The Open Society Is Dying

This is the title of an article I stumbled on while reviewing the news for pertinent information. Its pretty sobering:

The Open Society Is Dying

This commentary is well worth reading in full - here are a few quotes:

Today, tens of millions of frightened Americans are cheering as the U.S. government implements Big Brother security measures that are so extreme that they would have made even Stalin, Hitler and Mao cringe. But it is not just in America where the open society is dying. It is literally happening all over the globe. In a world where real and imagined terrorism is perceived to be the greatest threat, governments are increasingly feeling the need to watch, track, trace and control everyone and everything.

To an extent, our own technological advances have brought this situation about. Humanity has created awesome weapons of mass destruction that humanity simply does not have the moral capacity to handle. There are literally millions of people out there today who would use a weapon of mass destruction in a populated area if they could get their hands on one.

Now the truth is that the majority of people in the world are not prone to such violence, but when you are talking about weapons of mass destruction, it only takes one.

It would only take one nuke or chemical warhead or biological weapon set off in the middle of a major city to set off a worldwide panic.

But to protect ourselves against the weapons of mass destruction that we have created is it necessary to completely destroy our liberty and freedom?

That is the path on which we are headed.

In the name of "security", we have pushed freedom of speech into special "free speech zones" at public events. These "free speech zones" often resemble little more than prison cages. The truth is that we are only a couple of steps away from eliminating free speech altogether. Already, Christians are being arrested in various areas across the United States for quietly passing out literature on public sidewalks. How long will it be until we have absolutely no freedom to say whatever we want? How soon will it be until websites like this are totally shut down?

Already, it is a well known fact that the U.S. government filters all electronic communications (including all of your phone calls and all of your emails) through a complex computerized filtering system. The goal is to scan all communications for certain keywords, and to intervene before a "threat" can materialize.

Now searching for "homegrown American terrorists" is as big a part of the "mission" as searching for al-Qaeda is

Thats the background - and the article continues with some specific examples of the loss of basic freedoms:

For example, organic milk is now considered such a threat that the FDA has been conducting military style raids on Amish farmers in the state of Pennsylvania.

Are Amish farmers now as big a threat as al-Qaeda?

Things are really getting weird.

Barack Obama is pushing a plan to create a national database that will store the DNA of all individuals who have been arrested but not necessarily convicted of a crime.

Would you like your DNA to be forcibly taken and put into Barack Obama's secret database for the rest of your life?

Not only that, but U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham have been promoting legislation that would institute a biometric national identification card for all Americans.

Are you ready for a national ID card?

Did you ever think the day would come when security officials in the United States of America could pull you aside and ask you for "your papers please"?

In addition, new legislation that was being promoted by U.S. Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman would allow the U.S. military to round up large numbers of Americans and detain them indefinitely without a trial if they are believed to "pose a threat" or if they have "potential intelligence value" or for any other reason that the President of the United States "considers appropriate".

Talk about tremendous potential for abuse!

Under such a law, any American could be picked up for any reason whatsoever!

But the state of Florida has taken things even farther. The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice will now start using analysis software to predict crime by young delinquents, putting "potential offenders" under specific prevention and education programs.

Perhaps you thought that "pre-crime" was just for science fiction movies.

Just check out the video news report about TSA security abuse posted below. Yes, we do need security at our airports, but do TSA officials have to act like Nazi thugs to get their jobs done? Do they have to treat us like dehumanized cattle? Is it not possible to keep everyone safe and still leave us with a few shreds of dignity? What you are about to watch will have your jaw on the floor....

OK, I just realized that I am posting most of the article. But this is so important. Most of us (including myself) haven't really noticed, because like the frog placed in warming water, which ultimately comes to a boil, never notices because of the gradual increase in temperature. Similarly, this has been such a gradual process, over so many years - we barely take notice. But upon reflection, and putting this information together in one bolus - it becomes very ominous indeed.

More:

But things are about to get even worse. The new full body security scanners going into airports all across the United States can actually see through clothing and produce very clear and very detailed images of the exposed bodies of everyone who walks through them.

So are you willing to let gawking security officials examine your entire naked body just so that you can get on an airplane?

What happens when these scanners start going into bus, train and subway stations all across the United States?

Is it inevitable that we must be treated like a herd of human cattle that does not deserve any privacy or any dignity?

But if one weapon of mass destruction goes off anywhere in the world, the cry for even greater Big Brother security measures will become absolutely deafening. It seems as though today people are willing to give up just about anything in order to feel safe and secure.

Not that security is a bad thing.

But if we have to give up all of our liberty and all of our freedom and if we are forced to live in a closed Big Brother police state just to feel safe, what does that say about us?

The open society is dying.

Liberty is dying.

Freedom is dying.

If you plan on standing up and saying anything about what is happening to society, now is the time.

You may have seen the video clip in which there were two screens being shown simultaneously: On one side was a people going through airport screening, with the body pat down and the scanners etc., and on the other screen was footage of people entering concentration camps (during WWII) and going through a very similar "examination" process, with the same "pat downs" and the same basic procedure. Very sobering indeed.

And again, as mentioned so many times - its all preparation and conditioning which is fully necessary for people to accept what will be imposed during the Tribulation. The world is being prepared for the Tribulation and all of the horrors which will be implemented during this period.

Lets not forget what Jesus said, in reference to the Tribulation:

"For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive..." (Matthew 24:21)

We can thank God that we won't have to be part of this. It is coming and coming soon. We're just seeing the preparation phase. The water is starting to boil and no one even notices - except, of course, the group of prophecy watchers.

Soros Back in the News

Because of his enormous wealth and his determination to affect politics on a world wide basis, one has to wonder if George Soros will have a prophetic role to play in these last days. It seems apparent that he will, and his influence is rooted in a deep hatred of the Jews going all the way back to the WWII era.

Exposed! George Soros' scheme for 'elite' judiciary

How does it happen that a California judge can upend millennia of accepted standards for society by saying that gender plays no role in marriage? Or a court can approve a Florida school district's deal with liberals to ban teachers from praying – even when they're off-campus?

A new report by John Gizzi of the Capital Research Center, to be released within the next few days, has an explanation: A powerful move by very wealthy interests across the United States to reshape the judiciary in the mold of progressives who believe the Constitution should be interpreted through the filter of personal desires.

And the primary force behind the move? George Soros, the hedge fund billionaire who personally provides the money for a number of liberal advocacy organizations such as MoveOn.org.

"George Soros plans to influence the selection of state Supreme Court justices across the country. He's funding massive efforts to end judicial elections in state after state, pushing instead for 'merit based appointments' that favor the political interests of the liberal lawyers who pick the judges," Matthew Vadum, the CRC chief who edited Gizzi's report, told WND.

"Because state Supreme Courts may have a say in redistricting after the 2010 Census is completed it is essential that citizens and state officeholders scrutinize who's behind efforts to overturn judicial elections," he said.

"Voters don't normally pay attention to state Supreme Court elections but if they don't start watching them Soros could engineer a judicial revolution. Soros could install judge after judge who views the Constitution as a so-called living document, that is, a worthless piece of paper onto which judges can project their own personal political views.

The report follows an analysis by the American Justice Partnership that confirmed Soros already has spent some $45 million to change state procedures from electing judges to having them appointed – after being nominated by a clique of elites.

The report, by attorney Colleen Pero, described Soros' plans to "remake the judiciary and fundamentally change the way judges are selected in the United States."

Gizzi's report explains that Soros wants to remove voters from the process through which judges are nominated, elected or retained. Instead, he wants to have them chosen by elite teams of mostly lawyers, appointed by the politically powerful and protected while in office.

A little digging into Mr Soros background reveals his past and at least part of his agenda. Much of what he does is "under the cover of darkness", as they say.

Here are a few links which expose Mr Soros past and links to his ongoing agenda:

The Anti-Israel Lobbying Group, J Street, and the Dirty Money of George Soros

Just a few quotes from this article:

George Soros is the source of the dirty money behind the front group to destroy Israel, J Street, as J Street executive director Jeremy Ben Ami has finally admitted to the media, after lying about it since the group’s founding: “I accept responsibility personally,” said Ben Ami, “for being less than clear about Mr. Soros‘ support once he did become a donor.”

Of course it was Soros. George Soros vowed years ago to start an anti-Jewish organization under the nefarious guise of a Jewish organization, in order to counter the influence of the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC).

If you are unfamiliar with Soros’s actual past, remember that, as 60 Minutes reported in 2006, “While hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were being shipped off to the death camps, George Soros accompanied his phony godfather on his appointed rounds, confiscating property from the Jews.”

Since then, Soros — convicted in France for insider trading — has his black hand in every evil thing: the legalization of drugs and prostitution; betting against America and making millions by making what he called “a good call against the dollar”; violating the U.N.’s neutrality by funneling money through its Development Program to Georgia’s President. He was financier of guilty terror lawyer Lynne Stewart’s defense fund; and was involved via his stooges at America Coming Together in election fraud and via his investment in WellCare, in Medicare irregularities.

