News for January 17, 2008

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Rethink Conference Starts Today: Christian Leaders Help Bring About Robert Schuller's Dream of an All-Inclusive Spirituality Lighthouse Trails Research (January 17, 2008) - Robert Schuller once said: "Standing before a crowd of devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti, I know that we're all doing God's work together. Standing on the edge of a new millennium, we're laboring hand in hand to repair the breach." He made that statement in his 2001 biography, My Journey (p. 501), and today he has taken a giant step forward in seeing his dream of an all all-inclusive spiritual body come true. What's more, Christian leaders and organizations are helping to bring it to pass. Today, the Rethink Conference at Schuller's Crystal Cathedral began. This three day event is hosted by Schuller and popular emerging futurist Erwin McManus. In addition to McManus, the Rethink Conference has several other Christian leaders speaking: Gary Smalley, Henry Cloud, Chuck Colson, and Kay Warren, to name a few. While the speaker list includes several names outside the Christian camp (Larry King, George Bush Sr., Rupert Murdoch, etc.), a majority of the speakers, both Christian and non-Christian, are proponents mystical spirituality. The reason this is important to know is because Schuller's vision of an all-inclusive global religious body cannot happen without mysticism. It is in fact the vehicle through which Schuller's dream will occur. He discloses a little more of this vision in his book:

I met once more with the Grand Mufti (a Muslim), truly one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith. ... I'm dreaming a bold impossible dream: that positive-thinking believers in God will rise above the illusions that our sectarian religions have imposed on the world, and that leaders of the major faiths will rise above doctrinal idiosyncrasies, choosing not to focus on disagreements, but rather to transcend divisive dogmas to work together to bring peace and prosperity and hope to the world. (p. 502).

In order for this "bold impossible dream" to occur, change agents such as Schuller and McManus realize that Christianity needs to be redefined. Thus, the term rethink. McManus has believed this for some time. In an interview, he stated:

My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ.... Some people are upset with me because it sounds like I'm anti-Christian. I think they might be right!(1)

It's easier to understand what McManus means by this by reading this next statement from him:

The Barbarian Way was, in some sense, trying to create a volatile fuel to get people to step out and act. It's pretty hard to get a whole group of people moving together as individuals who are stepping into a more mystical, faith-oriented, dynamic kind of experience with Christ. So, I think was my attempt to say, "Look, underneath what looks like invention, innovation and creativity is really a core mysticism that hears from God, and what is fueling this is something really ancient." That's what was really the core of The Barbarian Way. (from Relevant magazine)

To put this in plain terms, there is a three step process in making this new vision become a reality. First, reeducation: convince Christians that the Christianity of today has to be thrown out and replaced by a whole new way of thinking. Second, get these new thinking Christians to incorporate mysticism into their lives and hear the voice of a new kind of God, not one that is described in the Bible but one that is found through altered states of consciousness. McManus put it this way: "I build my life not on the Word of God, but the voice of God. The Scriptures are to me the instrument that God has placed in history for me to learn the voice of God." (2) The voice of this mystical god will direct people to the final step of the process, and that will be to bring about a supposed kingdom of God where all will be one, and where man finally realizes his own divinity. Unfortunately, it will be a kingdom built, not on the truth of the Word of God, thus not on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America | Apostasy |

This article connected a lot of things. George Bush Sr., Larry King, Rupert Murdoch, Kay Warren and more all come together to "rethink" Christianity in the world and support globalism. Given Bible prophecy regarding the woman riding the beast and the false prophet, I think this is the New World Order working to influence evangelical Christians and prepare as many of them, if possible, for the coming deception and falling away from the Truth, God's Word. Bible prophecy lays out the timeline for Christ's second coming and the political scene is showing the fruits of fulfilled prophecy. There is a great delusion coming and a falling away and the revealing of the man of sin before the bride escapes God's wrath. The goal of the spiritual wickedness trying to deceive mankind is for as many as possible to reject the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as written in the Holy Bible. For some, experience and special prophecy will trump the written Word and not having a firm foundation in what God says about the end-times, will be deceived. My goal for this website is to not let that happen. If these newsletters resonate in your spirit, share with those you believe have ears to hear. Yeshua is coming, watch!

Ahmadinejad: Mideast countries will erupt like a volcano YNet News (January 17, 2008) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in response to US President George W. Bush's recent visit to the Middle East that "the region's countries are about to erupt like a volcano", the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported Thursday. Speaking at a mosque in Tehran Wednesday evening ahead of the Day of Ashura celebrations, the Iranian president said the region's countries would follow the Islamic Republic's lead and "stand firm in the face of (Israel's) murderous operations against the oppressed Palestinian nation and its supporters." Meanwhile, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator said the West had failed in efforts to put pressure on the Islamic Republic over its atomic activities. The West fears Tehran is seeking an atom bomb and has imposed two sets of United Nations sanctions. Iran says it aims only to generate electricity. "Those countries who so far have been after imposing sanctions and putting pressure on Iran have not achieved any success," chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili told the official IRNA news agency at the start of a visit to Beijing. "Today, global developments and Iran's logical behavior do not allow anybody to do this."
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

First Temple seal found in Jerusalem The Jerusalem Post (January 17, 2008) - A stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants in the First Temple and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylonia has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said Wednesday. The 2,500-year-old black stone seal, which has the name "Temech" engraved on it, was found earlier this week amid stratified debris in the excavation under way just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate, said archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading the dig. According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the First Temple and were sent into exile to Babylon following its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The family was among those who later returned to Jerusalem, the Bible recounts. The seal, which was bought in Babylon and dates to 538-445 BCE, portrays a common and popular cultic scene, Mazar said. The 2.1 x 1.8-cm. elliptical seal is engraved with two bearded priests standing on either side of an incense altar with their hands raised forward in a position of worship. A crescent moon, the symbol of the chief Babylonian god Sin, appears on the top of the altar. Under this scene are three Hebrew letters spelling Temech, Mazar said. The Bible refers to the Temech family: "These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city." [Nehemiah 7:6]... "The Nethinim [7:46]"... The children of Temech." [7:55]. The fact that this cultic scene relates to the Babylonian chief god seemed not to have disturbed the Jews who used it on their own seal, she added. The seal of one of the members of the Temech family was discovered just dozens of meters away from the Opel area, where the servants of the Temple, or "Nethinim," lived in the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said. "The seal of the Temech family gives us a direct connection between archeology and the Biblical sources and serves as actual evidence of a family mentioned in the Bible," she said. "One cannot help being astonished by the credibility of the biblical source as seen by the archaeological find." more...
| Israel |

Winograd Commission member: Report could topple government YNet News (January 17, 2008) - The final report of the Winograd Commission is expected to be dramatic and decisive," a member on the commission told Ynet Thursday, ahead of the report's publication in two weeks' time. The member also stated that the report could have "drastic ramifications" for the political system, and could even lead to a toppling of the government. The commission's spokesman refused to comment on the statements at this point. Winograd's preliminary report, which was released in April 2007, strongly criticized Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, then-Defense Minister Amir Peretz, then-Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and the government as a whole for their functioning during the first five days of the campaign. The final report is set to focus on the period leading up the ceasefire agreement, signed on August 12, 2006, and also cover the years that preceded the war, since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. The report is also expected to spotlight the last 48 hours of the fighting, which took place parallel to diplomatic efforts to finalize the UN Security Council ceasefire resolution. While the commission said it would not include individual recommendations in its conclusions, the member stated that the report would contain "difficult findings" regarding the deaths of 33 soldiers during the final operation of the war. These conclusions, he said, "will, at the very least, move up the general elections." The main issues set to be covered by the report include the decision-making process employed by the political echelon during the war; the relations between the political and military echelons throughout the campaign; the handling of the home front; and of course, the war's results. more...
| Israel | Islam |

Joint US-EU-NATO security body mulled The Jerusalem Post (January 17, 2008) - While rejecting the idea of Israel or other countries in conflict joining NATO, five former Western defense chiefs called Wednesday for the alliance and the European Union to create a joint security "directorate" to address global terrorism and the challenges posed by Iran and China. In a report presented in Brussels, former military commanders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain and the Netherlands laid out a new strategy for NATO designed to create stronger ties between the US and its European allies. The authors of the report included Gen. (ret.) Dr. Klaus Naumann, former German chief of staff, and Gen. (ret.) John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. "There is a great mismatch between the interconnected list of dangers and the international and national capabilities to respond to them - capabilities that are weakened by their disunity," the authors wrote in the report, titled "Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World." "No institution and no nation is capable of responding to these dangers and risks on its own; and just a cursory glance at our international organizations leads us to ask whether we have a proper basis for coordinated action. Unfortunately, it would appear that we do not," the report concluded. The report's authors recommend the establishment of a US, EU, NATO "steering directorate" to coordinate operations when common interests are in danger. "The point of such a directorate would be to better liaise for the common good, to coordinate who takes the lead on which issue, and to ensure that the three entities support each other," the report reads. The proposal comes ahead of a NATO summit set for April during which leaders of the 32 member states are expected to discuss the alliance's post-Cold War future. While Israeli defense officials were not familiar with the report they were not surprised by its recommendation that the Western alliance undergo a major restructuring. "For years now, NATO has been looking for a new purpose," said one Israeli official. "With the Cold War over, they are looking to preserve their strength, and a new directorate uniting the US, NATO and the EU could do that." While the report does not specifically mention the issue of Israeli membership in NATO - for years debated within the IDF and the Defense Ministry - it does recommend not accepting as a member any country that is engaged in conflict or territorial disputes. Outgoing Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman has over the past year pushed for Israel to ask for full membership in the military alliance. "NATO should state that it will not extend membership invitations to countries in which the standards of NATO members - such as democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and good governance - are not fully adhered to. It should also be agreed that the alliance will not accept any country as a member which has unresolved territorial claims or which is involved in ongoing armed conflicts," the report reads. The report's authors also referred to the Second Lebanon War, citing it as an example of non-state actors involved in asymmetric warfare and saying that Hizbullah engaged in "war crimes" by positioning its fighters and launching rockets from within civilian population centers.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America |

Keep in mind that according to Bible prophecy, Christians and anyone refusing to worship the antichrist are going to become the terrorists and enemies of the globalist state during the great tribulation. Right now the terrorists are mostly limited to radical Islamic fundamentalists, but once the man of sin demands worship, the "Islamic" part will be removed from the definition to include all "radical fundamentalists," including Jews and Christians as well as anyone refusing to accept the antichrist. NATO is also on board with the Alliance of Civilizations and, unknown to most Americans, has split under the Berlin-Plus Agreement. In the event of a crisis situation, NATO assets are transferred to the European Union’s Political and Security Committee presently presided over by EU High Representative Javier Solana. With NATO's continuing integration with European forces, I think we can begin to see how global enforcement of antichrist policies will be implemented. We're also seeing a move to a North American Union through trade agreements and security issues that will make legal control of the Americas much easier once the antichrist takes power. My friends, the writing is on the wall. But don't just listen to me...

