Voight: My concerns for America
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/28/voight/
Obama sowing socialist seeds in young people.
We, as parents, are well aware of the importance of our teachers who teach and program our children. We also know how important it is for our children to play with good-thinking children growing up.
Sen. Barack Obama has grown up with the teaching of very angry, militant white and black people: the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, William Ayers and Rev. Michael Pfleger. We cannot say we are not affected by teachers who are militant and angry. We know too well that we become like them, and Mr. Obama will run this country in their mindset.
The Democratic Party, in its quest for power, has managed a propaganda campaign with subliminal messages, creating a God-like figure in a man who falls short in every way. It seems to me that if Mr. Obama wins the presidential election, then Messrs. Farrakhan, Wright, Ayers and Pfleger will gain power for their need to demoralize this country and help create a socialist America.
The Democrats have targeted young people, knowing how easy it is to bring forth whatever is needed to program their minds. I know this process well. I was caught up in the hysteria during the Vietnam era, which was brought about through Marxist propaganda underlying the so-called peace movement. The radicals of that era were successful in giving the communists power to bring forth the killing fields and slaughter 2.5 million people in Cambodia and South Vietnam. Did they stop the war, or did they bring the war to those innocent people? In the end, they turned their backs on all the horror and suffering they helped create and walked away.
Those same leaders who were in the streets in the '60s are very powerful today in their work to bring down the Iraq war and to attack our president, and they have found their way into our schools. William Ayers is a good example of that.
Thank God, today, we have a strong generation of young soldiers who know exactly who they are and what they must do to protect our freedom and our democracy. And we have the leadership of Gen. David Petraeus, who has brought hope and stability to Iraq and prevented the terrorists from establishing a base in that country. Our soldiers are lifting us to an example of patriotism at a time when we've almost forgotten who we are and what is at stake.
If Mr. Obama had his way, he would have pulled our troops from Iraq years ago and initiated an unprecedented bloodbath, turning over that country to the barbarianism of our enemies. With what he has openly stated about his plans for our military, and his lack of understanding about the true nature of our enemies, there's not a cell in my body that can accept the idea that Mr. Obama can keep us safe from the terrorists around the world, and from Iran, which is making great strides toward getting the atomic bomb. And while a misleading portrait of Mr. Obama is being perpetrated by a media controlled by the Democrats, the Obama camp has sent out people to attack the greatness of Sen. John McCain, whose suffering and courage in a Hanoi prison camp is an American legend.
Gen. Wesley Clark, who himself has shame upon him, having been relieved of his command, has done their bidding and become a lying fool in his need to demean a fellow soldier and a true hero.
This is a perilous time, and more than ever, the world needs a united and strong America. If, God forbid, we live to see Mr. Obama president, we will live through a socialist era that America has not seen before, and our country will be weakened in every way.
Next President to Inherit Sky High Deficit
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/418322.aspx
CBNNews.com - WASHINGTON - Whether its Barack Obama or John McCain, the next President will have to face a record budget deficit of nearly a half trillion dollars.
According to new White House projections, the federal deficit will hit a record high of $482 billion in budget year 2009.
That's nearly $70 billion higher than the last record deficit of $413 billion in 2004. And it doesn't include the tens of billions of dollars spent on the Iraq war.
What's contributing to the exploding deficit?
Experts say a slumping economy, the mortgage crisis, soaring energy costs are factors - along with the stimulus check sent to 130 million American household meant to get the economy back on track.
"The primary reasons for larger deficits in 2008 and 2009 are because of the bipartisan growth packages, stimulus checks and slower economic growth," Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle said.
McCain blames the soaring deficit on "profligate spending" by the Bush administration. He's promises to balance the budget, while renewing bush tax cuts, and lowering the cost of energy.
"Senator Obama opposes offshore drilling, he oppose reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, he opposes storage of spent nuclear fuel, so he is the "Dr. No" of America's energy future," McCain charged.
Obama says alternative energy is the answer.
Meeting with economic advisors Monday, Obama called for a new round of economic stimulus, a rollback of Bush tax cuts, and more spending on health care and education.
"There were some irresponsible decisions that were made on Wall Street and in Washington in last few years," Obama said. "I think we learned an essential truth that in the long run we can't have a thriving Wall Street if we don't have a thriving Main Street."
Both candidates are being forced to refine their economic policies in light of looming record deficits.
It serves as a stark reminder of what the next President must be ready to handle from his first day in the Oval Office.
What Gives?
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/07/28/what-gives/#more-424
It’s now been five days since the National Enquirer broke a story about John Edwards supposedly slipping into his girlfriend’s hotel room late at night while their purported love child was being watched in a hotel room down the hall. When he emerged and was confronted by National Enquirer reporters and photographers, he ran into a bathroom where he held off the reporters until a hotel security guard could come escort him out. Two days later, FOX News confirmed the story with the hotel guard. The story has appeared in several foreign newspapers and has been all over the Internet, but it just can’t seem to break through to the major news media. Not only has it not appeared in the print copies of any major newspapers or the network news, but shows on the news media aren’t even discussing why the MSM isn’t reporting this story.
What gives? There are several hypotheses out there.
Jon Fine on Business Week’s blog puts forth the hypothesis that Edwards is no longer an elected figure, just a loser candidate. That doesn’t seem to pass the smell test. He was his party’s candidate for the vice presidency four years ago. He is mentioned on the list of possible veeps for Obama or as a possible cabinet member. He’s traveling the country in an effort to gain public support for his ideas in fighting poverty. He is as much a public figure as Jesse Jackson –who had his own love child scandal, a story that The National Enquirer led the way on.
And remember, it was just a couple of months ago that the network news broke into their evening news shows to broadcast John Edwards’ endorsement of Barack Obama. If he was such a news non-entity why did they bother?
Jack Shafer at Slate has his own theory - that the media is much more ferocious in pursuing stories of hypocrisy on homosexual activity than it is on heterosexual activity. Perhaps, but I suspect that the party of the accused plays a much larger role than the type of sex involved.
At one time you might have been able to argue that the MSM was above reporting on a story that came from The National Enquirer because they had higher standards, but that certainly didn’t stop The New York Times from reporting a featherlight story about concerns that McCain was maybe, perhaps, possibly having an affair with a lobbyist. And the MSM had no qualms about reporting The National Enquirer’s story on Rush Limbaugh and his oxycontin use.
The Los Angeles Times has even issued a ukase barring its online bloggers from discussing the story. Heck, even Wikipedia is preventing online editors from updating the John Edwards entry and including The National Enquirer allegations.
I think there are several reasons playing into the MSM disinclination to report this story. I think part of it is just a disinclination to report what Edwards terms as “tabloid trash.” Even though The National Enquirer has a decent background on scandal stories, most MSM journalists consider themselves above re-reporting what a story that The National Enquirer owns. If there were a police report or some other documentary evidence then they might start reporting what has been going on. We’ll see what happens when The National Enquirer releases the pictures that their Editor-in-Chief claims that they have. Though I expect that the MSM will still ignore the story if all The National Enquirer has are pictures of Edwards ignominiously sprinting in the Men’s Room.
And if journalists try to defend their lack of interest by saying that they just don’t believe the story, they could start by asking themselves if an innocent man, who had already been accused of having a love child with this woman in December, would arrange to spend several hours with her late at night alone in a hotel room? And would he then rush into a bathroom to avoid reporters? And would he then issue non-denials by condemning tabloids but refusing to answer why he was visiting the woman in the first place or whether he was indeed the father of her baby? Is that how an innocent man would act if the woman was, as the cover story goes, just the woman who had an affair with one of his aides?
And I don’t think we can discount partisan media bias. If this were a story about Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, or Mike Huckabee, I have no doubt that the story would be reported. And don’t try to argue that Republican sex scandals are worthier of media attention because of the accusations of hypocrisy. John Edwards and his wife made their loving marriage part of their campaign, especially after her cancer returned. His status as a loving husband caring for his cancer-stricken wife was used by the campaign as a voucher for his character. And the blog, Death by a 1000 cuts, which has been all over this story, points to these now-ironic words from a 2006 National Press Club speech by John Edwards.
“… And, as I mentioned earlier, we would create opportunities for young fathers to work and take responsibility for their children, and reward them for doing so…
“All of us — parents, clergy, teachers, public officials — we need to say that it is wrong when young men father children but don’t support them.
Come on, there’s got to be a hypocrisy hook somewhere in there. At least as much as there was for the Bill Bennett’s gambling story even though he had never spoken out specifically to condemn gambling.