And now Soros has given $750,000 to J Street. Another $811,697 came from a mysterious woman in Hong Kong named Consolacion Esdicul, who has apparently acted as a representative for Black Rock, a New York hedge fund with close ties to… George Soros

Of course, it was common knowledge that J Street was an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, fringe organization that no one took seriously. Isi Liebler, former chairman of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress, challenged J Street’s “duplicity in trying to masquerade as a Jewish mainstream ‘pro-Israel’ organisation while consistently campaigning against the Jewish state.”

Philip Klein, The American Spectator’s Washington correspondent, says that “while the group bills itself as the ‘pro Israel’ and ‘pro peace’ alternative to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, in reality it is a liberal organization actively campaigning against Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Just how extreme and anti-Israel is J Street? According to Liebler, as of October 2009 “Arab and pro-Iranian elements were providing approximately 10% of J Street funding, a somewhat bizarre situation for a genuinely ‘pro-Israel’ organisation.”

Also see (again, I am not endorsing these various sites nor do I agree with every word stated in these articles or other commentary etc. on such sites. Links are always provided for information purposes only - specific to the content of the post):

Viciously Anti-Jewish "J" Street Funded By George Soros

George Soros Father a Nazi Jew Hater in WWII

Soros Helped the Nazis During Holocaust

So we have an incredibly wealthy person, who is highly interested in influencing money and politics during these days, and he is a devout anti-semite. Its hard to imagine that he won't have an end times role to play, and most likely his influence in this direction has already started in a major way.

This is someone definitely worth watching.

Netanyahu Offers PA State Within Temporary Borders

That title represents the latest headline from the Jerusalem Post.

This is interesting for several reasons, but first to the pertinent quotes:

Netanyahu offers PA state within temporary borders

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is making efforts to convince the Obama administration to accept a plan by which a Palestinian state would be established within temporary borders for a period of ten years, leaving difficult issues such as refugees and Jerusalem to be decided in future negotiations, London-based Arabic language daily Al-Hayat reported on Saturday.

This alone raises two key questions.

First: Is Netanyahu getting nervous because of the constant threats by the UN to form a PA state without Israeli participation or consent?

Second: 10 years? Hmm...I have to wonder if we could see this period of time negotiated into a 7 year deal.

More from the article:

Under the proposed plan Israel would be allowed to maintain control over the Palestinian state's eastern border, on the western border with Israel, on Jerusalem and on water sources.

Or, perhaps the newly formed EU military group who was formed to specifically monitor such borders?
I have a hard time believing that the PA would accept Israeli control of the borders.

According to the Palestinian source "what Netanyahu proposed to us is a gradual solution which will continue for more than 10 years, that will leave Jerusalem and the big settlements under Israeli control, that will lease Israel the Jordan Valley for 40 years and will leave Israeli army bases at the entrances of Palestinian cities."

The plan would leave some 40% of the West Bank under Israeli control during the ten year interim period.
According to the report Netanyahu offered the plan to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and was discussing the plan with the US.

It is fascinating that we are seeing the continuation of the idea that there would need to be a period of time during which this new "state" would be formed. The Oslo peace accords had a similar covenant of progressive independence for a Palestinian state. Now we see it again.

Now, more than ever, the scripture in Daniel 9:27 comes alive and makes perfect sense.
"He will confirm a covenant with the many for one seven" (NIV).

Years ago, before the Oslo accords discussed a similar scenario, I had never understood why the scripture stated the "one seven", (or "one week") which points to a seven year period. Now, with the luxury of watching the early development of this covenant, we can see why the Bible gave us this information.

When the antichrist shows up, he will confirm this covenant. And somehow, it will involve a seven year period.

It is fascinating to watch prophecy coming alive during this Biblical age - watching it forming and taking shape by the day. Watching the events lining up precisely as the Bible stated - from watching Turkey joining the Gog-MaGog alliance, to the Russian-Iranian axis, to Iran's nearness to nuclear weapons, to the EU's continual progress and central control, to the earthquakes, the pestilences, the ongoing wars, to Israel being completely surrounded by her enemies and the forward progress to the epic battle of Gog-MaGog, to the calls for a central, global currency and a global governance, - we see the signs every day.

And now we see one of Israel's strongest leaders propose a peace-covenant,one that involves progressive independence for a Palestinian state. The first offer is for 10 years and the use of Israel's military for border control.

I wonder what the counter-offer will be?

Open Discussions on "Forcing" Palestinian Statehood

Now this story is becoming "legitimate", unfortunately. The drumbeat continues on this issue of the UN declaring a "Palestinian State", which would, by definition determine new (smaller) Israeli borders and would do so against the will of Israel.

The U.S. congress is now aware of this situation and the debate has started:

Republicans urge Obama to prevent Palestinian state recognition

As Congressional midterm elections approach, Republican representatives call on US president not to reward 'Palestinian behavior,' warn UN resolution on Palestinian state would hurt peace efforts.

Republican members of the House of Representatives have written a letter to US President Barack Obama in which they urge him to veto any attempt to pass a Security Council resolution recognizing a Palestinian state, which they said would predetermine the results of peace negotiations.

The letter was sent following recent reports on a Palestinian plan to turn to the UN for a vote on the establishment of a Palestinian state should direct talks reach a dead end.

The letter noted that Israel's decision to halt West Bank settlement construction for 10 months was not only a gesture of goodwill meant to encourage the Palestinians to resume negotiations, but was extremely unpopular with many in Israel.

It was stated that the Palestinians never conditioned direct talks with a freeze of settlement construction.

The republicans said that a UN resolution regarding a Palestinian state would have a devastating effect on peace prospects. By turning to the UN the Palestinians are trying to avoid meeting their commitments and advancing negotiations with Israel, they said. "The US must not reward such behavior," the letter noted.

Its hard to believe that we are living in a world in which God's chosen people and their land would be forcibly given away based on a "UN mandate", and against the will of Israeli leadership. But the discussions are very real and are under discussion. God gave the people of the world very specific instructions and warnings on this idea in Zechariah 12. As usual, and in line with the world's history, "the nations" aren't paying attention to God's warnings.


In other news:

Indonesia's Mount Merapi vocano erupts again

Mount Merapi volcano has erupted for a third time, with local people reportedly saying this was louder and stronger than the previous eruption on Tuesday.

The latest eruption happened at around 0100 on Saturday (1800GMT Friday).

Agence France Presse reported that it caused panic, with hundreds of people, including police and soldiers, trying to flee in cars or on motorbikes.

Ash was raining down in Yogyakarta, about 30km (19 miles) away.

At least 47,000 people who live around Mount Merapi are staying in government camps or with friends and relatives, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

Gazan crowd chants "death to America", "Death to Israel"

Tens of thousands of supporters and sympathizers of the terrorist Palestinian Islamic Jihad group were reported to have rallied in the streets of Gaza on Friday to show their opposition to the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The crowds were heard chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

"Israel will not bring peace to the region, it will only bring war and destruction and therefore, the slogan of all should be that Israel must be wiped out of existence," said Shallah. He warned of a "third Nakba" should the peace negotiations continue to fruition.

"The choice of negotiation has reached deadlock, and we are wondering why is there such an insistence by the Palestinian Authority on negotiation with the enemy," said Shallah.

Yep - that "land for peace" deal was a roaring success wasn't it?

The Day After...

A very thought provoking article appeared in the Jerusalem Post which sheds new light on the Iranian nuclear weapons situation:

Security and Defense: The Day After

When Israel thinks of a nuclear Iran, it's not just concerned about change in balance of power; it's more concerned about nuclear terrorism.

In February 2009, a professor named Abdallah Nafisi gave a lecture in Kuwait and discussed how the tunnels that are used by smugglers under the Mexican-American border could be used in a potential terror attack against the US.

“Four pounds of anthrax carried in a suitcase this big,” he said, creating a small-looking suitcase with his hands, “carried by a fighter through tunnels from Mexico into the US, is guaranteed to kill 330,000 Americans within a single hour if it is properly spread in population centers there.”

According to Nafisi this scenario is possible and as a result there is no longer any need for attacks like 9/11 which, he said, would be “small change” in comparison to the attack he envisions.

“There is no need for airplanes, conspiracies, timings and so on. Just one person with courage to carry four pounds of anthrax will go to the White House lawn and will spread this confetti all over... it will turn into a real celebration,” he said at the conference, which was aired on Al- Jazeera television.

While it would have been easy to dismiss Nafisi as just another crazy anti- American radical, his scenario was carefully studied and deemed viable. Many security officials even took his remarks seriously.

One of them was Ronald K. Knoble, secretary-general of Interpol, who that month mentioned the speech in a letter he issued in commemoration of the first World Trade Center bombing which took place 16 years earlier.

“If we add to these global security gaps the devastation that could follow a nuclear or biological terrorist attack within the next five years... then we must conclude that now is no time for complacency,” Knoble wrote.