“The age of Nations must end… The Government of nations has decided to order their separate sovereignties into one government to which they surrender their arms.” | United Nation’s World Constitution

“No one will enter the New World Order unless he or she will make a pledge to worship Lucifer. No one will enter the New Age unless he takes a Luciferian initiation.” | David Spingler, Director of Planetary Initiative, United Nations

UN 'civilization' forum endorses measures to end intolerance Brietbart.com (January 16, 2008) - A new UN "civilization" forum concluded Wednesday with a series of initiatives to combat intolerance between people of different cultures in the wake of the September 11 and other terror attacks. The forum provided "a solid glimpse of a renewed hope that if we unite efforts we will bring some change to the world," said Jorge Sampaio, the United Nations' high representative for the Alliance of Civilizations. It is a "unique example of the way in which the UN can adapt to the emerging challenges," the former Portuguese president said in a closing speech to the delegates. The Alliance of Civilizations Forum was the brainchild of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who proposed it at the UN General Assembly in September 2004, six months after the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and four years after the September 11 attacks in the United States that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. It "responds to the crucial demand for building bridges of understanding across cultures," Sampaio said. He outlined 12 concrete initiatives from the two-day conference. These included a 100-million-dollar (67-million-euro) fund to finance major film productions that promote cross-cultural understanding and counter stereotypes. The fund, first announced by Jordan's Queen Noor on Tuesday, has an initial investment of 10 million dollars and has established partnerships with Hollywood production and distribution companies. Sampaio described it as "the first-of-its-kind nonprofit large-scale media production company focused on normalizing images of stereotyped communities and minorities in mass media." Another initiative is a Rapid Response Media Mechanism, aimed at reducing tensions in times of cross-cultural crises. It will begin with an "online resource that will feature global experts in cross-cultural issues, who are available to talk to journalists," Sampaio said. He said the Alliance will also set up a network of "goodwill ambassadors", create a global network of philanthropic foundations as well as a Youth Solidarity Fund. Another major initiative was a fund to reduce youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa. Qatar announced Monday it had contributed 100 million dollars to the fund, called Silatech ("your connection" in Arabic). Around 350 people from the worlds of politics, religion, the arts and human rights, representing 63 countries, attended the Alliance of Civilizations Forum. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | 1st Seal | NewWorldOrder |

Islamic charity indicted for ties to terrorist Reuters (January 16, 2008) - A federal grand jury on Wednesday returned a 42-count indictment against a now-defunct Islamic charity for sending money to an Afghan "terrorist" and accused a former Republican congressman of money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. According to the indictment, former Rep. Mark Deli Siljander of Michigan allegedly received about $50,000 in stolen federal funds from the charity, the Islamic American Relief Agency. He could not be reached for comment. He was hired in 2004 to help get the charity removed from a congressional list of non-profit organizations suspected of supporting international terrorism, the government said. The charity, also previously known as the Islamic African Relief Agency, was based in Columbia, Missouri. It closed in 2004 after the U.S. Treasury Department said it was a global terrorist organization. Wednesday's indictment supersedes a previous one brought last March that charged the charity with making illegal transfers of more than $1.4 million to Iraq. "This superseding indictment paints a troubling picture of an American charity organization that engaged in transactions for the benefit of terrorists and conspired with a former United States Congressman to convert stolen federal funds into payment for his advocacy on behalf of the charity," said Assistant Attorney General Wainstein in a statement. The indictment alleged that IARA and its former executive director, Mubarak Hamed, engaged in prohibited financial transactions for the benefit of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan mujahideen leader designated by the U.S. government in 2002 as a terrorist. Hekmatyar, a former warlord who fought against the Soviet Union and later served as Afghanistan's prime minister in the 1990s, supported terrorist acts by al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and "vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan," the government said. Siljander served in the U.S. House of Representatives from April 1981 to January 3, 1987. He is an owner and director of Global Strategies, Inc., a marketing and public relations company in Washington.
| Islam | America |

Unfavorable drug studies don't get into print: report Reuters (January 16, 2008) - Nearly a third of antidepressant drug studies are never published in the medical literature and nearly all happen to show that the drug being tested did not work, researchers reported on Wednesday. In some of the studies that are published, unfavorable results have been recast to make the medicine appear more effective than it really is, said the research team led by Erick Turner of the Oregon Health & Science University. Even if not deliberate, this can be bad news for patients, they wrote in their report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "Selective publication can lead doctors to make inappropriate prescribing decisions that may not be in the best interest of their patients and, thus, the public health," they wrote. The idea that unfavorable test results are quietly tucked away so nobody will see them -- sometimes call the "file drawer effect" -- has been around for years. The Turner team used a U.S. Food and Drug Administration registry in which companies are supposed to log details of their drug tests before the experiments are begun. "It tells you where they placed their bets before they saw the data," Turner said in a telephone interview. Of the 74 studies that started for the 12 antidepressants, 38 produced positive results for the drug. All but one of those studies were published. REWRITTEN STUDIES However, only three of the 36 studies with negative or questionable results, as assessed by the FDA, were published and another 11 were written as if the drug had worked. "Not only were positive results more likely to be published, but studies that were not positive, in our opinion, were often published in a way that conveyed a positive outcome," said the authors. For example, of the seven negative studies done on GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, five were never published. The researchers found three studies for GSK's Wellbutrin SR, but the two negative ones never reached print. There were five studies for Pfizer's Zoloft, but the three showing the drug to be ineffective were not published. A fourth study, ruled questionable by the FDA, was written and published to make it appear that the drug worked. A Glaxo spokeswoman said the company posts the data from all of its trials, positive or negative, on the Internet. "GlaxoSmithKline agrees that public disclosure of clinical trial results for marketed medicines is essential and fully supports registration of all trials in progress," she said. "Pfizer is committed to the communication of results of all registered clinical studies, regardless of outcome. More specifically, we have committed to disclose clinical trial results within one year after study completion for all of our marketed products," Pfizer spokesman Jack Cox said in an e-mail. Turner and his colleagues did not find out who was to blame for not publishing the studies. He said medical journals may have played a role by deciding they would rather publish favorable results. "There's an expectation that if you get a positive result, that's what you're supposed to do, and if you get a negative result you have failed," said Turner. "The first impulse is to say, 'I was wrong. Maybe I should move on to something more interesting"' so the results may never get written up.

U.S. to study bizarre medical condition Associated Press (January 16, 2008) - It sounds like a freakish ailment from a horror movie: Sores erupt on your skin, mysterious threads pop out of them, and you feel like tiny bugs are crawling all over you. Some experts believe it's a psychiatric phenomenon, yet hundreds of people say it's a true physical condition. It's called Morgellons, and now the government is about to begin its first medical study of it. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is paying California-based health care giant Kaiser Permanente $338,000 to test and interview patients suffering from Morgellons' bizarre symptoms. The one-year effort will attempt to define the condition and better determine how common it is. The study will be done in northern California, the source of many of the reports of Morgellons (pronounced mor-GELL-uns). Researchers will begin screening for patients immediately, CDC officials said Wednesday. A Kaiser official expects about 150 to 500 study participants. Morgellons sufferers describe symptoms that include erupting sores, fatigue, the sensation of bugs crawling over them and — perhaps worst of all — mysterious red, blue or black fibers that sprout from their skin. They've documented their suffering on Web sites. Some doctors believe the condition is a form of delusional parasitosis, a psychosis in which people believe they are infected with parasites. In the study, volunteers will get blood tests and skin exams, as well as psychological evaluations, said Dr. Michele Pearson, who leads a CDC task force overseeing the study. Pearson suggested the study will help determine if Morgellons is the same as delusional parasitosis or something new. more...

7-year plan aligns U.S. with Europe's economy WorldNet Daily (January 16, 2008) - Six U.S. senators and 49 House members are advisers for a group working toward a Transatlantic Common Market between the U.S. and the European Union by 2015. The Transatlantic Policy Network – a non-governmental organization headquartered in Washington and Brussels – is advised by the bi-partisan congressional TPN policy group, chaired by Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah. The plan – currently being implemented by the Bush administration with the formation of the Transatlantic Economic Council in April 2007 – appears to be following a plan written in 1939 by a world-government advocate who sought to create a Transatlantic Union as an international governing body. An economist from the World Bank has argued in print that the formation of the Transatlantic Common Market is designed to follow the blueprint of Jean Monnet, a key intellectual architect of the European Union, recognizing that economic integration must inevitably lead to political integration. As WND previously reported, a key step in advancing this goal was the creation of the Transatlantic Economic Council by the U.S. and the EU through an agreement signed by President Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel – the current president of the European Council – and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at a White House summit meeting last April. Writing in the Fall 2007 issue of the Streit Council journal "Freedom and Union," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., a member of the TPN advisory group, affirmed the target date of 2015 for the creation of a Transatlantic Common Market. Costa said the Transatlantic Economic Council is tasked with creating the Transatlantic Common Market regulatory infrastructure. The infrastructure would not require congressional approval, like a new free-trade agreement would. Writing in the same issue of the Streit Council publication, Bennett also confirmed that what has become known as the "Merkel initiative" would allow the Transatlantic Economic Council to integrate and harmonize administrative rules and regulations between the U.S. and the EU "in a very quiet way," without introducing a new free trade agreement to Congress. No document on the TEC website suggests that any of the regulatory changes resulting from the process of integrating with the EU will be posted in the Federal Register or submitted to Congress as new free-trade agreements or as modifications to existing trade agreements. In addition to Bennett, the advisers to the Transatlantic Policy Network includes the following senators: Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; and Gordon Smith, R-Ore. Among the 49 U.S. congressmen on the TPN's Congressional Group are John Boehner, R-Ohio; John Dingell, D-Mich.; Kenny Marchant, R-Texas; and F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc. WND contacted Bennett's office for comment but received no return call by the publication deadline. A progress report on the TEC website indicates the following U.S. government agencies are already at work integrating and harmonizing administrative rules and regulations with their EU counterparts: The Office of Management and Budget, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Streit Council is named after Clarence K. Streit, whose 1939 book "Union Now" called for the creation of a Transatlantic Union as a step toward world government. The new federation, with an international constitution, was to include the 15 democracies of U.S., UK, France, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and South Africa. Ira Straus, the founder and U.S. coordinator of the Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO, a group dedicated to including Russia within NATO, credits Bennett as TPN chairperson with reviving Streit's work "seven decades later." A globalist with leftist political leanings, Straus was a Fulbright professor of political science at Moscow State University and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations from 2001 to 2002. The congruity of ideas between Bennett and Streit is clear when Bennett writes passages that echo precisely goals Streit stated in 1939. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America |

Now I'm not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to money markets or international trade, but understanding what Bible prophecy says about the timing of the end and the kind of global financial system that will be in place, I think things are becoming more clear even to a clueless guy like me. With the financial troubles in the credit and housing markets, lenders keep having to get bailed out by the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve (neither federal or reserve), more and more people are beholden financially to international bankers. Notice all the company consolidation going on too? As good deals pop up or financial woes threaten companies and individuals, those with money can buy the property, companies, etc. In the case of housing, how many people actually own their homes? And of those, how many will be able to continue to pay property taxes if the system crashes? What happens if you don't pay taxes? I believe this is all leading down a road to a collapsing bridge where in the crash, a new financial system will arise from the ashes that is global in nature and no nation will be in a position to deny it because over time it has been the international bankers who have been manipulating and controlling the financial markets and making all the money. From the article above, "An economist from the World Bank has argued in print that the formation of the Transatlantic Common Market is designed to follow the blueprint of Jean Monnet, a key intellectual architect of the European Union, recognizing that economic integration must inevitably lead to political integration." The international trade agreements and the global war on terror is all coming to a head that will work very well I think with the financial difficulties that many nations are having now. But then again, maybe I'm way off...

