepan on a string dangles from a tree branch about 20 feet off the ground. The pan was probably blown there by the hurricane, the homeowner says.In Waveland, west of Biloxi, it's plain that Katrina did a lot more than deposit saucepans in trees.
Leaving the highway, we drive down a muddy road into an apocalyptic landscape of broken trees, bare concrete pads where houses once stood, and some piles of debris.On the cinder-block foundation of one house, a stack of belongings sits rotting in the rain. A tattered tarp, which presumably once covered these possessions, flaps in the wind.Outside a nearby church -- which occupies what looks like a large shed -- is a hand-painted sign saying Katrina was big but God is bigger.It's a more cheerful picture in Pascagoula where volunteers are making good progress rebuilding a home in which floodwaters rose near to the ceiling of the first floor. The new one is built on 9-foot (2.7-metre) stilts to ensure no repeat.The owner, 81-year-old Miss Ruby -- who lives in a trailer on the site -- cooks a fried chicken lunch for the volunteers.As we eat in the warm January sunshine, she pulls out a karaoke machine and, balancing her high heels on a sheet of plywood, serenades us with renditions of classics including Patsy Kline's Crazy and Elvis Presley's Hound Dog.Our efforts may be just a drop in the post-Katrina bucket but it's clear we've made one old lady very happy.(Editing by Michael Christie and Frances Kerry)
(To read more Reuters Witness stories click here: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/reutersWitnesses)
Dear Friend of Israel FEB 13,08
An important resolution in support of Israel is now before the U.S. House of Representatives — and your help is needed to see that it passes.
H. Res. 951 strongly condemns the ongoing Palestinian terrorist rocket and mortar attacks directed at Israeli civilians that have caused death, injury, trauma, and severe disruption of economic life in areas of Israel bordering Gaza, including the city of Sderot. It places the blame for those attacks, which have continued unabated for years, squarely on the shoulders of Hamas and other terrorist groups, as well as terrorist-supporting nations like Iran and Syria. At the same time, it reaffirms the strong and unyielding friendship between the governments and the people of Israel and the United States.
This resolution will soon come up for vote in the House. By mobilizing now, we can ensure that a strong message of solidarity will be sent to Israel and her people. We’ve made it easy for you to email your representative today and urge him or her to support H. Res. 951. Read the text of H. Res. 951 or take action now!
https://secure2.convio.net/ifcj/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=211&JServSessionIdr004=lr66onqgp1.app7b
No Justification for Shas to Remain in the Government
February 13, 2008...
The Shas party of Israel has stated publicly that it will leave ruling government coalition should Prime Minister Olmert make any concessions to the Arabs about the status of Jerusalem . Should Shas leave Olmert's government, this action very well could take down the coalition, bring about new elections and end the ongoing peace process charade.In Israel , though, things are not always as they seem.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has assured Shas that Jerusalem will not be discussed until the end of the negotiations. Olmert is using the loophole that Shas handed to him to enable him to further his concessions to the Arab enemy which will be suicidal for Israel . It appears that Shas is willing to sit in the Olmert government until G-D forbid it is too late, just as Bibi Netanyahu sat in the Sharon government until it was too late to save Gush Katif and northern Samaria It is clear to all observers that Sharon's Expulsion has been a disaster for Israel on all levels.
Netanyahu voted in favor of Sharon 's Disengagement plan in the Knesset. He constantly threatened to resign his post which probably would have ended all chances of Sharon being able to achieve the necessary approvals. In a crass political maneuver, Netanyahu finally resigned his post one week prior to the plan's implementation - after it was already too late to stop the plan by legal means. Manhigut Yehudit would like to make it clear to Shas that by keeping Olmert in power, they share in the responsibility for the harm that the government is causing and for the coming Jewish bloodshed due to this government which makes decisions without Jewish values.Shas has had every opportunity to leave this coalition. Why do they remain? The Labor party's chairman, Ehud Barak, just reneged on a promise to pull Labor out of the coalition after the issuance of the Winograd report on the 2006 Lebanon War. Why does Labor remain? Moshe Feiglin, head of the Manhigut Yehudit faction in Likud stated that he suspects that the deal was closed with Shas and the Labor party before [Yisrael Beiteinu] was forced out of the government. Shas received its hush money and the Labor party got the war against the [settlements], creating more pressure on Barak to stay in the government. That suits him well, because he prefers to stay. When all the elites want the government to remain in power, that is exactly what will happen.
Moshe Feiglin says he can see no justification for the actions of the Shas party, but hopes that its voters will draw the correct conclusions. Our goal, he said, is to create a Jewish leadership alternative for the Nation of Israel so that all the people disenchanted from their previous political allegiances will have a political home on election day.Feiglin added that it is time for the Religious Zionist camp to lead the country. When we flee the call to lead, neither Shas nor the conventional Likud politicians will lead as we see fit. No matter who wins, the Left’s policies will continue to rule. It is our obligation to lead Israel with fear of Heaven in our hearts.Manhigut Yehudit officials point out that the practice of courting religious parties - like Shas - with major financial incentives and promises in exchange for supporting policies that endanger all Jews is tantamount to bribery by those offering the incentives, and at best, an error in judgment on the part of those who accept them. It comes as no shock that those who brought about and/or continued the suicidal Oslo Accords would employ such methods.Much more problematic is the acceptance by religious parties of benefits and protexia from the above mentioned sources. The land-for-peace formula has proven to have cost in Jewish blood. The direct correlation between the amount of land that Israel cedes and the amount of Jews who are murdered is a fact that can not and must not be ignored by any of us.The Torah is clear about Israel 's Biblical borders. Therefore it is a matter of pikuah nefesh (saving a life) NOT to use our Land as a bargaining chip. How will the leaders of Shas explain to the future grieving mothers that it was worthwhile to take this money from Olmert?
EU executive calls for creation of a European border patrol
By Stephen Castle Published: February 13, 2008 IHT
BRUSSELS: The European Commission called Wednesday for the creation of a European border patrol as it published plans to strengthen frontiers by requiring travelers to submit their fingerprints before entering European Union countries.The far-reaching package, designed to combat terrorism, illegal migration and organized crime, would involve setting up a comprehensive electronic register of travelers' biometric data.It also proposes greater cooperation and use of technology, including high resolution satellites and unmanned aircraft, to monitor remote areas for movements of migrants.We cannot have mafia, or traffickers, or terrorists, using better technology than our police, said Franco Frattini, the European justice and home affairs commissioner. He added that he would like to see border guards from EU member states wearing national uniforms with a European flag, forming a corps, trained according to the same standards and ready to react.The measures would apply to the 24 nations within the EU's Schengen zone for passport-free travel. EU states except Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria are part of the border-free area, to which non-EU members Norway and Iceland also belong. Britain, which could opt into the arrangements, said it was studying them.
Today in Europe
EU executive calls for creation of a European border patrolIn exile in London, Georgian opposition figure dies suddenlyCartoons of Muhammad reprinted as Denmark protests plot to murder artistThe plans are sensitive in Europe where many governments regard the policing of frontiers as a fundamental aspect of national sovereignty. And there are growing reservations in some countries about the extent to which personal data is being collected by the authorities.Under the proposals, all non-Europeans would have to submit biometric data to enter the EU even if they come from countries, such as the United States and Canada, from which visa-free travel is currently permitted.Frattini said that the EU would open to non-Europeans the possibility of using fast-track, automated, frontier crossing points if they submitted biometric data in advance. These would be available to European nationals who carry travel documents with biometric data.The commission said that there were up to eight million illegal immigrants living within the European Union in 2006, about four-fifths of them within the Schengen area.The commission believes that more than half of all illegal immigrants enter the EU with valid paperwork but overstay their permitted time. The EU has no centralized system for registering when visitors enter and exit, and the movements of those who leave from a different country than their point of entry are often not recorded.The proposed electronic register, similar to a policy adopted by the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, could go into effect by 2015 if governments and European legislators agree. Once a visitor overstayed the allotted time, an alert would be sent to all member states.
However the plans come at a time of growing concern in Europe about surveillance of individuals and storage of personal data. The German justice minister, Brigitte Zypries, said she was concerned that the proposals marked a step toward a state that is already monitoring and policing citizens without prior cause.Hugo Brady, research fellow at the Center for European Reform research institute in London, said that the proposals reflected the new possibilities to track individuals created by technology.This is the first time that technology has moved closer to public demands for certainty over borders, Brady said. Progress on technology has got to the point where we can move forward on border security and it is probably one are in which all member states can agree to try.
Plans for a European border guard were controversial but might be acceptable to governments which face an influx of migrants and are anxious to share the burden of policing their frontiers, he added. If people want 100 percent security at borders, these are the sort of technocratic solutions you will find, he said.Meanwhile, the European Commission criticized apparent efforts by the United States to negotiate bilaterally with some countries that joined the EU in 2004 the terms under which they could take part in America's visa waiver program.Jonathan Faull, the director general for justice and home affairs, said the EU did not negotiate with individual U.S. states on issues that were the responsibility of the federal government.That would be disrespectful and we expect the U.S to be similarly respectful of our law and of our system here, Faull said.
Chad rebels say French EU peacekeepers not neutral
12.02.2008 - 09:30 CET | By Leigh Phillips
Chad's rebels have warned the EU not to send peacekeepers to the country, fearing the troops will not be neutral in the dispute between them and General Idriss Deby, the country's ruler.The rebel alliance issued a statement on Monday (11 February) from Gabon saying they do not trust a force composed mainly of French troops, the former colonial master. They believe the troops will be there to support the Deby government.European commanders say they are to remain neutral and are only there to ensure the safety of refugees displaced from Sudan's Darfur region and due to other regional conflicts.Deployment of a European peacekeeping force, EUFOR-Chad-CAR, was delayed at the start of February when rebels made a lightning advance on the capital, N'Djamena. However, the N'Djamena airport reopened on Monday, permitting deployment of the 3,700-strong EU force. A spokesperson for the force said that if the airport allowed EUFOR-Chad-CAR's cargo planes to land, the deployment could resume today (12 February), according to an AFP report.During the rebel advance, French troops on the ground offered medical and logistical support to government forces.
France has denied reports in their domestic press that French special forces have already engaged in combat with rebels.French daily La Croix reported that Deby's forces pushed rebels back from the capital with help from members of the French special operations command.Responding to the reports, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said: There was no involvement of the French special forces - not by Thursday night, in any case, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the 400 Irish troops that are taking part in the deployment have been told they will be viewed as a hostile force if they arrive along with the French troops. The rebels have called on Ireland to pull out of the EU force, according to the Irish Times.
If EUFOR is made up of forces other than French, we don't have a problem with it, a rebel spokesperson said, the Irish daily reports.
Blair wins backing of minister for EU President job
Last updated at 21:33pm on 13th February 2008
It is the first indication that the Government is prepared to back the ex-Prime Minister in an attempt later this year to become full-time president of the EU council. The move would infuriate Eurosceptics in Britain, since the post is being created under the revived EU constitution which Mr Blair negotiated. The Government has since reneged on its promise of a referendum on the blueprint, arguing the constitutional elements have been abandoned. Mr Blair, currently the Middle East envoy for the U.S., Russia, EU and the UN, is said to be willing to put himself forward for the EU job if it comes with real powers. It is also expected to command a salary of £200,000 plus generous expenses, accommodation and chauffeur-driven cars, making the whole package worth nearly half a million pounds. Mr Blair is being actively promoted by the French president Nicolas Sarkozy but Jim Murphy's endorsement is the first from a senior Government minister.
U.N. Weighs a Ban on Weapons in Space, but U.S. Still Objects By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE February 13, 2008
GENEVA — The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on Tuesday presented a Russian-Chinese draft treaty banning weapons in space to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, an idea that was quickly rejected by the United States.Russia and China have pushed for years for a treaty to prevent an arms race in space, a threat underlined by China last year after it shot down one of its own aging satellites. Responding to previous American assertions that there is no arms race in space and therefore no need for a treaty, Mr. Lavrov instead submitted a draft on prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space, the threat or use of force against outer space objects. Weapons deployment in space by one state will inevitably result in a chain reaction, Mr. Lavrov warned. And this in turn is fraught with a new spiral in the arms race, both in space and on the earth.
The draft treaty aims to fill gaps in existing law, create conditions for further exploration and use of space, and strengthen general security and arms control, Mr. Lavrov said. It is time to start serious practical work in this field, he said. The White House responded to the proposal on Tuesday afternoon, saying it opposed any treaty that sought to prohibit or limit access to or use of space.Dana M. Perino, the White House press secretary, said such a treaty would also be impossible to enforce. Any object orbiting or transiting through space can be a weapon if that object is intentionally placed onto a collision course with another space object, she said in an e-mail message. This makes treaty verification impossible.Instead, she said, the White House favored discussions aimed at promoting transparency and confidence-building measures.
The Russian-Chinese proposal was first circulated last year, but the presentation on Tuesday provided the 65-member conference with a basis to discuss a future treaty. Mr. Lavrov was the latest in a series of dignitaries seeking to inject momentum into an organization that is the only forum for multilateral disarmament negotiations but which last delivered an arms-control measure — on chemical weapons — in 1997. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, opened the current session last month by reminding the conference that its successes were distant memories and that we need progress.Last week, Britain’s defense secretary, Des Browne, called for a meeting of the five signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to discuss verifying nuclear disarmament. Thomas P. D’Agostino, administrator of the United States National Nuclear Security Administration, also attended last week, reviewing American progress in dismantling nuclear weapons. The fact that these governments are sending very high-level people to the conference means they want to get things going, said Patrick McCarthy, coordinator of the Geneva Forum, a tripartite body that includes the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. We’re at a rather decisive point where we either move onto substantive negotiations or back to more years of fruitless discussion, Mr. McCarthy said.
EU crisis has parallels with collapse of Austro-Hungarian empire FEB 13,08By WES MITCHELLDirector of research, Centre for European Policy Analysis, Washington DC
IF A European Union bureaucrat could travel to fin de siècle Vienna, he would be surprised by how closely the Hapsburg Empire resembled today's European Union. Like the EU, Austria-Hungary was an experiment in supra-national engineering, comprising 51 million inhabitants, 11 nationalities and 14 languages. Presiding over this microcosm of Europe was a double-throned emperor-king and twin parliaments representing the largely independent Austrian and Hungarian halves of the realm. The Hapsburg Empire acted as a stabilising force for its peoples and for Europe. To its scattered ethnic groups, it performed the twin roles of referee and bouncer, pacifying indigenous rivalries and protecting pint-sized nations from predatory states. It also filled a geopolitical vacuum at the heart of the continent, placing a check on Germany and Russia.
So long as it performed these functions, Austria was viewed as a European necessity – a balancer of nationalities and of nations for which there was no conceivable substitute. But, by the early 1900s, the empire faced two problems that cast doubt on its ability to fulfil these missions. First, it proved incapable of reconciling and representing its constituents' interests. The heart of the problem was the 1867 Compromise, which divided the empire into Austrian and Hungarian halves. By excluding the Slavs – who accounted for half the empire's population – the compromise was seen as a vehicle for German/Magyar domination. All attempts at modifying the arrangement stopped short of what was needed: a political settlement between Germans and Slavs like that between Germans and Magyars.
Second, due in part to internal nationalist crises, the empire found it increasingly difficult to chart a unified, independent course in international affairs. Confronted after 1906 with a more assertive Russia, Austria-Hungary resorted to increasing reliance on Germany, thereby relinquishing the empire's status as a geopolitical stabiliser. These problems inflicted irreparable damage to Austria-Hungary's image as a necessity – both for its subjects, who came to see national self-determination as a superior alternative to supra-nationalism, and for outside powers, which dismembered the empire in 1918. So ended the first European union.
Like Austria-Hungary, the EU's raison d'être consists in its ability to transcend the indigenous balance of power among its members, and the service this renders to the international system. On both counts, the EU confronted challenges in 2007 much like those confronting Austria-Hungary in 1907. Many of the EU's newest members continue to grapple with questions of geopolitical trust. This is revealed in the tensions that have existed between Poland, which fears domination by the EU's steering group, and Germany, which is reluctant to shoulder the financial burden for a union in which it is under-represented. If allowed to fester, this feud could metastasise, leaving the EU in a state of crisis like that which plagued Austria-Hungary.
THIS IS JUST TO MUCH BY HAMAS AS USUAL.
Hamas TV unveils Jew-eating bunnyBy staff writers
February 13, 2008 04:31pm
A JEW-eating rabbit named Assud has become the newest star of a militant Palestinian children's television show after the death of his brother.The Pioneers of Tomorrow children’s series produced by Palestinian group Hamas and made famous by a Mickey Mouse-looking character declaring jihad on Israel and the US, introduced Assud the Bunny. Assud - who said in his first episode that he would get rid of the Jews, Allah willing, and… will eat them up - replaced his brother, Nahoul the Bee, according to the translation from the Middle East Media Research Institute. In an interview with the program’s host, a young girl purportedly named Saraa Barhoum, Assud talked about becoming martyrdom. We are all martyrdom-seekers, are we not, Saraa? Assud said on the show. Saraa said: Of course we are. We are all ready to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of our homeland. We will sacrifice our souls and everything we own for the homeland.According to the program’s plotline, Nahoul died because he could not leave Gaza to seek medical treatment from neighbouring Egypt. Nahoul himself replaced the program’s original star, Farfur the Mouse, who was killed by an Israeli soldier.
Sarkozy pleads for coherent EU space policy
12.02.2008 - 17:31 CET | By Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy has added planet Mars to the already long to-do list he has planned for the EU saying he wants space policy cooperation with the US, particularly regarding the exploration of this little-known planet.
Speaking in French Guyana on Tuesday (12 February), Mr Sarkozy, who has a reputation for getting personally involved in a wide range of issues, said the EU should have a sensible and coherent space policy.I speak for France, and suggest to our European partners, that it is out of the question that we reduce our efforts or our ambitions for the area of space, said the president, according to AFP news agency.Because Mars is there and Mars is accessible to the technologies available to humanity, we cannot refuse to attempt this adventure, he continued, speaking to journalists at the launch site for Ariane rockets.He pointed out that Europe had experts in areas such as transport and technology while the US, which already has a Mars exploration programme, had the technical and scientific competences.I am convinced that an exploration programme can only be global, without exclusivity or appropriation by one nation or another... Each will be able to take part with their capabilities, their strengths and their choices, he said, according to Reuters.
While emphasising that he did not want Europe to be in competition with the US, Mr Sarkozy also referred to military space policy, which he said is the price for strategic autonomy and freedom to manoeuvre for European governments.In an aside to France's nuclear strength, the French president said there should be a decided rise in the military space budget. He spoke particularly of surveillance and spy satellites, for which the EU is strongly dependent on the US.Despite Mr Sarkozy's vision, Europe has in the past been slow to commit to itself to space. Its flagship satellite project, known as Galileo, was agreed only at the eleventh hour last year after protracted wrangling over how it should be financed.To be in place by 2013, five years after originally planned, it is supposed to end the EU's reliance on Washington's Global Positioning System.