That part of the article puts forth the background - now to the ramifications of Iran's development of nuclear weapons:

THAT IS WHY when Israel thinks of a nuclear Iran, it is not just concerned about change in the balance of power in the region and the constant threat it will have to get used to living under – particularly due to the possibility, no matter how slim, that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will use his country’s newly-acquired bomb to do what he has called for and wipe it off the map.

It is more concerned, according to senior defense officials, with the threat of nuclear terrorism – the possibility that Iran will give a crude device, or dirty bomb, to one of its proxies. This way it will be able to maintain some level of deniability.

...the primary danger is that “a nuclear weapon will reach a terrorist group which will not hesitate to use it immediately. It will send it in a container with a GPS to a leading port in the US, Europe or Israel.”

According to Israeli assessments, if Iran achieves a nuclear weapon, its proxies will feel emboldened and empowered. It will basically make Hizbullah, Hamas and others, feel braver to be more daring in their own acts of aggression.

THIS ISSUE has been taboo for many years within the government and defense establishment.

Israel plans for this eventuality:

A few years later, a prestigious think tank convened a group of former senior IDF officers and diplomats to participate in a day of war games that broke new ground by assuming the existence of an Iranian bomb. Discomfort with the scenario prompted the Defense Ministry to cancel its participation.

The scenario played out involved an Iran which had already obtained a nuclear capability. Shortly after the announcement that Iran had gone nuclear, Hizbullah launched long-range missiles at Tel Aviv, striking the Defense Ministry and causing casualties and large-scale destruction. The next stage was that Israel and the US had obtained intelligence indicating Iran had transferred technology to Hizbullah which could be used to create a crude nuclear device.

Possibly of more concern for Israel is the nuclear arms race a nuclearized Iran will set off, turning the Middle East from an already volatile region to something of a nightmare. If Iran succeeds in defying the world and developing the bomb, then the Nonproliferation Treaty could completely collapse, paving the way for additional countries to develop nuclear weapons.

Countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan have already announced plans to engage in nuclear research, of course for energy purposes at this stage.

The BOTTOM LINE:

“Failure to stop Iran and North Korea could result in a cascade of proliferation,” Graham wrote early this year, “which would dramatically increase the likelihood of the use of weapons of mass destruction.”

In other words, if Iran achieves their dream of nuclear weaponry (which seems highly likely at this point) - then the ramifications are deep and far reaching, and go way beyond the destruction that Iran could create by themselves. Its another reason that Iran obtaining nukes OR Israel thwarting this development through military action (which would also trigger a cascade of subsequent events in the region) is so HUGE from a prophecy perspective.

Either scenario will trigger a long cascade of subsequent events, most of which would have prophetic implications.

And either scenario is coming to a rapid conclusion.

In the news

On a relatively slow news day we have a few interesting stories:

Reports: Russia successfully tests much-hyped ballistic missile

The Russian Navy on Friday successfully test fired its Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, the weapon the government hopes will be the future of its nuclear arsenal, Russian news agencies reported.

Russian officials billed Bulava as a new-generation weapon, capable of dodging any potential missile defences, thanks to its quick start and an ability to perform unusual manoeuvrs in flight.

As the tests drag on, the Russian navy has already commissioned the first of a new series of nuclear-powered submarines to be armed with the new missile.

Russian agencies reported that vessel would be the next platform to test the Bulava.
Several other such submarines are under construction, and officials have said they could not be adapted to carry another type of missile if the Bulava program fails.

The next story falls into the category of "You have to be kidding me".

Israel may lease east Jerusalem from a Palestinian State

Arab newspaper reports that US, Israel are discussing future borders; one option is leasing land from Palestinians for up to 99 years.

The US is negotiating the future borders of the Palestinian state with Israel, according to a report released by Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.

One option is reportedly that Israel would lease land in east Jerusalem from the Palestinian state for 40-99 years.

Palestinian sources confirmed to the paper that the US and Israel are discussing borders and settlements, but PA President Mahmoud Abbas does not yet know the details.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office refused to confirm or deny the reports, and State Department sources told the paper that Israel and the US are discussing matters "as a part of the the close relations between the two countries."

Asharq Al-Awsat also reported that Israel and the Palestinians discussed the option of leasing land in talks at Taba in 2001, but they discussed leasing for 6-9 years, and not 99.

Another persecution story:

Egyptian Christians in danger after allegedly allying with Israel

Unfortunately for Egypt’s 10 million Christians, they are the perfect scapegoat in an increasingly radicalized Muslim society.
To stir up the public against the Christians, Egyptian Muslim clerics and media outlets have circulated a claim that the nation’s Coptic Christian minority is importing weapons from Israel in preparation for an assault on Egypt’s Muslims

The claim originated on the pan-Arab satellite news network Al Jazeera, which ensured that just about every Egyptian Muslim, if not ever Middle East Muslim, was aware of the unfounded assertion that Egypt’s Christians were preparing for war with the aid of the hated “Zionist entity.”

Speaking on Al Jazeera on September 15, prominent Egyptian Muslim cleric Mohammed Salim al-Awwa declared that Egyptian Christians were “stocking arms and ammunition in their churches and monasteries - arms imported from Israel, no less, as Israel is at the heart of the Coptic Cause - and are preparing to wage war against Muslims.”

Since those reports first started circulating last month, the Barnabas Fund, an organization that provides assistance to persecuted Christian communities, says that at least 10 large Muslim demonstrations against Christians have taken place in Egypt.

At least one Muslim group is calling for a “bloodbath” to be perpetrated against the Christian minority.

Another Egyptian writer, Youssef Ibrahim, notes that “as part of the deal, Mubarak [also] agreed to feed Egypt’s Christians to the growing Islamic beast.”

Raymond Ibrahim concluded is piece by lamenting that “as Egypt reverts to its medieval character, the Copts find themselves again in a period of severe persecution.”

Tellingly, the international media has almost completely ignored this story, while not failing to provide prime headline real estate whenever Israeli Jews build a few houses that upset the Palestinian Arabs.

Israel being forced to give up Jerusalem. Persecution. Gog arming up. Sounds like another day of prophecy watching - even on a slow day.

PA to Declare Independent State: August 2011

This could represent very big news. In fact, if this is really planned (as opposed to the usual rhetoric), and supported by the UN, then it would represent a large piece of the puzzle.

First, we turn to the headline article:

Fayyad: PA will declare independent state in August 2011

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the PA will declare an independent Palestinian state in 2011, while picking olives with a reporter from Italian daily Corriere Della Sera, according to an interview published on Thursday.

"The deadline is next summer, when the Israeli occupation of the West Bank must end," Fayyad said. "In 2011, we will celebrate 66 years of the United Nations and the United Nations will celebrate the birth of our nation."

Fayyad added that the Palestinians "need to build national institutions in the West Bank and prepare for an independent Palestinian state."

"The people of Gaza must be involved in our national project," Fayyad explained. "There are gaps between us, it's true, but the real gap is the wall that closes off the Strip. Next week, I will try to enter Gaza," he added.

The Palestinian prime minister said that he will give Israel "one more year of grace...but these colonies can no longer be there. They are illegal everywhere; here and Jerusalem."

The last quote in the article holds particular interest:

On Tuesday, Fayyad went olive-picking with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry. Serry expressed his support for an declaration of Palestinian statehood by August 2011.

Will the UN really support this "unilateral" decision on the creation of a separate PA State, without Israel's consent? If the borders are drawn up as the PA has envisioned, then Israel would literally be divided with a "connecting strip" created linking the West Bank with Gaza. In the process, Jerusalem could be "moved" (Zechariah 12:3) by dividing it and the possibility that Jerusalem could become an "international city" also remains on the table.

How would Israel react to this?

We know that Israel will stand alone in these last days, so I wouldn't expect for them to have any countries supporting their opposition to "the nations" imposing new borders upon Israel and the creation of a PA state.

If this process does become reality, it will be a huge "game changer" in the region and one would expect some big events to follow.

Questions may include:

- Would THIS be the covenant which must be "confirmed" by the antichrist?
- Would violence/warfare ensue?
- Would THIS be the opportunity for the newly formed border control military force from the EU to step into the region?

Either way, it would most definitely stir things up in the Middle East - that powder keg that we watch so closely.

And it would only be in 10 months. Things are happening rapidly as we approach the Tribulation.


In other news, Joel Rosenberg weighs in regarding Iran's nuclear facility and Russian involvement in recent developments:

Tensions Rise As Russia and Iran Fuel Nuclear Reactor

Tensions are rising in the Middle East this week amidst several new and troubling developments.

First, “Iran began loading fuel into the core of its Bushehr nuclear reactor Tuesday morning, moving closer to the start-up of its first atomic plant,” reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “Iranian and Russian engineers started moving nuclear fuel into the main reactor building in August but a reported leak in a storage pool delayed injection of the fuel into the reactor.”