“Give me control of a Nation's money and I care not who makes the laws.” | Mayer Amschel Bauer (Rothschild)

Indianapolis mayor: killings were 'evil' Associated Press (January 16, 2008) - Shock and anger punctuated a prayer vigil for a baby, a toddler and their mothers who were shot to death while the women held their children in their arms. City leaders who spoke at the church vigil, attended by about 100 people, summed up the crime with one word: Evil. "How does evil like this exist in our city?" Mayor Greg Ballard said. "It's easy to be heartbroken, and you should be. But you should be angry, and I'm angry." Ballard urged people to channel their outrage into community policing, neighborhood associations and other ways to make the community safer. All four victims were shot repeatedly late Monday, said Indianapolis Assistant Police Chief Eva Talley-Sanders. All died at the house on the city's north side except for 4-month-old Charlii Yarrell, who died at a hospital. The other victims were Jordan Hunt, 23 months; his mother, Gina Hunt, 24; and Charlii's mother, Andrea Yarrell, 24. Police Chief Michael Spears, who also spoke at the vigil, called the killings "an act of inexplicable evil." Two handguns were found within a block of the house where the killings occurred, said Sgt. Matthew Mount, a police spokesman. more...
| Signs of the Times |

White House recycles backup e-mail tapes Associated Press (January 16, 2008) - The White House has acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages — including those pertaining to the CIA leak case — have been taped over and are gone forever. The disclosure came minutes before midnight Tuesday under a court-ordered deadline that forced the White House to reveal information it has previously refused to provide. Among the e-mails that could be lost are messages swapped by any White House officials involved in discussions about leaking a CIA officer's identity to reporters. Before October 2003, the White House recycled its backup tapes "consistent with industry best practices," according to a sworn statement by a White House aide. Backup tapes are the last line of defense for saving electronic records. Separately, the statement reveals the extent to which the White House is apparently unable to answer how many e-mails are missing from White House servers. The White House "does not know if any e-mails were not properly preserved in the archiving process," said the statement by Theresa Payton, chief information officer for the White House Office of Administration. "We are continuing our efforts," said Payton, whose staff is responsible for the White House e-mail system. If the e-mails were not saved, the White House might have violated two laws requiring preservation of documents that fall into the categories of federal records or presidential records. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that "there is no basis to say that the White House has destroyed any evidence or engaged in any misconduct." Fratto said that despite the recycling, some tapes should contain e-mails from before October 2003. "Of course the disaster recovery backup tapes were, at one time, recycled," said Fratto. "However, since October 2003, the Office of Administration has retained and preserved its disaster recovery tapes. The disaster recovery system is set up to regularly back up everything on the network for the Executive Office of the president at the time of each backup." The seven-page document filed in U.S. District Court says the White House in October 2003 "began preserving and storing all backup tapes and continues to do so." Payton said this means that e-mails sent or received in the 2003-2005 time period should be contained on existing backup tapes. The period of 2003 and 2005 is the time frame at issue in lawsuits seeking information about possibly millions of missing e-mails at the Bush White House. more...
| America |

Inflation rate is worst in 17 years Associated Press (January 16, 2008) - Higher costs for energy and food last year pushed inflation up by the largest amount in 17 years, even though prices generally remained tame outside of those two areas. Meanwhile, industrial output was flat in December, more evidence of a significant slowdown in the economy. Consumer prices rose by 4.1 percent for all of 2007, up sharply from a 2.5 percent increase in 2006, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Consumers felt the pain when they filled up their gas tanks or shopped for groceries. Prices for both energy and food shot up by the largest amount since 1990. In a second report, the Federal Reserve said that output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities showed no growth in December, adding to a string of weak economic reports showing that the economy was slowing at the end of last year. That weakness has shown up in the biggest one-month jump in unemployment since the 2001 terrorist attacks and billions of dollars in losses at many of the country's biggest financial institutions. Citigroup Inc. reported Tuesday it had suffered a $10 billion loss for the last three months of 2007, reflecting bad bets on investments backed by subprime mortgages. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged by 277 points on Tuesday and fell even further on Wednesday as Intel reported weak earnings for the fourth quarter. The Dow was down by 26 points in late morning trading. The unchanged industrial output in December was the poorest showing since industrial output actually fell by 0.5 percent in October. Output had been up by 0.3 percent in November. The December weakness reflected flat output at U.S. factories, a tiny 0.1 percent rise in the mining industry and a 0.2 percent drop at the nation's utilities. The Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3 percent in December, slower than the 0.8 percent in November, as food costs were flat for the month and energy prices rose by 0.9 percent after an even bigger 5.7 percent jump in November. Outside of food and energy, inflation rose a more moderate 0.2 percent in December. This measure of core inflation rose by 2.4 percent for all of 2007, down slightly from a 2.6 percent increase in 2006. The Federal Reserve is closely watching to see whether the jump in food and energy becomes more widespread and starts pushing core inflation higher. more...
| America | Economic Crisis |

Alliance of Civilizations told to act - Summary Earth Times (January 15, 2008) - The United Nations' Alliance of Civilizations project was Tuesday advised to engage in concrete programmes instead of just discussing inter-cultural dialogue at meetings and in documents. The countries involved should "tenaciously" seek to apply "concrete programmes," European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said at the alliance's first annual forum, which began in Madrid. The Alliance of Civilizations, which was launched by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after Islamist train bombings killed 191 people in Madrid in 2004, seeks to break down cultural prejudice and to increase understanding especially between the West and the Muslim world. The two-day forum brought nearly 400 people from more than 60 countries to the Spanish capital, including representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society as well as religious leaders, entrepreneurs and artists. The guest list included the presidents of Senegal, Finland and Slovenia and the prime ministers of Algeria and Malaysia. "We do not need new documents, but they need to be applied," Solana said, pointing out that many of the alliance's ideas were already contained in EU legislation. The countries involved should not "just hold meetings, but the meetings need to serve to solve problems," Solana insisted. The Alliance of Civilizations will only succeed if given a "concrete content," Zapatero said, calling on all countries to adopt it as a "policy of state." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed the urgent need for inter-cultural dialogue to thwart the threat of extremist movements. "Never in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed dialogue," Ban said, describing the Alliance of Civilizations as a "unique" platform for that purpose. It was easy to call for cultural bridges, Ban admitted, but it was much more difficult to turn the words into deeds influencing how people thought and acted. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos urged the participants to engage to back US peace efforts in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, complaining of a "lack of political will" to create a Palestinian state. Former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, the UN high representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, said it was filling a "vacuum" existing on the international level. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has joined Zapatero in sponsoring the initiative, said Turkey's entry into the EU would "prove that the Alliance of Civilizations is possible." The forum included workshops aimed at sparking initiatives and partnerships to promote inter-cultural understanding. Jordan's Queen Noor announced the creation of a 100-million-dollar fund to subsidize audiovisual productions promoting cultural integration, while the Spanish government said it would support movies and television series of that kind. Recommendations issued by 20 eminent personalities in 2006 set education, the media, youth and migration as the main areas to be targeted. Zapatero's and Erdogan's initiative for an alliance of civilizations was adopted by the UN in 2005. The United States has backed the initiative, though it has shown a limited interest, and only sent its ambassador to Spain to the Madrid forum, according to Spanish sources. The general action plan issued in 2006 is now to be followed by national plans. Zapatero outlined Spain's 60-point national plan and pledged to appoint a coordinator to implement it.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal | NewWorldOrder |

This is a prime example of applying law internationally in the name of peace and security. When you look at the basic thrust behind the AoC, it is to eliminate elements from religion that offend others. One of the main points is the battle against those who claim sole ownership to the Truth, like the Bible does and therefore all who believe it. (Jews and Christians) This war on religious fundamentalism is a necessary step in order to get the world to worship the antichrist as Bible prophecy foretells, this is the New World Order. When you see this in light of Albert Pike's 1871 letter talking about fomenting a third world war between Islam and Israel/West and the many quotes by past dictators on how to direct nations through terror and fear, there seems to be a convenient correlation between terrorism and taking away freedoms both in America and abroad as well as setting up the legal framework for the world to be beholden to international law over sovereign nations that declare their own laws. When the policy-makers are centered in Europe at a time that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled, watch out! America is already ceding power to Europe slowly. Now check this story out, also above in this issue of the Watchman Newsletter: Joint US-EU-NATO security body mulled

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Don't panic over heart drug news, U.S. group advises Reuters (January 15, 2008) - News that the popular cholesterol drug Vytorin may not work to protect arteries and may in fact worsen clogging should not cause patients to panic, the American College of Cardiology said on Tuesday. They said the study -- which was carried on newspaper front pages and which depressed the shares of one of the makers, Schering-Plough -- was not the last word on the drug's efficacy. Merck & Co and Schering-Plough said on Monday that in a study known as ENHANCE, Vytorin failed to significantly halt clogging of arteries better than an older generic drug. Members of Congress said they planned to investigate the companies' handling of the study results, which were delayed for what many people considered to be a suspiciously long time. In the meantime, patients should not suddenly stop taking the drug, the cardiology group said. "There is no reason for patients to panic," the ACC said in a statement. "This is not an urgent situation and patients should never stop taking any prescribed medications without first discussing the issue with their health care professional," the statement added. Vytorin combines two cholesterol-lowering drugs -- ezetimibe, sold under the brand name Zetia, and simvastatin, sold generically and under the Zocor brand name. more...
| America |

This is a primary example of the flip-flopping on medication showing how much we are guinea pigs in the chemical pharmaceutical industry. There are many stories of big pharma wooing doctors to support their medication and the doctors only have what they present to go on unless they do their own research. How many doctors have time for that? Maybe if we didn't mess with the food sources and allowed God back into society, the physical issues we battle against would not exist. Read Deadly Emotions for a better understanding of how our spiritual condition affects our physical body. Adding chemicals usually requires even more chemicals to counteract the negative reactions of the body to the original medication. How many people have to take multiple different pills daily and just how healthy do they feel? Now I'm not saying everyone should stop taking medications because some medications have negative reactions to just stopping suddenly. What I would suggest is getting alone in prayer with God to come to Him about it, He can heal all things.