Meanwhile, the European Commission early last year proposed a collective space policy in the EU but the communication only set out a loose set of aspirations in the area, rather than concrete measures.But reticence in other member states about certain EU policies has not thwarted Mr Sarkozy's enthusiasm in the past.In what is expected to be a very busy French EU presidency in the second half of this year, Mr Sarkozy has said he wants Europe to have an immigration policy, a defence policy, an energy policy and an environment policy by the end of 2008.
Report: Livni Holding Secret Talks on Dividing Jerusalem
Is Olmert Lying to Shas? By Amihai Zippor
(IHC News Analysis, 12 February 2008) According to a Jerusalem Post report, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been holding secret talks with Palestinian negotiators over dividing Jerusalem. Livni’s office has not denied the reports and it is unclear if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been instructing her.Olmert had promised Shas that there would not be any discussions over Jerusalem until all other issues were resolved. The promise was made in order to keep Shas in the government at a time when the coalition is on its last legs and Olmert hopes to reach a final agreement with the Palestinians by the end of the year. However, on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 a top Shas official said the party is not optimistic on the matter but is waiting for Olmert to return from a trip to Germany to question him. We get the impression that Jerusalem is being discussed, Communication Minister Ariel Atias said.Olmert has to decide whether he wants Shas in the government or whether he wants what Livni is doing, Atias said. When the story broke early Monday Shas Chairman Eli Yishai told The Post, I will check the story and if it's true, Shas will leave the government.If it is true it will mean Olmert lied to Shas and will further deteriorate any credibility the beleaguered PM has with the people around him or the Israeli public. Israel Hasbara Committee, 12 February 2008.
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE FEB 13,08
What about earthquakes, global crime, and the
many strange activities presently occurring in
space? How do these signs suggest that
Christ’s return is at hand?
Earthquakes
When they read Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, or Luke 21:11, some men foolishly observe, We've always had earthquakes. How can this be a sign? The Lord made this prediction around A.D. 30. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, from 1890 to 1930 there were only 8 quakes measuring 6.0 or larger. From 1930 to 1960, there were only 18. From 1960 to 1979, however; there were 64 killer quakes. And from 1980 to the present, there have been more than 200. Think of it! More than 200 major quakes in less than three decades-an earth-rattling reminder that the Rapture is near.
Crimes against Humanity
Christ went on to say in His pronouncement of signs, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12). What a portrait of modern-day America and the world! The U.S. Justice Department reports that about 30 percent or more of the nation's households are victimized by serious crime every year. The U.S. attorney general says that on average one of every sixteen American families is brutalized by violent crimes such as murder, rape, and aggravated assault. The FBI index also paints a grim picture, giving us the unsettling information that a murder occurs every twenty-four minutes, a forcible rape each seven minutes, a robbery every sixty-eight seconds, and an aggravated assault each fifty-one seconds. The total figures show that a violent crime is committed every twenty-seven seconds, a property crime every three seconds. Judge for yourself: Are things getting better or worse? The answer is obvious.
Signs in Space
Matthew 24:27-31 tells us: For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
I quote from these scriptures in Matthew because many believers are confused by this scenario. It is important to note that the reference here is to the Revelation-the revealing of Christ to the entire world as He returns to earth as King of kings-not the Rapture. The elect mentioned in this text are the elect Israelites of Romans 11:28. He gathers them together from the four winds. Gentile believers are not listed with the twelve tribes who mourn as Christ returns. Again, these are Jewish signs pointing to Christ's coming as King of kings and LORD of lords. The people of the Tribulation Hour will know when the momentous event is near because Matthew 24:29 pinpoints the time: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. The space signs are for the close of the Tribulation Hour. There is no way that they could point to the pretribulation Rapture, for we Christians will be gone when the dreadful bombardment of earth, probably with meteorites from space, occurs.
Luke adds to this account, And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken (Luke 21:25-26). These signs point to the close of the Tribulation Hour because they signal the return of the King to earth. Verse 27 adds, Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. This describes the coming of Christ to set up His glorious millennial reign (Revelation 20:4).
Space signs, which are to take place at the conclusion of the Tribulation Hour or almost seven years after the believers' departure via the Rapture, are already showing partial fulfillment. Such feats as humans walking, driving, and planting a flag on the moon make us realize these signs are only for twentieth-century citizens-for you and me. If a person had made such a prediction at the turn of the century, he would have become a candidate for a mental hospital. Space activity has become so commonplace today that no one even talks about the first step Neil Armstrong took on the moon in 1969.
We have always had signs, some skeptics say. Nothing has changed. It's the same as it was in Grandma's day. My response to that ostrich stance is simply to get your head out of the sand and fix your eyes on the heavens. The Space Age is with us, and Christ's prophecies are occurring with such rapidity that only a hardened heart could doubt it. Each new venture will incorporate additional methods of placing the potentials of space on earth. Christ's astounding prophetic statements about space are beginning to fill the skies. Some scientists and space writers are raising the possibility that the next large-scale war could be fought entirely in space. This possibility means that Satan and his demonic hosts could use the world's inventions for the war of wars described in Revelation 12:7-9: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
The Signs and Space Phenomena
I believe the rash of reports about UFOs are connected with the spirit world. The question Is there life on other planets? is unimportant. There is life in the heavens, for they are full of live, demonic spirits. This could easily explain the thousands of saucer sightings in recent years. Ezekiel 1 and 2 Kings 2:11 talk about angels and chariots of fire. Whoever controls them is incidental. What is important is that these strange signs in space are prophesied for the latter days. Those days are now upon us and should make us realize the coming of the Savior is near.
Do Old Testament signs primarily
speak of Christ’s return to earth?
What about the signs
in the Epistles?
I am asked this question repeatedly. While the Old Testament and four Gospels are filled with scores of references to Christ's return or the Revelation, the Epistles also contain a rich storehouse of scripture that speaks about Christ's return to earth. Look at the description in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.Let's look at several of the signs-as recorded in the Epistles-concerning the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to earth.
Selfishness
Men shall be lovers of their own selves. What a picture of the hour in which we live. You do not need to watch CNN for more than a few minutes to understand that people are living a life dedicated to self. Moreover, it is not only unbelievers who live such lives. When church members are so busy satisfying their flesh with the world's goodies and pleasures that they have no time to pray or witness to lost souls-that is the height of selfishness. You will remember the Bible passage about the scribe who came to Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 and said, Master, which is the great commandment... ? Jesus said unto him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
How different are we today, really? We, too, are lovers of our own selves. A person might expect this attitude in the ungodly world of pagans, but how sad when it occurs among those who are supposedly of the family of God. As selfishness accelerates and becomes the central theme at the beginning of a new century, you can be sure it is a sign that the end of the age is near.
The Love of Money
In the first century, Peter could say, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk (Acts 3:6). Churches today have incredible wealth. We build huge buildings and enjoy elaborate campuses. Much of this is good. However it is also a problem for many ministries, because the tail is wagging the dog. Furthermore, money does not have the power to perform miracles. As we approach the return of Christ, we need to recognize that we are living in the Laodicean age. Revelation 3:15-16 declares, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. God is saying, You lukewarm parishioners make Me sick! Why? Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (v. 17).
In our churches, many regard themselves as upper crust. They have money, power, and influence. Many of these Christian elite personalities feel they are too important to help others or to carry out acts of kindness in the Savior's name-no time for anything except to earn a few more dollars. God declares, The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).
Pride
God says, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:10). Satan fell because of pride. Moreover millions more have followed in his wake. Imagine the gall Satan must have had to say, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:13-14).
Satan has infiltrated the hearts of millions of Christians. A man with tears in his eyes once came to me and said, I was trying to win a young lady to Christ. She was poor and needy. Her parents are alcoholics. She was so destitute that all she had to wear was an old tattered dress. I took her to our church-a Bible-believing fellowship. When she and I walked down the aisle to our seats, I overheard a few snooty people behind me say, Why do they bring that kind of trash to our church! That kind of story breaks my heart, and I hope it breaks yours. However, if you feel your pedigree is better or more important than others, then I pray that God will speak to you and show you that you are one of the signs that Jesus Christ is coming again. Our Savior said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).
Iran has capacity to produce nuclear arms: US intelligence
FEB 13,08
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Iran still possesses the capacity to produce nuclear weapons even though it may have stopped its atomic arms development program, a senior US intelligence official said Wednesday.Thomas Fingar, deputy US director of national intelligence for analysis, told a Congressional hearing that the Islamic republic continues to develop capabilities that could be swiftly adopted for production of nuclear weapons.We judge it has the technical and industrial capability to produce nuclear weapons, he told the House of Representatives armed services committee which held the hearing to make a global security assessment.Lawmakers were particularly keen to find out from senior intelligence officials who testified Wednesday the background behind a new intelligence report in December saying Iran halted its nuclear weapons drive in 2003 and that US charges about Tehran's atomic goals were overblown.The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a consensus view of all 16 US spy agencies, had also cautioned that Iran was keeping its nuclear options open, still bucked international demands to freeze uranium enrichment, and could have the technical ability to make a nuclear weapon sometime between 2010and 2015.
Asked by one lawmaker whether Iran, by continuing its uranium enrichment activities, was still within striking distance of developing a nuclear weapon, Fingar said, your logic point is that they have the capacity to resume a weapons program if they wanted to do so.He said the US time frame prediction for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon was based on an indigenous capability for enriching uranium, which could be used to make nuclear fuel but also to make fissile material for atomic bombs.The time frame could be shortened if they procure fissile material elsewhere, he said. It's the centrifuge program -- fissile material production -- which is the main variable, he said.Media reports have said Iran is testing advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, in flagrant defiance of UN resolutions to suspend all enrichment activity until the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, can verify that such activities are entirely peaceful.Iran's refusal to suspend enrichment activities, in defiance of two sets of UN sanctions and the threat of a possible third, have fuelled western suspicions that Tehran is seeking to develop the atomic bomb. Iran insists it has an inalienable right to develop the technology to generate nuclear power to meet the energy needs of a growing population.
EU Diplomats: Iran Advancing Nuclear Program
By VOA News 13 February 2008
A general view shows the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, in southern Iran (File) European Union diplomats say Iran has begun processing small amounts of uranium gas in a further step toward enhancing its nuclear capability.Unnamed diplomats told reporters Wednesday that Iran's new high-tech centrifuges are designed to enrich uranium by at least twice the rate of previous ones. Reuters quoted a diplomat as saying the move is a stunning rejection of repeated U.N. Security Council demands that Iran suspend sensitive nuclear activity.The Council has already imposed two sets of sanctions on Iran for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Officials from Germany and the five permanent members of the Council recently agreed on the text of a resolution that will impose a third round of sanctions against Iran.Earlier Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies that Moscow disapproves of Iran's efforts to enrich uranium and develop rocket technology.
Lavrov says Iran's activities are not forbidden by international law. But he said recent years have shown there are a number of problems related to Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Lavrov warned Iran to refrain from actions that raise tensions and create the impression that Tehran is ignoring the decisions of the international community, the United Nations Security Council, and the IAEA.
Earlier this month, Iran announced it had test-launched a rocket that it said was designed to carry its first homemade research satellite into space.Washington and its allies accuse Iran of trying to master technology to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.Iran has been building its first nuclear power plant near the southern city of Bushehr. Officials say Russia has delivered enough nuclear fuel to run that plant, and that the facility will open later this year.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
Israel, embassies on high alert after assassination of Terrorist No. 1 / Imad Mughniyah killed in Damascus By Barak Ravid, Yoav Stern, and Amos Harel , Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Israel denied yesterday any involvement in the assassination of Hezbollah's most senior military commander, Imad Mughniyah, 45, in an official statement issued by the Prime Minister's Bureau. However, Syria, Hezbollah and its patron Iran accused Israel of being behind the blast in Damascus, which killed the chief of operations of the Lebanese Shi'ite organization believed to be responsible for a decades-long series of mass terrorist attacks throughout the world.Washington welcomed the demise of Mughniyah, who is believed to be the mastermind, most famously, behind attacks on the Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983, as well as the hijacking of American citizens in Beirut during the 1980s. The assassination occurred late Tuesday night when the SUV Mughniyah had entered exploded in an upscale neighborhood of Damascus, not far from an Iranian educational institution. Mughniyah was implicated in the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine and French peacekeeping barracks in Beirut, which killed over 350 people, as well as the 1992 bombing of the Israel Embassy, and the 1994 Jewish cultural center bombing, both in Buenos Aires. More than 100 people died in those two attacks. The United States indicted him for his role in planning and participating in the June 1985 hijacking of a U.S. TWA airliner and the shooting death of 23-year-old Navy diver Robert D. Stethem.
The world is a better place without this man in it, said State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack. He was a cold-blooded killer, a mass-murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost.Israel considered Mughniyah responsible for the Hezbollah raids which captured Israeli soldiers, both at Har Dov in 2000 and in 2006, and also the key liaison between the organization and Iran. He was not only being targeted by Israel, but also by the Americans and many other parties, said former Mossad head Danny Yatom on Israel Radio. He was one of the terrorists with the most amount of intelligence agencies and states chasing him. He behaved with extreme caution for many years. It was impossible even to obtain his picture. He never appeared or spoke before the media. His identity was hidden. His steps were hidden, Yatom said. In an official statement, the Prime Minister's Bureau denied any involvement in the assassination adding that Israel learned from the Lebanese and Syrian media about the assassination of a senior Hezbollah figure, and is still examining relevant details. The statement also rejected the attempt by terrorist organizations to attribute to it any involvement in this incident. We have nothing further to add.Israel's denials do not seem to have affected the impression in the Arab world and Iran that its secret service was behind the killing. Anticipating the possibility that Hezbollah would try to carry out a major attack against Israeli or Jewish targets worldwide in response to the killing, Israel's security issued orders to embassies and delegations abroad to be on high alert. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammed Ali Hosseini, described the assassination as yet another example of state-sponsored terrorism, and the kind of organized crime promoted by Israel.
Describing Mughniyah's actions and period as a senior commander in Hezbollah as a golden age in the period of resistance against Israel, Hosseini said that the free nations will remember forever and with pride the path of this warrior martyr.Syria's reaction to the killing in its own capital of one of the world's most wanted terrorist masterminds was surprisingly muted. The Syrian media did not announce details of the assassination or the identity of the target until well after the news had been released by media in the Arab world. Initially the Syrian Interior Ministry stated that a man was killed in a blast in Damascus, but did not identify him. In the first official reaction, Syrian Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majeed condemned the attack as a terrorist act, and said that an investigation was under way. Syria condemns this cowardly terrorist act and presents its condolences to the Lebanese people and to the family of the martyr, the official SANA news agency quoted him as saying. Hezbollah also blamed Israel for the assassination. Former Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said yesterday that the killing is Israel's revenge for the defeat it suffered at the hands of the organization during the Second Lebanon War.
Hezbollah is set to hold an official funeral for Mughniyah in Beirut today at 2 PM, with the main event being a prerecorded address by the group's general secretary, Hassan Nasrallah. Yesterday, Mughniyah's coffin, draped in a Hezbollah flag and flanked by four men in military uniform, was displayed in a hall where his family and leaders of the Shi'ite group received condolences.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
USA - CANADA STORMS
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Snow, ice pellets pummel Atlantic Canada
Wed Feb 13, 10:24 AM
PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - A blustery mix of snow and rain was forecast for much of Atlantic Canada Wednesday as another winter blast bears down on the region.Winter storm and rainfall warnings were issued for all of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.Environment Canada said a vigorous low pressure system is tracking across the Maritimes.Up to 20 centimetres of snow and ice pellets will fall across much of the region, followed by freezing rain, rain and blustery winds overnight.School boards announced closures across the region as they braced for the wintry mix of precipitation.Saint John running low on deicing supplies.In P.E.I., utility officials kept a close eye on the storm expected to hit the island late Wednesday in hopes of preventing a repeat of the ice storm in late January that left about one-third of island residents in the dark.Saint John officials, meanwhile, were warning residents to expect slippery roads because the city's salt and sand supplies were running out.
Wednesday's storm marked the 10th major winter storm to hit New Brunswick, leaving Saint John's stockpiles of road salt and sand extremely low, said city works director Shayne Galbraith.The storm was expected to push into Newfoundland and Labrador later Wednesday and early Thursday.Severe weather warnings were also in effect for parts of Quebec along the St. Lawrence River, Environment Canada said.Meanwhile in Central Canada, residents began breaking out the shovels after an additional 15 centimetres fell on parts of the already blanketed region.The southern half of Saskatchewan was under a blizzard warning and travel was not recommended in many areas on account of whiteout conditions.There were reports of some cancellations and delays at airports in Ottawa and Montreal, as well as slowdowns in Halifax, but no delays have been reported in Toronto.
Flood warning issued as storm blows through N.B.
Wed Feb 13, 9:42 AM
NEW.BRUNSWICK (CBC) - New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization has issued a flooding advisory for the southern part of the province.People living along streams and rivers in southern New Brunswick should be on alert as a storm passes through the province on Wednesday, said EMO officials.Environment Canada has issued weather warnings for all areas of the province.The 10th storm of the winter is expected to bring snow and ice pellets to northern New Brunswick while snow, rain and freezing rain are expected to hit the south Wednesday night.Water levels will rise because of the rain, said EMO, and higher temperatures over the coming days will likely break up ice and increase water flows.The northern part of the province is expected to receive 20 centimetres of snow and ice pellets, while the south could get 50 millimetres of rain.Cancellations of schools, church services and evening activities were occurring across the province on Wednesday.Many businesses and banks were reporting they would close in the early afternoon to allow employees to get home safely.Fredericton Transit has reported that the last buses on Wednesday will depart the city's main hub at Kingsplace at 3:15 p.m.The airports in Fredericton and Moncton were also reporting some delayed and cancelled flights.
10,000 homeless after Angola floods
Tue Feb 12, 1:56 PM
LUANDA (AFP) - More than 10,000 people have been forced from their homes and two thousand makeshift houses swept away by floods after heavy rain pounded parts of southern Angola, authorities said on Tuesday.Some of those displaced were being put up in tents at makeshift camps while others were being housed in schools in the provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huila. But authorities said they unable to cope with the number of people who need to be rescued from the danger area. Right now there are people still trapped that cannot be rescued. We're sending new police reinforcements to take people from risk areas into safety, Eugenio Laborinho, commander of the National Protection Services, told reporters in the capital Luanda.We have passed from an abnormal situation to a case of calamity.The town of Ondjiva in Cunene Province saw the worst of the floods, with more than 9,000 people displaced.A resident in the area told AFP that the scale of the flooding was unprecedented.The town is under water. You see houses, cars parked in garages all sitting in the water. I have never seen rain like this, said Carlos Txiwissa.The southern provinces of Cunene, Huila, Namibe and Cuando Cubango have been worst hit by the intensive downpours which come after a lengthy drought.