Into this mélange of reasons, I think that Bonnie Goldstein at Slate’s XX Factor has put her finger on another aspect of this MSM’s squeamishness, they like and feel sorry for Elizabeth Edwards. Whether that sympathy would play out differently for a well-liked Republican spouse (is that an oxymoron?) in a similar story, I’ll leave up to readers to decide.
What is clear is that we will still have the two-tiered electorate that Mickey Kaus has talked about: those who get their news from the MSM and those who get news from the Internet, cable TV, talk radio, and now The National Enquirer. So keep reading the internet if you want to be fully informed of what everyone, including all the journalists behind the scenes, are talking about.
Bush Renews Push for Offshore Drilling
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/419016.aspx
CBNNews.com - EUCLID, Ohio - President Bush, pressuring lawmakers to act on gas prices before they break for the summer, challenged Congress again Tuesday to relent on offshore oil drilling.
Bush has lifted an executive ban on exploratory drilling for oil in the waters along both the East and West coasts and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. But the move won't have any effect unless Congress lifts its own prohibition on drilling off America's coastlines.
That appears doubtful at best, but Bush keeps prodding.
"Now it's up to the United States Congress to make a decision as to whether or not you're going to continue to face high gasoline prices at the pump," Bush told workers at a welding plant here in northeast Ohio.
Democrats maintain that more drilling isn't the answer. And they argue a point the White House itself concedes - allowing offshore drilling is not going to lower gas prices now.
Bush himself said, "It took us a while to get to this position, and it's going to take us a while to get out of it."
Still, Bush says more drilling would send an important signal to the world that the United States is serious about expanding the oil supply. He says it can be done in environmentally safe ways, but opponents fear oil spills and drops in coastal tourism.
The soaring cost of gasoline has turned energy policy into a kitchen-table issue. Millions of people who rely on their cars are eager to get some help from elected leaders - and those leaders, especially those up for election, want to show some action.
"If we're worried about your gasoline price and recognize that it's high because of the price of crude oil, and it's possible to find more oil right here in the United States ... doesn't it make sense to try to find that oil?" Bush said. "I think it does."
Bush also pushed for nuclear power and other forms of alternative energy.
Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are in a stalemate over how to rein in energy prices. Using the country's frustration as leverage, the president is trying to build pressure on lawmakers to take action before they leave town for their August recess.
A gallon of gasoline costs $3.94 nationwide, down slightly from a month ago, according to a daily survey of gas stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. The cost varies across the country, with several states topping $4 a gallon.
The average cost a year ago was $2.89 per gallon - more than a dollar below today's cost.
Bush says many Americans are suddenly practicing their own version of conservation.
"It's interesting to note that many of our consumers have already made the decision to switch away from automobiles, like SUVs that consume a lot of gasoline, to smaller cars," Bush said. "Why? Because you're smart. You know how to handle your own business.
Bush spoke at Lincoln Electric, a welding manufacturer.
After his energy speech, Bush raised some cash for the Congressional Trust, a Republican campaign fund for congressional candidates. The event was expected to raise $530,000.
The fundraiser was held in Gates Mills, a Cleveland suburb, at the home of insurance executive Umberto Fedeli in the Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills.
Like most of Bush's fundraisers this year, the event was closed to the media.
On his way out of town, Bush stopped his motorcade so he could get out and wish a happy birthday to a local woman, Ruth Harris, who was celebrating her 91st birthday.
Bush sat in a chair next to Harris and said "91 years old - how special."
When neighbors noticed what was happening, they soon surrounded the president for a moment with him too.
CA Gay Marriage Ban Faces Challenge
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/418836.aspx
CBNNews.com - Pro-family groups in California are counting on a November ballot measure to permanently stop same-sex marriages in the state.
But a new decision by the state attorney general could influence the outcome of that vote.
On Nov. 4, California voters could ban gay marriage by supporting Proposition 8.
The legislation was originally worded to say "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
But Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown changed the ballots last week to say "to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry."
Analysts say that change may make passing the initiative hard because it implies that voters will be taking away existing rights by approving it.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Kerns with the Protect Marriage coalition described the wording as "inherently argumentative."
"This is a complete about-face from the ballot title that was assigned," she said.
Proposition 8 supporters have filed a lawsuit to get the ballot wording changed back.
Brown holds that the change was not political, but rather necessary because of events in the state since Proposition 8 petitions were first circulated. He cited the thousands of gay couples that have wed since June as one of those concerns.
California originally passed Proposition 22 in 2000, defining marriage as between one man and woman. Voters approved that legislation by more than 61 percent.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in California for six weeks.
Aurora Planned Parenthood's Neighbors and Opponents File Appeal Citing 'Intentional Falsehoods' by the City and Developers
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07444.shtml
AURORA, Ill., (christiansunite.com) -- On July 1, the City of Aurora quietly issued a Final Certificate of Occupancy to the 22,000-square-foot Planned Parenthood facility, which has been mired in controversy since July of last year. Unlike the now-expired Temporary Certificate of Occupancy under which the facility had been operating, the Final Certificate would grant permanent legal status to the facility.
In response, yesterday, lawyers from the Thomas More Society of Chicago filed appeals to both the Aurora Building Code Board of Appeals and the Zoning Board of Appeals on behalf of Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood and neighboring residents of the facility.
The appellants claim that the City continues to refuse to apply the correct ordinance to Planned Parenthood, even after the City conceded that its outside attorneys applied the wrong ordinance to the facility during their legal review in September of last year. The facility has been marred by claims that Planned Parenthood's subsidiary, Gemini Office Development, falsified permit applications, obtained an invalid building permit, had invalid building inspections, and violated numerous Aurora laws.
"Planned Parenthood has made a mockery of Aurora's development process," states Peter Breen, attorney for the Thomas More Society. "They have brazenly committed fraud against the city and have strong- armed their illegal non-profit 'business' into the backyards of citizens who were given no voice to oppose the building of this Wal-Mart sized abortion facility. It is time for the 'City of Lights' to shine a harsh light on Planned Parenthood's dirty tactics."
These appeals open a new front in the legal battle over the Planned Parenthood facility, including new attacks under the Aurora Building Code against the facility's applications, inspections, and permits. Thomas More Society attorneys previously-filed a nine- count lawsuit, which the City unsuccessfully tried to remove to federal court and have dismissed. On motion by Thomas More Society attorneys, the federal court remanded the suit to state court in DuPage County, where the parties are awaiting a status date.
The Thomas More Society is a non-profit, public interest law firm based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1997 to meet the burgeoning legal needs of the pro-life movement. The Thomas More Society provides legal advice and assistance to those who face harassment, employment discrimination, unjust treatment, civil litigation or criminal prosecution as a result of their pro-life views or their peaceful protest activities. In the last five years, Thomas More Society has scored two decisive victories before the U.S. Supreme Court in representing the named petitioners in the marathon, nationwide federal class action involving use of the federal racketeering (RICO), extortion and antitrust law against abortion protesters (Scheidler v. NOW, 537 U.S. 393, 411 (2003), and Scheidler v. NOW, 125 S.Ct. 2991 (2006)). In addition, the Society has filed numerous 'friend of the Court' briefs in the Supreme Court. More recently, the Society submitted a brief for an Illinois pro-life coalition successfully urging the Illinois Supreme Court to issue procedural rules to allow implementation of Illinois' parental notification law of 1995.
Pray for Repentance: Abortion Workers List Released
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07439.shtml
WICHITA, Kansas, (christiansunite.com) -- Operation Rescue has released the most up-to-date list of abortion clinic workers employed by George R. Tiller at his late-term abortion mill, Women's Health Care Services, in Wichita, Kansas. The list includes twenty-two people, including three out-of-state abortionists who travel to Kansas to do abortions, including late-term procedures that are illegal in their home states.
"We are releasing this list of abortion workers in order to expose them to the community, and to elicit prayers for their repentance," said Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger.
"As Christians, we are concerned about them as people, and understand that sometimes it takes 'tough love' to help someone see the destructive path they are taking, so that they can make the changes necessary to have a better life," Sullenger said. "Most people who quit the abortion industry tell us that they are relieved to be out of that business, and say that leaving improved their lives."
Last week, Operation Rescue released the name of a physician who provided the second required signature for Tiller's post-viability abortions. Within hours, he and an associate, who was also providing that service for Tiller, voluntarily agreed to quit doing so "effective immediately."