Citi writes off $18 billion, Merrill gets capital Reuters (January 15, 2008) - Citigroup wrote off a colossal $18.1 billion on Tuesday and secured new capital as Merrill Lynch, also seen heading for big losses due to the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown, announced a $6.6 billion shot in the arm. Citi, the largest U.S. bank by assets, announced an overall fourth quarter loss of $9.83 billion -- its first quarterly loss since its creation in 1998 -- on the back of losses tied to subprime home loans and other risky debt. It said it was raising $14.5 billion from offerings of convertible preferred securities and cut its dividend. Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed and the government of Singapore were among the recipients. "Believe it or not, the write-downs are better than what was being discussed. Yesterday, I saw an analyst estimate of $27 billion," said William Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Smith Asset Management in New York. "It wasn't the worst case scenario." U.S. investment bank Merrill said it would issue $6.6 billion in preferred shares to investors, including the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Korean Investment Corp and a unit of Japan's Mizuho Financial Group, as it looked to shore up its capital base. The New York Times on Friday reported Merrill was expected to suffer $15 billion in losses stemming from bad mortgage investments, when it releases its fourth quarter results on Thursday. It wrote off $8.4 billion in the third quarter. Banks, wrestling with huge losses stemming from U.S. mortgages lent to people ill-equipped to repay them, have actively been seeking cash from abroad. In December, Merrill secured as much as $7.5 billion by selling a stake to Singapore's government and an asset manager. The month before Citi agreed to sell up to a 4.9 percent stake to Abu Dhabi for the same amount. Other big names such as State Street and JP Morgan also report results this week, which is shaping up to be a pivotal one in the credit crunch saga. "The market is set up for bad news," said Adam Cole, global head of FX currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets. At 1500 GMT, the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank will announce results of their latest "term auctions," which offer billions of dollars in short-term money to banks to try and ease the credit market logjam. The results will show how much demand there remains for central bank cash, and therefore how tough it is to secure money via interbank lending which has dried up since August when banks realized they did not know which were dangerously exposed to the U.S. subprime sector. The Fed has put up $30 billion this time, under a coordinated central bank plan hammered out in December, the ECB $20 billion and the SNB $4 billion. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

UN Alliance of Civilizations to stage first forum in Madrid Monsters & Critics (January 14, 2008) - Nearly 400 political leaders and other representatives from about 100 countries were expected Tuesday in the Spanish capital Madrid for the first annual forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations project, organizers said Monday. The forum was to provide participants with a platform to develop initiatives and partnerships in an attempt to overcome the gap of cultural prejudice and misunderstandings, especially between the West and the Muslim world. The forum was to be inaugurated by the Spanish and Turkish prime ministers, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who launched the alliance, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, the UN high representative for the project. The guest list included the presidents of Algeria, Slovenia and Finland, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa, actor Antonio Banderas, author Paulo Coelho as well as other personalities representing religious communities, the business world, academia, arts and civil society. The United States, which is not a member of the 'Group of Friends' network supporting the alliance, will send its ambassador, while Israel was not expected to participate officially. Soon after Zapatero launched the idea of the alliance in 2004, it received the backing of Erdogan, and was adopted by the UN in 2005. In 2006, a group of 20 notables ranging from former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami to South African archbishop Desmond Tutu presented an action plan, issuing recommendations for areas ranging from education and the media to the integration of immigrants and peace initiatives. The idea is for every country to now make its plans, according to the Spanish government, which was to present its own four-year plan at the two-day forum. Official AoC Site
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | NewWorldOrder |

If you have not already, please read the Treaty of Lisbon collection of documentation and information relating to the coming fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Some attendees are: Javier Solana [Secretary-General WEU], Ban Ki-Moon [Secretary-General U.N.], Joel Hunter [National Association of Evangelicals], Islamic and Jewish representatives and a bunch of media and educators from around the world. Media does matter as well as education of youth to determining future policy and acceptance of policy. The Alliance of Civilizations is against the core of Christianity and the Bible's claim to being the only Truth.

Israel and Palestinians open talks Reuters (January 14, 2008) - Israel and the Palestinians opened their most serious peace talks in seven years on Monday, urged by President George W. Bush to reach a deal within a year despite deep public skepticism. It took nearly seven weeks to start so-called final-status talks, announced at a U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland, underscoring the hurdles Bush faces in getting a Palestinian statehood deal in his final year in office. Monday's negotiations followed Bush's first presidential visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank last week, when he set the goal of signing a peace treaty in 2008 and encouraged both sides to begin talking in earnest. But it is unclear how Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, both weakened politically, can get a deal in that timeframe, let alone implement it. Abbas wields little power beyond the West Bank after Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June. Olmert is likely to face new calls to resign after an inquiry into the 2006 Lebanon war issues its final report on January 30. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, the chief negotiators, launched the talks that will deal with issues such as borders and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. "We started today talking about all the core issues, Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements. We talked about these issues in general. The talks were positive but the path ahead is difficult," Qurie said after the meeting in a Jerusalem hotel. Livni said before the session that upcoming talks would "take place quietly" away from the "glare of the cameras." Media attention during peace talks that ended in 2001, she said, caused negotiators to grandstand, which "raised expectations and led to disappointment and violence." Israeli officials said Livni and Qurie planned to meet regularly. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel said their discussions "will be intensive." more...
| Israel | Islam | 1st Seal | Dividing the Land |

Negotiations Over 'Core Issues' Begin Israel National News (January 14, 2008) - PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced Sunday that Israel and the PA would begin negotiations over the "core issues" of the conflict, including Jerusalem, on Monday. The talks will be held between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and PA negotiator Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala). Official sources in Jerusalem confirmed the report. Abbas said the talks would revolve around six issues: "Jerusalem, the settlements, the Palestinian refugees, borders, security and water sources." He added: "If we reach agreement on these issues, you could say we have an agreement."

Bush stops in Saudi Arabia for talks Associated Press (January 14, 2008) - President Bush, on his first visit to this oil-rich kingdom, delivered a major arms sale Monday to its ally in a region where the U.S. casts neighboring Iran as a menacing threat to stability. Bush's talks with King Abdullah also were expected to cover peace between Israelis and Palestinians and democracy in the Middle East. The administration was notifying Congress of its intent to sell $20 billion in weapons, including precision-guided bombs, to the Saudis. It is "a pretty big package, lots of pieces," national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters on Air Force One. The sale is an important part of the U.S. strategy to bolster the defenses of its Arab allies in Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing majority Sunni Muslim Gulf nations against threats from Shiite Iran. The official announcement will start a 30-day review period during which Congress could try to block the sale, which has raised concern among some lawmakers. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, which have majority Sunni Muslim populations, harbor deep suspicions about Shiite Iran's apparent designs to establish itself as a major power and have reacted skeptically to the conclusions of intelligence estimate about Iran. The president, who flew to Riyadh from Dubai on his eight-day Mideast trip, was to meet with King Abdullah. The king was expected to urge Bush to keep up the pressure on Israel to halt settlements in Palestinian territories. The administration was able to persuade the Saudis to participate in the U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., in November. As for the topic of rising oil prices, Hadley would only say "we'll have to see" when asked whether Bush would raise the issue with the king. The Saudis are responsible for almost one-third of OPEC's total output. Bush also has promoted democratic principles during his trip. While Abdullah has tried to push some reforms on education and women's rights, and there have been limited municipal council elections, the king has been cautious and limited in his efforts. He apparently has been hampered by others in the royal family worried that fast changes could upset the country's conservative clerics and citizens. The king greeted Bush at the base of the steps of Air Force One. A band played each country's national anthem as the leaders walked on a red carpet behind a high-stepping uniformed officer carrying a gold sword. In the airport terminal, the president shook hands with a long procession of robed men and military officers. Earlier, in Dubai, Bush got a flavor of the cosmopolitan banking and business hub, whose glass skyscrapers and booming construction have turned it into the capital of Middle East bustle. The soaring Persian Gulf city-state was Bush's second stop in the seven-state United Arab Emirates federation, following his gentle lecture on democracy in Abu Dhabi and an opulent picnic at a desert horse camp Sunday. more...
| Islam | America |

Who isn't America selling arms to? We just gave a bunch to Abbas forces, Iran, Saudi Arabia now... I wonder how many of those weapons will be used against Israel in the coming prophesied time of Jacob's trouble? Didn't this kind of thing get revealed in the Iran-Contra Affair?