Storms upset Miss. River ships, kill 1 Tue Feb 12, 9:06 PM ET
NEW ORLEANS - Tornadoes and other severe weather raked the Deep South on Tuesday, pushing Mississippi River ships around like toys, damaging homes and killing at least one person. A tornado near a hospital sucked up a woman who had just left after visiting, killing her, officials said.Several river vessels broke loose in the winds, said Port of New Orleans spokeswoman Cynthia Swain. A freighter docked at the Andry Street Wharf was pushed across the river and collided with two vessels downstream.The Coast Guard also said a ship was grounded on the riverbank. There were no indications of serious levee damage, and the ship was not sinking, said Chris Bonura, another spokesman for the port.The river remained open, and there were no reports of injuries, Swain said.
A woman was killed by a tornado after leaving the Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Independence, La., at the height of the storm against advice, said Sherre Pack-Hookfin, the hospital's acting administrator.Falling trees damaged more than two dozen vehicles parked at the hospital, and an equipment storage trailer was flipped on its side. The National Weather Service confirmed it was a tornado, one of several reported throughout the afternoon.
A possible tornado damaged a condominium complex in Florida's Cocoa Beach, near Kennedy Space Center, said Brevard County Fire and Rescue. No serious injuries were reported, and shuttle operations were not affected, authorities said.Homes were damaged in Hinds County, Miss., said Lea Stokes, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Thousands of customers lost power at points in Mississippi.The storms follow catastrophic weather last week that produced the deadliest tornado outbreak in years, though that was to the north of Tuesday's track.
Icy storm blows through Northeast By JESSICA M. PASKO, Associated Press FEB 13,08
ALBANY, N.Y. - A powerful winter storm spread more than a half-foot of snow across parts of the Northeast on Wednesday, closing hundreds of schools and switching off the lights for thousands of homes and businesses. The Maine Legislature called off its session for the day and federal agencies opened two hours late in Washington. The Army's Fort Drum in northern New York state canceled all outdoor physical fitness training.The National Weather Service reported 10 inches of snow in Maine at Auburn and Lisbon Falls, 8.5 inches at Fitchburg, Mass., and up to 6 inches in eastern New York state, where ice was up to a half-inch thick. Winter storm warnings were in effect for much of New England and northern New York state, along with flood warnings in wide areas as heavy rain combined with melting snow.Combined snow and sleet accumulations could reach a foot in parts of northern New York, the weather service said.The storm system had been blamed for at least 14 deaths since Monday.The storm pummeled much of the Ohio Valley with ice and snow on Tuesday as it followed a northeasterly track toward New England. Precipitation in New England started as snow, changed over to sleet and freezing rain, and was expected to change completely to rain during the day. Farther south, rain soaked the Eastern Seaboard from North Carolina to the New York metropolitan area.
I guess we wouldn't be here (the Northeast) if it bothered us, Peter Rossi said as he had breakfast in Albany, N.Y. The big deal with the weather like this is the other guy you have to watch out for on the roads. Everyone's got a different driving style. Utilities reported power outages affecting about 20,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey, more than 8,000 in New York's Hudson Valley, about 21,000 in Connecticut, more than 5,400 in West Virginia, 2,500 in Maine and more than 27,000 in Maryland. More than 10,000 customers still had no power Wednesday in southwest Missouri, where the ice struck on Monday.This snow may be heavy and sticky, and after the changeover there could be significant icing in some areas — this kind of weather can be hard on our system, said Central Maine Power Co. spokesman John Carroll.Many flights in and out of Portland International Jetport were canceled Wednesday morning, and bus services reported cancellations and delays. Philadelphia International Airport reported numerous cancelations and delays, and ice and freezing rain shut down Connecticut's Bradley International Airport at Hartford for nearly five hours during the morning.Weather-related delays averaged nearly five hours during the morning at the New York area's La Guardia Airport and nearly three hours at Newark International Airport, said Arlene Salac-Murray, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Three buildings collapsed under the weight of the wet snow in New Hampshire, but no injuries were reported.The storm was adding to this winter's already impressive snowfall totals in Maine. Through Tuesday, Portland had received 71.5 inches, far above the 43.6 inch average for the date, the weather service said. Last year at this time, only 15.7 inches had fallen in Portland. In far northern Maine, more than 125 inches of snow has fallen this season at Caribou.The storm system had been blamed for one death in Louisiana, one in New Jersey, three in Kentucky, two in Missouri on Monday, six in West Virginia, and one in Philadelphia.Associated Press writers Jim Salter in St. Louis, Ben Dobbin in Rochester, N.Y., William Kates in Syracuse, N.Y. and Karen Matthews in New York City contributed to this report.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Wildfires in rain-starved Carolinas, Va., burn homes, force evactates Sun Feb 10, 9:33 PMBy Page Ivey, The Associated Press
CONWAY, S.C. - Wind-whipped wildfires chased churchgoers from worship, forced hundreds of residents to flee homes and closed highways across the rain-starved Carolinas and Virginia on Sunday. At least one business and an unknown number of homes and small structures were damaged by a blaze near the South Carolina coast, though no injuries were reported, authorities said. About 60 homes were briefly evacuated Sunday afternoon as the blaze sent smoke billowing above Conway, a city of about 11,000 people about 25 kilometres northwest of Myrtle Beach. The flames were at the top of the trees and I could feel the heat, said Lewis Cooper, 37, who fled the fire. In North Carolina, winds gusting up to 100 kilometres an hour in some areas toppled trees and power lines and also fanned brush fires. The Willow Spring Free Will Baptist church in Cleveland, N.C., just south of Raleigh, was holding a worship service when a fire forced it to evacuate, the town's Fire Chief Chris Ellington said. The church was spared any damage as high winds whipped the flames across 20 hectares, burning two empty barns and threatening about 20 homes, Ellington said. No injuries were reported. Hundreds of western Virginia homes were under a mandatory evacuation as wildfires spread. High winds took down trees and knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses.
Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a state of emergency and activated the Virginia National Guard to help fight wildfires. Bedford County issued an evacuation order for the Montvale area after a wildfire grew up to more than 200 hectares by Sunday, said county spokesman Bill Hoy.
Since then, more than 50-kilometre-an-hour winds created so much smoke that gauging the fire's size became impossible. The number of people affected by the evacuation was not immediately known. An elementary school was set up as an evacuation centre. In South Carolina, Horry County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner said the fire burned up to 80 hectares of forest before it was contained just north of Conway. More than 100 firefighters battling the blaze were frustrated by wind gusts of up to 50 km/h that sent the flames jumping over parts of one highway. A fire destroyed a consignment shop before firefighters could douse the flames. Joseph Schell got word about evacuations from one neighbour and, as smoke made it difficult to breathe, told another: Get your dogs, get in your car and get out of here.Schell, 37, drove his wife, three children and husky named Jessica to a Baptist church being used as a shelter. On the way, he said he saw firefighters dousing flames as they swept across yards. Several hours later, after the evacuation order was lifted, the family planned to either get back into their home or spend the night at a friend's motel. Red Cross officials planned to keep the shelter open in case people could not get back into their homes. The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported a brush fire reduced visibility to zero on Interstate 85 in northern part of the state, forcing police to reroute traffic onto a secondary highway.
All of North Carolina was under a red flag warning, meaning outdoor burning is prohibited. The warning stems from the passage of a strong cold front that whipped up the strong winds. The eastern half of South Carolina was under a red flag fire warning Sunday, with winds gusting up to 50 km/h and low humidity, the U.S. National Weather Service said. The ground also is dry, which creates dangerous wildfire conditions. Across South Carolina, 106 forest fires were reported by Sunday evening, state officials said.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Snow, ice pellets pummel Atlantic Canada
Wed Feb 13, 10:24 AM
PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - A blustery mix of snow and rain was forecast for much of Atlantic Canada Wednesday as another winter blast bears down on the region.Winter storm and rainfall warnings were issued for all of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.Environment Canada said a vigorous low pressure system is tracking across the Maritimes.Up to 20 centimetres of snow and ice pellets will fall across much of the region, followed by freezing rain, rain and blustery winds overnight.School boards announced closures across the region as they braced for the wintry mix of precipitation.Saint John running low on deicing supplies.In P.E.I., utility officials kept a close eye on the storm expected to hit the island late Wednesday in hopes of preventing a repeat of the ice storm in late January that left about one-third of island residents in the dark.Saint John officials, meanwhile, were warning residents to expect slippery roads because the city's salt and sand supplies were running out.
Wednesday's storm marked the 10th major winter storm to hit New Brunswick, leaving Saint John's stockpiles of road salt and sand extremely low, said city works director Shayne Galbraith.The storm was expected to push into Newfoundland and Labrador later Wednesday and early Thursday.Severe weather warnings were also in effect for parts of Quebec along the St. Lawrence River, Environment Canada said.Meanwhile in Central Canada, residents began breaking out the shovels after an additional 15 centimetres fell on parts of the already blanketed region.The southern half of Saskatchewan was under a blizzard warning and travel was not recommended in many areas on account of whiteout conditions.There were reports of some cancellations and delays at airports in Ottawa and Montreal, as well as slowdowns in Halifax, but no delays have been reported in Toronto.
Flood warning issued as storm blows through N.B.
Wed Feb 13, 9:42 AM
NEW.BRUNSWICK (CBC) - New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization has issued a flooding advisory for the southern part of the province.People living along streams and rivers in southern New Brunswick should be on alert as a storm passes through the province on Wednesday, said EMO officials.Environment Canada has issued weather warnings for all areas of the province.The 10th storm of the winter is expected to bring snow and ice pellets to northern New Brunswick while snow, rain and freezing rain are expected to hit the south Wednesday night.Water levels will rise because of the rain, said EMO, and higher temperatures over the coming days will likely break up ice and increase water flows.The northern part of the province is expected to receive 20 centimetres of snow and ice pellets, while the south could get 50 millimetres of rain.Cancellations of schools, church services and evening activities were occurring across the province on Wednesday.Many businesses and banks were reporting they would close in the early afternoon to allow employees to get home safely.Fredericton Transit has reported that the last buses on Wednesday will depart the city's main hub at Kingsplace at 3:15 p.m.The airports in Fredericton and Moncton were also reporting some delayed and cancelled flights.
10,000 homeless after Angola floods
Tue Feb 12, 1:56 PM
LUANDA (AFP) - More than 10,000 people have been forced from their homes and two thousand makeshift houses swept away by floods after heavy rain pounded parts of southern Angola, authorities said on Tuesday.Some of those displaced were being put up in tents at makeshift camps while others were being housed in schools in the provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huila. But authorities said they unable to cope with the number of people who need to be rescued from the danger area. Right now there are people still trapped that cannot be rescued. We're sending new police reinforcements to take people from risk areas into safety, Eugenio Laborinho, commander of the National Protection Services, told reporters in the capital Luanda.We have passed from an abnormal situation to a case of calamity.The town of Ondjiva in Cunene Province saw the worst of the floods, with more than 9,000 people displaced.A resident in the area told AFP that the scale of the flooding was unprecedented.The town is under water. You see houses, cars parked in garages all sitting in the water. I have never seen rain like this, said Carlos Txiwissa.The southern provinces of Cunene, Huila, Namibe and Cuando Cubango have been worst hit by the intensive downpours which come after a lengthy drought.
Storms upset Miss. River ships, kill 1 Tue Feb 12, 9:06 PM ET
NEW ORLEANS - Tornadoes and other severe weather raked the Deep South on Tuesday, pushing Mississippi River ships around like toys, damaging homes and killing at least one person. A tornado near a hospital sucked up a woman who had just left after visiting, killing her, officials said.Several river vessels broke loose in the winds, said Port of New Orleans spokeswoman Cynthia Swain. A freighter docked at the Andry Street Wharf was pushed across the river and collided with two vessels downstream.The Coast Guard also said a ship was grounded on the riverbank. There were no indications of serious levee damage, and the ship was not sinking, said Chris Bonura, another spokesman for the port.The river remained open, and there were no reports of injuries, Swain said.
A woman was killed by a tornado after leaving the Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Independence, La., at the height of the storm against advice, said Sherre Pack-Hookfin, the hospital's acting administrator.Falling trees damaged more than two dozen vehicles parked at the hospital, and an equipment storage trailer was flipped on its side. The National Weather Service confirmed it was a tornado, one of several reported throughout the afternoon.
A possible tornado damaged a condominium complex in Florida's Cocoa Beach, near Kennedy Space Center, said Brevard County Fire and Rescue. No serious injuries were reported, and shuttle operations were not affected, authorities said.Homes were damaged in Hinds County, Miss., said Lea Stokes, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Thousands of customers lost power at points in Mississippi.The storms follow catastrophic weather last week that produced the deadliest tornado outbreak in years, though that was to the north of Tuesday's track.
Icy storm blows through Northeast By JESSICA M. PASKO, Associated Press FEB 13,08
ALBANY, N.Y. - A powerful winter storm spread more than a half-foot of snow across parts of the Northeast on Wednesday, closing hundreds of schools and switching off the lights for thousands of homes and businesses. The Maine Legislature called off its session for the day and federal agencies opened two hours late in Washington. The Army's Fort Drum in northern New York state canceled all outdoor physical fitness training.The National Weather Service reported 10 inches of snow in Maine at Auburn and Lisbon Falls, 8.5 inches at Fitchburg, Mass., and up to 6 inches in eastern New York state, where ice was up to a half-inch thick. Winter storm warnings were in effect for much of New England and northern New York state, along with flood warnings in wide areas as heavy rain combined with melting snow.Combined snow and sleet accumulations could reach a foot in parts of northern New York, the weather service said.The storm system had been blamed for at least 14 deaths since Monday.The storm pummeled much of the Ohio Valley with ice and snow on Tuesday as it followed a northeasterly track toward New England. Precipitation in New England started as snow, changed over to sleet and freezing rain, and was expected to change completely to rain during the day. Farther south, rain soaked the Eastern Seaboard from North Carolina to the New York metropolitan area.
I guess we wouldn't be here (the Northeast) if it bothered us, Peter Rossi said as he had breakfast in Albany, N.Y. The big deal with the weather like this is the other guy you have to watch out for on the roads. Everyone's got a different driving style. Utilities reported power outages affecting about 20,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey, more than 8,000 in New York's Hudson Valley, about 21,000 in Connecticut, more than 5,400 in West Virginia, 2,500 in Maine and more than 27,000 in Maryland. More than 10,000 customers still had no power Wednesday in southwest Missouri, where the ice struck on Monday.This snow may be heavy and sticky, and after the changeover there could be significant icing in some areas — this kind of weather can be hard on our system, said Central Maine Power Co. spokesman John Carroll.Many flights in and out of Portland International Jetport were canceled Wednesday morning, and bus services reported cancellations and delays. Philadelphia International Airport reported numerous cancelations and delays, and ice and freezing rain shut down Connecticut's Bradley International Airport at Hartford for nearly five hours during the morning.Weather-related delays averaged nearly five hours during the morning at the New York area's La Guardia Airport and nearly three hours at Newark International Airport, said Arlene Salac-Murray, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Three buildings collapsed under the weight of the wet snow in New Hampshire, but no injuries were reported.The storm was adding to this winter's already impressive snowfall totals in Maine. Through Tuesday, Portland had received 71.5 inches, far above the 43.6 inch average for the date, the weather service said. Last year at this time, only 15.7 inches had fallen in Portland. In far northern Maine, more than 125 inches of snow has fallen this season at Caribou.The storm system had been blamed for one death in Louisiana, one in New Jersey, three in Kentucky, two in Missouri on Monday, six in West Virginia, and one in Philadelphia.Associated Press writers Jim Salter in St. Louis, Ben Dobbin in Rochester, N.Y., William Kates in Syracuse, N.Y. and Karen Matthews in New York City contributed to this report.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Wildfires in rain-starved Carolinas, Va., burn homes, force evactates Sun Feb 10, 9:33 PMBy Page Ivey, The Associated Press
CONWAY, S.C. - Wind-whipped wildfires chased churchgoers from worship, forced hundreds of residents to flee homes and closed highways across the rain-starved Carolinas and Virginia on Sunday. At least one business and an unknown number of homes and small structures were damaged by a blaze near the South Carolina coast, though no injuries were reported, authorities said. About 60 homes were briefly evacuated Sunday afternoon as the blaze sent smoke billowing above Conway, a city of about 11,000 people about 25 kilometres northwest of Myrtle Beach. The flames were at the top of the trees and I could feel the heat, said Lewis Cooper, 37, who fled the fire. In North Carolina, winds gusting up to 100 kilometres an hour in some areas toppled trees and power lines and also fanned brush fires. The Willow Spring Free Will Baptist church in Cleveland, N.C., just south of Raleigh, was holding a worship service when a fire forced it to evacuate, the town's Fire Chief Chris Ellington said. The church was spared any damage as high winds whipped the flames across 20 hectares, burning two empty barns and threatening about 20 homes, Ellington said. No injuries were reported. Hundreds of western Virginia homes were under a mandatory evacuation as wildfires spread. High winds took down trees and knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses.
Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a state of emergency and activated the Virginia National Guard to help fight wildfires. Bedford County issued an evacuation order for the Montvale area after a wildfire grew up to more than 200 hectares by Sunday, said county spokesman Bill Hoy.
Since then, more than 50-kilometre-an-hour winds created so much smoke that gauging the fire's size became impossible. The number of people affected by the evacuation was not immediately known. An elementary school was set up as an evacuation centre. In South Carolina, Horry County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner said the fire burned up to 80 hectares of forest before it was contained just north of Conway. More than 100 firefighters battling the blaze were frustrated by wind gusts of up to 50 km/h that sent the flames jumping over parts of one highway. A fire destroyed a consignment shop before firefighters could douse the flames. Joseph Schell got word about evacuations from one neighbour and, as smoke made it difficult to breathe, told another: Get your dogs, get in your car and get out of here.Schell, 37, drove his wife, three children and husky named Jessica to a Baptist church being used as a shelter. On the way, he said he saw firefighters dousing flames as they swept across yards. Several hours later, after the evacuation order was lifted, the family planned to either get back into their home or spend the night at a friend's motel. Red Cross officials planned to keep the shelter open in case people could not get back into their homes. The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported a brush fire reduced visibility to zero on Interstate 85 in northern part of the state, forcing police to reroute traffic onto a secondary highway.