Tiller currently faces 19 criminal charges for illegal abortions done without the signature of an unaffiliated physician, when he and abortionist Ann Kristin Neuhaus, collaborated to form what amounted to an illegal late-term abortion racket. Neuhaus has since quit working for Tiller.
"We began an intensive campaign exposing clinic workers and businesses that associate with Tiller in 2004," said Sullenger. "Since then, over a dozen workers have quit and at least 25 businesses have stopped helping Tiller keep his abortion business open. There's no doubt that public exposure helps these people do the right thing."
Last week, Operation Rescue relaunched their Abortion Collaborator Project. In addition to the physicians who quit signing off on Tiller's late-term abortions, OR released a list of 30 businesses that provide services for Tiller and his abortion mill.
Today's abortion worker list is in the form of a photo gallery with captions telling the public a little about each worker.
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
Pro-Life Groups Ask City of Denver to Give Them a Commitment to Conduct a Prayer Vigil at the Pepsi Center before DNC
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07442.shtml
WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- Pro-life groups have asked the City of Denver to give them a commitment to conduct a prayer vigil at the Pepsi Center before the Democratic National Convention.
In an e-mail sent to City Attorney David Fine, the groups said they would file a federal lawsuit on Friday if they did not have a response by the City of Denver. The following is the text of that e-mail:
Dear David;
Blessings. After talks with you in Denver several weeks ago, Danielle and I were troubled that the City of Denver could not confirm if we would be able to conduct our prayer vigil at the Pepsi Center on August 23. As we have shared with the City, our plans include hundreds of Christians peacefully kneeling in prayer around the Pepsi Center and leaving roses to remember the children that have died from abortion and the women that have been bruised and diminished. We would also be praying for Senator Obama to stand for human rights and social justice and end this tragic war against America's children.
We are now about one month away from our event and we still have no definitive word from the City of Denver. After several calls to your office, I still have not head back from you. This delay is creating a major hardship for us and also limiting our ability to peacefully plan to exercise our First Amendment rights on the streets of Denver during the DNC. Sadly, this delay is no different than denying our free speech rights
I have instructed our legal team to proceed forward with a legal initiative and we plan to file a federal lawsuit this Friday in District Federal Court. Please feel free to contact myself or our lead counsel Brian Chavez-Ochoa. Hopefully, we will be able to resolve this matter. I fly into Denver from Washington, D.C. on Thursday afternoon. I look forward to your prompt reply.
For the First Amendment;
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney
Director of The Christian Defense Coalition
Washington, D.C.
----end of email---
The Christian Defense Coalition, Survivors, Operation Rescue and other national ministries are planning a major pro-life event at the Democratic National Convention called "A Prayer for Change."
Go to aprayerforchange.com for more information
As part of that event, hundreds are expected to gather around the Pepsi Center on Saturday, August 23, and peacefully pray for an end to abortion, Senator Obama and national spiritual awakening.
They would also be leaving 1,400 roses to honor the children who have died from abortion and the women who have been diminished and wounded through abortion.
1,400 is the number of African-American children that die every day in America from abortion.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Washington, D.C. based Christian Defense Coalition, states, "We have been working with the City of Denver since September of 2007 to hold this prayer vigil outside of the Pepsi Center. After almost a year of discussions, we still do not have a firm commitment from them that we will be able to peacefully gather in prayer at the Pepsi Center.
"We are now one month away from the event and we still do not have a final answer. With respect to the planning of the prayer vigil, delaying by the City of Denver has the same impact as denying. Sadly, our desire to peacefully assemble in prayer and express our First Amendment rights is being crushed by this delay.
"We hope we do not have to go into federal court to settle this matter, but we certainly will do so if we cannot reach an agreement with the City."
Car Crash Kills Pastor Greg Laurie's Son
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/418103.aspx
The son of evangelist and mega-church pastor Greg Laurie was killed Thursday, July 24, in a freeway accident involving a California state vehicle.
Chris Laurie, 33, was on his way to the church when his Dodge Magnum hit a California Department of Transportation dump truck. Highway officials say he was traveling alone at a "high rate of speed" in the carpool lane on the 91 freeway, one of the area's main traffic arteries.
Laurie hit the last in a line of street cleaning vehicles around 9 a.m. in morning. The 12-foot truck had been equipped with flashing arrows to alert drivers, but he apparently was not able to stop in time before colliding into the back of the truck.
Authorities say that a special investigation is underway because the accident involved a state vehicle. Although Laurie was alone in the car, it remains unclear whether driving in the carpool lane there would have been a traffic violation at that location.
'He Was Using His Gifts for God'
Chris Laurie served as art director at Harvest Christian Fellowship, the church his father established in Riverside, Calif. Harvest currently serves more than 15,000 members.
Friends remember the 33-year-old as a "great father" to his two-year-old girl Stella. His wife Brittany is expecting their second daughter in November.
On Sunday, Pastor Laurie told his congregation that his faith remained strong and that he was comforted knowing his son was with God.
"It was the most devastating day of my life... But I knew he was in Heaven," he said, choking back tears.
He spoke of the strong relationship he and his son had.
"I loved my son very much. We were very close. It was not a distant relationship... He knew I loved him," he said. I'd give anything to have my son back... But I wasn't given that choice so I just said, 'Lord, he's yours.'"
Chris Laurie had had a few brushes with the law in the past. But in his talk on Sunday, Laurie said his son had really turned a corner in his life, saying that though he was not perfect, he had a "tender heart." He had recently began holding a Bible study in his home.
"He really committed his life to Christ in the last two years of his life," Laurie said. "He was using his gifts for God's glory."
"My son was a prodigal son at times. But he came back," Laurie said later.
Chris' younger brother Jonathan also spoke briefly to the congregation about his big brother.
"Christopher had been really growing deeper with the Lord," Jonathan said. "I know that Chris would want me to tell you all, 'Sooner is better than later to get your life right with Christ."
Church, Friends Remember Chris
Chris also played a key role in stage presentations during Laurie's popular Harvest Crusades. Since 1990, the evangelistic event has drawn more than 3.6 million people.
Jeff Lasseigne, a pastor at the church, told the Press Enterprise Friday that the family was "reeling" from their loss, but would move ahead with plans for a Harvest Crusades in Anaheim Aug. 15-17.
"As you would expect, they are broken-hearted, devastated," he said. "But we are confident that Chris is with the Lord."
Lasseigne remembered Chris for being "his own person" despite the popularity of his father's church. Another member admired him for his devotion.
"He was a fun person to be around and always struck me as someone who was happy to be serving Jesus (and) genuinely concerned with the Kingdom of God," member Eddie Roman wrote on Greg Laurie's blog.
By Monday evening, the page had more than 17,000 entries in memory of his son.
According to the church Web site, a memorial fund, The Christopher Laurie Memorial Fund, has been established to help support Laurie's wife and children.
A private funeral service will be held Aug. 1 at 11 a.m. PST. It will also be broadcasted live on the church Web site.
‘Chipping’ of Humans No Longer the Stuff of Novels; Use of RFIDs Becoming Commonplace in America
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/_chipping__of_humans_143_.html
More and more, George Orwell’s 1984 becoming reality—babies, students, elderly being ‘chipped’.
Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFIDs) are finding their way into and onto humans in many ways. There are several ways government and commercial entities are looking to profit through impressive ID and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies. Verichip Corp. successfully marketed “Hugs” Infant Protection System to hospitals in 2005. Since then, infants at many major hospitals receive ankle bracelets something like what many people on probation are currently required to use.
The ankle bracelets were marketed as a remedy for hospital infant abduction. When a child is removed from the infant care area of the hospital, an alarm sounds. About 230 infants are abducted every year from U.S. hospitals. The Hugs system saved one child in 2005. This may be a good idea, but it lays the groundwork for later RFID tagging on children and elderly for “safety reasons.” Some unverified Internet sources report that U.S. and European governments have plans to implant RFIDs in every newborn instead of using ankle bracelets.
A Rhode Island school plans to electronically track the movements of students using Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID). Microchips will be attached to the students’ backpacks next year. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil liberties groups say the RFID chips are an invasion of privacy. “Encouraging the placement of RFIDs on young children, even in this limited and questionable context, can only have the unintended effect of acclimating them to being monitored by the government in other contexts and wherever they go, as if it were perfectly normal and appropriate,” the ACLU said.