Report: Olmert Agrees to Allow in 50,000 Arab 'Refugees' Israel National News (January 14, 2008) - The issue of "Arab refugees" has long been a matter of widespread consensus in Israel, with even left-wing parties declaring that allowing them into Israel would endanger its very existence as a Jewish state. Nevertheless, the subject does not appear to be going away. Reports are that Prime Minister Olmert has now agreed to allow 50,000 Arabs who left Israel in 1948 - or are descendants of those who did - to enter and live in Israel. Channel Ten reported Thursday night that in a private meeting between Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen, the two agreed that in the final-status agreement, Israel would withdraw from 92% of Judea and Samaria, including all the non-Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem. It was also agreed that 50,000 "refugees from 1948" would enter and live in the State of Israel. Staffers in Olmert's office did not deny the report, and even hinted that it was at least partially accurate. Olmert Went Further than Bush U.S. President George Bush summed up his three-day visit to Israel on Friday by saying that a new Palestinian state, together with financial compensation, would be the solution to the refugee problem. The implication is that the refugees need not enter Israel. "There must be an end to Israel's occupation [sic] that began in 1967," Bush said. "Palestine must serve as a national home for the Palestinians, and Israel - for the Jews." Israel liberated Judea and Samaria during the Six Day War in 1967, capturing it, essentially, from no one. No country in the world, other than Great Britain and Pakistan, recognized Jordan's control over Judea and Samaria between 1948 and 1967. Arabs Denied Refugee Problem Oft-forgotten is the fact that the refugee problem was not caused by Israel, but by the Arab states. "The Arab States encouraged the Palestine Arabs to leave their homes temporarily in order to be out of the way of the Arab invasion armies," according to the Jordanian newspaper Filastin (February 19, 1949). Joan Peters, in her classic work "From Time Immemorial," quotes (on page 13) an Arab-sponsored Institute for Palestine Studies finding that "the majority" of the Arab refugees in 1948 were not expelled, and that 68% left without seeing an Israeli soldier. On April 27, 1950, the Arab National Committee of Haifa informed the Arab States: "The removal of the Arab inhabitants... was voluntary and was carried out at our request... The Arab delegation proudly asked for the evacuation of the Arabs and their removal to the neighboring Arab countries." Zuheir Muhsein, the late Military Department head of the PLO and member of its Executive Council, told the Dutch daily Trouw, March 1977, "The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity... Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people... to oppose Zionism." more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

Coast Guard forces vaccine derived from aborted child Breitbart.com (January 13, 2008) - A U.S. Coast Guard officer and devout Catholic has filed suit to prevent being forced to receive a vaccination derived from the lung of an aborted child after a higher ranking officer disputed his understanding of Church theology. The Alliance Defense Fund filed a complaint last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Healy, charging the government with using its own arbitrary judgment of what constitutes Catholic theology while permitting religious exemptions to others, effectively discriminating against Healy's sincerely held religious beliefs. Healy's request for religious exemption cited a 2005 letter from the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life which condemned the use of cell lines from abortions in vaccines and supported Catholics' right to refuse them while not requiring them to reject the medicines. In May, 2007, Capt. Brent Pennington rejected Healy's request, saying Catholic teaching "does not state that these immunizations are against the religious tenets of the Catholic Church." "Please note that the refusal to be vaccinated or failure to comply with a lawful order to be vaccinated is a violation of Coast Guard regulations," Pennington wrote Healy. "Any member who refuses to be vaccinated or fails to comply with a lawful order to be vaccinated is subject to military proceedings under [the Uniform Code of Military Justice] or other appropriate administrative proceedings at the unit commander's discretion." All members of the Coast Guard must be vaccinated against a broad spectrum of diseases. The requirement for all active-duty personnel to be inoculated against Hepatitis A was instituted in May 2006. While a vaccine derived from animal sources is awaiting FDA approval, the immunization procedure currently available in the U.S. is based on lung cells taken from an elective abortion performed at 14 weeks approximately 40 years ago. "Those who lay their life on the line to defend our shores are entitled to the same religious freedoms as anyone else," said ADF attorney Matt Bowman, according to the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. "Members of the U.S. military should never be forced to make an unconstitutional choice between honoring their country and honoring their faith." Healy is a long-time opponent of abortion and is listed on a Coast Guard website as the contact for an October 2006 pro-life awards banquet held in Glen Burnie, Md. Healy is stationed at the Coast Guard facility in Alexandria, Va. more...
| Signs of the Times | America |

'Islamic Jesus' hits Iranian movie screens Breitbart.com (January 13, 2008) - A director who shares the ideas of Iran's hardline president has produced what he says is the first film giving an Islamic view of Jesus Christ, in a bid to show the "common ground" between Muslims and Christians. Nader Talebzadeh sees his movie, "Jesus, the Spirit of God," as an Islamic answer to Western productions like Mel Gibson's 2004 blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," which he praised as admirable but quite simply "wrong". "Gibson's film is a very good film. I mean that it is a well-crafted movie but the story is wrong -- it was not like that," he said, referring to two key differences: Islam sees Jesus as a prophet, not the son of God, and does not believe he was crucified. Talebzadeh said he even went to Gibson's mansion in Malibu, California, to show him his film. "But it was Sunday and the security at the gate received the film and the brochure and promised to deliver it," though the Iranian never heard back. Even in Iran, "Jesus, The Spirit of God" had a low-key reception, playing to moderate audiences in five Tehran cinemas during the holy month of Ramadan, in October. The film, funded by state broadcasting, faded off the billboards but is far from dead, about to be recycled in a major 20 episode spin-off to be broadcast over state-run national television this year. Talebzadeh insists it aims to bridge differences between Christianity and Islam, despite the stark divergence from Christian doctrine about Christ's final hours on earth. "It is fascinating for Christians to know that Islam gives such devotion to and has so much knowledge about Jesus," Talebzadeh told AFP. "By making this film I wanted to make a bridge between Christianity and Islam, to open the door for dialogue since there is much common ground between Islam and Christianity," he said. The director is also keen to emphasise the links between Jesus and one of the most important figures in Shiite Islam, the Imam Mahdi, said to have disappeared 12 centuries ago but whose "return" to earth has been a key tenet of the Ahmadinejad presidency. The bulk of "Jesus, the Spirit of God", which won an award at the 2007 Religion Today Film Festival in Italy, faithfully follows the traditional tale of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament Gospels, a narrative reproduced in the Koran and accepted by Muslims. But in Talebzadeh's movie, God saves Jesus, depicted as a fair-complexioned man with long hair and a beard, from crucifixion and takes him straight to heaven. "It is frankly said in the Koran that the person who was crucified was not Jesus" but Judas, one of the 12 Apostles and the one the Bible holds betrayed Jesus to the Romans, he said. In his film, it is Judas who is crucified. Islam sees Jesus as one of five great prophets -- others being Noah, Moses and Abraham -- sent to earth to announce the coming of Mohammed, the final prophet who spread the religion of Islam. It respects Jesus' followers as "people of the book". Iran has tens of thousands of its own Christians who are guaranteed religious freedoms under the constitution -- mainly Armenians, though their numbers have fallen sharply since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Every Christmas, Ahmadinejad and other officials lose no time in sending greetings to Christian leaders including the pope on what they describe as the "auspicious birthday of Jesus Christ, Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH)." In this year's message, Ahmadinejad said that "peace, friendship and justice will be attained wherever the guidelines of Jesus Christ (PBUH) are realised in the world." Shiite Muslims, the majority in Iran, believe Jesus will accompany the Imam Mahdi when he reappears in a future apocalypse to save the world. And Talebzadeh said the TV version of his film will further explore the links between Jesus and the Mahdi -- whose return Ahmadinejad has said his government, which came to power in 2005, is working to hasten. more...
| Iran | Islam | Apostasy |

Shi'ite calls for Sunni detente The Washington Times (January 12, 2008) - One of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite political and religious figures yesterday issued a stunning call for the government to set aside differences with Sunni Muslim politicians and entice them back to help lead the country. The appeal by Ammar al-Hakim, the son and heir-apparent to the head of Iraq's main Shi'ite political bloc, sharply increased pressure on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to bring Sunni factions back into the fold as part of Washington-backed efforts at sectarian reconciliation. It also could push the al-Maliki government to accelerate steps to integrate armed Sunni groups that have joined the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists. The United States has credited the so-called Awakening Councils with helping uproot insurgents and has urged Iraq's Shi'ite leadership to reward the new Sunni allies with security force posts. The Awakening Councils have played a role in a major U.S. offensive begun this week, an operation that included one of the most intense air strikes of the war. A top U.S. commander said Thursday's bombing blitz south of Baghdad destroyed extremists' "defensive belts" and allowed American soldiers to push into areas where they have not been in years. The United States is also counting on political support from Mr. al-Hakim and his father, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council — the country's pre-eminent Shi'ite political grouping. The elder Mr. al-Hakim has been diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent chemotherapy last year in Iran. Ammar al-Hakim, a moderate Shi'ite like his father, has taken an increasingly vocal role as his father has undergone medical care. "I hope that the government will take all needed measures to secure" the return of key Sunni political groups, Ammar al-Hakim said from the pulpit of the Buratha mosque. The main Sunni political organization — the Accordance Front — and the secular Iraqi List left the government after disputes over Mr. al-Maliki's leadership. more...
| Islam |

Homeland Security Department Announces Deeply Flawed Regulations for National ID System Electronic Privacy Information Center (January 11, 2008) - Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff today released the agency's final regulations for REAL ID, the national identification system. The law was passed in 2005 and will require the states to make significant changes to the state driver's license. EPIC and other civil liberties and privacy organizations have objected to the federal identification system, which will include the sensitive information of 245 million license and state ID cardholders across the country. The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from state governments, members of Congress, civil liberties advocates, and security experts. The Secretary scaled back some of the requirements, reduced the cost, and extended the deadline for state compliance. However, Secretary Chertoff also indicated that the REAL ID card would be used for a wide variety of purposes, unrelated to the law that authorized the system, including employment verification and immigration determination. He also indicated that the agency would not prevent the use of the card by private parties for non-government purposes. As part of the cost-saving effort, Homeland Security has decided not to encrypt the data that will be stored on the card. Melissa Ngo, Director of the EPIC Identification and Surveillance Project, said, "REAL ID creates a United States where individuals are either 'approved' or 'suspect,' and that is a real danger to security and civil rights." The REAL ID proposal has been widely criticized. Seventeen states have passed legislation against REAL ID, and Congress is debating its repeal. The Department of Homeland Security has also been criticized for its own poor security practices. In May 2007, a Homeland Security office lost the personal data of 100,000 employees. According to security expert Bruce Schneier, "Measures like REAL ID have limited security benefit. Identification systems are complex, and the unforgability of the plastic card is only a small part of the security equation. Issuance procedures, verification procedures, and the back-end database are far more vulnerable to abuse, and -- perversely -- a harder-to-forge card makes subverting the system even more valuable. Good security doesn't try to divine intentionality from identification, but instead provides for broad defenses regardless of identification." EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. EPIC was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values. In 2007, EPIC led a grassroots coalition of organizations and bloggers that urged the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw the REAL ID plan.
| Technology | NewWorldOrder | America |

Papers please! Beyond the recollection of history and how this kind of system was used during WWII and elsewhere, this article brings up the issue of trust and security. Can you really trust a plastic card to be secure and applicable only to yourself? What if its stolen? With identity theft running rampant, a new system that still uniquely identifies everyone initiated into it is necessary, but a method that cannot easily be stolen will be needed. This is where I think RFID tattoo ink comes in. I think Real ID is just a stepping stone to the next level. It prepares the consciousness of the population and the need for security will cause the next step to be taken. With the issue of terrorism causing fear in those with no hope, many will be more than willing to pledge allegiance to the beast and to the global government for which he stands under Lucifer to save their mortal lives, only to lose their eternal souls. Eternity apart from God, who IS love, is not an eternity anyone really wants.