All of North Carolina was under a red flag warning, meaning outdoor burning is prohibited. The warning stems from the passage of a strong cold front that whipped up the strong winds. The eastern half of South Carolina was under a red flag fire warning Sunday, with winds gusting up to 50 km/h and low humidity, the U.S. National Weather Service said. The ground also is dry, which creates dangerous wildfire conditions. Across South Carolina, 106 forest fires were reported by Sunday evening, state officials said.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
SHAS WILL QUIT IF JERUSALEM TALKS
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Strong earthquake shakes southern Mexico Tue Feb 12, 8:55 AM ET
MEXICO CITY - A magnitude-6.4 earthquake shook southern Mexico on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of major damage. The quake gently swayed buildings in Mexico City and rocked parts of Mexico's southern Pacific and Gulf coasts. In the southern city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, many people fled into the streets and then lingered outside their homes, fearing aftershocks.It was horrible, said Cecilia Gomez, standing with her family outside her home. It really scared me.Daniel Roque, of southern Chiapas state's civil protection agency, said some residents reported panic attacks, but no damage was registered.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 6:50 a.m. (7:50 a.m. EST) and was centered 70 miles southwest of Tuxtla Gutierrez, near the border between Oaxaca and Chiapas states.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
As Toronto prepares for another winter blast, some homeless not ready to head indoors Tue Feb 12, 6:31 AM
TORONTO (CBC) - Toronto is bracing for yet another winter storm.
Environment Canada says the city is in for as much as another 10 centimetres of snow on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, which will add to the snow and ice already piled up from earlier storms.
Temperatures, however, are expected to rise, returning to normal for this time of year. Since Sunday, much of Ontario has been caught in a deep cold spell with temperatures in the low negative teens, made to feel even colder by the wind chill effect.In Toronto the winter freeze led to an extreme cold weather alert - aimed mainly at getting the city's homeless into shelters. The alert brings fewer restrictions on opening and closing times at city-run shelters, more beds and increased patrols by outreach workers. The city opens an additional 80 emergency shelter spaces in an extreme cold weather alert.But not everyone says the city's approach is the right one.Some of the homeless say they feel safer out in the cold than they do inside the shelters.At the adult ones there tends to be a lot more hard drugs and thefts, and a higher crime level. A lot of people prefer to sleep outside than in shelters, said Kevin Lockie, who was panhandling at the corner of Bathurst and Queen streets on a frigid afternoon.But the city wants people like Lockie in shelters.Agencies that do outreach on behalf of the city have been instructed to get people into shelters, even if it means denying them soup or a warm blanket.We actually want people to come in off the street, said the city's manager for emergency planning Elaine Smyer.
If we give someone a blanket, or soup, or something to make them feel OK for the moment, that could end up being very dangerous later on.Longtime homeless advocate Beric German says the approach ignores people who don't want to use shelters and outreach workers are torn.They're unable to do what is sensible. If a person can't go into the shelter system then what's your response? You say then, I'll give you nothing then. I won't even feed you. I'll give you nothing more. It's a cold night, maybe you'll make it [into a shelter] if you suffer enough.The extreme cold alert is likely to be lifted sometime on Tuesday.
Welcome to the Icebox of the Nation! Minnesota town hits record 40 below zero Mon Feb 11, 12:56 PM By Jeff Baenen, The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Just recently it was dubbed by U.S. authorities as the Icebox of the Nation.On Monday International Falls., Minn., lived up to that name as the mercury dipped to a record low of minus 40 degrees. And it doesn't matter if you're counting in Celsius or Fahrenheit, since -40 is where the two scales cross.
Meteorologist Mike Stewart at the U.S. weather service in Duluth, Minn., says the previous record low in International Falls was -38 Celsius, set in 1967.
So how cold is -40.
International Falls resident Nick McDougall couldn't even get his car trunk lid to close after he got out his charger to kick-start a dead battery. This is about as cold as it gets, this is bad. There's no wind - it's just cold, said McDougall, 48, a worker at The Fisherman, a convenience store and gas station in the town on the Canadian border. People just don't go out, unless you have to go to work.Residents of the area use electric engine block heaters to keep their cars from freezing. You plug in your car, for sure, and you put the car in the garage if you can, McDougall said. His garage is full of other things, so he had to park outside - a big mistake.Chilly air also spread into the U.S. Northeast on Monday and many schools in New York state between Buffalo and Syracuse closed or opened late. Philadelphia had a Code Blue alert in effect, sending outreach crews to coax homeless people into shelters. Farther south, freezing rain hit southwest Missouri early Monday, making roads hazardous and closing schools. A coating of ice up to 2.5 centimetres thick was expected across much of southern and central Missouri, the weather service said. It's treacherous. If you can stay home this morning, do it, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Bracker said in Springfield. Thousands of West Virginia homes and businesses had no electricity Monday after the state was hit by weekend wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour. At least nine counties closed schools because of power outages and the cold. Classes also were cancelled Monday for a number of schools in Michigan, which remained in a deep freeze that set in on the weekend.
Millions brave China transport chaos as more bad weather looms Sun Feb 10, 11:40 PM
BEIJING (AFP) - Millions of people braved China's overcrowded transport networks Monday as they began the long trek back to work at the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, amid warnings of more bad weather.Railway officials in the nation's three main transport hubs -- Beijing in the north, Shanghai in the east and the southern city of Guangzhou -- said the number of passengers would peak Monday and Tuesday, the China Daily reported.The two main train stations in the Chinese capital expected the number of incoming passengers -- mostly migrants returning to their dormitories -- would top 100,000 on both days, the state-controlled paper said.The railway ministry had added 226 special trains to accommodate one of the biggest movements of people anywhere in the world, but even so, tickets were sold out down to the last seat, according to the paper.
Overburdened traffic networks and inclement weather could form a deadly combination, as reflected in a weekend accident when a minibus veered off an icy road in southwest China's Guizhou province, killing all nine passengers.The Spring Festival transport season, is an annual test to the transport system serving 1.3 billion people, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.It is a test that grows more formidable every year, as more and more people travel home for what is by far the biggest festival of the calendar in all societies influenced by Chinese culture.The railways alone are expected to carry a record of 178.6 million passengers during this year's 40-day travel season, up from 156 million last year, Xinhua said, citing the railway ministry.The transport system has been under unprecedented strain not just because of the millions of extra passengers, but also because it has had to cope with the most ferocious winter weather in at least five decades.Snow storms and chilly temperatures froze key sections of the transport network just as great numbers of people were heading home for the holiday late last month and the beginning of February, leaving millions stranded.There were further warnings of more bad weather to come, exactly at the wrong time, at the start of the return travel rush. Tuesday is the last day of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
The State Council, or Cabinet, ordered more efforts Sunday from central and local officials to prepare for another round of precipitation mainly in south and southwest China in the next 10 days, Xinhua said.Heavy snow or even blizzards were expected in the next three days in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan in the west, while sleet and icy rains were possible in most part of southwest China's Guizhou province.A severe cold snap would affect northern China, resulting in light or moderate snow for parts of the Inner Mongolia region and Heilongjiang province in the next two days, according to Xinhua.
Twenty-Five Years of Lifesaving Ministry
February 12, 2008
Dear Friend of Israel
Twenty-five years ago, I discovered that there were great numbers of Bible-believing Christians who were staunch supporters of Israel and the Jewish people. These friends of Israel had a hunger to demonstrate that support in tangible ways, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to learn more about Israel and the Jewish roots of their Christian faith.
Recognizing this hunger, and drawing on the shared biblical heritage of both Christians and Jews, in 1983 I founded the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews. It was time, I decided, for Christians and Jews to work together to reverse their history of discord and build bridges of understanding and cooperation.
In 1991, the Holyland Fellowship became the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and now, twenty-five years later, our success and impact has been far greater than I ever could have imagined. Thanks to God's blessing and our partners' generosity, we have helped rescue hundreds of thousands of Jews who have made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel from the four corners of the earth in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. And we have also provided a lifeline to countless numbers of poor Jews in Israel and the former Soviet Union.
There are a number of events planned to mark our 25th anniversary. Following the remarkable success of our 2007 tour, we will launch an extended 25th Anniversary Journey Home to Israel Tour. Participants will again have the opportunity to see the Bible come to life, be with me and other Fellowship staff, and visit Fellowship projects so they can see their life-changing donations at work. We’ve planned a special event so that everyone will have the opportunity to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship in the Holy Land, and are also offering a three-day extension for anyone interested in engaging in intensive Bible study with me at the locations where many biblical events occurred. Read the testimonials from 2007 tour participants, and prayerfully consider if God is calling you to journey home with us to Israel in 2008.
2008 will also see a Fellowship first -- in August, we're going on an Alaskan cruise. During our weeklong journey, I will lead Bible studies that will help you better understand the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. I'll share stories of the life-changing impact of Fellowship initiatives made possible through your generous donations, and on Friday, my wife Joelle and I will be privileged to share a traditional Sabbath meal with you. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn from God's word together as we experience some of the most beautiful country in God's creation!
Last but certainly not least on the list of anniversary events is The Fellowship's 25th Anniversary National Conference and Celebration Banquet in Chicago. During this powerful two-day event, we'll be joined by Christian, Jewish, American, and Israeli leaders to give thanks for what God has done through The Fellowship. Please consider joining us in Chicago for this exciting event as we set a bold new course in Christian-Jewish relations and discuss how Jews and Christians can continue to work together for Israel's peace and security.
It promises to be an exciting year. But, as we make our plans to mark a quarter-century of ministry, I am humbled to realize that none our success would have been possible without God's help - and yours. It is God and our ministry partners who make it possible for us to do the work we do every day. I hope you will help us celebrate our 25th anniversary year by participating as you are able in our special events. And I hope you will continue to work with us for the next 25 years, as we seek to bless God's chosen people together.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President Inter Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
What are the signs of Christ’s return?
By Dr Jack Van Impe
Now that we have addressed several foundational questions on the pre-Rapture signs, I want to show you how the Bible provides overwhelmingly clear evidence of other pretribulational signs demonstrating Christ's impending return to earth. I will now begin to deal with every major sign in the New Testament to show that Jesus' statement, When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors (Matthew 24:33), is being fulfilled in our day and age. Matthew 24:3-14 declares:
And as he [Jesus] sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying. Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another, And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This passage may be among the most misunderstood of all prophetic pronouncements. The problem has arisen because many Christians still fail to see that God has two elect groups upon earth-the nation of Israel (Romans 11:28) and the Church (1 Peter 1:2). Romans 9-11 tells the entire story of God's chosen people, Israel. Chapter 9 concerns Israel's past, chapter 10 its present, and chapter 11 its future. Regarding its glorious past, Romans 9:4 declares that Israel was given the promises, including prophetic pledges. In chapter 10, verse 16, we find: But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who [among them] hath believed our report? Presently, they are blinded to their calling and promises, but in the future, All Israel shall be saved: as it is written. There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:26).
Why will God perform this? Verse 29 provides the answer: For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God chose Israel (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) and He has never canceled His selection. Therefore, Israel remains God's chosen people and heir to His promises as stated in Romans 11:28. The signs of Matthew 24 are presented to the elect- yes, elect Israel. We know this to be true in this chapter because of the regard for the Sabbath day (v. 20), because of the connection with synagogues (Luke 21:12), and because the setting of Matthew 24 is Jerusalem (v. 1). Only Bible manipulators, antidispensationalists, and antiliteralists could make Gentiles out of these Jews.
Included in this group are the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Twelve thousand shall be chosen from each of the twelve tribes. Twelve thousand times twelve equals 144,000. The tribes are Juda, Reuben, Gad, Aser, Nephthalim, Manasses, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph, and Benjamin (Revelation 7:4-8). These signs are for Israel, who is looking for the return of her King in Revelation 19. They are not signposts for the Rapture.
The group looking for the fulfillment of signs in Matthew 24 is preaching a different gospel in verse 14. Gospel means good news, and their good news is the gospel of the kingdom or the good news that their King is about to return (Revelation 19:16). They will be traveling around the globe, 144,000 strong, singing The King is coming! The King is coming! Although the signs will be fulfilled in their entirety after the Christians are gone, we already see the tantalizing beginning of each of these signs. Again, this means that if these signs pointing to our return with the King are already in their initial stages, we must be snatched away very soon in order to prepare for our return to earth with Christ the King.
False Christs
In Matthew 24:3, Jesus was asked, When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [to earth], and of the end of the world [or age of grace]? He replied, Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (v. 5). Since the year 1900, more than eleven hundred people claiming to be Christ have appeared on the world scene. These include Father Divine, Prophet Jones, Sweet Daddy Grace, Father Riker; Daniel Swalt, Moses Guibbory, Maharaj Ji, and Sun Myung Moon, not to mention scores of lesser-known, self-proclaimed messiahs who enjoyed a few fleeting moments of media fame.
Presently, while they might not refer to themselves as false Christs, certain members of our liberal clergy are playing such a role. Take, for example, a survey of the beliefs and attitudes of the Church of Scotland ministers. They have rightfully caused a stir within the denomination as the foundational truth of the Bible-the virgin birth of Christ-was recently called into question by religious leaders. The shocking results of the survey of 150 ministers were that 16 percent did not believe in the Immaculate Conception of Christ and 15 percent said that they didn't know. An amazing 17 percent said that the Virgin Mary was not a virgin in twentieth-century terms, and 6 percent thought that Jesus was the product of Mary and Joseph having sex outside of marriage. (See Matthew 7:21-23 and 2 Peter 2:1-3.)
Such abuse of Scripture is yet another sign of the times. However, eventually, the ultimate false Christ-one who is probably alive even at this moment-will proclaim himself as the true Christ and become accepted on an international scale. The Bible predicts such an hour, when the Antichrist, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped... sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4) and is accepted as such. This internationally deified dictator will inaugurate a world-peace program which will hold the world spellbound for forty-two months, or three and one-half years. Then, in the middle of the seven-year period of tribulation, he will break all of his pledges and destroy his contractual obligations with Israel (Daniel 9:27). At this time, Russia will begin a world war as she invades Israel (Ezekiel 38:11). This war will eventually involve all nations (Zechariah 14:2).
This is God's outline from the Bible. First, the international dictator will establish global peace, and when the world believes that Utopia has arrived, the bottom will fall out of their hopes and aspirations: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3). We now move to even more dramatic signs that signify our Lord is coming soon.
What is the significance of today’s wars,
famines, and increasing pestilences?
From the proclamation of Matthew 24:6-7, we see that the world can expect nothing but rivalry and battles until the Antichrist produces the false peace of the Tribulation era. More than 176 limited wars have been fought since the end of the Second World War. Today one out of every four nations on earth is engaged in some kind of military conflict.
Soon, however, we will experience the greatest global confrontation in history, for we are marching swiftly toward Armageddon at this moment. Over a decade ago, CIA and British Intelligence reports about the Soviet Union were grim. They reported the development of new weapons systems located throughout the Soviet Union, along with expenditures of enormous sums for underground civil defense shelters that meant that Russia was preparing for war. Many did not believe these pronouncements at the time.
Even today, while there is a semblance of peace (although the signs of a reemergence of the Cold War are increasing), we must not be lulled into thinking that Russia has changed her ways-especially since enormous numbers of nuclear warheads remain hidden in underground silos throughout the southern provinces of that vast land. I've noted that people no longer laugh at the prophecies uttered by Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39 that picture the Russian hordes from the north swarming to the Middle East. Today, as the end-time clock continues to wind down, the red horse of the Apocalypse is about to appear. Revelation 6:4 states, There went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Famines and Pestilences
Christ continued in Matthew 24:7, And there shall be famines, and pestilences. More than two billion of the world's inhabitants go to bed hungry each night. There are nationwide famine in the Sudan and Rwanda and reports of widespread cannibalism in North Korea-with news coming from Indonesia, the earth's fourth largest nation that millions of people on those scattered islands remain on the brink of starvation. Thousands are dying painful deaths throughout our world, while scores of others are too numb with hunger to realize what is happening. One writer said it poignantly, First the belly swells, then the hair turns gray and the skin cracks, after a while the victim dies in mute misery. Such an experience will soon be the fate of millions of people. Paul Erlich, a biochemist at Stanford University, said it's already too late to prevent famines that will kill millions, because already one-half billion are starving and another billion are malnourished. He may be right. There seems to be no possible solution in the near future, because it is too late to produce enough food.
America will undoubtedly be included in this suffering in the days ahead. In fact, the number of the beast, 666 (something we'll address in a later question and answer), may come into existence through an international rationing plan. Soon the voice of Revelation 6:6 will sound, A measure of wheat for a penny. A measure in Bible times was a quart, and a penny was a day's wages. Imagine a loaf of bread for a day's labor. Pestilence, the twin sister of hunger, is also on the rampage. The swine flu scare, legionnaires' disease, AIDS, and other diseases-many already fully resistant to antibiotics and other medications-are only the beginning. Years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest, reprinted from an article in Time entitled, The Bugs Are Coming. And they have come indeed . . . and will continue to come in plague like fashion during these final days. Even as I write these words, other pestilential plagues are in their preparatory stages. The South American fire ant has advanced from its initial beachhead in Mobile, Alabama, and now infests more than one hundred billion acres in nine southern states, sometimes driving farm workers from the fields because of its fiery sting. In forest areas the gypsy moth, the spruce budworm, and the southern pine beetle have wreaked devastation on huge areas of woodland, defoliating and killing millions of valuable trees-enough, in fact, to build 910,000 houses per year! Corn borers and rootworms have attacked crops in the Corn Belt at an incredible rate. The boll weevil costs United States farmers millions of dollars in crop losses annually. The mosquito is infecting one million humans per year in Africa and killing thousands annually with malaria, while the black fly in the Volta River basin blinds hundreds of thousands each year.
The insect world is multiplying at an exponential rate. Entomologists estimate that the number has now climbed to one quintillion, representing five million different species. If a person could weigh all insects together, their combined weight would be twelve times that of the entire human race. Can there be any doubt that the pestilence Jesus predicted will soon rear its head in monstrous proportions and that world hunger will be felt by every country on earth? This, along with what comes out of the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:2 (causing the plague of verse 3), is just around the corner. Listen to the prediction: There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Their purpose is to destroy and kill. The Rapture is near, my friend ... the signs are all around us.
Navy Tests Incredible Sci-Fi Weapon
The U.S. Navy yesterday test fired an incredibly powerful new big gun designed to replace conventional weaponry aboard ships. Sci-fi fans will recognize its awesome power and futuristic technology.The big gun uses electromagnetic energy instead of explosive chemical propellants to fire a projectile farther and faster. The railgun, as it is called, will ultimately fire a projectile more than 230 miles (370 kilometers) with a muzzle velocity seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7) and a velocity of Mach 5 at impact.The test-firing, captured on video, took place Jan. 31 in Dahlgren, Va., and Navy officials called it the world's most powerful electromagnetic railgun.The Navy's current MK 45 five-inch gun, by contrast, has a range of less than 23 miles (37 kilometers).The railgun has been a featured weapon in many science fiction universes, such as the new Battlestar Galactica series. It has also achieved newfound popularity among the 20-something-and-under generation for its devastating ability to instantaneously shoot a slug through walls and through multiple enemies in video games such as the Quake series of first person shooters.