This is the latest evidence of the increasingly close strategic alliance between Russia and Iran. It is particularly concerning in light of the Iranian leaders’ belief in the imminent arrival of the Shia Islamic messiah known as the Twelfth Imam, and in light of the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and 39 — what is known as the War of Gog and Magog — which indicate that Russia and Iran will form an alliance against Israel in “the last days” of human history, before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Second, a new report in a French newspaper indicates that the Iran-backed Shia Muslim terrorist group Hezbollah now has some 40,000 rockets and missiles in southern Lebanon aimed at Israel in preparation for an apocalpytic war involving the Twelfth Imam.

Mr Rosenberg also weighs in on Israel's recent oil and gas finds:

Third, in an intriguing sign of good news, “a new preliminary geological survey indicates 26 million barrels of recoverable oil worth $2 billion may be sitting underneath the sandy soil in the area of two kibbutzim in the Western Negev, near Gaza,” says a new industry report. “Besides the estimates of oil at a depth of 2,000 meters, or approximately 1.25 miles, the preliminary survey also reports an additional estimate of 12 million barrels of recoverable oil at depths of up to 4,000 meters, worth $900 at current prices. The area is adjacent to the small Heletz oil field, which so far has produced more than 16 million barrels of oil. If the new field is drilled, it will be the first deep-well drilling in the area in decades.”

Meanwhile, off the coast of Haifa, an historic, $150 million drilling operation has begun to reach the massive natural gas fields discovered earlier this year. Some industry experts believe Israel will be energy independent in the next few years, and will become a net exporter of natural gas, most likely to markets in Europe.

Lars Larson had me on his nationally syndicated radio show last night to talk about the game-changing nature of such developments, and the possible prophetic nature of these oil and gas finds. He alerted me to an interesting blog that has been tracking such events over the past week. I confirmed for Lars that in the Old Testament there are several End Times prophecies that petroleum will be discovered in Israel in the last days...

I haven't been to that "interesting blog" yet (link provided above - it may be worth bookmarking) but this COULD be the "hook in the jaw" that pulls Russia into the epic war of "Gog-MaGog" described in Ezekiel 38-39. Russia deeply desires to be the main exporter of energy in the region, and these recent gas/oil finds in Israel threaten Russian plans.

For these reasons, any news relating to Israel's findings of gas and oil are of great interest to a prophecy watcher.
Just as any news relating to new borders for Israel and the creation of a PA State, without Israeli consent are of great interest.

There is never a dull moment in the Middle East as we approach the last days.

Small Pieces of the Puzzle?

Occasionally you run across stories that aren't dramatically striking, but somehow they strike you as interesting in the sense that they seem significant - but for no apparent reason. Maybe its because the story could be significant in the future - a future that you may not be part of. Maybe its just a feeling that comes from the Holy Spirit.

For whatever reason, this first story just seems very interesting, but I can't exactly say why. Is it because this could represent the seat of ultimate power in the future?

Ashton chooses 12-million-a-year EU headquarters

In addition to the two main EU buildings - the parliament building which was designed to look like the Tower of Babel, and the Council building which has the well-known large metallic sculpture of the "Woman on the Beast", we now have this building which will house the EU's new diplomatic service, also known as "The European External Action Service" [EEAS].

One could call it "The Foreign Policy" building. We just discussed the newly formed border control group, or Rabit-s, which will be sent to various places in order to control disputed or difficult to control borders link here. Now this:

"After consultations with member states, the European Parliament and the European Commission, the high representative/vice-president Catherine Ashton has decided that the European External Action Service should be housed in the so-called Axa/Triangle building as this proves to be the most cost-efficient and effective solution," her spokesman, Darren Ennis told this website on Wednesday (27 October).

The European External Action Service [EEAS] is to be formally launched on 1 December at a ceremony in the lobby of the Axa building, which is already home to the EU institutions' recruitment service, EPSO, and a handful of coffee and sandwich shops.

EUobserver understands that Ms Ashton aims to sign the contract in the coming weeks and to start moving in staff in early 2011 with a view to being fully installed by April.

EEAS secretary general, Pierre Vimont, will start work on the same day. Its budget and personnel chief, David O'Sullivan, will start on 15 November, but the pair will initially sit next to Ms Ashton's existing office on the 12th floor of the commission's headquarters, the Berlaymont building, across the road from the Axa bloc.

Perhaps this is unsettling because it formalizes the group who may ultimately be responsible for confirming a covenant in Israel and "securing" its borders. Perhaps this is unsettling because familiarity with prophecy gives us information on the horrors and bloodshed which will take place during the Tribulation and the draconian persecution of Christians and Jews. Will such decisions be made by this group from this location? Perhaps its unsettling because we are watching the growth of the end times Roman Empire, and we know exactly where it will lead - and it leads to a very dark place. Revelation 6-18 gives the full description of the nightmare known as the Tribulation.

Who knows.

Also of interest is yet another "rare" earthquake, or also known as an earthquake in a "diverse" place. We've already seen three unusual earthquakes in the heartland of America - and now this:

Rare earthquake in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta puzzles experts

It was a small earthquake, measuring just 3.1 on the Richter scale, but its location in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has experts buzzing.

The Oct. 15 quake was centered 7 miles northwest of Lathrop, on Union Island. No faults are known to exist in that area, where earthquakes are rare.

"It was a surprise to us," said Jack Boatwright, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park who is studying the quake. "There's something down there that we don't know about."

The temblor could offer new insights on safety issues in the Delta, where concerns about flood protection and water quality during a major quake have been growing. It is also a reminder that many mysteries lurk below ground – even in California, a nucleus of earthquake research.

Again, neither of these stories are dramatic or even headlines worthy - perhaps they are just small pieces to the large prophetic puzzle. But sometimes the Holy Spirit whispers softly, and this may be one of those occasions.

Pestilences

We know that pestilences would be newsworthy in these last days, as foretold by Jesus. Its one of the signs of this last generation.
Recently, pestilences have been very much in the news:

We've been following the outbreak of cholera in Haiti. This story is of interest, because if you recall, Jesus linked famine, pestilence earthquakes and warfare. Close observation of regions which have been ravaged by war reveals that the subsequent scenario is similar to the scenario seen after a large earthquake. In both scenarios we see people rendered homeless and we see refugee camps set up. Once this occurs, pestilences aren't far behind, due to poor living conditions and lack of sanitation. The cholera outbreak in Haiti is both predictable and prophetic:

Haiti cholera deaths slow, but spread still feared

Despite initial encouraging signs of a decrease in the week-old outbreak's lethality, Haitian and international health authorities warned they were still preparing for the deadly diarrheal disease to extend further before it was controlled.

"A nationwide outbreak with tens of thousands of cases is a real possibility," the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in a statement.

The cholera epidemic has rocked the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation with another emergency nine-and-a-half months after the Caribbean country suffered a catastrophic January 12 earthquake that killed more than a half a million people.

We also recall this recent story - one that has been appearing in various spots around the world and increasing - as the "superbugs" have been seen in a variety of regions:

New 'superbug' found in UK hospitals

A new superbug that is resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics has entered UK hospitals, experts warn.

They say bacteria that make an enzyme called NDM-1 have travelled back with NHS patients who went abroad to countries like India and Pakistan for treatments such as cosmetic surgery.

NDM-1 can exist inside different bacteria, like E.coli, and it makes them resistant to one of the most powerful groups of antibiotics - carbapenems.

These are generally reserved for use in emergencies and to combat hard-to-treat infections caused by other multi-resistant bacteria.

And experts fear NDM-1 could now jump to other strains of bacteria that are already resistant to many other antibiotics.

Ultimately, this could produce dangerous infections that would spread rapidly from person to person and be almost impossible to treat.

Now we see this:

Deadly superbug kills 18 in Brazil

An outbreak of deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Brazil has killed at least 18 people around its capital city, prompting hurried measures to keep the problem from spreading.

The outbreak in Brasilia of klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase, known as KPC, follows others in Israel in 2007 and in Puerto Rico in 2008, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

At least 183 people had been hospitalised with the infection by late last week, Brazil's national health agency said.

"There is no reason to panic, but there is a need for a call for action," said Denise Cardo, director of the division that monitors hospital infections at the CDC.

"We are seeing an increase in hospital infections in recent years and if health professionals don't take action now it will be harder and harder to contain them in the future."

Infections are hard to treat and are fatal in 40 per cent of cases, Ms Cardo said.

This story will not go away. As we progress towards the Tribulation, we'll continue to see more and more drug resistant bacterial infections. Because of modern-day travel in which people are transported rapidly around the world, the spread of all infections, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria will reach all ends of the earth. Like all other generational signs, this one will also be seen to increase just like birthpains increase in frequency and severity as the labor progresses. Its a sign of our times.

War Preparations: Hizbullah manning 40,000 missiles

That quote comes from an article in the Jerusalem Post:

Hizbullah has 10,000 operatives manning 40,000 missiles

A report in the French daily Le Figaro late Monday revealed new information on the military wing of Hizbullah's structural make-up, with details on the guerrilla group's 10,000 operatives and arsenal of some 40,000 rockets. The report also focused on Syria's role in Hizbullah operations, in both manufacture and transportation of rockets.