British Pound Stumbles The Wall Street Journal (January 11, 2008) - In a sign that the U.S. economic malaise is spreading to Britain, the pound is fast becoming one of the world's most-disliked currencies. Since touching a 26-year high against the U.S. dollar in early November, the pound has lost 7% of its value against the dollar and nearly 8% versus the euro. The currency suffers because the British economy's problems look ever more similar to those of the U.S. economy -- including a deflating housing market, pressures on financial institutions and weaker consumption. more...
| Economic Crisis |

Prof teaches 'being gay' with taxpayer funding WorldNet Daily (January 11, 2008) - A University of Michigan class that earlier prompted state lawmakers to consider a 10 percent budget penalty for the school and is taught by a homosexual professor openly endorsing the "uncompromising political militancy" of "lesbian and gay studies" is returning. But so is the opposition. The class at the tax-funded University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is called "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation," and is taught by David Halperin. It surfaced in 2000, returned the following year and again a couple years later. Now university officials have confirmed it is returning, and Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, said "it was and remains an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars." "Each time it has been offered we have renewed our objections to it. The first time around the Michigan House of Representatives came with a few votes of cutting the university budget by 10 percent," he said. He said Halperin "makes no bones about it on the other side of the world, knowingly using tax dollars to promote the militant political agenda of homosexuality." Glenn was referring to Halperin's writings on his activities as part of his work in Australia, where he spends part of each year. There, Halperin has written, "The fact is that lesbian and gay studies simply is the academic wing of the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender movement … no one in the field has ever (to my knowledge at least) contested this…" "Let there be no mistake about it: lesbian and gay studies, as it is currently practiced in the U.S., expresses an uncompromising political militancy," he wrote. "We have lobbied universities and professional associations to adopt and enforce anti-discrimination policies, to recognise same-sex couples, to oppose the U.S. military's anti-gay policy, to suspend professional activities in states that criminalize gay sex or limit access to abortion, and to intervene on behalf of human rights for lesbians, bisexuals, and gay men at the local and national levels," he wrote in Australian Humanities Review. "Just because you happen to be a gay man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one," he writes in the University of Michigan course description. "Gay men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be gay from others, either because we look to them for instruction or because they simply tell us what they think we need to know, whether we ask for their advice or not." Further, he advises potential students, "the course itself will constitute an experiment in the very process of initiation that it hopes to understand." University officials posted a defense of the decision to allow the course on the university website, a tacit acknowledgment of its controversial nature. "This course is not about encouraging people to become gay, but about how individuals in our society create meaning and beliefs about gay culture from literature and the arts," explained Robert M. Owen, associate dean for undergraduate education. "The course also makes no assumptions about the sexual orientation of its students." "We are aware that much of the concern is with the title of the course and acknowledge that the interpretation of that title is very troubling for some people. The English Department … approved this course," he said. Provost Paul Courant boasted of the evolution of the school into one "of the finest public institutions of higher education in the world" and attributed that to "the free and open exchange of ideas." He said Halperin's course "is similar to literature courses taught at many other universities in our state and across our country." Concerns over Halperin's actions were raised even within the homosexual community. In an online forum for homosexuals, one wrote, "Having a course in initiating young people into the gay lifestyle? Isn't that what Christian Fundementalists (sic) claim actually goes on in the gay community? Thank you Dr. Halperin for confirming their suspicions." Halperin also has written that, "I still find the possibility of an open, uncensored, honest, and sexually explicit gay male literature thrilling, and I expected my students to do the same…" "Lesbian/gay studies necessarily straddles scholarship and politics …. It would be hard to be more explicit than that," said Halperin, who is has written several homosexual-oriented books. In the past, Glenn promised, "Every time U-M offers this ludicrous class, you and I cannot fail to speak out against it." Reports said in 2003, Halperin refused to meet Glenn's offer for a face-to-face public debate on the merits of the class.
| Signs of the Times | America |

Turkey Firm On Boosting Ties With Iran Iran Mania (January 10, 2008) - Despite the US pressure, Turkey is firm on bolstering relationship with Iran since the neighbors have not fought since 17th century, PressTV reported. "Turkey and Iran have neither fought nor changed border since the 1639 Treaty of Qasr-e Shirin (also known as the Treaty of Zuhab)," Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said to remind that Ankara-Tehran relations is older than US history. Gul's remarks at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars came as Ankara is under mounting US pressure to refrain from investing billions in Iranian energy projects, Today's Zaman reported. Turkey, the only NATO country bordering Iran, has not buckled under US pressures to cut doing businesses with Tehran. Earlier in November, Iran and Turkey signed an energy deal including building power plants and improving electricity transport infrastructure. The Turkish prime minister also reiterated in September that his country would continue collaboration with Iran in the oil and gas sectors. "Iran is an important trade partner for Turkey and Turkey cannot ignore this fact," Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Islam |

U.S. Wary of Warming Syrian-Turkish Ties NPR (January 10, 2008) - One place President George Bush is not visiting on his tour of the Middle East is Syria. Relations are icy, with Washington and Damascus at odds over Lebanon, the Arab-Israel conflict, the Iraq war and Iran. But Syria is rapidly improving ties with a key U.S. ally in the region, Turkey. And that is a development that could have substantial repercussions, particularly for Washington. Syrians Have Much to Gain Syria's ambassador in Washington, Imad Moustapha, characterizes his country's ties with Turkey as a "honeymoon" and the "best possible relations between any two neighborly countries in the world." Such enthusiasm over ties with Turkey is a worry for the United States, says Omer Taspinar, a Turkish analyst at the U.S. War College. "I think the Syrians have a lot to gain. That's why it is in their interests to send a signal they are not isolated and they have Turkey on their side. "Syria is perceived as the underdog against the U.S. So, the more the U.S. says, 'Don't talk to Syria,' I think, the more it will become attractive for Turkish public opinion," Taspinar says. And that may be why Syrian President Bashar al-Assad got such a warm welcome on a recent trip to Turkey. With his attractive young wife, Assad toured the capital with Turkey's president and prime minister. The TV cameras were there as they opened a new Turkish shopping center. The coverage of smiling presidents and their wives surprised even Syrians, says George Sageur, a Syrian-American businessman. The response to the president and his wife — as the face of Syria — has been tremendous in Turkey, he says. They were "received very, very well indeed." Iraq War Marked Change in Syrian-Turkish Relations It's a marked improvement from tensions a decade ago. The two countries seemed on the verge of war after Turkey accused Syria of harboring a Kurdish rebel leader. But that was all before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Now, Turkey and Syria have shared concerns. Both have sizeable Kurdish populations. Both worry about the nationalist goals of the Kurds in neighboring Iraq. And both are wary of U.S. plans in the region, says Taspinar. "The real impetus for these visits is the Kurdish question — let's not miss the real picture here. I think Turks are very much disillusioned with this whole Iraq episode." Syria has benefited from that disillusionment. Because of expanded trade relations, Turkish language classes in Damascus are now popular for Syrian Arabic speakers. Syria's deputy prime minister was in Turkey last week to sign an agreement for a joint natural gas pipeline. "The relationship with Turkey has an economic aspect, but it is also very important for domestic legitimacy," says Josh Landis, an American academic who writes an influential blog on Syria. Landis says the new partnership with Turkey has helped Syria's president blunt a domestic problem: Many of Syria's majority Sunni Muslims do not like Assad's close relations with Shiite Iran. more...
| Gog/Magog | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Netanyahu to Bush: Jerusalem to stay under Israeli control for eternity Haaretz (January 10, 2008) - Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday morning told visiting U.S. President George W. Bush that "Jerusalem belongs to the Jewish people and will remain under Israeli sovereignty for eternity." Netanyahu, who is chairman of the Likud party, made the remarks at a meeting with Bush at the King David hotel in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a highly contentious issue in final status peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, in particular for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's right-wing coalition partners. Bush is pushing for the negotiations to conclude in a peace deal by the end of 2008. Netanyahu said he sees in the U.S. president a true friend, and expressed his esteem for Bush's role in protecting the free world against extremist Islamic terror. At the beginning of the meeting, which ran 45 minutes over the time allocated to it, Netanyahu gave Bush an ancient coin discovered in Jerusalem that dates from the third year of the great Judean revolt against the Romans in the first century CE. The coin bears Hebrew writing, signaling that the Jewish people's connection to Jerusalem has lasted thousands of years. The Likud chairman presented to Bush his program for economic peace in the Middle East as a basis for a future agreement, and voiced his support for Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair's economic initiatives. more...
| Israel | Dividing the Land | America |

The Bible does say that Israel will dwell in the land forever, however there is another prophesied time yet to come that must come first, the time of Jacob's trouble and the 1260-day great tribulation. During this time the 1/3 of Israel that is not murdered, Zechariah 13:8,9, will be protected in the wilderness for 1260 days and will not be in control of Jerusalem, the antichrist will. Revelation 12:13-17 There is also the dividing of Israel I believe is prophesied in Zechariah 14:1,2 where half the city is removed and the other half remains. At no other point in history or prophesied future is only half of Israel removed. In the past the large majority of the nation was taken into Babylonian captivity and also throughout the world until the creation of Israel in 1948. At the time of great tribulation, any Jew found in Jerusalem will be killed until Christ returns in glory ending the antichrist's reign. Revelation 19:20 So Bible prophecy gives a little more clarity to the belief that Israel will forever control Jerusalem. Once Christ comes, He will control Jerusalem and all the world. At the same time, God has promised to punish those that come against Israel. Jeremiah 30:20-24 | Zechariah 12:1-3

Medieval Mosque Shows Amazing Math Discovery Discover Magazine (January 9, 2008) - The mosques of the medieval Islamic world are artistic wonders and perhaps mathematical wonders as well. A study of patterns in 12th- to 17th-century mosaics suggests that Muslim scholars made a geometric breakthrough 500 years before mathematicians in the West. Peter J. Lu, a physics graduate student at Harvard University, noticed a striking similarity between certain medieval mosque mosaics and a geometric pattern known as a quasi crystal—an infinite tiling pattern that doesn’t regularly repeat itself and has symmetries not found in normal crystals (see video below). Lu teamed up with physicist Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University to test the similarity: If the patterns repeated when extended infinitely, they couldn’t be true quasi crystals. Most of the patterns examined failed the test, but one passed: a pattern found in the Darb-i Imam shrine (seen in the first video above), built in 1453 in Isfahan, Iran. Not only does it never repeat when infinitely extended, its pattern maps onto Penrose tiles—components for making quasi crystals discovered by Oxford University mathematician Roger Penrose in the 1970s—in a way that is consistent with the quasi crystal pattern. Among the 3,700 tiles Lu and Steinhardt mapped, there are only 11 tiny flaws, tiles placed in the wrong orientation. Lu argues that these are accidents possibly introduced during centuries of repair. “Art historians always suspected there must be something more to these patterns,” says Tom Lentz, director of Harvard University Art Museums, but they were never examined with “this kind of scientific rigor.” more...
| Islam |