The Navy's motivation? Simple destruction.
The railgun's high-velocity projectile will destroy targets with sheer kinetic energy rather than with conventional explosives.I never ever want to see a Sailor or Marine in a fair fight. I always want them to have the advantage, said Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead. We should never lose sight of always looking for the next big thing, always looking to make our capability better, more effective than what anyone else can put on the battlefield.The railgun's lack of explosives means ships would be safer, said Elizabeth D'Andrea, Electromagnetic Railgun Program Manager.The Navy's goal is to demonstrate a full-capability prototype by 2018.
SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Europe foothold on deep space exploration as lab installed on space station by Jean-Louis Santini Tue Feb 12, 2:10 AM ET
HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) - Astronauts on Monday installed the European space laboratory Columbus on the orbiting International Space Station, giving Europe an important foothold for the deeper exploration of space. The European Columbus module is officially part of the International Space Station, said French space engineer Leopold Eyharts, as NASA broadcast live images of the installation, which took place at 2144 GMT.The long-delayed move gives European space agencies a presence alongside US and Russian astronauts on the ISS, a preparation point for future human missions to Mars.Two astronauts from the US space shuttle Atlantis earlier made a seven-hour space walk to prepare Columbus for its hook-up to the station, orbiting 350 kilometers (215 miles) above the Earth.They fixed fittings to Columbus so it could be grabbed and maneuvered into position by a robotic arm, operated from within the ISS, for attachment to the station's Harmony module.The two billion-dollar (1.3 billion-euro), 10-tonne laboratory represents a milestone in Europe's role in space. Paid for mostly by Germany, Italy and France, it is the first ISS addition not made in the United States or Russia.
The laboratory will boost the station's research capabilities, being used for biotechnology and medicine experiments involving microgravity. It has room for three astronauts and 10 experimentation units.The spacewalkers also had to install panels to protect it from the impact of micro-meteorites.NASA plans to attach another laboratory, the Japanese module Kibo, to Harmony in March.Clearing up concerns that launch debris may have damaged the shuttle as it took off from Florida, mission chief John Shannon said Sunday that the thermal shield on Atlantis's nose and wing forward edges were in perfect condition.He also said the mission could be prolonged a second day, a decision to be taken on Tuesday.
The space walk came a day later than originally scheduled, after German astronaut Hans Schlegel, who was to take part in the walk, fell ill.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has not revealed the cause of his illness. On Sunday, European Space Agency spokesman Markus Bauer said Schlegel, 56, appeared to have recovered and was doing very well.We are assuming that he will take part in the second spacewalk, said Bauer.Columbus had been due for delivery in 2004 but this was delayed after the Colombia shuttle disaster in 2003, which caused the fleet to be grounded for safety reviews after seven astronauts died in the flight.A technical setback with the Atlantis shuttle in December delayed Columbus' delivery further.Now it is hooked up to the station, astronauts will be able to go into Columbus from Tuesday to set up its interior and test its equipment, NASA said.A second spacewalk scheduled for Wednesday will be devoted to separate tasks on the ISS, including replacing an old nitrogen tank. On a third walk on Friday astronauts will install equipment on the new laboratory's exterior. Eyharts is to stay on the ISS for several weeks to get Columbus up and running. He replaces US astronaut Daniel Tani, who will ride back to Earth on Atlantis. NASA plans to complete the International Space Station by 2010, when its three-shuttle fleet is retired.
Israel building plans anger Palestinians By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer FEB 12,08
JERUSALEM - Israel is planning to build 1,100 new apartments for Israelis in east Jerusalem, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday, angering Palestinians who want the area as a capital of their future state and further troubling peace talks. Housing Minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio that plans were under way to build 370 apartments in Har Homa and an additional 750 in Pisgat Zeev, two Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.Construction in Jerusalem continues as usual, said Gali Cohen, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.An Israeli plan to build an additional 307 apartments in Har Homa two months ago soured the latest round of peace talks just as they were resuming after a seven-year pause.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, annexed it, and built new neighborhoods there that are now home to 180,000 Israelis. It does not consider construction there to be settlement activity, as the Palestinians and international community do.Israel expects to retain Jewish east Jerusalem neighborhoods under a final peace deal, but the Palestinians still see construction there as compromising a final agreement. Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have set a December 2008 target date for reaching an accord.But the Israeli construction plans undermine chances of reaching a peace agreement by the end of this year, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.We condemn these Israeli declarations, and once again we ask the Israeli government to give peace a chance by stopping all settlement activity, Erekat said.White House press secretary Dana Perino said she had not seen the report about Israel's plans to build new apartments in east Jerusalem. But, obviously, there's no doubt that an announcement of that sort would make the Palestinians concerned, she said.East Jerusalem is home to 208,000 Palestinians, according to a recent Palestinian census. The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state that includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as their capital.
Olmert has signaled he would be ready to cede control of some Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem.Hard-line political opponents, and some members of his fractious coalition government, oppose any compromise on Jerusalem, which Israel calls its eternal, undivided capital.As a result, Olmert has to maintain a balancing act — trying to placate the Palestinians by avoiding provocative moves while avoiding the coalition crisis that would ensue if he openly declared a freeze on construction in Jerusalem. Olmert already has declared a partial freeze on construction in the West Bank.
If Olmert openly halts construction in Jerusalem, he risks pushing the hawkish Shas party out of his government and losing his majority in parliament, said Israeli political scientist Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv.And with Israeli public opinion opposed to any compromise in Jerusalem, Inbar said, a move that would be seen as ceding Israeli sovereignty there would be politically disastrous for Olmert.Jerusalem is so sensitive that any government that touches it will fall apart, Inbar said.The new peace talks, formally launched at a U.S.-hosted peace conference last November, appear to have made scant progress.Negotiations appear to have been conducted so far at an unhurried pace, and have been marred by militants firing rocket barrages at Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip and Israeli raids and sanctions aimed at halting the fire. The sides' top negotiators, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the Palestinians' Ahmed Qureia, met Monday and Tuesday for talks, according to Arye Mekel, a spokesman for Livni. Olmert said Tuesday that talks on Jerusalem — perhaps the stickiest issue in the peace process — would be put off. We try to move on forward through those issues which can be resolved, perhaps, faster than the others, he said in Berlin. In December, after the first Har Homa project threatened peace talks, Olmert told his Cabinet ministers not to approve new building without his approval. On Monday, Jerusalem city manager Yair Maayan told a parliamentary panel that the government was holding up construction of hundreds of apartments in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.
But Boim denied that construction was being held up, explaining that a written directive Olmert issued applied only to settlements in the West Bank — which Israel has not annexed and has a different legal status under Israeli law — and not to adjacent eastJerusalem, which Israel considers to be under its full sovereignty. What people call delays are in fact final stages of coordination with city hall, Boim told Israel Radio. The Housing Ministry has solicited bids from contractors to build the initial 307 units at Har Homa and will move ahead with the new 370 units if there is demand, said Eran Sidis, a spokesman for Boim. The final details of the planned 750 units in Pisgat Zeev are being coordinated with Jerusalem city officials, he said.
Shas: we'll quit coalition if report of secret Jerusalem talks proves true By Israel Insider staff February 10, 2008
We will check your story and if it is true, Shas will leave the government, Yishai told the Jerusalem Post. He added that the party would also leave if the government continued to negotiate while rockets were being fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu urged Shas to leave the coalition. Following the [government's] security failures and in light of what I've read on Jerusalem being discussed in negotiations, I call on our friends in Shas: You share our opinions, our concern for Jerusalem, our concern for security - I call on you to do the right thing. And the right thing is to stop these dangerous moves and quit the government, Netanyahu said.
Earlier, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas had said that negotiations are taking place between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (Abu Allah) are dealing with the status of Jerusalem. Livni admitted it, and a PA officials say that much progress is being made including Israeli agreement to hand over almost all Arab-populated areas of the city. That contradicted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's promise to the Shas Party that talks are not taking place, and would not take place till the very end of negotiations. Shas had declared that it will bolt the coalition and bring down the government the moment talks over Jerusalem ensue. The main progress has been achieved during the secret talks, particularly on the issue of Jerusalem. Today we can say that Israel is prepared to withdraw from almost all the Arab neighborhoods and villages in Jerusalem. Israel is prepared to redivide Jerusalem and this is a positive development.PA official, commenting on progress in talks with Israel's diplomatic team.Abbas made the statements before meeting with European Parliament members in Ramallah Thursday. FM Livni confirmed negotiations in a meeting with foreign diplomats late last week. Hagai Huberman reports in Sunday's edition of Makor Rishon that FM Livni told foreign diplomats a few days ago that in her talks with Abu Ala (aka Ahmed Qurei) they are in fact discussing all the key issues, including Jerusalem. She admitted that this conflicts with what the prime minister said two weeks ago that for Shas to hear, that the matter of Jerusalem would only be discussed at the end of the negotiations.
A PA official went further, saying that most issues concerning Jerusalem were actually resolved in secret meetings. There are public meetings and there are secret ones, the PA official explained. The main progress has been achieved during the secret talks, particularly on the issue of Jerusalem. Today we can say that Israel is prepared to withdraw from almost all the Arab neighborhoods and villages in Jerusalem. Israel is prepared to redivide Jerusalem and this is a positive development.The cat is out of the bag, MK Zevulun Orlev (NU/NRP) told the Post. The fact that [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert's government is not telling the truth over the negotiations with the Palestinians has been revealed. Shas will no longer be able to say they didn't know. Even if the prime minister isn't telling them the truth, they can thank the Jerusalem Post for revealing it to them. I hope Shas keeps its promise and leaves the government that is dividing Jerusalem, Orlev said. Jerusalem Municipality opposition leader Nir Barkat called on Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to come clean: I demand that the foreign minister, who heads the negotiations with the Palestinians, publicly disclose all secret and other agreements that the state of Israel has reached with the Palestinians, Barkat told the Post. In response to the report, which quoted a senior PA official in Ramallah, Barkat said that Jerusalem had better not be the subject of secret talks. Barkat, a high tech multimillionaire who heads a campaign against the proposed division of the capital, said "any such agreement achieved on behalf of an Israeli official would constitute an absolute deviation to Kadima's basic principles, a violation to the basic law of Jerusalem, betrays the trust of the voter and undermines the sovereign basis of the Israel's Knesset.
The Palestinians must understand that neither the government of Israel, nor any other body on its behalf, have the right to promise to give up areas where Israeli law, governance and legislation has been implemented, he said. United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz said that if the story is true, then the Jerusalem's fate is being decided like a thief in the night. It cannot be that while Olmert is denying that there are any talks about Jerusalem at all, Tzipi Livni is negotiating in back rooms with Abu Ala (Qurei) about the state of our capital.Yet Shas Spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch originally dismissed the report. Nobody is talking about Jerusalem, he told Arutz Sheva. The moment Jerusalem is being discussed Shas will leave the government -- period. Asked if he was claiming that Livni is lying, he said: I am not saying she is lying -- but I am saying that absolutely nobody is negotiating over Jerusalem.Shas Party Chairman Eli Yishai told party activists in Tiberias that he expects new national elections to take place before November. Yishai's latest comments came after the reports of the secret talks over Jerusalem came out, and Shas headquarters were deluged with calls, emails and faxes urging the party to leave the government.
McCain wants more EU troops for Afghanistan
By Tim Shipman, Norfolk, Virginia 1:16am GMT 10/02/2008
John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for November's US presidential race, is to launch a diplomatic offensive to push France and Germany to do more to help British forces in Afghanistan.
Mr McCain has told The Sunday Telegraph that he plans to bang European heads together. I'll go over there and sit down with them, he said, to discuss what he sees as Nato's failure to do the heavy lifting in Afghanistan.Details of Mr McCain's deep concern at the state of the war against the Taliban are the first disclosure of how his approach to foreign policy would affect Britain.He is troubled that Nato allies have failed to provide sufficient troops to take on the Taliban in the south of the country. He is also concerned that some European nations do not let their troops patrol at night, or take part in offensive operations. He said: We just had to order 3,000 additional marines to Afghanistan because of the resurgence of the Taliban. Let's have some straight talk. There are some operational restrictions on some of the troops that are there. Some of the countries have not contributed what they can.But he is also critical of the failure to bring under control the poppy crop, an area where Britain has taken an ineffective lead. Most of the heroin that is produced goes to Europe, he said. In a signal that he would lead an overhaul of the fight against the Taliban, Mr McCain said he wanted to see changes to the current dual command structure, which permits some Nato members to focus on nation-building exercises in Afghanistan, while Britain and Canada are fully integrated in the US military command.Troop deployment in hostile areas of Afghanastan: Click to enlarge.It's a command structure that's not as efficient as it could be, he said.
Most significant may be his willingness to deploy his straight-talking charm on the world stage. His closest aide, Mark Salter, told The Sunday Telegraph he could be blunter in his demands on allies than President Bush as he had a well of goodwill to tap.They know him, Mr Salter said. He's obviously very direct. He can go there and get mad at the Germans and the French and they are used to that. He speaks as an Atlanticist. He has spent enormous amounts of time in Europe.This is no criticism of President Bush, but he wasn't a known quantity when he became president. John is on a first-name basis with them.A future President McCain would be expected to win favour with European governments critical of the Bush administration's approach to combating Islamic extremism, by closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in the first weeks of his presidency and declaring that the US will no longer tolerate torture.British and American pressure on Germany appeared to bear fruit yesterday when it emerged the German government might send an extra 1,000 troops to Afghanistan. But Mr McCain will continue to work to broaden its restrictive rules of engagement.The Afghanistan offensive will form a major plank of Mr McCain's outreach to the world, as he battles to win over conservatives in his party.McCain watchers say his presidency and his foreign policy would be shaped by the blunt force of his personality - an abrasiveness that has caused problems with fellow Republicans. Matt Welch, Mr McCain's most recent biographer, said his world view was shaped by his character and experiences as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.Mr Welch said: He's always talking about sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself. He was able to withstand torture because he found faith in country and his family and their military traditions.
His ideology is national greatness: to restore our faith in American government at home and the US as a great shining city on a hill for the rest of the world. McCain is an interventionist. He looks around the world and sees evil and he wants to back that struggle up with force.But he is more sensitively attuned than Bush to the need for America to provide moral leadership.Mr McCain, an unabashed fan of boots on the ground in military operations, is committed to a dramatic expansion of the US Army and Marine Corps.
He is avowedly sceptical of the recent US national intelligence estimate that downplayed the threat from Iran's nuclear programme. He backs intervention in Darfur and once suggested America should support rebel insurgents in North Korea.During this election campaign he has predicted that US troops could be in Iraq for a century, openly comparing the deployment with the continuing garrison in South Korea. Mr Welch said: He sees the benefits of American imperialism. He grew up studying the British Empire in the 19th century, and his dad read him Rudyard Kipling.The flip side is that I don't think he recognises any side effects to America policing the world. The target on our back is getting bigger. He has zero sense of that.But John Lehman, a senior military adviser to Mr McCain and Ronald Reagan's navy secretary, told The Sunday Telegraph he was no warmonger. He's seen war first-hand, he said. He knows the cost of war and he knows that diplomacy without the willingness to put force behind the diplomacy is useless. It's a balance that he deeply understands.He knows that wars that are best won are those that are not fought.
Kosovo will proclaim independence on 17 February, Serbia says 08.02.2008 - 17:28 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
The Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo intends to proclaim independence next Sunday (17 February), Serbia said on Friday, saying it has information to back up the claim.The Serbian government has received more and more significant information that [Kosovo's prime minister] Hashim Thaci will illegally declare the unilateral independence of Kosovo on February 17, Slobodan Samardzic, Serbia's minister for Kosovo was quoted as saying by press agencies on Friday (8 February).Mr Samardzic did not specify the source of Serbia's information, however.The Serbian minister's comments came after a meeting with EU official Stefan Lehne, a special advisor to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.Mr Lehne was in Belgrade to clarify the EU's plans to send a civilian mission to Kosovo, according to the Associated Press.Serbia opposes the EU mission unless it is approved by the UN, seeing it as a step towards Kosovo's independence.After the EU approved the 1,800-strong mission earlier this week, the signing of an interim political agreement with Belgrade was delayed.The EU agreement offered Serbia closer trade relations, relaxed visa requirements and educational cooperation. It was to be signed on Thursday (7 February).Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica – who believes the deal is aimed at luring Serbia into recognising Kosovo - blocked a government meeting set to give the country's deputy premier, Bojidar Djelic, a mandate to sign the deal.
EU deal is double zero
On Friday, Mr Samardzic expressed similar views.The EU cannot expect that just before the unilateral declaration of independence announced for the 17th of February, that Serbia itself signs for the independence of Kosovo, he said.The minister for Kosovo went further, accusing the EU of trying to deceive Serbia by a deal without any substance.The deal is nothing. Double zero, he was quoted as saying by Serbian news site B92.net.It's unfortunate that the EU has infiltrated the Serbian political system in this way just a day after the election of a new president, Mr Samardzic added, referring to the approval of the Kosovo mission on the day following Serbia's presidential elections.Earlier this week, the EU lashed out at Serbia for delaying the signing of the political agreement, which Brussels insisted had nothing to do with the situation in Kosovo. Meanwhile, Kosovo's premier Hashim Thaci said on Friday that the province's independence is a done [deal]. Everybody knows it, AFP reports.Mr Thaci added that his government had confirmation Kosovo's independence would receive massive international recognition … [from] about 100 countries immediately after it is proclaimed.Kosovo, legally a part of Serbia's territory, has been under UN governance since 1999. The question of its future status has remained unsolved for years.Pristina wants full independence, but Belgrade – backed by its traditional ally Russia – categorically opposes it. 2008 EUobserver
Islamization of Europe and The European Union
Fjordman - 2/10/2008
Hugh Fitzgerald of Jihad Watch recently suggested a number of things Europeans can do to halt Islamization. The proposals were good, but I think we should focus on the most important obstacle: the European Union. I've suggested in the past that the EU is the principal motor behind the Islamization of Europe, and that the entire organization needs to be dismantled as soon as possible, otherwise nothing substantial can ever be done about the Muslim invasion. At the Gates of Vienna blog, I am writing a text called Ten Reasons to Get Rid of the European Union, which can be translated into other languages and be republished when it is completed.As Bat Ye'or demonstrates in her book Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, senior EU leaders have actively been working for years to merge Europe with the Arab world. They are now feeling confident enough to say this openly. The British Foreign Minister David Miliband in November 2007 stated that the European Union should work towards including Middle Eastern and North African countries, as this would extend stability. He also said that the EU must keep our promises to Turkey regarding EU membership.