The RFID chips will be accessed via satellites through tiny GPS systems within the chips. The school will be able to follow the children anywhere. It is likely, though, that young people will just choose to leave their backpacks at school when they do not want to be followed. School officials may then contend for further invasion of privacy, and require RFIDs to be worn on clothing, or possibly injected.
In 2007, about 200 Alzheimer’s patients were implanted with non-GPS RFIDs in a market test done by Verichip. The devices held medical information that could be scanned with a special reader. Many more Alzheimer’s patients and people suffering with dementia have been implanted since the 2007 pilot program. Soon after the market testing by Verichip, sample RFIDs were handed out at the Alzheimer’s Community Care 2007 Educational Conference. In a 2007 Fox News report Verichip offered free RFID tagging for any interested party that wanted to tag an elderly parent.
Currently Verichip is reported to charge about $200 for the implant. The United Kingdom has concrete plans to implant RFID chips into prison populations. Other nations have been reported to use RFIDs on prisoners, including Sweden and several South American nations. The initial plans are to inject prisoners with RFIDs that can be read by a scanner, with limited access and limited amounts of information. UK Officials said they will soon implant chips with GPS capabilities to monitor a prisoner’s location at any given time.
IBM recently applied for a patent regarding a system that would not only place RFIDs on all clothing items, but also track those items of clothing on a global scale. The patent implies that all clothing sold would have “globally unique” RFID tags in them in the future. The information would primarily be used for marketing purposes, but the government could also use such technology. “The exact identity of the person or certain characteristics about the person can be determined [through the use of this technology],” the patent said. “This information is used to monitor the movement of the person through the store or other areas . . . tracking information can be used to provide targeted advertising and to improve existing store systems and tracking systems.”
The RFID information could easily be used with credit card information for identification. The power and scope of the proposed database would certainly have civil rights implications. Goodyear began using RFIDs in tires in 2003, and all other major tire manufacturers have tested, or are using, RFIDs in tires to prevent tire counterfeiting, reports RFID Update, an industry RFID website. The RFIDs could easily be used to track tires anywhere in the country by private or government interests. Plans are underway for a global tire recognition program, all in the name of stopping tire counterfeiting.
Hitachi created an RFID chip that is smaller than a grain of sand. The .002-inch-by-.002-inch chip can be imbedded in paper, and could be used to track just about anything. The chips do not have GPS capability, but can store a 38-digit number that can be read by a hand held scanner. This chip is 60 times smaller than the first generation Hitachi micro-RFID. The former smallest of the small, the Mu-chip, measures in at .4 millimeters by .4 millimeters and could fit on the tip of a pencil. The Mu-chip is already used to track and identify items and prevent forgery of concert tickets.
“Invisible tracking brings to mind science-fiction- inspired uses, or even abuses, such as unknowingly getting sprinkled with smart-tag powder for Big Brother-like monitoring,” Associated Press said. The prediction that microchips will be able to interface with nerves and implanted in the brain in the next 30 years was recently put forth by a UK government think tank. The microchips predicted would be able to give sensory input, allow a sort of mind-to-mind communication (like an implanted cell phone) and allow direct to the brain marketing. This Orwellian prediction opens the door for direct mind control in true 1984 fashion.
The Church Fathers on the Antichrist, Part I
http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/commentary/the-church-fathers-on-the-antichrist-part-i-wh/
The popular pretribulation rapture teaching claims that Christians will be snatched off the earth prior to the Antichrist’s reign. Advocates of this view claim that the early Christians held this view. But, in an earlier post, I showed how not one quotation can be furnished from before the 19th century supporting the pretrib rapture. On the other hand, every church father who wrote about the Antichrist assumed that Christians will be persecuted by him. In this four-part series, I will present quotations from some of the earliest and most respected church fathers, showing their belief.
The Didache
The Didache, also called “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” was a popular text written in the late first or early second century that provided instruction for the Christian communities. It was so popular, in fact, that some of the church fathers at first thought it should be part of Scripture. But the consensus was that it was not inspired. Yet, the fact that it was so widely esteemed among Christians at that time shows that it was a good representation of their views.
The last section, chapter 16, addresses the subject of Christ’s return. It’s titled “Watchfulness; the Coming of the Lord.” It’s purpose is to warn Christians about the persecution and deception of the Antichrist that will precede Christ’s return and encourage them to “endure in their faith.” Here’s what it says:
Watch for your life’s sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord will come. But come together often, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you are not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increases, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but those who endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth: first, the sign of an outspreading in heaven, then the sign of the sound of the trumpet. And third, the resurrection of the dead — yet not of all, but as it is said: “The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him.” Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.
July 2008 USA Tour report
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2510
On July 9, 2008 I flew from Prague to Boston to speak at a number of meetings arranged by Pastor Don Cobble of the Kaleo Christian Center in Woburn, MA.
The short tour - potentially the first of a series - originated out of an urge in my spirit to speak again into the hearts of American believers concerning the latest developments in Israel and their potentially serious affect on us all.
As believers we know we need to be ready - in our personal and corporate lives - for the things that are coming on the earth.
Don and I were to both share at most the meetings, which were held in Stoughton on the Boston South Shore, at a number of locations in Middlebourne and Bellaire, West Virginia, and in Charlottesville, Greensville and Richmond, Virginia.
In all there were nine events over 10 days - seven congregational gatherings, one seminar and one home meeting.
Most of the meetings were opened by Don who, wielding the Word, held out in front of those present two things:
As Bible-believers we need to recognize that the Jews are our family; that Israel is not just another nation towards we should show Christian concern.
The Lord will reckon with those of us who do not care, but remain unconcerned about what is happening with His people, with His Land, and with His city - Jerusalem.
My core message was:
God is restoring the Jews to their land in preparation for their national restoration in relationship to Himself. What this in turn heralds, as Paul tells us, is life from the dead for the world - the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Iran's leadership (and the Islamic world as a whole) manifests the spirit of Amalek which - in Hitler and his predecessors - sought to destroy the Jews and so thwart the purpose of God.
Israel is being left with no choice but to militarily – and probably single-handedly – deal with the mounting Iranian threat against her.
An Israeli strike on Iran could have extremely grave repercussions for the whole world.
Israel's act of self-defense will be universally slammed as aggression, resulting in worldwide outrage and condemnation being heaped on the Jewish state. Governments and the news media will direct a propaganda assault on our senses aimed at turning us against Israel.
Christians whose hearts are already attune to God's restoration purposes for Israel should prepare themselves to:
a) Endure a period of what could be intense personal upheaval caused by great economic turmoil and,
b) Stand resolutely with Israel in the face of an overwhelming wave of anti-Israel sentiment that will come from every direction - including family, friends and fellow church-goers.
c) Come swiftly and strongly to Israel's defense; withstanding and denouncing the massive media effort to sweep all of us into blaming Israel for the financial pain we may experience, and demanding that our governments refrain from condemning Israel.
We should not just sit and wait for this to happen.
We should spread the word to believers around us so that they too are ready for what lies ahead.
And we should already now be urgently communicating to our lawmakers their need to come out in solid defense and support of Israel in the period leading up to, including and following, the increasingly imminent Israeli strike.
Without exception, the response at the meetings was positive. While the idea that God is moving to align the true Church with Israel, and that we are expected to choose where we will stand on this matter, was news to some, it was a message that resonated with each congregation and, in every instance, with the leadership.
Each of the hosting pastors committed themselves personally, and urged their congregations collectively, to act. At least two leaders were moved to tears, and in one church the entire congregation came forward to publicly demonstrate their desire to respond. Some confessed having harbored a spirit of antisemitism, and prayed for forgiveness.
While we fielded some probing questions, nowhere did we experience a rejection of what we had come to share. Thank God.
Brochures inviting believers to Israel for the 2008 ICZC Feast of Tabernacles were made available at the meetings, and a number of people - including some who said they had previously not wanted to visit Israel out of fear or uncertainty - expressed a desire to attend.
Believing the Feast to be a God-appointed time for us to meet with Him, and that one year, during this feast, He will reveal Himself to Israel in amazing ways, I pray that many will be open to the prompting of the Spirit to come up to Jerusalem and join us in worship there this year.
To view the 2008 Feast itinerary and register online, go to www.israelmybeloved.com or send an email to iczc@iczc.org.il.
I am thankful to the Lord for all who made it possible for me to visit America in July, and am prayerfully planning to return - this time to Georgia, Alabama, Nashville and Missouri - in September. By then I believe this message will be only more urgently needed as the clock ticks towards an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities - and with elections in the United States by then just a few weeks away.