According to the Le Figaro report, which quoted anonymous officials in the French Defense Ministry and Western intelligence sources, Hizbullah has three units dedicated to the transportation and maintenance of its rocket arsenal.

It doesn't take long to see Syrian involvement:

The unit responsible for transporting weapons from Damascus, Unit 108, received a delivery of Syrian missiles headed to Lebanon in January last year, according to Le Figaro. The shipment, which was apparently spotted by US military intelligence, was said to have contained 26 M-6002 missiles with a range of 250km.

Unit 108's main barracks are located near Syria's border with Lebanon, in the Shi'ite town of Doma, the report added, with operatives also positioned within Damascus. The unit has another base next to Damascus Airport, which is vital for the handling of weapon shipments from Iran - Hizbullah's main backer.

The Le Figaro report also revealed that Unit 112 is in charge of transporting missiles, usually by night and towards the end of the month. The weapons are moved using trucks with false number plates, according to the report.

Hizbullah's Unit 100 reportedly deals with deployment and training, and making sure the missiles reach their final destinations, in various camps located within 150km from Israel's northern border. As has been widely reported, Le Figaro noted that Iranian officers are responsible for training Hizbullah guerrilla fighters.

The report stressed that Hizbullah has now strategically based itself in Syria, and quoted military experts' speculation that manufacture of Iranian missiles is now being handled in Syria, for ease of transport.

Also see:

Syria helped Hezbollah amass some 40,000 missiles

These missiles will be used against Israel, unless somehow Israel manages to destroy them first. Its just a matter of time, as the build-up to war continues.

If Iran Gets the Bomb

Martin Kramer is a fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, the Washington Institute for Neat East Policy, and a visiting scholar at Harvard University. He is the author of "Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America".

The following article which is based on an interview with Mr. Kramer, gives a deep, detailed analysis of Iran and their influence in the Middle East. The entire article is worth reading, as there is a lot of useful and germane information, but here are a few quotes:

If Iran Gets the Bomb

I sought out Martin Kramer in Jerusalem because I knew he would give me an analysis well outside the box on Iranian nuclear weapons. He’s a scholar, not a politician or pundit. And while he certainly has his opinions, he doesn’t conveniently fit into anyone’s ideological category.

I was not disappointed, and I don’t think you will be either. What he has to say is different from anything you’ve read from anyone in the media, including me.


MJT: What do you think Iran would actually do with a nuclear bomb?

Martin Kramer: The Iranians have a structural interest in creating doubt and uncertainty in the Persian Gulf. They have a larger population than any other Gulf state, and they don’t have the share of oil resources that Saudi Arabia has. So their first objective would be to create a climate of uncertainty.

Now, the Persian Gulf has been — since the United States took over from the British — a zone that is essentially under an American security umbrella. It is as crucial to American security as Lake Michigan.

MJT: You’re talking about the Arabs here.

Martin Kramer: Yes, the Arabs. And this creates a dynamic where if Iran also has nuclear weapons they will increasingly hedge. Things they allow Americans now — such as basing rights for operations in the Persian Gulf and beyond — will become more and more difficult to negotiate if Iran opposes them. So we would see an erosion of the American position in the Persian Gulf.

I think Iran is a lot less interested in justice for the Palestinians than in establishing their command over the gulf they call Persian.

A nuclear Iran would create strategic calculations for Jerusalem that weren’t there before. There were always other strategic calculations for Jerusalem, but this would create a powerful new one. What would the Israelis and Palestinians discuss at the table once that became a factor?

Linkage is a big issue, but there’s a debate over which way linkage runs. Some say a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would make it much easier for the United States to deal with Iran. But I think the absence of a solution to the Iranian nuclear dilemma places a high premium on Israel holding if not the totality of the occupied territories, at least a sizable bit of real estate around Jerusalem as a strategic reserve.

I say this as someone who has always believed there would be some way to compromise over Jerusalem, but when I see the prospect of a nuclear Iran on the horizon threatening Israel, I say to myself that I want as many of Israel’s strategic, demographic, industrial, and technological assets in and around the city as possible.

There are many different questions and answers in this article and they are all interesting. This article also underscores just how volatile the region is, and how deep and complex the political maneuverings are at all times. Its not surprising that it will take someone like the antichrist to finally confirm a covenant in the region - even though it will end up being just a temporary fix.

EU to deploy "Border Patrols"

As mentioned before, I have always felt that the covenant of Daniel 9:27, which is "confirmed" by the antichrist, will involve some kind of "peace-keeping" military forces in order to make the covenant hold. The basis for this is simply the fact that previous attempts at peace deals in the Middle East rapidly dissolved as violence ensued.

The only way to "confirm" any peace deal will be to have some kind of international border control forces in the region. This leads to the obvious conclusion that the antichrist will somehow preside over such forces. Combining that with the fact that the antichrist will arise from the revived Roman Empire (once it morphs into the 10 Kings phase) - then any time we see the EU begin to send "border patrols" into a region is highly interesting.

Now we see the beginnings of this process:

EU to deploy armed patrols at Greek-Turkish border

The EU is to deploy border patrols in Greece in a bid to stop the increasingly high numbers of irregular migrants crossing over from Turkey, days after Athens was criticised by the United Nations over its "appalling" conditions for detainees.

Following a request from the Greek government, the EU will deploy its Rapid Border Intervention Teams (Rabit-s) for the first time since their creation in 2007.

"Rapid Border Intervention Teams" ? This is a new one. Created in 2007? Deployed "for the first time"?

I believe this is highly significant. First of all, the EU very quietly formed these so-called "teams" - very much under the radar. That is interesting. Secondly, could these forces be called upon to keep border control over newly formed borders in Israel and a Palestinian state?

Drawn from the member states' "national reserve" put at the disposal of Frontex, the EU's border control agency, the Rabit-s are mandated to observe national and EU law and will be embedded with Greek border patrols.

The Rabit-s have authorisation to access Greek databases and "when necessary, use force." They are authorised to carry their service weapons and national uniform, but will wear a blue armband with the EU and Frontex logo.

Ms Malmstrom said that she expected "proper assistance to be given to all person crossing the border and that the request for international protection will be considered, in full compliance with EU and international standards."

It gets better. Now we see that the UN called for the use of these forces. Wow:

Last week, the United Nations also called on the EU to do more to lighten the migrant burden on Greece, which it said has "catastrophic" conditions for detainees.

In 2008, 50 percent of irregular migrants arrested in the EU were detained in Greek prisons, but in the first eight months of 2010 the figure rose to 90 percent, the UN said. The detention conditions, as described by UN's special investigator on torture and cruel treatment, are "inhuman and degrading ... appalling ... dysfunctional."

So now we have established a precedent for the UN calling upon the EU to provide border control in a questionable region.

This is a first and it is highly significant - not only on a symbolic basis, but on a practical basis.

Is this foreshadowing of the future?
Could the UN call upon EU peacekeeping forces in and around Israel?

This scenario seems highly likely. And if this DOES happen, we need to watch VERY CLOSELY who would lead such forces from the EU - or who would be responsible for making such an agreement. After all, this may be the mechanism of "confirming the covenant" as called for, by the antichrist in Daniel's prophecy.

More "road paving" for the prophetic future. If this exercise is successful, it will become a model for future border disputes - you can bet on that. And we know that the ultimate border dispute will be in Israel.

Indonesia: Quakes - Tsunami - Volcano

Earthquakes continue to make the news; this time in Indonesia. It was large - a 7.7 and it triggered a deadly tsunami - all while a threatening volcano simmers:

At least 40 dead, 380 missing after Indonesia Quake

At least 40 people were killed and 380 others were left missing after 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian officials said Tuesday.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake generated a "significant" tsunami. Although communication with remote areas was difficult, witnesses in west Sumatra reported seeing a 6-meter (18-foot) high wave. One representative said at least one village with a population of about 200 people was swept away, with only 40 people recovered.

The numbers were in flux because information was trickling in from remote parts of Indonesia, a country made up of myriad islands.

Tsunami hits Indonesia

The 7.5 magnitude quake hit 78 km west of South Pagai in the Mentawai islands late Monday and destroyed most buildings in the coastal village of Betu Monga, said Hardimansyah, an official with the regional branch of the Department of Fisheries.

"Of the 200 people living in that village, only 40 have been found. 160 are still missing, mostly women and children," he told Reuters by phone.

"We have people reporting to the security post here that they could not hold onto their children, that they were swept away. A lot of people are crying."

Indonesia to evacuate thousands as volcano simmers

Authorities will evacuate more than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano near Yogyakarta on Java after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level, officials said.

Indonesia's vulcanology and geological disaster mitigation center raised the volcano's alert status to the highest alert level Monday, agency head Surono told Reuters.

"We recommended evacuation for people living on the slopes, especially the southern, southeastern and eastern slopes," Surono said.

He added the mountain had already released twice as much energy in recent days than in recent eruptions.