The EU involves the free movement of people across borders. If it expands to the Middle East, hundreds of millions of Muslims will have free access to Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Austria. If Turkey becomes a member, it means that Greeks, Bulgarians and others who have fought against oppression by Ottoman Turks for centuries will now be flooded with Muslims from a rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey. The same goes for Poles, Hungarians, Romanians and others who fought against Muslims for centuries.The EU's Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini states that Europe must relax its immigration controls and open the door to an extra 20 million Africans and Asians during the next two decades. Most of these Africans and Asians come from the predominantly Muslim countries of North Africa and the Greater Middle East. The EU thus decided to flood Europe with tens of millions of Muslims at the same time as peaceful Europeans demonstrating against the Islamization of Europe were brutally harassed by the police in the EU capital of Brussels. Frattini has also banned the use of the phrase Islamic terrorism: People who commit suicide attacks or criminal activities on behalf of religion, Islamic religion or other religion, they abuse the name of this religion. He thinks we shouldn't use the word immigration, either, we should talk about mobility. While Dutch politicians, in what was until recently a peaceful country, have been killed for being too critical of Islam, while Islamic terror attacks have murdered people in London and Madrid, while more terror attacks are planned every single day from Italy via Paris to Denmark, and while people from Sweden to Germany are subject to Muslim street violence and harassment, EU leaders want to increase Europe's Muslim population by tens of millions in a few years. This is criminal and evil, pure and simple.
In Cologne, Germany, a Muslim teenager who wanted to mug a 20-year-old German man was killed in an act of self-defense, according to witnesses. This led to angry protests from Muslims. Apparently, non-Muslims are not supposed to defend themselves from attacks. This violence is usually labelled crime, but I believe it should more accurately be called Jihad. Those who know Islamic history, as described in books such as The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer or The Legacy of Jihad by Dr. Andrew G. Bostom, know that looting and stealing the property of non-Muslims has been part and parcel of Jihad from the very beginning. In fact, so much of the behavior of Muhammad and early Muslims could be deemed criminal that it is difficult to know where crime ends and Jihad begins. In the city of Oslo, it is documented that some of the criminal gangs also have close ties to Jihadist groups at home and abroad. As Dutch Arabist Hans Jansen points out, the Koran is seen by some Muslims as a God-given hunting licence, granting them the right to assault and even murder non-Muslims. It is hardly accidental that while Muslims make up a minority of the population in France, they make up an estimated seventy percent of French prison inmates.
Why would anybody in their right mind want to import Islam, the most destructive force on the planet? Are EU leaders naïve? I don't think so, at least not all of them. You cannot maintain political power in the long run if you are totally naive.We are told to treat cultural and historical identities as fashion accessories, shirts we can wear and change at will. The Multicultural society is colorful, an adjective normally attached to furniture or curtains. Cultures are window decorations of little or no consequence, and one might as well have one as the other. In fact, it is good to change it every now and then. Don't you get tired of that old sofa sometimes? What about exchanging it for the new sharia model? Sure, it's slightly less comfortable than the old one, but it's very much in vogue these days and sets you apart from the neighbors, at least until they get one, too. Do you want a sample of the latest Calvin Klein perfume to go with that sharia? I have heard individuals state point blank that even if Muslims become the majority in our countries in the future, this doesn't matter because all people are equal and all cultures are just a mix of everything else, anyway. And since religions are just fairy-tales, replacing one fairy-tale with another one won't make a big difference. All religions basically say that the same things in different ways. However, not one of them would ever dream of saying that all political ideologies basically mean the same thing. They simply don't view religious or cultural ideas as significant, and thus won't spend time on studying the largely unimportant details of each specific creed.
In The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam's Threat to the West, Lee Harris writes that: What strikes us as irrationalities in the economic systems of Third World nations, such as the red tape documented by [Peruvian economist Hernando] de Soto, is not irrational at all from the point of view of the dominant elite: It is part of what keeps them dominant. With enough red tape, they can stay king of the mountain forever.This reminds me a great deal of what the EU is doing, attempting to create a permanent oligarchy by keeping the native population in line though a combination of confusion, bureaucracy and intimidation from imported Muslims. Far from being an irrelevant detail, religion is the heart and blood of any civilization. The greatest change (until now) in my country's history was when we adopted Christianity instead of the Norse religion. This changed the entire fabric of our culture. We became integrated into the mainstream of Western civilization at about the same time as we went from being a tribal society to a genuine state. Maybe Christianity helped in creating the foundations of nation states with an individualistic culture. If so, perhaps changing the religion is beneficial for those who want to replace nation states with authoritarian transnational entities, for instance the European Union. Islamic societies are always authoritarian. Those who want to abolish the democratic system and rule as an unaccountable oligarchy thus naturally prefer Islam.
The EU is an awful organization even if you don't take Muslim immigration into account. Former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovksy, who is not particularly preoccupied with Islam, fears that the European Union is on its way to becoming another Soviet Union: The sooner we finish with the EU the better. The sooner it collapses the less damage it will have done to us and to other countries.The brilliant French political thinker Montesquieu advocated that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government should be assigned to different bodies, each of them not powerful enough alone to impose its will on society. This is because constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go. This separation of powers is almost totally absent in the EU, where there is weak to non-existent separation between the legislative, the executive and the judicial branches, and where all of them function more or less without the consent of the public.
As Montesquieu warned, When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner. He also stated that Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. The problem with the EU is not just the content of laws, but their volume. Law-abiding citizens are turned into criminals by laws regulating speech and behavior, while real criminals rule the streets. This will either lead to a police state, to a total breakdown in law and order, or both. At least two conditions must be fulfilled in order to prevent the arbitrary use of power. The first one is a system of formal checks and balances, giving the possibility of peacefully removing officials who are not doing their job. The second is transparency, so people know what their representatives are doing. The EU deliberately ignores both these conditions, but especially the latter. Vast quantities of power have been transferred to shady backrooms and structures the average citizen hardly knows exist. Eurabia was created through such channels. The pompous former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing declared that the creation of the proposed EU Constitution was Europe's Philadelphia moment, alluding to the Philadelphia Convention or Constitutional Convention in the newly formed the United States of America in 1787. The USA has its flaws, but if Mr. Giscard d'Estaing had actually understood the American Constitution, he would have discovered that James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and others took great care to implement a number of checks and balances in the new state, precisely what is lacking in the EU. The American constitution is relatively short and understandable, whereas the EU Constitution is hundreds of pages long, largely incomprehensible and displays an almost sharia-like desire to regulate all aspects of human life. After it was rejected by Dutch and French voters, the Constitution has been renamed and is now being smuggled through the back door.
Madison, Jefferson, George Washington and the American Founding Fathers acted in the open and were generally elected by their peers and applauded for their actions. Contrast this with Jean Monnet, who is credited with having laid the foundations of the EU, despite the fact that most EU citizens haven't heard of him. He was never elected to any public office, but worked behind the scenes to implement a secret agenda. I read an interview with a senior Brussels lobbyist who dubbed Monnet the most successful lobbyist in history. To this day, the EU capital of Brussels is dominated by lobbyists. The Americans in Washington D.C. have their fair share of lobbyists, too, and this can be problematic at times. The difference is that the EU capital is dominated ONLY by lobbyists and unelected bureaucrats, with little real popular influence. Those who read the excellent British blog EU Referendum regularly will know that this secretive modus operandi is still very much alive in the European Union. Frankly, I don't think the EU has the right to use the term European. Those inhabiting the European continent are first and foremost Germans, Dutchmen, Poles, Italians, Hungarians, Portuguese etc. Europe has existed mainly to protect the continent against Islamic expansionism. Charles Martel created Europe when he defeated the Arab invasion in the seventh century, aided by people such as Pelayo, who started the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula, John Hunyadi and Lazar of Serbia who fought against the Turks in the Balkans and John III Sobieski, King of Poland, who beat the Ottomans during the 1683 Battle of Vienna. The EU is actively trying to undo everything Charles Martel and these men achieved. This makes it the anti-European Union, an evil organization with no moral legitimacy whatsoever. The EU is gradually reducing the indigenous people of an entire continent to the likely future status of second-rate citizen in their own countries. It is quite possibly the greatest betrayal in the history of European civilization since the fall of the Roman Empire, yet it is hailed as a peace project in the media. It is shameful to witness the bullying displayed by EU leaders vis-Ã -vis the Serbs, who are being forced to give up their land to Muslim thugs. This template will eventually be used against all Europeans. As Srdja Trifkovic warns, even if the Serbs are robbed of Kosovo, Muslims will not thank the West: In Europe most nations want to defend themselves—even the ultra-tolerant Dutch have seen the light after Theo van Gogh's murder—but cannot do so because they are hamstrung by a ruling class composed of guilt-ridden self-haters and appeasers. Their hold on the political power, the media, and the academe is undemocratic, unnatural, obscene. If Europe is to survive they need to be unmasked for what they are: traitors to their nations and their culture. If Europe is to survive, they must be replaced by people ready and willing to subject the issues of immigration and identity to the test of democracy, unhindered by administrative or judicial fiat. For those reasons too, Serbia must not give up Kosovo. By giving it up it would encourage the spirit that seeks the death of Europe and its surrender to the global totalitarianism of Muhammad's successors. Not for the first time, in Kosovo the Serbs are fighting a fight that is not theirs alone.
Some hope we can keep the positive aspects of the EU and not throw out the baby with the bath water. I beg to differ. The EU is all bath water, no baby. The EU got off on the wrong path from its very inception, and is now so flawed that it simply cannot be reformed. Appeasement of Islam is so deeply immersed in the structural DNA of the EU that the only way to stop the Islamization of Europe is to dismantle the European Union. All of it.Fjordman is a noted Norwegian blogger who has written for many conservative web sites. He used to have his own Fjordman Blog in the past, but it is no longer active.
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Strong earthquake shakes southern Mexico Tue Feb 12, 8:55 AM ET
MEXICO CITY - A magnitude-6.4 earthquake shook southern Mexico on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of major damage. The quake gently swayed buildings in Mexico City and rocked parts of Mexico's southern Pacific and Gulf coasts. In the southern city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, many people fled into the streets and then lingered outside their homes, fearing aftershocks.It was horrible, said Cecilia Gomez, standing with her family outside her home. It really scared me.Daniel Roque, of southern Chiapas state's civil protection agency, said some residents reported panic attacks, but no damage was registered.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 6:50 a.m. (7:50 a.m. EST) and was centered 70 miles southwest of Tuxtla Gutierrez, near the border between Oaxaca and Chiapas states.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
As Toronto prepares for another winter blast, some homeless not ready to head indoors Tue Feb 12, 6:31 AM
TORONTO (CBC) - Toronto is bracing for yet another winter storm.
Environment Canada says the city is in for as much as another 10 centimetres of snow on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, which will add to the snow and ice already piled up from earlier storms.
Temperatures, however, are expected to rise, returning to normal for this time of year. Since Sunday, much of Ontario has been caught in a deep cold spell with temperatures in the low negative teens, made to feel even colder by the wind chill effect.In Toronto the winter freeze led to an extreme cold weather alert - aimed mainly at getting the city's homeless into shelters. The alert brings fewer restrictions on opening and closing times at city-run shelters, more beds and increased patrols by outreach workers. The city opens an additional 80 emergency shelter spaces in an extreme cold weather alert.But not everyone says the city's approach is the right one.Some of the homeless say they feel safer out in the cold than they do inside the shelters.At the adult ones there tends to be a lot more hard drugs and thefts, and a higher crime level. A lot of people prefer to sleep outside than in shelters, said Kevin Lockie, who was panhandling at the corner of Bathurst and Queen streets on a frigid afternoon.But the city wants people like Lockie in shelters.Agencies that do outreach on behalf of the city have been instructed to get people into shelters, even if it means denying them soup or a warm blanket.We actually want people to come in off the street, said the city's manager for emergency planning Elaine Smyer.
If we give someone a blanket, or soup, or something to make them feel OK for the moment, that could end up being very dangerous later on.Longtime homeless advocate Beric German says the approach ignores people who don't want to use shelters and outreach workers are torn.They're unable to do what is sensible. If a person can't go into the shelter system then what's your response? You say then, I'll give you nothing then. I won't even feed you. I'll give you nothing more. It's a cold night, maybe you'll make it [into a shelter] if you suffer enough.The extreme cold alert is likely to be lifted sometime on Tuesday.
Welcome to the Icebox of the Nation! Minnesota town hits record 40 below zero Mon Feb 11, 12:56 PM By Jeff Baenen, The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Just recently it was dubbed by U.S. authorities as the Icebox of the Nation.On Monday International Falls., Minn., lived up to that name as the mercury dipped to a record low of minus 40 degrees. And it doesn't matter if you're counting in Celsius or Fahrenheit, since -40 is where the two scales cross.
Meteorologist Mike Stewart at the U.S. weather service in Duluth, Minn., says the previous record low in International Falls was -38 Celsius, set in 1967.
So how cold is -40.
International Falls resident Nick McDougall couldn't even get his car trunk lid to close after he got out his charger to kick-start a dead battery. This is about as cold as it gets, this is bad. There's no wind - it's just cold, said McDougall, 48, a worker at The Fisherman, a convenience store and gas station in the town on the Canadian border. People just don't go out, unless you have to go to work.Residents of the area use electric engine block heaters to keep their cars from freezing. You plug in your car, for sure, and you put the car in the garage if you can, McDougall said. His garage is full of other things, so he had to park outside - a big mistake.Chilly air also spread into the U.S. Northeast on Monday and many schools in New York state between Buffalo and Syracuse closed or opened late. Philadelphia had a Code Blue alert in effect, sending outreach crews to coax homeless people into shelters. Farther south, freezing rain hit southwest Missouri early Monday, making roads hazardous and closing schools. A coating of ice up to 2.5 centimetres thick was expected across much of southern and central Missouri, the weather service said. It's treacherous. If you can stay home this morning, do it, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Bracker said in Springfield. Thousands of West Virginia homes and businesses had no electricity Monday after the state was hit by weekend wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour. At least nine counties closed schools because of power outages and the cold. Classes also were cancelled Monday for a number of schools in Michigan, which remained in a deep freeze that set in on the weekend.
Millions brave China transport chaos as more bad weather looms Sun Feb 10, 11:40 PM
BEIJING (AFP) - Millions of people braved China's overcrowded transport networks Monday as they began the long trek back to work at the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, amid warnings of more bad weather.Railway officials in the nation's three main transport hubs -- Beijing in the north, Shanghai in the east and the southern city of Guangzhou -- said the number of passengers would peak Monday and Tuesday, the China Daily reported.The two main train stations in the Chinese capital expected the number of incoming passengers -- mostly migrants returning to their dormitories -- would top 100,000 on both days, the state-controlled paper said.The railway ministry had added 226 special trains to accommodate one of the biggest movements of people anywhere in the world, but even so, tickets were sold out down to the last seat, according to the paper.
Overburdened traffic networks and inclement weather could form a deadly combination, as reflected in a weekend accident when a minibus veered off an icy road in southwest China's Guizhou province, killing all nine passengers.The Spring Festival transport season, is an annual test to the transport system serving 1.3 billion people, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.It is a test that grows more formidable every year, as more and more people travel home for what is by far the biggest festival of the calendar in all societies influenced by Chinese culture.The railways alone are expected to carry a record of 178.6 million passengers during this year's 40-day travel season, up from 156 million last year, Xinhua said, citing the railway ministry.The transport system has been under unprecedented strain not just because of the millions of extra passengers, but also because it has had to cope with the most ferocious winter weather in at least five decades.Snow storms and chilly temperatures froze key sections of the transport network just as great numbers of people were heading home for the holiday late last month and the beginning of February, leaving millions stranded.There were further warnings of more bad weather to come, exactly at the wrong time, at the start of the return travel rush. Tuesday is the last day of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
The State Council, or Cabinet, ordered more efforts Sunday from central and local officials to prepare for another round of precipitation mainly in south and southwest China in the next 10 days, Xinhua said.Heavy snow or even blizzards were expected in the next three days in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan in the west, while sleet and icy rains were possible in most part of southwest China's Guizhou province.A severe cold snap would affect northern China, resulting in light or moderate snow for parts of the Inner Mongolia region and Heilongjiang province in the next two days, according to Xinhua.
Twenty-Five Years of Lifesaving Ministry
February 12, 2008
Dear Friend of Israel
Twenty-five years ago, I discovered that there were great numbers of Bible-believing Christians who were staunch supporters of Israel and the Jewish people. These friends of Israel had a hunger to demonstrate that support in tangible ways, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to learn more about Israel and the Jewish roots of their Christian faith.
Recognizing this hunger, and drawing on the shared biblical heritage of both Christians and Jews, in 1983 I founded the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews. It was time, I decided, for Christians and Jews to work together to reverse their history of discord and build bridges of understanding and cooperation.
In 1991, the Holyland Fellowship became the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and now, twenty-five years later, our success and impact has been far greater than I ever could have imagined. Thanks to God's blessing and our partners' generosity, we have helped rescue hundreds of thousands of Jews who have made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel from the four corners of the earth in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. And we have also provided a lifeline to countless numbers of poor Jews in Israel and the former Soviet Union.
There are a number of events planned to mark our 25th anniversary. Following the remarkable success of our 2007 tour, we will launch an extended 25th Anniversary Journey Home to Israel Tour. Participants will again have the opportunity to see the Bible come to life, be with me and other Fellowship staff, and visit Fellowship projects so they can see their life-changing donations at work. We’ve planned a special event so that everyone will have the opportunity to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship in the Holy Land, and are also offering a three-day extension for anyone interested in engaging in intensive Bible study with me at the locations where many biblical events occurred. Read the testimonials from 2007 tour participants, and prayerfully consider if God is calling you to journey home with us to Israel in 2008.
2008 will also see a Fellowship first -- in August, we're going on an Alaskan cruise. During our weeklong journey, I will lead Bible studies that will help you better understand the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. I'll share stories of the life-changing impact of Fellowship initiatives made possible through your generous donations, and on Friday, my wife Joelle and I will be privileged to share a traditional Sabbath meal with you. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn from God's word together as we experience some of the most beautiful country in God's creation!
Last but certainly not least on the list of anniversary events is The Fellowship's 25th Anniversary National Conference and Celebration Banquet in Chicago. During this powerful two-day event, we'll be joined by Christian, Jewish, American, and Israeli leaders to give thanks for what God has done through The Fellowship. Please consider joining us in Chicago for this exciting event as we set a bold new course in Christian-Jewish relations and discuss how Jews and Christians can continue to work together for Israel's peace and security.
It promises to be an exciting year. But, as we make our plans to mark a quarter-century of ministry, I am humbled to realize that none our success would have been possible without God's help - and yours. It is God and our ministry partners who make it possible for us to do the work we do every day. I hope you will help us celebrate our 25th anniversary year by participating as you are able in our special events. And I hope you will continue to work with us for the next 25 years, as we seek to bless God's chosen people together.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President Inter Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
What are the signs of Christ’s return?