Ministry founder: U.S. Christians 'absolutely not prepared' for persecution One News Now (December 31, 2007) - Persecution against Christians is increasing worldwide, especially in countries such as India, where attacks on churches and Christians by Hindu extremists have increased dramatically. In fact, when missionaries graduate from Gospel for Asia (GFA) Bible colleges, they are told to expect persecution -- and perhaps even death -- for spreading the gospel. According to GFA founder K.P. Yohannan, Christians in those countries expect such treatment and are prepared when the tough times come. But he believes Christians in America will soon be faced with persecution as well -- and he is fearful that many are not ready. "The great falling-away from faith could be worst here in [America] because people are absolutely not prepared to face suffering or persecution -- because we cannot imagine a gospel with the cross and the suffering in it," says Yohannan. "Yet the Bible teaches very strong about it. So as the Word of God says: He who has ears, let him hear." The ministry leader is convinced that prosperity has caused many Christians in America to focus on material possessions instead of surrendering all to Christ. The result, he says, is that American Christians have become "very naïve" in thinking that real persecution will never come their way. "These are warning signs," he exclaims. "God is telling us [that] we need to prepare our lives. And preachers going around saying that revival is coming, and everything is okay, and all these things? I think that people are [being] set up for huge disaster and denying their faith when they face problems." It is estimated that more than 16,000 Christians are martyred worldwide each year for their faith.
| America |

Mexico to use biochip to control illegal immigration EarthTimes.org (December 28, 2007) - Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) has said it will introduce electronic registration for foreigners entering the country through the southern border to curb illegal immigration. In a communique, the INM Thursday said Biochip implants would be used to control the entry of workers and visitors from Belize and Guatemala from March 2008, Spanish news agency EFE reported Friday. The implant will replace the currently used local pass, which can be easily modified. The biochip ID will allow total electronic registration of entries and departures, officials said. The INM said a migration form for local visitors will be issued to residents of regions near the border with Guatemala, while the migration form for border workers will benefit workers in the area bordering Belize and Guatemala. In 2006, Mexico nabbed 200,000 people trying to enter illegally through the southern border, according to INM figures.
| Technology |

I was alerted to this story by Mary (thank you), who led me to this letter here. My take is that this kind of requirement to participate in any government system will soon be forced on all the population of the whole world. This is just the beginning. The Bible calls this the time of global marking the great tribulation, where for 3½ years the antichrist will be ruling the earth as the sole dictator given power by Lucifer until Christ returns in glory and casts him into the lake of fire with the false prophet.

Where I differ from most, and could be wrong on, is that I do not believe these bio-chips will be the mark of the beast. Rather, a new RFID tattoo ink, which will leave a visible mark as well as an RFID signature with which the government can replace currency systems globally into a cashless society. I believe this will be done through the international bankers who own the titles to the land and debts once the planned collapse is completed. America was just a step in the working of the mystery of iniquity.

The only choice of the world in the tragedies that befall during God's wrath will be to get the mark tattooed and identifying everyone visibly and electronically. The governments are already working to that end today and convenience and security in this chaotic time is what people of this world will want. This will be the only way to buy and sell in the globalist system. This European system of monetary control is the same spirit of the revived Roman Empire that is in control today leading to the soon fulfillment of Bible prophecy. more here.

Big Brother on Stage: What Kind of Actor is the EU? A Time, Times, and Half a Time (December 25, 2007) - Rafael Dochao Moreno, principal administrator of the Euro-Med Partnership, when asked the question why Spain chose to launch the Alliance of Civilizations initiative at the United Nations rather than the European Union responded that the “Barcelona process is already an AoC…why do we need an AoC?” Moreno’s response reminded those of us who have been following the Barcelona Process what we’ve already known--that the Alliance of Civilizations is a key aspect for the European foreign policy. The Barcelona Process, introduced in 1995 by Spain’s Javier Solana, contained a social cohesion strategy which had a goal to combat religious fundamentalism worldwide. The Alliance of Civilizations is merely a vehicle for such activity. Right from the start, the AoC was intended to form the core of the global counter-terrorism strategy. Before the cartoon crisis (in which Spain’s Zapatero, Moratinos, Federico Mayor, and Solana so authoritatively rose to the occasion to turn crisis into opportunity), Spain’s foreign minister had introduced the idea of the AoC as a tool to combat terrorism. Incidentally, although no group has ever stepped forward to claim responsibility or offer rationale for inciting the cartoon crisis, blame was assigned to “religious extremists” along with the claim that they seek to provoke a clash of civilizations. There is only one group that has reaped tremendous political benefit from the cartoon crisis--it almost reminds me of the Reichstag fire. In a previous blog post we examined the Club of Madrid’s 2005 counter-terrorism strategy. As I reviewed the conference pictures and list of participants, I noticed linkages to those who put forth the EU Social Cohesion Policy and the Alliance of Civilisations initiative. It is not surprising then that the Madrid Agenda contains identical objectives to those of the European Union’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Europe’s counter-terrorism strategy was presented to the June 2003 Thessalonika European Council by Javier Solana. Solana’s counter-terrorism strategy, which was incorporated into the security strategy A Secure Europe for a Better World, addresses combating strategic terrorism as its primary objective. Recall in Part I of my counter-terrorism article that strategic terrorism has been attributed to religious beliefs in which one accepts an “exclusivist” truth claim. An examination of the EU counter-terrorism documents yields the same definition. But here we see the lion’s teeth of militarization. There is an interesting paragraph in the Thessalonika document which reads:

“…the Danish Presidency decided to commission a group of Ministers' personal representatives to submit an analysis of the phenomenon of extreme fundamentalism and terrorism…The final report has been submitted and will be further discussed within the Council with a view to taking forward its recommendations.”

I of course was curious to read this report but have been unable to do so because a Decision of the European Ombudsman ruled that there were politically sensitive evaluations concerning a large number of foreign states. During my search, I was able to locate a research report published by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs which frequently quotes from the Extreme Fundamentalism and Terrorism Group (EFTG). It may give us a glimpse of some of the sensitive issues contained within this report. For example, I suspect we may find that the EFTG considers Israel an authoritarian regime:

“In most fundamentalist transnational terrorist violence, the perpetrators tend to view the front line to be between Israel and the United States, on the one hand, and the Islamic world on the other. It involves the dispute about the US occupation of holy areas either itself or through proxies such as the authoritarian regimes of Saudi Arabia and Persia, or Israel. According to the report of the Extreme Fundamentalism and Terrorism Group (EFTG) the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have a very important positive impact on the struggle against extreme fundamentalism and terrorism.”

This is consistent with the Alliance of Civilizations’ statements as during the Doha debates Israel’s government was named an extremist regime. Regarding fundamentalism, the EFTG says:

"Fundamentalism has been defined as an attitude where non-negotiable principles are introduced to politics from a transcendental source, holy texts or a divine discourse. “From the point of view of fundamentalism, religion expresses a divine order, which ideally embraces all life spheres. Although this may simply lead fundamentalists to encapsulate their own existence around their religious beliefs (“Quietism”), they will most often actively pursue the goal of seeking other life spheres, including political one, dominated by religious rather than secular principles.” Often fundamentalism has also meant a tendency to impose these principles indiscriminately on believers and non-believers alike.”

The European Commission’s social cohesion research report further demonstrates that religious fundamentalism will not be tolerated within the European neighborhood.

"This third school of thought is referred to as 'civil society as the public sphere'. "Theories of the public sphere demand a return to the practice of politics. Not as an elite occupation in which the public takes part once every four or five years through elections, but as an ongoing process through which 'active citizens' can help to shape both the ends and means of the good society…Essential to the functioning of democracy, according to the line of thinking of this school, is that all sets of voices are heard. Inequality and discrimination are therefore seen as the enemies of the public sphere. Fundamentalism is seen as its most dangerous enemy, since fundamentalism does not acknowledge the existence of different truths nor does it respect other values, which makes it impossible to reach a consensus with other groups... The only similarity between European policy and this third school of thought is its aversion to fundamentalism."

As part of the 2007-2013 Cohesion Policy, member states are bound by agreement to implement European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) guidelines. As mentioned earlier, the European Defense Strategy’s focus is primarily on combating strategic terrorism. To do so, Solana has created a military-industrial complex having the following characteristics (to name only a few):

• The theatre of operations is global.
• Military assets that operate far beyond European borders.
• Capacity to conduct offensive in addition to defensive war.
• In the event not all member states are in agreement, draw upon a nucleus of states comprising a permanent structured cooperation.
• Strategic missions will be organized through coalitions of the “willing and able.”
• A civilian-military crisis management approach (CIMIC). CIMIC is a plan which places the civilian population subject to military authority.
• Crisis management through EU Battle Groups
• Overcome the divide between military and criminal intelligence.
• Involve gendarmerie forces in all types of police missions: crowd control, maintaining public order, conducting intelligence work, criminal investigations, counter-terrorism, etc.
• Establishment a citizens’ biometrics database (Schengen Information System, aka SIS II and Visa Information System). These systems were developed in secrecy without consultation of the European Parliament.
• Gather intelligence through satellite capabilities and the Torrejon Satellite Centre.
• The Galileo Navigational System provides the ability to conduct precision urban warfare (see An Evaluation of the Military Benefits of the Galileo System).
• New EU-NATO framework - Ensure escalation dominance in the essence of Berlin-Plus.
• Ability to conduct network-enabled warfare: co-operability with US armed forces having ability to “plug into” US networks.
• Use of NATO Response Forces in crisis management.
• Provide military capabilities to the UN. Would include a reserve or an “extraction force” provided to support a UN operation.
• Activate Western European Union Recommendation 666 which places above assets into control of the High Representative (Solana) in the event of a crisis.

The new EU-NATO relationship has tripled European capacity for power-projection. The Prague Summit Declaration , a blueprint for EU-NATO co-operation, reinforces Solana’s social cohesion platform:

• We reaffirm that security in Europe is closely linked to security and stability in the Mediterranean. We therefore decide to upgrade substantially the political and practical dimensions of our Mediterranean Dialogue as an integral part of the Alliance’s cooperative approach to security. In this respect, we encourage intensified practical cooperation and effective interaction on security matters of common concern, including terrorism-related issues, as appropriate, where NATO can provide added value. We reiterate that the Mediterranean Dialogue and other international efforts, including the EU Barcelona process, are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
• Endorse the agreed military concept for defence against terrorism. The concept is part of a package of measures to strengthen NATO’s capabilities in this area, which also includes improved intelligence sharing and crisis response arrangements.