When I read of a tsunami, following an earthquake, I always recall the scriptures:

"On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea" (Luke 21:25)

Just as Jesus warned, earthquakes would be noteworthy in these last days, and they certainly are.

In the news

After a slow weekend, there are several stories surfacing this morning in prophecy related news:

1. Another unusual earthquake in the middle of America. This makes the third such quake over the last three weeks:

Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake Hits Northwest Wyoming

2. It looks like this coming winter could be very very cold:

The Super La Nina and the Coming Winter

La Nina is the lesser-known colder sister of El Nino. La Nina chills the waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean, and in turn cools the entire planet for one to two years or more. This chilling has the potential to bring bone-numbing cold to many parts of the world for this and the following winter. As a result, world energy demand may spike in the next one to two years as much colder weather hits many of the major industrial nations.

This La Nina appears to be special, at least so far. It is well on its way to being the strongest of these events since the super La Nina of 1955-1956. During that powerful La Nina that lasted two years, the global average temperature fell nearly one degree Fahrenheit from 1953 to 1956.

3. More mortars are being launched from Gaza into Israel (more proof that the "land for peace" deal isn't working out so well):

Palestinians fire 5 mortar shells from Gaza

The attacks came after three mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel exploded on Sunday evening, with one landing in an open field in the Eshkol Regional Council. The other two exploded in Gaza.

4. Israel prepares for the worst case scenario:

Lieberman orders 'day after' plans for tackling nuclear Iran

Hardline Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has commissioned a report on how to prepare for a nuclear-armed Iran as doubt mounts about the efficacy of preventive action, an Israeli source said on Monday.

In a sign the government is examining a full range of options, Lieberman, the most hawkish member of Netanyahu's coalition, has ordered ministry strategists to draft a paper on "what to do if we wake up and discover the Iranians have a nuclear weapon", said the senior Israeli political source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Another interesting quote was inserted into this article:

Foreign Ministry planners are also preparing a report on possible responses should the Palestinians unilaterally declare a state taking in all of the occupied West Bank, where continued Israeli settlement has bogged down U.S.-sponsored peace efforts.

Now that is something I would like to see. How exactly would Israel respond if the "world's nations", or the "international community" determined that they would impose a Palestinian state and include new israel borders without any agreement by Israel?

More on this topic here:

Israel FM drafts response to unilateral Palestinian state

5. Israel is now being blamed for the missile site explosion in Iran:

Report: Israel planned explosion at Iranian missile site

An explosion that killed 18 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on October 12 was ordered by the Mossad, French newspaper Le Figaro suggested on Monday. Another cause for the blast mentioned by the paper was a targeted Israeli air raid.

Le Figaro also alleged that the explosion occurred at a secret missile site for the long-range Shahab-3, capable of being modified to carry a nuclear payload and striking Israel.

Mossad behind Iranian military base blast

The French newspaper said the blast proved to be a serious blow to Iran's ability to defend its sensitive security installations, further weakening its ability to defend its nuclear facilities in case of an attack.

It is amazing that Israel has the capability to somehow reach deep into Iranian territory - to a site embedded in the mountains - and actually manage to destroy part or all of this facility. It is hard to imagine any other group or nation as having the desire or the capability to accomplish something like this. Tt also serves as a testimony as to how serious this situation is to Israel and their very survival. One has to wonder what else is on the horizon as Iran reaches nuclear weapons capability.

Worth Repeating

The facts around Israel and the so-called "occupation" are difficult to find, as the MSM typically distorts the truth and often simply lies about Israeli land issues.

This article speaks the truth and it is well worth reading:

UN again misrepresents international law in criticism of Israel

Oscar Fernandez Taranco, assistant UN secretary general for political affairs on Monday repeated the propagandist assertion that the building of homes for Jews in areas claimed by the Palestinian areas is a violation of international law.

Taranco was responding to Israel’s approval of a mere 240 apartments in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev.
Calling such construction a violation of international law has for the past few decades been a favorite tactic of Israel’s detractors. In effect, it paints Israel as an international criminal, thereby excusing or justifying any wrong-doing by the other side, and putting permanent blame on Israel for the shortcomings of the peace process.


But is Taranco’s assertion accurate? Is Israel really violating written-in-stone laws by letting Jews build homes in areas claimed by the Palestinian Arabs?

Now, lets move on to the T-R-U-T-H of this situation.

The reality is that no law has ever been passed by the UN or anyone else prohibiting Israel to build homes for Jews in Judea, Samaria, Gaza or the eastern half of Jerusalem. Sure, the UN has on numerous occasions complained about and demanded that Israel stop building such homes, but those complaints and demands do not constitute law.

The Arabs like to hold up UN Security Council Resolution 242 as justification for claims that Israel is breaking the law. But 242, written in the wake of the 1967 Six Day War, recognized that Israel was the one that had been attacked, and called on the Jewish state to give up some of the territories, not all of the territories, it had taken in the war for the sake of peace.

Lord Caradon, Britain’s delegate to the UN in the 1960s and one of the authors of 242, stated after the fact, “We didn’t say there should be a withdrawal to the ‘67 line; we did not put the ‘the’ in, we did not say ‘all’ the territories deliberately.”

In fact, Lord Caradon said that it would be “insanity” for Israel to ever give up the entirety of what is commonly known as the “West Bank.”

During the late 1960s and the subsequent decade or two that was the prevailing international attitude - that it would be prudent for Israel to make certain land concessions for a lasting peace, but that it certainly was not illegal for Israel to be in or build in Judea and Samaria.

Since the 242 argument clearly doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny, the Arabs and Israel’s other detractors like to fall back on the Fourth Geneva Convention, penned after World War II to govern the treatment of occupied populations in future conflicts.

Article 49 of the convention, the one cited by Israel’s aforementioned critics, prohibits the “mass forcible transfer” of protected civilian populations. It also prohibits the transfer of the occupying power’s own citizens into occupied territories.

Morris Abram, former US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, who was present at the Nuremberg trials when the Fourth Geneva Convention was being hammered out and insists he is well familiar with the “legislative intent” of the document, says it applies to forcible transfers in sovereign territory, and therefore cannot be applied to Israeli settlements.

The 1922 British Mandate for Palestine, the basis of which was first formulated by the League of Nations two years earlier in San Remo, clearly recognizes the Jewish claim to sovereignty over these territories.

That document was and still is legally binding. And it was again ratified when the League of Nations morphed into the United Nations. So, it is a law that has been twice affirmed by the international community. In other words, it is international law. And it has never been overturned.

The fact of the matter is that Taranco and others are actually violating international law by denying Jews the right to build in these areas.

One may not like these facts, but facts are facts, and the truth is the truth. These facts may not fit into the "main stream" discourse, and these facts may not be politically convenient - but these are still the facts about Israel and their sovereign land.

Unfortunately, in the world we are living in these days, facts and the truth simply don't matter a whole lot.

10 Questions: The Twelfth Imam and Shia End Times

Joel Rosenberg has posted an excellent question & answer session on his website and it contains some very good information that may be of interest:

10 Questions on the Twelfth Imam and Shia Islamic End Times Theology

Here are a few samples of his answers (the entire article is worth reading) in the order in which they appear:

1. We are living on the brink of the apocalypse, but the world is asleep. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in July that he actually met with the Shia Islamic messiah, known as the Twelfth Imam. Few know that happened. Fewer still know what that means. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his government’s mission is to hasten the appearance of the Twelfth Imam on earth. What’s so dangerous is that in the Shia Islamic eschatology – or End Times theology – of these two men, they believe that their God-given mission in life is to destroy Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it, in order to accelerate the arrival of their so-called messiah to earth. Given their feverish efforts to build nuclear weapons, this is very dangerous stuff. The problem is that most world leaders aren’t paying attention to the eschatology driving Iranian foreign policy.

2.The Twelfth Imam was a real, flesh-and-blood person who lived during the ninth century AD. Like the eleven Shia religious leaders who went before him, he was an Arab male who, as a direct descendent of the founder of Islam, was thought to have been divinely chosen to be the spiritual guide and ultimate human authority of the Muslim people. His name was Muhammad Ibn Hasan Ibn Ali. It is generally believed by Shias that he was born in Samarra, Iraq, in AD 868, though few details of his brief life are certain or free from controversy. Sunnis, for example, believe he was born later. Before he could reach an age of maturity, when he could teach and counsel the Muslim world as was believed to be his destiny, Ali vanished from human society. Some say he was four years old, while others say five and some say six. Some believe he fell into a well in Samarra but his body was never recovered. Others believe the Mahdi’s mother placed him in the well to prevent the evil rulers of the time from finding him, capturing him, and killing him—and that little Ali subsequently became supernaturally invisible. This is where the term “Hidden Imam” is derived, as Shias believe that Ali is not dead but has simply been hidden from the sight of mankind—Shias refer to this as “occultation”—until the End of Days, when Allah will reveal him once again.

3.... the Twelfth Imam is a recipe for wars of annihilation against Israel, and then against the U.S.