The outcome of those elections will, of course, also have a major impact on America’s relationship with Israel going forward.
Should you wish us to visit your congregation or home church meeting in or near this part of the United States, please email me as soon as possible at zionwarrior@gmail.com.
May God bless you, and may His peace be upon Israel!
Young Palestinian Christians explore reconciliation in Ireland
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/young.palestinian.christians.explore.reconciliation.in.ireland/20945.htm
Eighteen teenagers from the village of Zebabdeh in Palestine last week visited ancient Christian sites in County Down as part of a two-week visit to Ireland, North and South.
The visitors joined with young people from the Belfast-based Northern Ireland Memorial Fund and Ballinteer Community School in Dublin to learn about the legacy of St Patrick and the possibilities for reconciliation and peace-building at Down Cathedral and Saul Church, where they were welcomed by Church of Ireland Dean of Down, the Very Rev Henry Hull.
The Palestinian young people’s visit has been organised through Youth Connections for Peace. They come from the Zebabdeh Youth Group for Peace and Reconciliation, established to explore a sense of identity and confidence for young people in the context of a shrinking Christian community in the Holy Land, which now stands at just 2 per cent of the population.
Indigenous Palestinian Christians are descended from some of the earliest strands of Christianity. The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev Alan Harper, met some of the group while on a recent visit to the Holy Land, when he commented that Palestinian Christians needed to "begin to believe that they are not a forgotten people".
In welcoming the group, Dean Hull said, "This visit is an opportunity for the Palestinian young people to have their own faith enriched while here and to take hope.
"In the Irish context, St Patrick, so associated with the ancient sites here, is a unifying symbol and one of reconciliation. Patrick came to Ireland as a hostage from another country yet here his faith became real to him."
The group travelled on to Saul Church and Downpatrick Cathedral from Rostrevor, where they were given a music session as part of the Healing through Music festival, and also visited the St Patrick’s Centre in Downpatrick.
Prisoner exchange with Hizballah spurs more terrorist abduction plots
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5471
Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin reported to the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem Sunday, July 27, an increase of organized plans by terrorist groups to kidnap more Israeli soldiers. They are motivated by the Lebanese Hizballah’s success in gaining the release of five imprisoned members in exchange for the remains of two Israeli soldiers two weeks ago.
Reviewing the security situation in Jerusalem, Diskin sounded an alarm: Local Palestinians are increasingly ready to embrace religious radicalism and global jihadist ideas, including the practice of terrorism.
Law enforcement and deterrent measures must be applied urgently in the capital, where in a district like Shoafat, authority cannot be applied without the backing of large-scale armed forces. The situation there is even more dangerous than that prevailing in the West Bank town of Jenin. Hamas is also gaining a foothold in the Jerusalem villages of Abu Dis and Azariya.
The Shin Bet director therefore urged the ministers to hurry up and apply penalties for the two terrorist attacks by bulldozers on Jerusalem’s main streets this month and the massacre at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in March.
Their homes should be razed and government social benefits withheld from their dependents. Such deterrents against further terrorist attacks have proved effective in the past.
Shin Bet chief urges swift penalties for Jerusalem terrorists
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5470
Yuval Diskin, director of Israel’s internal security service warned the cabinet meeting Sunday, July 27, that the increasing involvement of East Jerusalem Palestinians in terrorist attacks was alarming. He urged the ministers to hurry up and apply deterrent penalties for the two terrorist attacks by bulldozers on Jerusalem’s main streets and the massacre at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva earlier this year. Their homes should be razed and government social benefits withheld from their dependents as deterrents against future attacks which have proved effective in the past.
Israeli police, Shin Bet kill top Hamas bomb-maker in Hebron
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5469
Shihab al-Natsheh 25, barricaded himself in his house in the West Bank town of Hebron and opened fire on the Israeli troops. After several hours, they bulldozed his house and found Natsheh’s body. He had been sought for assigning the suicide bombing in Dimona that killed an Israeli woman and injured ten others in February, and plotting more attacks. Several explosions were heard inside the building and a bomb workshop found later. Hamas’ armed wing Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades vowed a “swift and painful revenge.” The month-long ceasefire in force in the Gaza Strip does not apply to Israel’s counter-terror operations on the West Bank.
Fatah pays back for Gaza mass arrests by detaining Hamas West Bank activists
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5465
Palestinian security forces rounded up 15 West Bank Hamas activists and associates in Tulkarm Sunday, July 27, including the local mufti. Hamas arrests of the rival Fatah’s operatives in the Gaza Strip increased to 200 Sunday after a bomb explosion outside a Gaza beachside café killed five senior Hamas operatives and a young girl Friday night, July 25. Another 18 people were injured. Two earlier blasts left two dead.
Mahmoud Abbas, who denied his movement’s involvement but was slow to condemn the outrage, arrived in Cairo Saturday to discuss further reconciliation talks with Hamas.
Last-minute date with Gates arranged for Barak
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5474
After DEBKAfile reported Monday, July 28, that no meeting had been arranged for the visiting Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak with defense secretary Robert Gates in Washington, the Pentagon spokesman announced they would meet after all – albeit for “standard defense consultative discussions.” The visit would not be accompanied by any of the usual honor trappings, he said.
Barak lands in the middle of a controversy with Gates over the wisdom of a pre-emptive attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons projects before it is too late. American coordination with any Israeli strike plan would be contingent on his review and approval, which he has withheld.
A senior adviser to minister Barak, Amos Gilad, said in a radio interview Sunday, “This is a very important visit. Israel cannot tolerate living under an Iranian nuclear threat. For the moment our priority is the diplomatic track, but Israel has to be prepared to use all options.”
DEBKAfile’s military sources note that Gates also avoided meeting Israel’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, although he spent all last week in Washington on a working visit at the invitation of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen.
The latest issue of Parameters, the US Army War College quarterly, carried an article in which the US defense secretary wrote that a war with Iran would be “disastrous on a number of levels.” It is the last thing we need, he wrote, despite the fact that Iran “supports terrorism,” is “a destabilizing force through the Middle East and Southwest Asia and in my judgment, is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons.”
Another cause of Israel’s concern is the Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama’s praise for Gates’ position on Iran.
Firing on all cylinders, Israel’s transport minister Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister involved in U.S.-Israeli strategic relations, is expected in Washington on July 30. He too will meet Cheney and Rice. His spokesman told AFP: "The main subject under discussion will be the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear program to the entire region.”
Barak will also be meeting vice president Dick Cheney, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, senior military officials and members of Congress.
In secret note, Olmert says Bush has ditched Israel on Iran threat
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5467
Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert this week shot off a strong secret note to US President George W. Bush, DEBKAfile’s sources reveal, protesting the administration’s strategic steps toward rapprochement with Iran.
Israel was not forewarned, Olmert wrote bitterly, although these steps directly violated US-Israel understandings on Iran of the past year. Bush, he said, had broken the promises he gave in face-to-face meetings with the prime minister earlier this year. If nothing is done to arrest Iran’s progress towards a nuclear bomb, Olmert warned, Iran will have all the components ready for assembly by early 2009, that is, in 6-8 months.
This time line is tighter than the one the prime minister gave the Democratic Senator Barack Obama when he visited Jerusalem Wednesday, July 23.
DEBKAfile’s Washington sources add that Bush has not replied to the letter, although the prime minister wrote in a spirit of extreme alarm over the threat to Israel’s security and indeed survival building up in Tehran.
The US response apparently came in the way American military chiefs brushed off Israeli chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, when he presented intelligence updates on the state of Iran’s military nuclear program. He was received with great honor during his week’s working visit, but his hosts declined to address the working theories guiding the IDF with regard to that program.
Res. Maj-Gen Yizhak Ben-Israel, former head of IDF Weapons Authority, strongly refuted Saturday, July 26, the estimate published by Time Magazine quoting former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevi (up until 2002) as speaking out against an Israeli attack on Iran, because it “could have an impact on us [Israel] for the next 100 years.”
Ben-Israel, a world-class expert on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, countered that Israel’s failure to attack Iran’s nuclear sites would “jeopardize its security.” Time is working against the Jewish state,” he said.
As he spoke, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced his country’s nuclear program had managed to double the uranium-enriching centrifuges operating in Natanz to 6,000.