• “Act…in support of the international community’s efforts against terrorism.” [Recalling that the Alliance of Civilizations social cohesion program is the core of the counter-terrorism strategy.]
• “Developing an overreaching international strategy for defence against terrorism.”
• “religious extremism is likely to be the source of the most immediate terrorist threats to the Alliance…”
• “Counter Terrorism, primarily offensive measures.”
• “…winning the trust of the local population through Psychological Operations and Information Operations is vital.”
• “Within most NATO nations, civil authorities, such as the police, customs and immigration authorities, finance ministries, interior ministries, intelligence and security services, are the primary agencies involved in dealing with terrorism and military forces will need to operate in support of, and in close coordination with all of these agencies. The Concept therefore states that NATO must harmonise its procedures and efforts with civil authorities within nations in order to maximize its effectiveness against terrorism.

Dictator at the Door A Time, Times, and Half a Time (December 8, 2007) - During Kofi Annan's presentation to the General Assembly of the United Nation's Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, he applauded the Club of Madrid for its related efforts in countering terrorism. In 2005, the Club of Madrid conducted a democracy, terrorism and security conference which is said to have been the largest gathering of security and terrorism experts that has ever taken place. Annan delivered the keynote address to the closing plenary where he conveyed that he would form an implementation task force dedicated to fighting terrorism and that all the UN system would play a role. We know that the role of setting the "global conscience" is being fulfilled by the Alliance of Civilizations High Level Group. One need not look too far on the list of conference participants to find individuals connected to the Alliance of Civilizations. Noteworthy participants include John Esposito, Giandomenico Picco, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Javier Solana, etc. Here, I provide a summation of the conference outcome documents. In Addressing the Causes of Terrorism, identification of the problematic individuals are found on pages 27-33. The core of the experts’ argument is that religion can contribute to a ‘culture of violence’, a condition which must be addressed to stop the spread of terrorism.

“…religion is often ‘centered around themes that can be inherently polarizing—concepts of truth, notions of good, of absolutes and ultimate realities’. For this reason, religion can contribute to a culture of violence where violence becomes ‘a defining issue’ in the identity of activist groups.”

In Part I of this series, we see that Alliance of Civilisation’s High Level Group member John Esposito equates monotheistic religions’ exclusive truth claims with terrorism. In light of Esposito’s contribution to this counter-terrorism strategy, it’s no surprise that the question “Is violence more frequently linked with monotheistic traditions?” resulted in the following answer:

“Samuel Peleg pointed out that the monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) have a tendency to authoritarianism and intolerance due to ‘their centrist emphasis on a single deity’. Esposito said that the ‘three Abrahamic traditions’ have been ‘more prone to exclusivist theologies/worldviews which can be used by political and religious leaders to legitimate imperialist expansion, violence, and terror’. Elorza gave explanations of why – in his view – Islam and Judaism had a propensity towards violence and Buddhism did not. Other members of the group stressed that some strands of Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism have also been capable of hideous acts of terror, and that these acts have been justified by violent images and themes within these Eastern traditions. Moreover, the distinction between ‘monotheism’ and ‘polytheism’ is much debated by scholars of comparative religion who point out that a supposedly polytheistic religion such as Hinduism has a strong sense of unity behind its diversity, and that notions such as the Christian Trinity and concepts of sainthood introduce a complexity into the idea of God in the supposed monotheisms of Western religions.”

Maybe the monotheistic faiths are too complex for these individuals. So they concluded: therefore, responding to terrorism: “Multi-track approaches (involving political, social and economic in parallel with security and military measures) should be employed.” The Confronting Terrorism working papers lay out these multi track approaches. I subtitled my copy “Directives for a Police State”. There is a common thread running through the three main counter-terrorism strategies which I focus on —one which migrates the military from battlefield situations and embeds it into the populations. This is referred to as peace-keeping. (I will address this further in my next blog article.) This approach is intended for global implementation. Among the Club of Madrid's plans of action are:

• “Legal standards need to be improved by harmonising penal and police laws, as well as by ratifying and implementing the relevant United Nations Conventions and Protocols and similar regional agreements.”
• “Creation of a global citizens’ network.”
• “Transformation of the armed forces - We do not see a need for dedicated counter-terrorist forces as special branches of the military establishment. Rather we would see this role, as well as the anti-terrorist and consequence management roles, as fitting in with what might be considered to be the emerging model for Western armed forces…models geared to peace-keeping (with only a limited capacity for self defense and dependent upon local consent).”
• “The experiences of the humanitarian interventions as well as the counter-terrorist operations of recent years point to a need for lighter, more agile forces, drawing on modern technologies (for example in combining the ability to track targets and attack them with precision) while understanding the difficulties when it becomes necessary to mingle with civil society and the overall political context within which operations are conducted.”
• “Biometrical identification systems will increasingly be used in travel documents as well as in other transactions.”

Travel documents for a world without borders? Hmmm. But, of course, all of this is intended to be conducted within the framework of and with sensitivity to democracy—that is “safe democracy”. The Alliance of Civilizations Giandomenico Picco has provided us with direction on what form of democracy we may expect under this weltanschauung. I noticed after I published my first article in this series that the Club of Madrid had removed Picco’s article from their website. I have attached it to the top of this piece for educational purposes. It can also be found on safe democracy foundation’s website. Simply click on each document to expand it so it becomes readable. According to Picco:

• “Now the challenge which faces most of our institutions, which are part and parcels of the system of indirect democracy, is whether they can evolve to meet a world where there are many ways to express the voice of the people besides elections and where knowledge is so wide spread that a group of few cannot claim monopoly on the truth. The participation of the peoples in elections is diminishing in many societies.”
• “I would venture to say that of the democratic institutions the first to evolve would be the Parliament: no longer the monopolist of the voice of the people, nor of knowledge for the people, they may have to reinvent themselves…”
• “Our societies are likely unprepared for that kind of democracy as we have never experienced it. But for how long can we keep the door closed?”

Well this is one weltanschauung that amounts to nothing more than old fashioned fascism--a relic of extremist ideology has been tested before. Ultimately, it will become known as the most terroristic regime the world has ever known.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal | NewWorldOrder |

Narco-Dollars for Beginners "How the Money Works" in the Illicit Drug Trade Narco News (October 24, 2001) - The Solari Index is my way of estimating how well a place is doing. It is based upon the percentage of people in a place who believe that a child can leave their home and go to the nearest place to buy a popsicle and come home alone safely. When I was a child growing up in the 1950's at 48th and Larchwood in West Philadelphia, the Solari Index was 100 percent. It was unthinkable that a child was not safe running up to the stores on Spruce Street for a popsicle and some pin ball. The Dow Jones was about 500, the Solari Index was 100 percent and our debt per person was very low. Of course I did not think about it that way at the time. All I knew was that life on the street with my buddies was sweet. Today, the Dow Jones is over 9,000, debt per person is over $100,000 and the my favorite hairdresser in Philadelphia, Al at the Hair Hut in West Philadelphia, and I just had a debate yesterday afternoon while Al was cutting my hair about whether the Solari Index in my old neighborhood was 0 percent (my position) or 10 percent (Al's position). Men always think it is higher than women. Despite the boy-girl spread between us, it is fair to say that Al and I agree that the Solari Index is in the tank ---both in the streets of Philadelphia and throughout America. Life on the street ain't sweet any more. I watched the slide of the Solari Index as a child. A lot of it had to do with narcotics trafficking and the people that narco dollars put in power on our streets - and in city hall, in the banks, in Congress and the corporations and investors down town and that ring the city. My mission is to see the Solari Index return to 100 percent and to do so in a manner that moves the Dow up and our debt per person down and makes me and my partners a whole pile of money. A few years back when my efforts to improve the Solari Index were threatening to reduce narcotics profits in a few places, I discovered that I could not look to the enforcement or the judicial establishment funded with my tax dollars to protect me. Narco dollars had the upper hand throughout government and the legal establishment. That's when I decided that I would have to learn how the money works on the drug trade. Here is what I have learned that has been useful to me---- and may help you have a better map of how narco dollars impact you, your business, your family and the Solari Index in your neighborhood. more...
| Signs of the Times | NewWorldOrder | America | More Narco News |

The love of money is the root of all evil. Please read the whole series of articles this begins. I found the Solari website from an interview on Coast to Coast AM with Catherine Austin Fitts on January 2, 2008. The show was regarding America's current economic crisis. Catherine is an insider who worked with HUD as the Assistant Secretary of Housing for the Federal Housing Commissioner and was Managing Director and member of the Board for Dillon Read & Co. Inc. Her experience reveals a dark side to money and politics to manipulate the masses for profits leading to the current crisis. Read her article The American Tapeworm for more.

I believe the current global financial crisis developing will be used to bring about the New World Order's plans for a global cashless economic system that will replace physical money and utilize tattoo RFID so that only those with a mark on their forehead or hand will allow them to participate in this new global economic system. Revelation 13:16-18 First the current system must collapse in such a way that the world will accept the terms of a bail-out. There's much more to it than that, but that's all just Bible stuff right? In whom do you put your faith?

“The age of Nations must end... The Government of nations has decided to order their separate sovereignties into one government to which they surrender their arms.” | United Nation's World Constitution

“No one will enter the New World Order unless he or she will make a pledge to worship Lucifer. No one will enter the New Age unless he takes a Luciferian initiation.” | David Spingler Director of Planetary Initiative, Interconnections Must-read link

“The United Nations is the greatest fraud in all History! Its purpose is to destroy the United States.” | John Rankin, U.S. Congressman

“It is the sacred principals enshrined in the UN Charter to which we will henceforth pledge our Allegiance.” | President George H.W. Bush - UN building, Feb. 1, 1992

The Cruise Indoctrination Video Scientology Tried To Suppress Gawker.com - You have to watch this video. It shows Tom Cruise, with all the wide-eyed fervor that he brings to the promotion of a movie, making the argument for Scientology, the bizarre 20th-century religion. Making the argument is an understatement. The Hollywood actor, star of movies such as Mission Impossible, is a complete fanatic. "When you're a Scientologist, and you drive by an accident, you know you have to do something about it, because you know you're the only one who can really help... We are the way to happiness. We can bring peace and unite cultures." more...
| Apostasy |

Personally, I thought Tom came across as sparatic. He seemed to be talking a lot about nothing really and throwing out abbreviations that I guess you have to be initiated in order to understand. This certainly doesn't sell me on Scientology, especially when I have learned the Truth about reality, not wishfully thought my own beliefs into existence. All who do that will be crushed by the reality that figments of imagination, no matter how convincing, do not trump reality. God is and He is coming for those that love Him. He spelled out reality very clearly in the Bible, much more clearly than this, if one takes the time to read about it.