By Dr Jack Van Impe
Now that we have addressed several foundational questions on the pre-Rapture signs, I want to show you how the Bible provides overwhelmingly clear evidence of other pretribulational signs demonstrating Christ's impending return to earth. I will now begin to deal with every major sign in the New Testament to show that Jesus' statement, When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors (Matthew 24:33), is being fulfilled in our day and age. Matthew 24:3-14 declares:
And as he [Jesus] sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying. Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another, And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This passage may be among the most misunderstood of all prophetic pronouncements. The problem has arisen because many Christians still fail to see that God has two elect groups upon earth-the nation of Israel (Romans 11:28) and the Church (1 Peter 1:2). Romans 9-11 tells the entire story of God's chosen people, Israel. Chapter 9 concerns Israel's past, chapter 10 its present, and chapter 11 its future. Regarding its glorious past, Romans 9:4 declares that Israel was given the promises, including prophetic pledges. In chapter 10, verse 16, we find: But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who [among them] hath believed our report? Presently, they are blinded to their calling and promises, but in the future, All Israel shall be saved: as it is written. There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:26).
Why will God perform this? Verse 29 provides the answer: For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God chose Israel (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) and He has never canceled His selection. Therefore, Israel remains God's chosen people and heir to His promises as stated in Romans 11:28. The signs of Matthew 24 are presented to the elect- yes, elect Israel. We know this to be true in this chapter because of the regard for the Sabbath day (v. 20), because of the connection with synagogues (Luke 21:12), and because the setting of Matthew 24 is Jerusalem (v. 1). Only Bible manipulators, antidispensationalists, and antiliteralists could make Gentiles out of these Jews.
Included in this group are the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Twelve thousand shall be chosen from each of the twelve tribes. Twelve thousand times twelve equals 144,000. The tribes are Juda, Reuben, Gad, Aser, Nephthalim, Manasses, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph, and Benjamin (Revelation 7:4-8). These signs are for Israel, who is looking for the return of her King in Revelation 19. They are not signposts for the Rapture.
The group looking for the fulfillment of signs in Matthew 24 is preaching a different gospel in verse 14. Gospel means good news, and their good news is the gospel of the kingdom or the good news that their King is about to return (Revelation 19:16). They will be traveling around the globe, 144,000 strong, singing The King is coming! The King is coming! Although the signs will be fulfilled in their entirety after the Christians are gone, we already see the tantalizing beginning of each of these signs. Again, this means that if these signs pointing to our return with the King are already in their initial stages, we must be snatched away very soon in order to prepare for our return to earth with Christ the King.
False Christs
In Matthew 24:3, Jesus was asked, When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [to earth], and of the end of the world [or age of grace]? He replied, Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (v. 5). Since the year 1900, more than eleven hundred people claiming to be Christ have appeared on the world scene. These include Father Divine, Prophet Jones, Sweet Daddy Grace, Father Riker; Daniel Swalt, Moses Guibbory, Maharaj Ji, and Sun Myung Moon, not to mention scores of lesser-known, self-proclaimed messiahs who enjoyed a few fleeting moments of media fame.
Presently, while they might not refer to themselves as false Christs, certain members of our liberal clergy are playing such a role. Take, for example, a survey of the beliefs and attitudes of the Church of Scotland ministers. They have rightfully caused a stir within the denomination as the foundational truth of the Bible-the virgin birth of Christ-was recently called into question by religious leaders. The shocking results of the survey of 150 ministers were that 16 percent did not believe in the Immaculate Conception of Christ and 15 percent said that they didn't know. An amazing 17 percent said that the Virgin Mary was not a virgin in twentieth-century terms, and 6 percent thought that Jesus was the product of Mary and Joseph having sex outside of marriage. (See Matthew 7:21-23 and 2 Peter 2:1-3.)
Such abuse of Scripture is yet another sign of the times. However, eventually, the ultimate false Christ-one who is probably alive even at this moment-will proclaim himself as the true Christ and become accepted on an international scale. The Bible predicts such an hour, when the Antichrist, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped... sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4) and is accepted as such. This internationally deified dictator will inaugurate a world-peace program which will hold the world spellbound for forty-two months, or three and one-half years. Then, in the middle of the seven-year period of tribulation, he will break all of his pledges and destroy his contractual obligations with Israel (Daniel 9:27). At this time, Russia will begin a world war as she invades Israel (Ezekiel 38:11). This war will eventually involve all nations (Zechariah 14:2).
This is God's outline from the Bible. First, the international dictator will establish global peace, and when the world believes that Utopia has arrived, the bottom will fall out of their hopes and aspirations: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3). We now move to even more dramatic signs that signify our Lord is coming soon.
What is the significance of today’s wars,
famines, and increasing pestilences?
From the proclamation of Matthew 24:6-7, we see that the world can expect nothing but rivalry and battles until the Antichrist produces the false peace of the Tribulation era. More than 176 limited wars have been fought since the end of the Second World War. Today one out of every four nations on earth is engaged in some kind of military conflict.
Soon, however, we will experience the greatest global confrontation in history, for we are marching swiftly toward Armageddon at this moment. Over a decade ago, CIA and British Intelligence reports about the Soviet Union were grim. They reported the development of new weapons systems located throughout the Soviet Union, along with expenditures of enormous sums for underground civil defense shelters that meant that Russia was preparing for war. Many did not believe these pronouncements at the time.
Even today, while there is a semblance of peace (although the signs of a reemergence of the Cold War are increasing), we must not be lulled into thinking that Russia has changed her ways-especially since enormous numbers of nuclear warheads remain hidden in underground silos throughout the southern provinces of that vast land. I've noted that people no longer laugh at the prophecies uttered by Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39 that picture the Russian hordes from the north swarming to the Middle East. Today, as the end-time clock continues to wind down, the red horse of the Apocalypse is about to appear. Revelation 6:4 states, There went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Famines and Pestilences
Christ continued in Matthew 24:7, And there shall be famines, and pestilences. More than two billion of the world's inhabitants go to bed hungry each night. There are nationwide famine in the Sudan and Rwanda and reports of widespread cannibalism in North Korea-with news coming from Indonesia, the earth's fourth largest nation that millions of people on those scattered islands remain on the brink of starvation. Thousands are dying painful deaths throughout our world, while scores of others are too numb with hunger to realize what is happening. One writer said it poignantly, First the belly swells, then the hair turns gray and the skin cracks, after a while the victim dies in mute misery. Such an experience will soon be the fate of millions of people. Paul Erlich, a biochemist at Stanford University, said it's already too late to prevent famines that will kill millions, because already one-half billion are starving and another billion are malnourished. He may be right. There seems to be no possible solution in the near future, because it is too late to produce enough food.
America will undoubtedly be included in this suffering in the days ahead. In fact, the number of the beast, 666 (something we'll address in a later question and answer), may come into existence through an international rationing plan. Soon the voice of Revelation 6:6 will sound, A measure of wheat for a penny. A measure in Bible times was a quart, and a penny was a day's wages. Imagine a loaf of bread for a day's labor. Pestilence, the twin sister of hunger, is also on the rampage. The swine flu scare, legionnaires' disease, AIDS, and other diseases-many already fully resistant to antibiotics and other medications-are only the beginning. Years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest, reprinted from an article in Time entitled, The Bugs Are Coming. And they have come indeed . . . and will continue to come in plague like fashion during these final days. Even as I write these words, other pestilential plagues are in their preparatory stages. The South American fire ant has advanced from its initial beachhead in Mobile, Alabama, and now infests more than one hundred billion acres in nine southern states, sometimes driving farm workers from the fields because of its fiery sting. In forest areas the gypsy moth, the spruce budworm, and the southern pine beetle have wreaked devastation on huge areas of woodland, defoliating and killing millions of valuable trees-enough, in fact, to build 910,000 houses per year! Corn borers and rootworms have attacked crops in the Corn Belt at an incredible rate. The boll weevil costs United States farmers millions of dollars in crop losses annually. The mosquito is infecting one million humans per year in Africa and killing thousands annually with malaria, while the black fly in the Volta River basin blinds hundreds of thousands each year.
The insect world is multiplying at an exponential rate. Entomologists estimate that the number has now climbed to one quintillion, representing five million different species. If a person could weigh all insects together, their combined weight would be twelve times that of the entire human race. Can there be any doubt that the pestilence Jesus predicted will soon rear its head in monstrous proportions and that world hunger will be felt by every country on earth? This, along with what comes out of the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:2 (causing the plague of verse 3), is just around the corner. Listen to the prediction: There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Their purpose is to destroy and kill. The Rapture is near, my friend ... the signs are all around us.
Navy Tests Incredible Sci-Fi Weapon
The U.S. Navy yesterday test fired an incredibly powerful new big gun designed to replace conventional weaponry aboard ships. Sci-fi fans will recognize its awesome power and futuristic technology.The big gun uses electromagnetic energy instead of explosive chemical propellants to fire a projectile farther and faster. The railgun, as it is called, will ultimately fire a projectile more than 230 miles (370 kilometers) with a muzzle velocity seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7) and a velocity of Mach 5 at impact.The test-firing, captured on video, took place Jan. 31 in Dahlgren, Va., and Navy officials called it the world's most powerful electromagnetic railgun.The Navy's current MK 45 five-inch gun, by contrast, has a range of less than 23 miles (37 kilometers).The railgun has been a featured weapon in many science fiction universes, such as the new Battlestar Galactica series. It has also achieved newfound popularity among the 20-something-and-under generation for its devastating ability to instantaneously shoot a slug through walls and through multiple enemies in video games such as the Quake series of first person shooters.
The Navy's motivation? Simple destruction.
The railgun's high-velocity projectile will destroy targets with sheer kinetic energy rather than with conventional explosives.I never ever want to see a Sailor or Marine in a fair fight. I always want them to have the advantage, said Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead. We should never lose sight of always looking for the next big thing, always looking to make our capability better, more effective than what anyone else can put on the battlefield.The railgun's lack of explosives means ships would be safer, said Elizabeth D'Andrea, Electromagnetic Railgun Program Manager.The Navy's goal is to demonstrate a full-capability prototype by 2018.
SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Europe foothold on deep space exploration as lab installed on space station by Jean-Louis Santini Tue Feb 12, 2:10 AM ET
HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) - Astronauts on Monday installed the European space laboratory Columbus on the orbiting International Space Station, giving Europe an important foothold for the deeper exploration of space. The European Columbus module is officially part of the International Space Station, said French space engineer Leopold Eyharts, as NASA broadcast live images of the installation, which took place at 2144 GMT.The long-delayed move gives European space agencies a presence alongside US and Russian astronauts on the ISS, a preparation point for future human missions to Mars.Two astronauts from the US space shuttle Atlantis earlier made a seven-hour space walk to prepare Columbus for its hook-up to the station, orbiting 350 kilometers (215 miles) above the Earth.They fixed fittings to Columbus so it could be grabbed and maneuvered into position by a robotic arm, operated from within the ISS, for attachment to the station's Harmony module.The two billion-dollar (1.3 billion-euro), 10-tonne laboratory represents a milestone in Europe's role in space. Paid for mostly by Germany, Italy and France, it is the first ISS addition not made in the United States or Russia.
The laboratory will boost the station's research capabilities, being used for biotechnology and medicine experiments involving microgravity. It has room for three astronauts and 10 experimentation units.The spacewalkers also had to install panels to protect it from the impact of micro-meteorites.NASA plans to attach another laboratory, the Japanese module Kibo, to Harmony in March.Clearing up concerns that launch debris may have damaged the shuttle as it took off from Florida, mission chief John Shannon said Sunday that the thermal shield on Atlantis's nose and wing forward edges were in perfect condition.He also said the mission could be prolonged a second day, a decision to be taken on Tuesday.
The space walk came a day later than originally scheduled, after German astronaut Hans Schlegel, who was to take part in the walk, fell ill.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has not revealed the cause of his illness. On Sunday, European Space Agency spokesman Markus Bauer said Schlegel, 56, appeared to have recovered and was doing very well.We are assuming that he will take part in the second spacewalk, said Bauer.Columbus had been due for delivery in 2004 but this was delayed after the Colombia shuttle disaster in 2003, which caused the fleet to be grounded for safety reviews after seven astronauts died in the flight.A technical setback with the Atlantis shuttle in December delayed Columbus' delivery further.Now it is hooked up to the station, astronauts will be able to go into Columbus from Tuesday to set up its interior and test its equipment, NASA said.A second spacewalk scheduled for Wednesday will be devoted to separate tasks on the ISS, including replacing an old nitrogen tank. On a third walk on Friday astronauts will install equipment on the new laboratory's exterior. Eyharts is to stay on the ISS for several weeks to get Columbus up and running. He replaces US astronaut Daniel Tani, who will ride back to Earth on Atlantis. NASA plans to complete the International Space Station by 2010, when its three-shuttle fleet is retired.
Israel building plans anger Palestinians By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer FEB 12,08
JERUSALEM - Israel is planning to build 1,100 new apartments for Israelis in east Jerusalem, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday, angering Palestinians who want the area as a capital of their future state and further troubling peace talks. Housing Minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio that plans were under way to build 370 apartments in Har Homa and an additional 750 in Pisgat Zeev, two Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.Construction in Jerusalem continues as usual, said Gali Cohen, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.An Israeli plan to build an additional 307 apartments in Har Homa two months ago soured the latest round of peace talks just as they were resuming after a seven-year pause.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, annexed it, and built new neighborhoods there that are now home to 180,000 Israelis. It does not consider construction there to be settlement activity, as the Palestinians and international community do.Israel expects to retain Jewish east Jerusalem neighborhoods under a final peace deal, but the Palestinians still see construction there as compromising a final agreement. Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have set a December 2008 target date for reaching an accord.But the Israeli construction plans undermine chances of reaching a peace agreement by the end of this year, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.We condemn these Israeli declarations, and once again we ask the Israeli government to give peace a chance by stopping all settlement activity, Erekat said.White House press secretary Dana Perino said she had not seen the report about Israel's plans to build new apartments in east Jerusalem. But, obviously, there's no doubt that an announcement of that sort would make the Palestinians concerned, she said.East Jerusalem is home to 208,000 Palestinians, according to a recent Palestinian census. The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state that includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as their capital.
Olmert has signaled he would be ready to cede control of some Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem.Hard-line political opponents, and some members of his fractious coalition government, oppose any compromise on Jerusalem, which Israel calls its eternal, undivided capital.As a result, Olmert has to maintain a balancing act — trying to placate the Palestinians by avoiding provocative moves while avoiding the coalition crisis that would ensue if he openly declared a freeze on construction in Jerusalem. Olmert already has declared a partial freeze on construction in the West Bank.
If Olmert openly halts construction in Jerusalem, he risks pushing the hawkish Shas party out of his government and losing his majority in parliament, said Israeli political scientist Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv.And with Israeli public opinion opposed to any compromise in Jerusalem, Inbar said, a move that would be seen as ceding Israeli sovereignty there would be politically disastrous for Olmert.Jerusalem is so sensitive that any government that touches it will fall apart, Inbar said.The new peace talks, formally launched at a U.S.-hosted peace conference last November, appear to have made scant progress.Negotiations appear to have been conducted so far at an unhurried pace, and have been marred by militants firing rocket barrages at Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip and Israeli raids and sanctions aimed at halting the fire. The sides' top negotiators, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the Palestinians' Ahmed Qureia, met Monday and Tuesday for talks, according to Arye Mekel, a spokesman for Livni. Olmert said Tuesday that talks on Jerusalem — perhaps the stickiest issue in the peace process — would be put off. We try to move on forward through those issues which can be resolved, perhaps, faster than the others, he said in Berlin. In December, after the first Har Homa project threatened peace talks, Olmert told his Cabinet ministers not to approve new building without his approval. On Monday, Jerusalem city manager Yair Maayan told a parliamentary panel that the government was holding up construction of hundreds of apartments in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.
But Boim denied that construction was being held up, explaining that a written directive Olmert issued applied only to settlements in the West Bank — which Israel has not annexed and has a different legal status under Israeli law — and not to adjacent eastJerusalem, which Israel considers to be under its full sovereignty. What people call delays are in fact final stages of coordination with city hall, Boim told Israel Radio. The Housing Ministry has solicited bids from contractors to build the initial 307 units at Har Homa and will move ahead with the new 370 units if there is demand, said Eran Sidis, a spokesman for Boim. The final details of the planned 750 units in Pisgat Zeev are being coordinated with Jerusalem city officials, he said.
Shas: we'll quit coalition if report of secret Jerusalem talks proves true By Israel Insider staff February 10, 2008
We will check your story and if it is true, Shas will leave the government, Yishai told the Jerusalem Post. He added that the party would also leave if the government continued to negotiate while rockets were being fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu urged Shas to leave the coalition. Following the [government's] security failures and in light of what I've read on Jerusalem being discussed in negotiations, I call on our friends in Shas: You share our opinions, our concern for Jerusalem, our concern for security - I call on you to do the right thing. And the right thing is to stop these dangerous moves and quit the government, Netanyahu said.
Earlier, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas had said that negotiations are taking place between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (Abu Allah) are dealing with the status of Jerusalem. Livni admitted it, and a PA officials say that much progress is being made including Israeli agreement to hand over almost all Arab-populated areas of the city. That contradicted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's promise to the Shas Party that talks are not taking place, and would not take place till the very end of negotiations. Shas had declared that it will bolt the coalition and bring down the government the moment talks over Jerusalem ensue. The main progress has been achieved during the secret talks, particularly on the issue of Jerusalem. Today we can say that Israel is prepared to withdraw from almost all the Arab neighborhoods and villages in Jerusalem. Israel is prepared to redivide Jerusalem and this is a positive development.PA official, commenting on progress in talks with Israel's diplomatic team.Abbas made the statements before meeting with European Parliament members in Ramallah Thursday. FM Livni confirmed negotiations in a meeting with foreign diplomats late last week. Hagai Huberman reports in Sunday's edition of Makor Rishon that FM Livni told foreign diplomats a few days ago that in her talks with Abu Ala (aka Ahmed Qurei) they are in fact discussing all the key issues, including Jerusalem. She admitted that this conflicts with what the prime minister said two weeks ago that for Shas to hear, that the matter of Jerusalem would only be discussed at the end of the negotiations.