US will help Israel detect Iranian missiles, but stay aloof from any Israeli attack
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5477
The United States agreed to link Israel up to two advanced missile detection systems against potential attack by a nuclear-armed Iran, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday night, July 30, at the end of his Washington talks. But US officials made it clear that, while prepared to help Israel defend itself against Iranian missile retaliation, they are determined not to be involved in any Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Washington would deliver within six months “before the new US administration arrives” in January, a powerful forward-based X-band FBX-T radar. Increased access to its Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites, which spot missile launches, would take longer.
By putting a time frame around delivery, the Bush administration holds off a possible Israeli attack on Iran for as long as possible.
Barak’s talks with Vice President Dick Cheney, defense secretary Robert Gates and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice ended in agreement for Washington to deliver:
1.The transportable FBX-T radar system built by Raytheon Co. which, by providing early and accurate target-tracing and signature data, enlarges the effective battle space of missile interceptors. US officials say it can track an object the size of a baseball from about 4,700 km, and can be launched from air, sea or land.
It would allow the Israeli Arrow anti-missile system to engage an incoming Iranian Shehab-3 ballistic missile about halfway through its estimated 11-minute flight. This would give a potentially targeted Israeli population five minutes to prepare for an Iranian missile hit. This would make up for the deficiency of Arrow’s Green Pine radar, which can detect a missile launch in Iran only after it enters the atmosphere on its way to its Israeli target.
2. Increased access to the US Defense Support System (DSP) satellites, which spot missile launches, would help Israel cover the first 5.5 minutes of a Shehab is firing.
This access has hitherto been provided as per request - such as last September for the Israeli strike against Syria’s nuclear facility.- rather than on a constant basis.
DEBKAfile’s sources note that this access continues to be hedged around by the need in every case for lengthy discussion on whether it is applicable to a given military contingency. It is therefore unlikely to be available before the next president enters the White House and will then be subject to his confirmation. Here too, the Bush administration is stretching out the time table for an Israeli attack well into the future.
3. A US consent in principle to the upgrading of the Israeli, largely American-funded Arrow. The projected Arrow III would be capable of shooting down attacking missiles at greater atmospheric heights than the present version as a safeguard against nuclear fallout. It was not clear whether the administration means to grant Israel the required technology or replace the Arrow with American systems.
The upshot of the Israeli defense minister’s mission to Washington for a boost to Israel’s military capability for a possible preemptive attack on a pre-nuclear-armed Iran was therefore the promise of hardware to give Israel more time to defend itself against Iranian missile reprisals.
IDF starts using new laser system near Gaza
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331128662&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Alongside production of the Iron Dome interceptor, Rafael is also in the midst of developing a solid-based laser system that is believed to be the future in short-range missile interception. The Jerusalem Post has learned that a prototype of the model is already used by the IDF Southern Command to detonate explosive devices planted alongside the border fence.
"With the laser, there is no need to send troops across the border to destroy the bomb," one official explained.
The Defense Ministry is also closely following the development of a Star Wars-like laser beam system recently ordered by the United States government to help defend troops operating in Iraq and Afghanistan under the threat of short-range rockets and mortar shells.
Called the Laser Air Defense System (LADS), the platform is under development by Raytheon in the US and was put on display earlier this month at the Farnborough defense expo in England.
Israeli defense officials said that the Defense Ministry's Research and Development Directorate was closely tracking the development of the system and that if it was operational before the Iron Dome - currently under development by Rafael Defense Systems - it was possible that Israel would purchase it to help defend against mortars and Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
In June, Raytheon tested a prototype solid-state laser weapon which it said was designed to intercept rockets, mortars and missiles at significant ranges. LADS, according to the company, may be operational within the coming year and combines the capabilities of the 20-millimeter Phalanx rapid-fire cannon with the power and effectiveness of lasers to provide fast and precise direction of laser energy on target.
In static ground testing conducted with the US government, the LADS demonstration used a proven, off-the-shelf solid-state laser coupled with commercially available optics technology to detonate 60-millimeter mortars at a range greater than 550 yards within the required time limit.
"In just six short months, Raytheon and government engineers went from an idea to operational field-testing of a solid-state laser system that offers the potential of near-term protection for our troops," said Mike Booen, Raytheon's Missile Systems vice president of Advanced Missile Defense and Directed Energy Weapons.
"Our solid-state LADS proves you don't have to wait another three to five years for solid-state lasers to have military utility on the battlefield. They are ready now, with no chemicals required."
After strategic Mt. Sannine, Hizballah seizes Lebanese Mt. Barukh
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5476
Hizballah has moved on since its seizure of the towering Mount Sannine, the highest point of the Mount Lebanon range – which was first revealed by DEBKAfile.
As Iranian and Syrian radar and anti-air weapons officers settled on the strategic peak, our military sources report the Lebanese terrorist group proceeded to grab positions on the Western ridge of Jebel Barukh, east of Jezzine, a move which brings it closer to the Israel border.
Perched atop Lebanon’s two tallest mountain peaks, Hizballah, Syria and Iran are able to control most of Israel’s air space to the south and the heartlands of Lebanon’s Christian centers, as well as Mediterranean coastal waters.
Contrary to the picture presented by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert to the Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee Monday, July 28 (“Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah is losing his self-confidence”), Hizballah is back in strength in the military enclaves circled in the accompanying map, where its war preparations proceed apace.
These enclaves are off-limits to civilians.
Scores of military bases have arisen around three main centers close to the Israeli border at Marjayun, Nabatiya and Hasbaya. Marked on the map are two lines of fortifications and large-scale concentrations of fighting strength:
1. One line is arrayed northwest of the Zahrani River to obstruct Israeli forces attempting to break through to Jebel Barukh and Mt. Sannine, as well as shielding the 10th and 14th Syrian armored divisions straddling the Syrian-Lebanese border opposite the Israeli positions on Mt. Hermon and Mt. Dov.
2. North-west of the first line, a long chain of positions is ranged across the breadth of South Lebanon, from Mt. Hermon in the east, up to Sidon on the Mediterranean coast to the west. It is there to block an Israeli advance on Hizballah-ruled Shiite centers.
Islamabad says Mossad, Indian intelligence making trouble for Pakistan
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5473
Pakistan’s intelligence agency Sunday, July 27, accused the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Israel’s Mossad of working hand in glove. They were blamed for stirring up trouble on the common border with Afghanistan and planning terrorist activities inside Pakistan in conjunction with Khad (the former Afghan secret service).
DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report that Islamabad, beset by accusations from New Delhi and Kabul of fomenting terror in their countries, injected the Israeli agency into the quarrel as an expedient for deflecting their attacks.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has bluntly accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of engineering an attempt on his life at a parade on April 27, and aiding Taliban attacks in his country.
India has alleged ISI involvement in the suicide blast at its embassy in Kabul on July 7, killing 58 people, including a senior India diplomat and military attaché with the rank of brigadier.
Shortly after that atrocity, Indian foreign minister Shivshankar Menon said: “All our information points to elements of Pakistan being behind the blast.
In the last two days, Indian officials have charged Pakistan with backing the Muslim terrorist group which detonated 25 bombs in the western towns Bangalore and Ahmedabad, leaving 45 people dead and 165 injured.
Holding up their “Israel trump card” in reply, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies claimed to the media Sunday that they had asked the government to take “ample measures” to combat terrorism, which they alleged was linked to “Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan and Indian and Israeli spy outfits.”
They cited “certain evidence” indicating that Israel and Indian missions were behind “recent acts of terrorism in Balochistan,” where a bombing attack on a mosque in Quetta this month killed dozens of people.
DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources comment that smears of this kind would never have seen the light when president Pervez Musharraf was at the helm in Islamabad. However, Yousuf Reza Gilani’s new government has seriously undercut his authority and his connections in the army and security agencies.
By brandishing the Mossad bogy, the Islamabad regime sought to achieve four objectives.
1. To deflect Indian and Afghan charges that Islamabad is up to its neck in terrorism.
2. To tarnish the pro-Western Karzai government in Kabul, where the Mossad charge had a good chance of sticking in the eyes of Afghan tribal circles.
3. Implicating the Mossad in the Quetta attack was a high-risk stratagem arising from the Gilani government’s deepening ties with Tehran since taking power earlier this year.
Tehran has for some months fingered the American CIA for backing the Baluchi liberation movement’s terror campaign in Iranian Baluchistan next door as a means of getting at the central Islamic regime. Putting an Israeli label to the charge of supplying arms, explosives, funds and intelligence to Iranian Baluchi dissidents would make it hard for the Americans to rally recruits. Most Baluchis are devout Shiites and would have no truck with an Israeli agency.