4. Ahmadinejad campaigned for Mayor promising to prepare the way for the coming of the Twelfth Imam, but most of his significant accomplishments occurred after coming to power as President in the summer of 2005. He has spent millions to build roads leading to the Jamkaran Mosque, where the Twelfth Imam reportedly once appeared to a farmer and told him to build a mosque and intimated that he might return there one day to a well in the courtyard. Not all Shias believe this so-called messiah will return there, but Ahmadinejad does. As a result, millions of Shias have visited the mosque and like to write prayers and toss them down the well, hoping they are heard and answered.

5. The Twelfth Imam, should he actually come, will be a false messiah. True followers of Jesus Christ should never welcome agents of deception. That said, Jesus Christ warned three times in Matthew chapter 24 that we should expect many false messiahs to come in the last days of history and to deceive many. Shia “Twelvers” do believe that Jesus is coming back at the end of time, but they believe that Jesus is not the Savior, Messiah and Lord of the universe. They believe Jesus will be the Twelfth Imam’s deputy, and will force all Jews and Christians to convert to Shia Islam, or perish. Nothing could be further from the truth.

6. Based on the End Times theology of the current Iranian regime, and their publicly stated intentions of annihilating the U.S. and Israel (which I documented in my non-fiction book last year, Inside The Revolution), I have absolutely no doubt that Tehran will use nuclear weapons to destroy Judeo-Christian civilization once they have such weapons. They may use them directly, and/or they may give such weapons to terror groups such as Hezbollah, al Qaeda, Hamas or others to be used against American and Israeli targets. Worse, how do you successfully negotiate with, deter or contain someone who believes it is his God-given mission in life to annihilate you in order to bring about his messiah?

7. Much tougher sanctions along the lines of a quarantine or blockade of Iran could bring the country economically to its knees and trigger a coup. But that might not be enough. What if the new leaders are equally aggressive? Covert operations are having some effect, such as the kidnapping of Iranian nuclear scientists, the persuasion of others to defect, and the computer virus that is attacking Iranian industrial computer systems at the moment. But we are fast running out of time.

8. The Obama administration is highly unlikely to use military force to stop Iran from getting the Bomb, and all Iranians know it. After all, the President is doing everything he can to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq and Afghanistan as rapidly as possible. American are growing increasingly uneasy with the President’s approach, and they are right to be concerned. He doesn’t understand the gravity of the threat of Radical Islam, and he is making us and our allies increasingly vulnerable to new and devastating attacks. NATO won’t lead. The EU won’t lead. The UN won’t lead. So who will? All eyes are turning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Question/answer 9 and 10 involved his new book, so these weren't included; they are found in the main link given above.

The truth and the reality of what we are dealing with, in terms of Iran's leadership and their false end-times beliefs is very sobering. It is important to realize what is driving their policy, particularly as directed against Israel. We have to understand that in dealing with Iran and their increasing influence in the Middle East, we aren't seeing the usual political games - this is a religious war that is being planned, and the usual "rules" don't count for much. This scenario far exceeds anything we have seen in world politics before and that includes Hitler's bloody reign.

Mr Rosenberg also said the following, and this is worth remembering in the coming weeks:

I can tell you for a fact that Netanyahu doesn’t want war. He doesn’t seek it. He has supported sanctions and even the President’s efforts at engaging Iran diplomatically. He’s exhausting every option short of overt war. But I can also tell you for a fact that Netanyahu refuses to preside over a Second Holocaust. If the world doesn’t move decisively in late 2010 and 2011, I think we’re looking at a major war in the region in the next few years. It may be a nightmare, and set the whole region on fire. It might send oil prices skyrocketing, and anti-Semitism skyrocketing worldwide, as well. But what other choice would Netanyahu have, if the world does nothing to stop Khamenei and Ahmadinejad in the 21st century, as it did nothing to stop Hitler in the 20th century?

As we have been for many months - we still remain just on the brink of apocalyptic war in the Middle East. It will happen only according to God's plan, at God's timing. Whether the Church is here or not at that time, is perhaps the most interesting question to ponder. I don't believe so - but that too is in God's hands.

But one thing is certain - it is coming, and most likely it is coming soon.

More News

There are several interesting stories in the news today:

I have to be honest: This guy scares the heck out of me, and I am beginning to believe that with his vast money/resources and his desire to directly influence world wide politics and the world wide financial scenario - perhaps he will play a role in end times prophecy:

All the News That Fits Soros' Agenda

Are three liberal billionaires trying to control what we think of as news in America?

Hedge fund billionaire George Soros, the sugar daddy of the Democratic Party, has given NPR an initial grant of $1.8 million dollars to begin a project called Impact of Government that will allow NPR to hire 100 journalists at NPR member stations in all 50 states.

At the same time, Soros sends a million dollars to Media Matters, a leftist "media monitoring" group that sends out barrages of criticism whenever a news outlet (especially Fox News) reports news that does not fit Media Matters' liberal agenda. Media Matters tries to chill free speech and censor conservatives.

What has not drawn any attention is that his political allies, Herb and Marion Sandler (billionaire profiteers from the Savings and Loan crisis -- one more thing they have in common with George Soros), founded a group called Pro Publica, that has the same purpose as this new effort by George Soros (see How Allies of George Soros helped bring down Wachovia Bank and "The Sandlers, Soros and Marcellus Shale reserves")

The Sandlers and Soros also co-founded the liberal think-tank Center for American Progress ("The Democratic Idea Factory"). The Center for American Progress also has a media agenda: its "experts" are often quoted by newspapers across America as if they were independent, neutral experts; their ties to liberal billionaires are never mentioned.

One of the "arms" of the Center for American progress is called "Think Progress," and this was the source, the Ground Zero, of the agitprop regarding The Chamber of Commerce ads being funded by foreign money. This absurd charge (ridiculed by even the New York Times) was fanned by Barack Obama, Robert Gibbs, and Democrat politicians running for office across America.

Will Soros and the Sandlers try to leverage their generosity to journalists in a way to influence reporting on state politics so that Democrats friendly to them and their agenda are elected as Secretaries of States? Will they use their leverage to make sure that the various states endowed with vast reserves of shale gas are prevented from tapping these resources? (This agenda seems to be of particular import to Pro Publica.)

There is much much more to the "Soros story", and it is worth covering. This article just covers one tiny aspect of Mr Soros' influence (in this case, the media). From viewing his influences in the media - his influences in world wide finances, and his covert power base - George Soros may be one of the most powerful figures in the world today, and his agenda and his movements are definitely worth watching very closely.

One more note about Soros. I personally don't believe that his "liberal agenda" is the definitive part of his influence and power. I believe his goals and ambitions far exceed the simple liberal-conservative battle that we are used to seeing. In other words, the Soros agenda is much deeper and much more sinister than simple politics as we are used to seeing. It hasn't been completely revealed yet, but Soros is up to something and whatever it is seems very "covert" and one can only imagine what it may be. But it is undeniable that Mr Soros HAS an agenda, and it definitely involves, at a minimum, manipulation of world wide finances and world wide governance. The details haven't been revealed yet - but they definitely exceed the simple political agenda as we know it.

Now we turn to the EU (aka "The Revived Roman Empire") and watch their new developments:

EU - The Unrepresentative Union

We've already seen the new taxation scheme that will be imposed, now this:

It is something of a paradox that the European Parliament, despite being directly elected, is often the most unrepresentative institution in an Unrepresentative Union.

The decision by MEPs on Wednesday to increase the EU’s budget by six per cent on 2010, or by three per cent on Council’s July budget is a sign of an institution that is independent of politics as it is currently being played out across Europe.

Statements by Jerzy Buzek, the parliament’s president, that cuts are “populist” and that the increased budget was needed “in order to meet the ambitions set out in the Lisbon Treaty” add insult to injury by reinforcing the impression that MEPs live in a different world to the rest of us.

Most voters, almost 100 per cent certainly, if they were given a choice between cutting back at the EU level rather than by slashing national public spending, would swing the axe in the direction of Brussels. Should the parliament really be completely independent of those kinds of choices?

Included in the parliament’s budget demands is a staffing increase of 388 posts to swell the ranks of the 6,166 civil servants who vastly outnumber the 736 MEPs and give the institution its mind-numbingly bureaucratic character.

These next quotes are quite ominous, and set a very "prophetic tone" in terns of what we know about the Roman Empire of our age, and how it will evolve:

So why is the parliament so unrepresentative, or so independent, both of voters and political developments across Europe? The problem goes to the heart of what the EU and its tame assembly is all about.

The EU has evolved as a means of taking politics out of the public realm and removing it to a “rules based” domain from which decisions are transmitted to voters after they have been taken. I have written much more about how this works here.

“How can this be sold to the public?,” is a question often asked in the dreary Brussels meeting rooms and offices, naturally there is a burgeoning publicly funded “communications” industry to fill the need. The question hits the nail on the head, EU decisions have to be “sold” to voters because the institutions that take them, in a public free zone, are unrepresentative.