A PA official went further, saying that most issues concerning Jerusalem were actually resolved in secret meetings. There are public meetings and there are secret ones, the PA official explained. The main progress has been achieved during the secret talks, particularly on the issue of Jerusalem. Today we can say that Israel is prepared to withdraw from almost all the Arab neighborhoods and villages in Jerusalem. Israel is prepared to redivide Jerusalem and this is a positive development.The cat is out of the bag, MK Zevulun Orlev (NU/NRP) told the Post. The fact that [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert's government is not telling the truth over the negotiations with the Palestinians has been revealed. Shas will no longer be able to say they didn't know. Even if the prime minister isn't telling them the truth, they can thank the Jerusalem Post for revealing it to them. I hope Shas keeps its promise and leaves the government that is dividing Jerusalem, Orlev said. Jerusalem Municipality opposition leader Nir Barkat called on Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to come clean: I demand that the foreign minister, who heads the negotiations with the Palestinians, publicly disclose all secret and other agreements that the state of Israel has reached with the Palestinians, Barkat told the Post. In response to the report, which quoted a senior PA official in Ramallah, Barkat said that Jerusalem had better not be the subject of secret talks. Barkat, a high tech multimillionaire who heads a campaign against the proposed division of the capital, said "any such agreement achieved on behalf of an Israeli official would constitute an absolute deviation to Kadima's basic principles, a violation to the basic law of Jerusalem, betrays the trust of the voter and undermines the sovereign basis of the Israel's Knesset.
The Palestinians must understand that neither the government of Israel, nor any other body on its behalf, have the right to promise to give up areas where Israeli law, governance and legislation has been implemented, he said. United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz said that if the story is true, then the Jerusalem's fate is being decided like a thief in the night. It cannot be that while Olmert is denying that there are any talks about Jerusalem at all, Tzipi Livni is negotiating in back rooms with Abu Ala (Qurei) about the state of our capital.Yet Shas Spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch originally dismissed the report. Nobody is talking about Jerusalem, he told Arutz Sheva. The moment Jerusalem is being discussed Shas will leave the government -- period. Asked if he was claiming that Livni is lying, he said: I am not saying she is lying -- but I am saying that absolutely nobody is negotiating over Jerusalem.Shas Party Chairman Eli Yishai told party activists in Tiberias that he expects new national elections to take place before November. Yishai's latest comments came after the reports of the secret talks over Jerusalem came out, and Shas headquarters were deluged with calls, emails and faxes urging the party to leave the government.
McCain wants more EU troops for Afghanistan
By Tim Shipman, Norfolk, Virginia 1:16am GMT 10/02/2008
John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for November's US presidential race, is to launch a diplomatic offensive to push France and Germany to do more to help British forces in Afghanistan.
Mr McCain has told The Sunday Telegraph that he plans to bang European heads together. I'll go over there and sit down with them, he said, to discuss what he sees as Nato's failure to do the heavy lifting in Afghanistan.Details of Mr McCain's deep concern at the state of the war against the Taliban are the first disclosure of how his approach to foreign policy would affect Britain.He is troubled that Nato allies have failed to provide sufficient troops to take on the Taliban in the south of the country. He is also concerned that some European nations do not let their troops patrol at night, or take part in offensive operations. He said: We just had to order 3,000 additional marines to Afghanistan because of the resurgence of the Taliban. Let's have some straight talk. There are some operational restrictions on some of the troops that are there. Some of the countries have not contributed what they can.But he is also critical of the failure to bring under control the poppy crop, an area where Britain has taken an ineffective lead. Most of the heroin that is produced goes to Europe, he said. In a signal that he would lead an overhaul of the fight against the Taliban, Mr McCain said he wanted to see changes to the current dual command structure, which permits some Nato members to focus on nation-building exercises in Afghanistan, while Britain and Canada are fully integrated in the US military command.Troop deployment in hostile areas of Afghanastan: Click to enlarge.It's a command structure that's not as efficient as it could be, he said.
Most significant may be his willingness to deploy his straight-talking charm on the world stage. His closest aide, Mark Salter, told The Sunday Telegraph he could be blunter in his demands on allies than President Bush as he had a well of goodwill to tap.They know him, Mr Salter said. He's obviously very direct. He can go there and get mad at the Germans and the French and they are used to that. He speaks as an Atlanticist. He has spent enormous amounts of time in Europe.This is no criticism of President Bush, but he wasn't a known quantity when he became president. John is on a first-name basis with them.A future President McCain would be expected to win favour with European governments critical of the Bush administration's approach to combating Islamic extremism, by closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in the first weeks of his presidency and declaring that the US will no longer tolerate torture.British and American pressure on Germany appeared to bear fruit yesterday when it emerged the German government might send an extra 1,000 troops to Afghanistan. But Mr McCain will continue to work to broaden its restrictive rules of engagement.The Afghanistan offensive will form a major plank of Mr McCain's outreach to the world, as he battles to win over conservatives in his party.McCain watchers say his presidency and his foreign policy would be shaped by the blunt force of his personality - an abrasiveness that has caused problems with fellow Republicans. Matt Welch, Mr McCain's most recent biographer, said his world view was shaped by his character and experiences as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.Mr Welch said: He's always talking about sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself. He was able to withstand torture because he found faith in country and his family and their military traditions.
His ideology is national greatness: to restore our faith in American government at home and the US as a great shining city on a hill for the rest of the world. McCain is an interventionist. He looks around the world and sees evil and he wants to back that struggle up with force.But he is more sensitively attuned than Bush to the need for America to provide moral leadership.Mr McCain, an unabashed fan of boots on the ground in military operations, is committed to a dramatic expansion of the US Army and Marine Corps.
He is avowedly sceptical of the recent US national intelligence estimate that downplayed the threat from Iran's nuclear programme. He backs intervention in Darfur and once suggested America should support rebel insurgents in North Korea.During this election campaign he has predicted that US troops could be in Iraq for a century, openly comparing the deployment with the continuing garrison in South Korea. Mr Welch said: He sees the benefits of American imperialism. He grew up studying the British Empire in the 19th century, and his dad read him Rudyard Kipling.The flip side is that I don't think he recognises any side effects to America policing the world. The target on our back is getting bigger. He has zero sense of that.But John Lehman, a senior military adviser to Mr McCain and Ronald Reagan's navy secretary, told The Sunday Telegraph he was no warmonger. He's seen war first-hand, he said. He knows the cost of war and he knows that diplomacy without the willingness to put force behind the diplomacy is useless. It's a balance that he deeply understands.He knows that wars that are best won are those that are not fought.
Kosovo will proclaim independence on 17 February, Serbia says 08.02.2008 - 17:28 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
The Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo intends to proclaim independence next Sunday (17 February), Serbia said on Friday, saying it has information to back up the claim.The Serbian government has received more and more significant information that [Kosovo's prime minister] Hashim Thaci will illegally declare the unilateral independence of Kosovo on February 17, Slobodan Samardzic, Serbia's minister for Kosovo was quoted as saying by press agencies on Friday (8 February).Mr Samardzic did not specify the source of Serbia's information, however.The Serbian minister's comments came after a meeting with EU official Stefan Lehne, a special advisor to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.Mr Lehne was in Belgrade to clarify the EU's plans to send a civilian mission to Kosovo, according to the Associated Press.Serbia opposes the EU mission unless it is approved by the UN, seeing it as a step towards Kosovo's independence.After the EU approved the 1,800-strong mission earlier this week, the signing of an interim political agreement with Belgrade was delayed.The EU agreement offered Serbia closer trade relations, relaxed visa requirements and educational cooperation. It was to be signed on Thursday (7 February).Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica – who believes the deal is aimed at luring Serbia into recognising Kosovo - blocked a government meeting set to give the country's deputy premier, Bojidar Djelic, a mandate to sign the deal.
EU deal is double zero
On Friday, Mr Samardzic expressed similar views.The EU cannot expect that just before the unilateral declaration of independence announced for the 17th of February, that Serbia itself signs for the independence of Kosovo, he said.The minister for Kosovo went further, accusing the EU of trying to deceive Serbia by a deal without any substance.The deal is nothing. Double zero, he was quoted as saying by Serbian news site B92.net.It's unfortunate that the EU has infiltrated the Serbian political system in this way just a day after the election of a new president, Mr Samardzic added, referring to the approval of the Kosovo mission on the day following Serbia's presidential elections.Earlier this week, the EU lashed out at Serbia for delaying the signing of the political agreement, which Brussels insisted had nothing to do with the situation in Kosovo. Meanwhile, Kosovo's premier Hashim Thaci said on Friday that the province's independence is a done [deal]. Everybody knows it, AFP reports.Mr Thaci added that his government had confirmation Kosovo's independence would receive massive international recognition … [from] about 100 countries immediately after it is proclaimed.Kosovo, legally a part of Serbia's territory, has been under UN governance since 1999. The question of its future status has remained unsolved for years.Pristina wants full independence, but Belgrade – backed by its traditional ally Russia – categorically opposes it. 2008 EUobserver
Islamization of Europe and The European Union
Fjordman - 2/10/2008
Hugh Fitzgerald of Jihad Watch recently suggested a number of things Europeans can do to halt Islamization. The proposals were good, but I think we should focus on the most important obstacle: the European Union. I've suggested in the past that the EU is the principal motor behind the Islamization of Europe, and that the entire organization needs to be dismantled as soon as possible, otherwise nothing substantial can ever be done about the Muslim invasion. At the Gates of Vienna blog, I am writing a text called Ten Reasons to Get Rid of the European Union, which can be translated into other languages and be republished when it is completed.As Bat Ye'or demonstrates in her book Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, senior EU leaders have actively been working for years to merge Europe with the Arab world. They are now feeling confident enough to say this openly. The British Foreign Minister David Miliband in November 2007 stated that the European Union should work towards including Middle Eastern and North African countries, as this would extend stability. He also said that the EU must keep our promises to Turkey regarding EU membership.
The EU involves the free movement of people across borders. If it expands to the Middle East, hundreds of millions of Muslims will have free access to Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Austria. If Turkey becomes a member, it means that Greeks, Bulgarians and others who have fought against oppression by Ottoman Turks for centuries will now be flooded with Muslims from a rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey. The same goes for Poles, Hungarians, Romanians and others who fought against Muslims for centuries.The EU's Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini states that Europe must relax its immigration controls and open the door to an extra 20 million Africans and Asians during the next two decades. Most of these Africans and Asians come from the predominantly Muslim countries of North Africa and the Greater Middle East. The EU thus decided to flood Europe with tens of millions of Muslims at the same time as peaceful Europeans demonstrating against the Islamization of Europe were brutally harassed by the police in the EU capital of Brussels. Frattini has also banned the use of the phrase Islamic terrorism: People who commit suicide attacks or criminal activities on behalf of religion, Islamic religion or other religion, they abuse the name of this religion. He thinks we shouldn't use the word immigration, either, we should talk about mobility. While Dutch politicians, in what was until recently a peaceful country, have been killed for being too critical of Islam, while Islamic terror attacks have murdered people in London and Madrid, while more terror attacks are planned every single day from Italy via Paris to Denmark, and while people from Sweden to Germany are subject to Muslim street violence and harassment, EU leaders want to increase Europe's Muslim population by tens of millions in a few years. This is criminal and evil, pure and simple.
In Cologne, Germany, a Muslim teenager who wanted to mug a 20-year-old German man was killed in an act of self-defense, according to witnesses. This led to angry protests from Muslims. Apparently, non-Muslims are not supposed to defend themselves from attacks. This violence is usually labelled crime, but I believe it should more accurately be called Jihad. Those who know Islamic history, as described in books such as The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer or The Legacy of Jihad by Dr. Andrew G. Bostom, know that looting and stealing the property of non-Muslims has been part and parcel of Jihad from the very beginning. In fact, so much of the behavior of Muhammad and early Muslims could be deemed criminal that it is difficult to know where crime ends and Jihad begins. In the city of Oslo, it is documented that some of the criminal gangs also have close ties to Jihadist groups at home and abroad. As Dutch Arabist Hans Jansen points out, the Koran is seen by some Muslims as a God-given hunting licence, granting them the right to assault and even murder non-Muslims. It is hardly accidental that while Muslims make up a minority of the population in France, they make up an estimated seventy percent of French prison inmates.
Why would anybody in their right mind want to import Islam, the most destructive force on the planet? Are EU leaders naïve? I don't think so, at least not all of them. You cannot maintain political power in the long run if you are totally naive.We are told to treat cultural and historical identities as fashion accessories, shirts we can wear and change at will. The Multicultural society is colorful, an adjective normally attached to furniture or curtains. Cultures are window decorations of little or no consequence, and one might as well have one as the other. In fact, it is good to change it every now and then. Don't you get tired of that old sofa sometimes? What about exchanging it for the new sharia model? Sure, it's slightly less comfortable than the old one, but it's very much in vogue these days and sets you apart from the neighbors, at least until they get one, too. Do you want a sample of the latest Calvin Klein perfume to go with that sharia? I have heard individuals state point blank that even if Muslims become the majority in our countries in the future, this doesn't matter because all people are equal and all cultures are just a mix of everything else, anyway. And since religions are just fairy-tales, replacing one fairy-tale with another one won't make a big difference. All religions basically say that the same things in different ways. However, not one of them would ever dream of saying that all political ideologies basically mean the same thing. They simply don't view religious or cultural ideas as significant, and thus won't spend time on studying the largely unimportant details of each specific creed.
In The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam's Threat to the West, Lee Harris writes that: What strikes us as irrationalities in the economic systems of Third World nations, such as the red tape documented by [Peruvian economist Hernando] de Soto, is not irrational at all from the point of view of the dominant elite: It is part of what keeps them dominant. With enough red tape, they can stay king of the mountain forever.This reminds me a great deal of what the EU is doing, attempting to create a permanent oligarchy by keeping the native population in line though a combination of confusion, bureaucracy and intimidation from imported Muslims. Far from being an irrelevant detail, religion is the heart and blood of any civilization. The greatest change (until now) in my country's history was when we adopted Christianity instead of the Norse religion. This changed the entire fabric of our culture. We became integrated into the mainstream of Western civilization at about the same time as we went from being a tribal society to a genuine state. Maybe Christianity helped in creating the foundations of nation states with an individualistic culture. If so, perhaps changing the religion is beneficial for those who want to replace nation states with authoritarian transnational entities, for instance the European Union. Islamic societies are always authoritarian. Those who want to abolish the democratic system and rule as an unaccountable oligarchy thus naturally prefer Islam.
The EU is an awful organization even if you don't take Muslim immigration into account. Former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovksy, who is not particularly preoccupied with Islam, fears that the European Union is on its way to becoming another Soviet Union: The sooner we finish with the EU the better. The sooner it collapses the less damage it will have done to us and to other countries.The brilliant French political thinker Montesquieu advocated that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government should be assigned to different bodies, each of them not powerful enough alone to impose its will on society. This is because constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go. This separation of powers is almost totally absent in the EU, where there is weak to non-existent separation between the legislative, the executive and the judicial branches, and where all of them function more or less without the consent of the public.
As Montesquieu warned, When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner. He also stated that Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. The problem with the EU is not just the content of laws, but their volume. Law-abiding citizens are turned into criminals by laws regulating speech and behavior, while real criminals rule the streets. This will either lead to a police state, to a total breakdown in law and order, or both. At least two conditions must be fulfilled in order to prevent the arbitrary use of power. The first one is a system of formal checks and balances, giving the possibility of peacefully removing officials who are not doing their job. The second is transparency, so people know what their representatives are doing. The EU deliberately ignores both these conditions, but especially the latter. Vast quantities of power have been transferred to shady backrooms and structures the average citizen hardly knows exist. Eurabia was created through such channels. The pompous former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing declared that the creation of the proposed EU Constitution was Europe's Philadelphia moment, alluding to the Philadelphia Convention or Constitutional Convention in the newly formed the United States of America in 1787. The USA has its flaws, but if Mr. Giscard d'Estaing had actually understood the American Constitution, he would have discovered that James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and others took great care to implement a number of checks and balances in the new state, precisely what is lacking in the EU. The American constitution is relatively short and understandable, whereas the EU Constitution is hundreds of pages long, largely incomprehensible and displays an almost sharia-like desire to regulate all aspects of human life. After it was rejected by Dutch and French voters, the Constitution has been renamed and is now being smuggled through the back door.
Madison, Jefferson, George Washington and the American Founding Fathers acted in the open and were generally elected by their peers and applauded for their actions. Contrast this with Jean Monnet, who is credited with having laid the foundations of the EU, despite the fact that most EU citizens haven't heard of him. He was never elected to any public office, but worked behind the scenes to implement a secret agenda. I read an interview with a senior Brussels lobbyist who dubbed Monnet the most successful lobbyist in history. To this day, the EU capital of Brussels is dominated by lobbyists. The Americans in Washington D.C. have their fair share of lobbyists, too, and this can be problematic at times. The difference is that the EU capital is dominated ONLY by lobbyists and unelected bureaucrats, with little real popular influence. Those who read the excellent British blog EU Referendum regularly will know that this secretive modus operandi is still very much alive in the European Union. Frankly, I don't think the EU has the right to use the term European. Those inhabiting the European continent are first and foremost Germans, Dutchmen, Poles, Italians, Hungarians, Portuguese etc. Europe has existed mainly to protect the continent against Islamic expansionism. Charles Martel created Europe when he defeated the Arab invasion in the seventh century, aided by people such as Pelayo, who started the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula, John Hunyadi and Lazar of Serbia who fought against the Turks in the Balkans and John III Sobieski, King of Poland, who beat the Ottomans during the 1683 Battle of Vienna. The EU is actively trying to undo everything Charles Martel and these men achieved. This makes it the anti-European Union, an evil organization with no moral legitimacy whatsoever. The EU is gradually reducing the indigenous people of an entire continent to the likely future status of second-rate citizen in their own countries. It is quite possibly the greatest betrayal in the history of European civilization since the fall of the Roman Empire, yet it is hailed as a peace project in the media. It is shameful to witness the bullying displayed by EU leaders vis-Ã -vis the Serbs, who are being forced to give up their land to Muslim thugs. This template will eventually be used against all Europeans. As Srdja Trifkovic warns, even if the Serbs are robbed of Kosovo, Muslims will not thank the West: In Europe most nations want to defend themselves—even the ultra-tolerant Dutch have seen the light after Theo van Gogh's murder—but cannot do so because they are hamstrung by a ruling class composed of guilt-ridden self-haters and appeasers. Their hold on the political power, the media, and the academe is undemocratic, unnatural, obscene. If Europe is to survive they need to be unmasked for what they are: traitors to their nations and their culture. If Europe is to survive, they must be replaced by people ready and willing to subject the issues of immigration and identity to the test of democracy, unhindered by administrative or judicial fiat. For those reasons too, Serbia must not give up Kosovo. By giving it up it would encourage the spirit that seeks the death of Europe and its surrender to the global totalitarianism of Muhammad's successors. Not for the first time, in Kosovo the Serbs are fighting a fight that is not theirs alone.
Some hope we can keep the positive aspects of the EU and not throw out the baby with the bath water. I beg to differ. The EU is all bath water, no baby. The EU got off on the wrong path from its very inception, and is now so flawed that it simply cannot be reformed. Appeasement of Islam is so deeply immersed in the structural DNA of the EU that the only way to stop the Islamization of Europe is to dismantle the European Union. All of it.Fjordman is a noted Norwegian blogger who has written for many conservative web sites. He used to have his own Fjordman Blog in the past, but it is no longer active.
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