Pakistan intelligence is therefore performing a valuable service for Tehran by implicating Israel in the Baluchi insurgency.
4. Gilani has hit on the Israeli Mossad as a rallying point for the Pakistan government, army and intelligence to back his negotiations with Taliban.
India makes 30 arrests after Muslim terror claims 45 lives
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5468
Eight roadside bombs in the southern “Silicone Valley” town of Bangalore left two dead Friday, followed Saturday by 17 bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, where the death has risen to 43. At least 165 were injured.
Both were claimed by the Indian Mujahideen, which accounted for three of the four blasts in India since 2006, including the May blasts in Jaipur in which in which 65 people died.
The bombings in Ahmedabad and Bangalore were similar in nature, said Indian intelligence sources, using timers, ammonium nitrate, nuts, bolts and nails. Some of the devices were some strapped on bicycles. In Ahmedabad, the explosions were coordinated to maximize the deaths, striking the emergency teams responding to the first blasts and then targeting four hospitals.
Officials in New Delhi have accused Pakistan of a hand behind the recent upsurge of well-planned bomb attacks, including this month’s suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. Islamabad consistently denies the charge.
Hindu Militants Attack Christians in Karnataka, India
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07445.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - Several Christians were attacked by Hindu militants in the state of Karnataka, India in recent weeks.
On July 13, Hindu militants disrupted a morning worship service at the Full Gospel Assembly Church in the village of Harapanahalli Taluk, Davangere district and beat believers present. Pastor Prakash Nayak and an evangelist, Kari Basappa, were severely injured. The militants also destroyed Bibles and song books in the attack.
On July 20, another church in the same district, the Gypsy Prayer Hall, was attacked by a group of Hindu militants. At approximately 12:30 p.m., the militants stormed into the church during a worship service and shouted insults and threats at believers present. Bibles and song books were burned. They dragged Pastor Naik (48) and two other believers outside and beat them. The three were then taken to the local police station where they were accused of forcibly converting Hindus.
Also on July 20, approximately twenty Hindu militants stormed into the Friends Mission Prayer Band Church in the village of Konvallichawla, Haveri district during a worship service and assaulted Pastor Abraham. The militants also destroyed Christian literature, including Bibles. They took Pastor Abraham to a local police station, planning to have him arrested, but he collapsed as a result of his injuries and was hospitalized.
Pray for healing for those injured in these attacks. Ask God to bless the ministry of these and other Christian workers spreading the Gospel in India. Pray that the Lord will work in the lives of the persecutors and lead them to faith in Christ.
For more information on the persecution facing Christians in India, go to www.persecution.net/country/india.htm.
Iran doubles uranium-enriching centrifuges to 6,000 – Ahmadinejad
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5466
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday, July 26: “Islamic Iran today possesses 6,000 centrifuges at the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz.
He said the US, Britain, France, Russian, China and Germany, the nations whose officials met the Iranian nuclear negotiator last Saturday in Geneva, “had tempered their demands.” They asked Iran not to freeze enrichment but rather not to expand its current program beyond 6,000 centrifuges, according to Tehran radio. Ahmadinejad clarified this by saying: “Today, they have consented that the existing 5,000 or 6,000 centrifuges not be increased and the operation of this number is not a problem.”
Ahmadinejad Blames U.S. for AIDS, Says 'Big Powers' Going Down
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,393221,00.html
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president on Tuesday blamed the U.S. and other "big powers" for global ills such as nuclear proliferation and AIDS, and accused them of exploiting the U.N. for their own gain and the developing world's loss.
But, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, time was on the poor countries' side.
"The big powers are going down," Ahmadinejad told foreign ministers of the Nonaligned Movement meeting in Tehran. "They have come to the end of their power, and the world is on the verge of entering a new, promising era."
The more than 100-member NAM is made up of such diverse members as communist Cuba, Jamaica and India and depicts itself as bloc-free. But most members share a critical view of the U.S and the developed world in general.
And with Iran assuming the chairmanship of the conference Tuesday, Ahmadinejad's keynote speech was tailored to reflect the struggle that some NAM members see themselves in against the world's rich and powerful countries.
A draft of the final document that ministers will be asked to approve, made available to The Associated Press as the conference opened Tuesday, reflected that struggle.
"The rich and powerful countries continue to exercise an inordinate influence in determining the nature and direction of international relations, including economic and trade relations, as well as rules governing these relations, many of which are at the expense of developing countries," it said.
NAM countries oppose "unilaterally imposed measures by certain states ... the use and threat of use of force, and pressure and coercive measures as a means to achieving their national policy objectives," said the draft.
That appeared to be an indirect slap at the United States, which has refused to rule out force as a possible means of last resort against Iran unless it heeds U.N. Security Council demands to curb its nuclear activities.
The draft also condemns "the categorization of countries as good or evil based on unilateral and unjustified criteria" — oblique criticism of President Bush's labeling of Iran as part of an "axis of evil" along with Saddam Hussein's Iraq and North Korea.
Iran has in the past counted on NAM countries to blunt pressure from the U.S. and its allies for harsh U.N. sanctions and other penalties because of its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment, which can produce both nuclear fuel or the fissile payload of warheads. Tehran has been slapped with three sets of U.N. sanctions because of its nuclear defiance and new penalties loom unless Tehran shows compromise.
Another draft statement also obtained by the AP before the meeting began seeks continued support. Submitted by Iran on behalf of the NAM, it asks the conference to agree that "sanctions imposed on Iran for its nuclear program are of a political nature and should be promptly removed."
The ministers "further affirm ... that there is no legal basis that (the) U.N. Security Council proceeds" in continuing to deal with the Iran nuclear file, said that draft.
While only infrequently mentioning the U.S. by name Tuesday, Ahmadinejad made clear that he blamed Washington and its allies for trying to "impose their political will on nations and governments."
He accused the great powers of "fomenting discord .... to intensify the military and arms race" so they can feed their arms industries. AIDS, he said, also was the result of world conditions "imposed by big powers."
Accusing the U.N. Security Council of being a tool of the world's haves — which use them against the have-nots — he said it was useless to expect that body to be the solution to the world's ills.
"If the United Nations and the Security Council ... were supposed to deal with the problems of the world ... we would not have a problem called Palestine," he declared, in indirect criticism of the creation of the Jewish state 60 years ago.
Another Mass Killing in Iran: An Affront to Human Dignity
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,393882,00.html
With its usual unparalleled barbarity, the ayatollahs' regime marked the 20th anniversary of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran with "the largest mass execution in years," according to eyewitness accounts and reports by human rights groups. On Sunday, July 27, 2008, at dawn, 29 people were hanged in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, the site of 30,000 political executions in a spate of a few months in summer of 1988.
Many of those executed on Sunday were dissidents arrested during last June's fuel uprisings in Iran. Tehran often describes as "thugs" the restive youths arrested by the State Security Force (SSF) for staging antigovernment protests and demonstrations. Young people are often beaten, tortured and humiliated in public in order to intimidate the population and deter others from joining their ranks. Others are jailed or executed in public.
The European Union's French presidency strongly condemned the 29 hangings, adding, "The Iranian regime's action of staging these executions and making them the focus of media attention is an affront to human dignity."
In recent weeks, news reports from Iran indicated that eight women and one man are waiting to be stoned to death. Their sentence defies the so-called moratorium on stoning announced in 2002 by the mullahs' Chief Justice, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. According to BBC World Service, at least "three people are reported to have been executed by stoning since then." In July 2007, the regime stoned to death Jafar Kiani in the northern Iranian city of Takestan.
The latest hangings are the most recent in a dramatic rise in executions in recent months. Dissident groups and international human rights organizations insist that Tehran regularly executes political activists as armed robbers and drug addicts. This new trend goes even further, apparently as part of a wider effort to quell an increasing disenchanted and enraged citizenry. Although Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tenure has seen a marked crackdown on every sector of society, the ayatollahs have failed to terrorize the opposition into submission.
Student activists, women, laborers, journalists, bloggers, ethnic and religious minorities and bus drivers (or the non-conformists as the regime calls them) , risk arrest, torture and execution. But such risks have not deterred them, further rankling a regime already beset by infighting and facing growing isolation abroad.
The French monthly Afrique Asie reported from Tehran that "scenes of resistance against suppression are increasing...Iran is lonely and abandoned internationally," while at home the regime is "faced with increased daily protests by students and workers. The fear of this volcano erupting is depriving the mullahs of a good night's sleep."