Like the EU, the parliament has evolved out of administrative arrangements that have tended towards convenience for Europe’s elites not from the expression of popular movements. Its antecedents and contemporary role are more about cloaking the EU consensus making behind closed doors in legitimacy (and not even doing that well) than anything else.

Euro-MPs of all the main European political parties reflect this development showing, more often than not, signs of a slavish support for the EU. Most MEPs see their primary role as upholding the treaty – never mind those dodged referendums or ignored popular votes. The parliament does not see its role as representing the public.

At the same time, we are watching the "Foreign Policy" arm of the EU grow in leaps and bounds - this too should be interesting for a prophecy watcher:

Full Speed Ahead on EU Diplomacy After Strasbourg Vote

The European Parliament on Wednesday (20 October) adopted by a crushing majority new budgetary and staff regulations for the European External Action Service (EEAS), clearing the last legal hurdle for the launch of the new institution.

"It's a historic vote. We're all one happy family now," an official in the entourage of EEAS chief Catherine Ashton told EUobserver.

EU foreign ministers are set to approve the parliament decision when they meet in Brussels on Monday. Ms Ashton is then expected to name people for the three or four top posts in her service on Tuesday or Wednesday. Another 100 or so senior posts remain to be filled by the end of the year.

Ms Ashton is also close to a compromise with the parliament's foreign affairs committee on hearings for new EEAS ambassadors. The diplomats are likely to face parliament questions in early December, after receiving full accreditation from host countries.

Ms Ashton wants the hearings to be held mostly behind closed doors. Following the vote on Wednesday, the foreign affairs MEPs have little leverage to use against her.

Ideas on what the EEAS should actually do in the coming years are still evolving.

German Green MEP Franziska Brantner on Wednesday urged Ms Ashton to specialise in conflict prevention. "What Europe needs are crisis management and mediation experts rather than an unwieldy service of high-salaried diplomats," she said in a statement.

Hmmm. This is very interesting on many levels. First of all, is it just me, or are more and more "decisions" made by the EU, being done "behind closed doors", as the article states? This seems to be an international trend, not only regarding the EU, but groups such as the G20, who are making world wide financial decisions "behind closed doors".

Additionally, I find it somewhat chilling, that the group's mandate will be "conflict prevention". Could this be the group who resides in Israel in a post-agreement "covenant confirmation"? Hmmm....More food for thought.

Also from the EU:

EU Atheist-Freemason Summit 'Very Odd' says Europe's Chief Unbeliever

The first ever summit between representatives of secularist, atheist and masonic organisations and the leaders of the European Union's three main institutions was "very odd," Europe's top unbeliever has said.

On Friday (15 October), leaders from what the European Commission describes as "philosophical non-confessional organisations" met with the presidents of the European Commission, Parliament and Council to discuss their views on poverty and social exclusion. The first meeting of its kind, it is the secular counterpart to the summits the three institutions are now obliged by the Lisbon Treaty to regularly have with religious leaders.

The group has opposed the Lisbon Treaty's institutionalisation of religious consultation, but: "As the treaty has passed, this can't be undone, and the churches have this ready access at the most senior level, so it is important that we take part in order to make the counterargument."

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, a devout Catholic, said after the meeting: "We acknowledged the experience of humanist and philosophical leaders when dealing with this challenge [poverty]. I look forward to further strengthening this dialogue."

One in three Europeans have no religion, according to the European Humanist Federation.

This post is getting too long already.

Here are additional articles that may be of interest to a prophecy watcher:

US deploys second air carrier in Persian Gulf with 60 warplanes

First joint Saudi-Egyptian maneuver ever was geared to Iranian threat

Anti-Israel Conference in Montreal

Should the Settlements Be so Vital to the Peace Process?

More Quakes

A big, 6.9 quake was reported yesterday in California (don't forget about the unusual quakes that were seen last week in the midwest):

6.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits California

A powerful earthquake Monday shook fishing villages along Mexico's Gulf of California and prompted alarm as far away as Phoenix, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The U.S. National Earthquake Information Center said the 6.9-magnitude quake struck at 12:59 p.m. (1:59 EDT, 17:59 GMT) and was centered 76 miles north-northeast of Santa Isabel in Baja California and 331 miles southeast of the border city of Tijuana.

It was the strongest of four quakes of 5.0-magnitude or greater that struck the area over a 45-minute period late Monday morning.

The quake was also felt in San Diego, where city employees left an 18-story downtown tower that houses the city attorney and other departments.

"Employees heard and felt some shaking and rattling," said Darren Pudgil, a spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders. "I'm told 40 to 50 people left the building but have since returned."

Gina Coburn, a spokeswoman for the city attorney's office, sought safety in a doorway of her 16th-floor office and thought briefly about leaving the building.

6.9 Quake Hits Gulf of California

The fault system that produced the quake is likely linked to faults to the north that caused a large amount of earthquake activity in northern Mexico and Southern California earlier this year, said U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Bob Dollar.

The world wide map may be worth visiting over the next few days

Earthquakes

Of course the news of the say was the magnitude 6.7 quake in Mexico:

Magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits northern Mexico

A powerful earthquake struck offshore in Mexico's Gulf of California on Thursday, causing people to flee into the streets in the western state of Sinaloa, but there were no reports of damage or injury.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the magnitude of the quake as 6.9, but later in the day revised it to 6.7. It hit at 11:53 a.m. (1:53 p.m. EDT, 1753 GMT).

The same region was hit by three moderately powerful earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 5.5 to 5.8 Tuesday night and early Wednesday, but they caused no known damage.

Its always a good idea to check out the Worldwide Earthquake Map and today it looks very active. There were several large quakes in Chile, Philippines, Fiji Islands, and surrounding regions. Maybe earthquakes are about to make their presence known again. We'll see.

In the news

Once again, we see the words "New World Order":

Iran, Venezuela leaders seek 'new world order'

The leaders of Iran and Venezuela hailed what they called their strong strategic relationship on Wednesday, saying they are united in efforts to establish a "new world order" that will eliminate Western dominance over global affairs.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and visiting Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, watched as officials from both countries signed 11 agreements promoting cooperation in areas including oil, natural gas, textiles, trade and public housing.

Iran's state TV quoted both Ahmadinejad and Chavez as calling their relationship a "strategic alliance" that would eliminate the current global order.

Iran has become the closest Middle East ally to Chavez's government as the left-leaning leader has sought to build international alliances to counter what he sees as U.S. economic and political dominance.

Construction begins on 544 West Bank homes

Settlers have begun building new homes at an extraordinary pace since the government lifted its moratorium on West Bank housing starts — almost 550 in three weeks, more than four times faster than the last two years.

And many homes are going up in areas that under practically any peace scenario would become part of a Palestinian state, a trend that could doom US-brokered peace talks.

"This figure is alarming and is another indicator that Israel is not serious about the peace process, which is supposed to be about ending the occupation," said Ghassan Khatib, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' self-rule government in the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has played down the new construction, saying it "has no real effect on the map of a possible (peace) agreement."

Still, the scale of the construction is likely to harden Palestinian demands that a settlement freeze be reimposed as a condition for proceeding with the talks. Efforts by the United States to coax Israel into another building slowdown have so far failed.

One of the new building sites is in Karmei Tzur, a settlement with about 135 families located on the "Palestinian side" of the planned route of Israel's West Bank separation barrier, seen by some in Israel as the basis for drawing Israel's future border.

Nearly 300,000 settlers now live in the West Bank, along with 2.2 million Palestinians. Settlers have covered the territory — captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem — with an increasingly intricate web of established communities and nearly 100 unauthorized hilltop outposts.

The next article reveals how the EU is beginning the process of having direct taxes levied on the citizens of the EU. This is just the beginning. The thought that occurs is this: If 27 nations can be consolidated under a single government and those citizens taxes - is it REALLY a stretch to see this occurring on a world-wide basis?

EU seeks to levy taxes on Europeans to replace national contributions

The EU executive made its case today for a new system of European taxation to streamline and underpin Brussels' budget, replacing the contentious regime of national contributions as the basis for EU funding.

In the opening salvo of what promises to be a bruising, two-year battle to set EU spending up to 2020, the European commission argued for a phased end to, or reduction of, national contributions and the introduction of new budgets based on "own resources", tax revenue directly levied by Brussels.

The new system could involve a dedicated European VAT rate, with the money raised going to Brussels, as well as EU taxes on air travel, carbon emissions, banks or financial market transactions.

"The current system of EU financing has evolved piecemeal into a confusing and opaque mix of contributions from national budgets, corrections and rebates," the commission said. "A fresh look is essential, to re-align EU financing with principles of autonomy, transparency and fairness."

It really is amazing to sit back and view the EU's "progress" - the largest consolidation of nations seen in the world to date - and foreshadowing of what is to come for the entire world. One can watch the EU and get a feel for what is coming soon for all nations. The citizens in these various countries have lost the vast majority of their ability to influence these decisions, much less make a direct vote on these central issues. The different nations within the EU have certainly lost their sovereignty.

To see what is coming for the world - and coming relatively soon - just watch the EU.