For all their populist claims, the mullahs lack the capacity and will to fulfill the Iranian people's legitimate social, economic and political demands. Well aware of this inherent weakness, they have built their regime on suppression at home and crisis-making abroad.
The driving force of the ayatollahs' nuclear weapons campaign and terrorism export — the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) — is first and foremost tasked with protecting the regime from Iran's democratic opposition. This overriding duty (as stipulated many times by its leadership) is inherent in the true translation of IRGC — "Guardians of the Islamic Revolution." In September, IRGC's top Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari stressed that the Corps' "main responsibility" was to fight against "internal threats."
Just last week, in a courageous rebuke to Ahmadinejad's claim that his nuclear policies have popular backing, the residents of the central city of Arak protested against Tehran's nuclear program. Arak is the site of a heavy-water reactor first exposed by Iran's main opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
A film clip of the Arak protest, provided by the resistance network in Iran, was broadcast over the weekend via the opposition's satellite television, Simaye Azadi (click to watch the video ). Outraged by an explosion at a petro-chemical factory, the demonstrators shouted "nuclear energy kills people," and "nuclear energy means money in the pocket of the Leader," referring to the mullahs' Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Given the magnitude and severity of the suppression, such rallies speak volumes about the strength and perseverance of the anti-regime democratic movement.
As Afrique Asie Monthly put it, "The Iranian rulers are very concerned and alarmed, not about an unfeasible foreign military attack, but because of the people's support for the Mujahedin-e Khalq. Today, MEK is highly capable of attracting the young people born and raised after the revolution."
The ayatollahs' fear of their enemies within — the Iranian people and their resistance movement — and the surge in popular protests present policy-makers on the both sides of the Atlantic with a clear choice while the ayatollahs are running out the clock on nuclear weapons as more centrifuges are being installed constantly.
Europe is beginning to show the desire to make a new choice by siding with the Iranian people as opposed to the ruling clerics. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which acts as the parliament-in-exile, was invited by Italian Parliamentarians to Rome last week. A majority (320 members), voiced support for her movement for democratic change in Iran. She was received at the Vatican and met with the mayor of Rome in the city's historic building where Ahmadinejad was rebuffed.
Four female suicide bombers target Iraqi Shiites and Kurds Monday
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5475
They killed at least 57 people, wounded nearly 300 in Baghdad and the northern oil city of Kirkuk Monday, July 28.
A senior US military official blamed al Qaeda for the attacks in Baghdad, the worst since June 17. Three women detonated their bomb vests in the middle of a procession of Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad. They mingled with pilgrims marching from the Shiite Karradah district to Kazamiyah in northern Baghdad to mark a saint’s day. More than 42 people were killed and 72 injured.
In Kirkuk, 25 peple were killed and 185 wounded by the fourth woman-bomber who blasted a crowd of Kurds. A curfew was clamped down on the multiethnic town.
To combat al Qaeda’s increasing use of female suicide bombers, Iraqi security forces have mobilized 200 women to search female pilgrims near the northern Baghdad shrine of Kazimiyah.
Imprisoned Christian Woman Dies in Eritrea
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07440.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - An Eritrean Christian woman, Azieb Simon (37), died of malaria in the Wi'a Military Training Centre last week after being imprisoned and tortured for months, according to a July 23 report from Compass Direct.
Simon, a member of the Kale-Hiwet Church in Assab, was weakened by the mistreatment she had sustained since her arrest in December. Authorities reportedly refused to give her treatment for the disease, which she contracted only a week prior to her death. Other Christians imprisoned in the centre are under constant pressure to recant their faith.
Compass also reported that eight Christian brothers held at the Adi-Quala prison were taken to the medical emergency facilities as a result of torture by military personnel at the camp. Moreover, in the port city of Assab, 32 Christians were imprisoned and taken to Wi'a earlier this month.
Ask God to fill those who mourn for Azieb with a peace that surpasses understanding in the midst of their grief (Philippians 4:7). Pray for the safety of those still in prison, and for their quick release. Pray that Eritrean Christians will remain faithful in the face of pressure to deny Christ.
For more information on the persecution facing Eritrea's Christians, go to www.persecution.net/country/eritrea.htm.
Chinese House Church Alliance Leader Evicted in Beijing
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07441.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - Pastor Bike Zhang, Chairman of the Federation House Church and his wife, Xie Fenglan, were evicted from their home in Chaoyang district by Public Security Bureau officials on July 6, according to a July 18 report from China Aid Association.
The couple took up residence in a friend's home until they were again evicted by officials and forced to relocate to a hotel in Guo Xian town. On July 14, officials ordered the hotel owner to evict the couple or face incarceration. Zhang and Fenglan then left for the district of Changping but were stopped by police and taken to a government office where they were interrogated and denied food, drink and rest for several hours. Fenglan eventually collapsed due to the torture.
At last report the couple was living on the streets after police forced them out of two othe r locations. Their expulsion from Beijing is reportedly in response to Pastor Zhang's meeting with American officials, which Chinese authorities see as "destroying the harmony of the Beijing Olympic Games."
Pray for protection for this couple. Pray that they will be assured of the Lord's never-ending love, even in the midst of trying circumstances (Ephesians 3:14-19). Pray for the nation of China and the Chinese church at large as the Olympics are to begin soon.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in China, go to www.persecution.net/country/china.htm.
Chinese Rights Defense Lawyers File Legal Review Regarding the Shandong Pastor Zhang Zhongxin's Two Year Reeducation Through Labor Case
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07438.shtml
SHANDONG, China, (christiansunite.com) -- China Aid Association was informed that on July 4, 2008 in Jining City in Shandong reeducation-through-labor management committee issued a written decision sentencing Zhang Zhongxin to two years re-education through labor. Zhang started the re-education through labor program July 4, 2008 and is scheduled to be released June 5, 2010. The statement also declared that Zhang may appeal within 60 days. Pastor Zhang has applied for legal aid, and is hoping to hire defense lawyers. Zhang's wife Wang Gui-Yun will coordinate the hiring of legal defense for her husband.
Pastor Zhang Zhongxin's home address is:
Qingkou Village, Jintun Town,
Jiaxiang County, Shandong Province.
Authorities accused him of cult participation for his role in organizing Sunday school training courses, preaching the Gospel in Tibet and other places for missionaries, and pioneering sermons. In 2005, he established the "Rainbow Missions Fellowship in Jining of Shandong" and "Timothy Bible training school", training pastors in ministry work.
After Pastor Zhang received the written decision, he appealed the Court hearing the same day. He was notified by authorities at 11:00AM on August 14, 2008 that he will have an appeal hearing in Jiaxiang County Detention Center. The following officials will appear in court during Pastor Zhang's hearing: Kong Liang, Jining City Public Security Bureau, the rule of law, civilian police; Li Zhijian, deputy director of Section officer.
CAA also learned that on July 14, 2008 in Jining City, Shandong, PSB officials, along with an "anti-cult group", investigated Lu Xiaoai, a Church member of pastor Zhang. The policemen seized Bibles and Christian material from Lu. At the same time, policemen in Rencheng district broke into Brother Li Dali's home and forcibly detained Christian books and a CD-ROM. Police summoned another church member named Li Da, but were unable to attain information from him due to a medical condition. Officials also investigated church member Lian Dehai. Lian was later taken to the City Public Security Bureau and was placed under criminal detention. Police then raided his home and withheld Christian material and a CD ROM.
China Aid Association urges all brothers and sisters in the Lord, to pray for pastor Zhang, and those associated with him who have been unjustly and unfairly persecuted and detained for their beliefs.
CAA calls on Chinese authorities to immediately stop the persecution of these Christians.
To voice your concern over these issues please contact:
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
Address: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20007
Tel: (202) 338-6688, (202)5889760
Fax: (202) 588-9760
Jennifer Kerns and the “Yes on 8″ campaign crew invite you to attend their August 14th Open House in Irvine:
ReplyDeleteHere’s the invite
RSVP Juliet@schubertflintpa.com
I’m wondering if those who’d deny civil rights to others don’t deserve to get their parties crashed?
“Yes on 8″ RSVP? Need your advice.
You're so right. The pretribulation rapture belief was never a part of Christian theology or a part of any organized church prior to 1830. Readers may enjoy going to Google and typing in "Famous Rapture Watchers," "Pretrib Rapture Diehards," and "Revisers of Pretrib Rapture History." Rene
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