News From The Epicenter

Most of the news today is coming from the Epicenter. First up - we can easily see how the instability in Egypt opened the doors for radical Islamic groups (including the Muslim Brotherhood) to step in and fill the void. We're already seeing the consequences:

Fifth Pipeline Bombing Marks Sinai Chaos

An explosion was reported at a depot along the Egyptian natural gas pipeline in Sinai that normally supplies Israel and Jordan with gas, Army Radio reported Saturday.

The attack on the pipeline was the third this month and the fifth since the beginning of 2011. It also followed a shootout between Egyptian security forces and apparent Islamic militants on Friday.

The pipeline was not currently supplying Israel with natural gas due to damage incurred from the previous blasts.

Friday Protest: Islamists Call for Sharia Law in Egypt

But unlike the protests in February which led to the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, this time the crowd consisted mainly of Islamists who called for the implementation of Islamic law in Egypt.

According to CNN, the demonstrators included conservative Salafists as well as members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad, who arrived in hundreds of buses from across Egypt.

The crowd held up signs and shouted: “Egypt will return to Islamic Sharia law! Liberals and secularists are the enemies of Allah! The solution is Islam!”

...the Muslim Brotherhood, banned from politics under Mubarak’s regime, has been eying the throne in Egypt.

Following the revolution, the group created a broad super-coalition of opposition parties in hopes of taking Egypt's next government by storm.

The group’s leaders have publicly stated they would implement Muslim sharia law in Egypt should they take office.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards train new Hamas commando brigade in Gaza

A team of Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) officers has just finished setting up Hamas' first commando unit especially trained to combat any Israel military force entering the Gaza Strip, DEBKAfile's military sources report.

The new "Al Qods Brigades" unit of 400 men is to be the first of three. A week ago, July 23, the first unit held a passing-out parade and leave-taking ceremony from its two Iranian instructors.

The urban guerrilla combat tactics which the Iranian instructors imparted to their Hamas trainees drew heavily on the experience al Qods is gaining in Syria, where its experts are helping President Bashar Assad crack down on protest – especially accentuating advanced disguise and camouflage techniques for striking at the enemy under cover.

The new Hamas commandos were also given a cover name – The Brigades for Reconstruction and Challenge – under which they will set up more brigades in the coming six months. The newly-trained units will then fan out to the areas bordering on Israel, armed with techniques and weapons for inflicting the highest possible number of casualties on any invading force.

Egyptians call for Sharia Law, Islamic caliphate

Tens, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of Egyptians poured into Cairo's now-famed Tahrir Square on Friday to demand their nation become subject to Sharia Law and form the cornerstone for a new Islamic caliphate.

The demonstrators, who were led by the increasingly powerful Muslim Brotherhood, demanded that Egypt's interim military regime give way to an intolerant Islamic dictatorship.

Egyptian commentators are now saying that what is happening in their country more closely resembles the Iranian revolution.

The End for Assad? High Ranking Officers Desert, Join Rebels

A Syrian Major-General has deserted Assad's army along with a group of other officers and joined the rebels.

As'ad accused the Assad regime of crimes against the Syrian people and called on the officers and soldiers in the Syrian army not to aim their weapons at the people. He further called on them to join the Free Syrian Army.

In an Arabic video clip posted on Youtube on July 29, 2011, the officer, Major-General Riad El As'ad is seen in the company of other officers, announcing the establishment of the "Free Syrian Army whose main goal will be to fight the army of oppression headed by President Bashar Assad"

The article below is worth considering:

Why It's Time To Speak About God Again

This is worth reading. Below is the opening comment and the concluding comment in this article:

America is living under an illusion: the idea that we can expunge God (broadly understood) from our national and public belief system and still operate a moral and accountable government.

What we must face is a simple fact. A morality unhinged from God is not only inadequate for the times, but it will also doom us to a permanent slide into oblivion. Many believe that America will turn publicly to God...eventually. But will it be too late when the time finally comes?

In 'Other' News

While most of today's news centered on the U.S. and the economic collapse which is imminent (see post below), there were a few other interesting stories from around the world:

Gas pipeline to Israel attacked again

Egyptian security officials say a militant Islamist group has blown up a terminal along the Egyptian natural gas pipeline to Israel in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

Officials say Saturday's attack on the terminal in al-Shulaq destroyed the last terminal before the line enters the sea on its way to Israel.

It is the third attack on the pipeline this month and the fifth since the 18-day uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Spain calls for early elections as market confidence erodes

Just hours earlier, Moody's credit ratings agency warned that it may downgrade Spain's government bonds by one notch to Aa3 because of the conditions attached to last week's deal on a second Greek bailout, which involves the private sector.

Even though eurozone leaders have been going to great lengths to reassure markets that making banks take a 'voluntary' cut in their gains on Greek bonds is a one-off and will not be replicated, Moody's said this set a "precedent" for other countries with high debt, such as Spain.

Spain is one of the last outposts of a Social-Democratic government in Europe, with the centre-right having swept into power in most EU countries except for Austria, Greece and Cyprus.

Hundreds of Al Qaeda gunmen kill at least 7 in rampage through Sinai town

In a Taliban-style raid, at least 150 masked, uniformed al Qaeda gunmen rode into the Sinai capital of El Arish on pickups and motorcycles Friday, July 29, shooting up the desert town with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and automatic rifles. Before they rode out six hours later, at least seven people were killed, and upward of 30 injured.

Egyptian police and troops pulled back to their fortified station as terrified citizens of this desert town of 150,000 inhabitants fled the rampage. At least two of the dead were Egyptian civilians, a man of 70 and a 13-year old boy shot while take a cell phone picture.

Until July 29, al Qaeda in Sinai was believed to be no more than a handful of cells mostly working with local Bedouin dope and arms smuggling rings. None suspected them of acquiring quasi-military competence.

This evaluation will have to be urgently revised now that the Egyptian authorities have lost their grip on Sinai. The lawlessness reigning today in this strategic territory, which abuts on Israel, the Red Sea and Suez Canal, is cause for Israeli and US alarm.

The Decline and Fall of the USA

This is a story that could be told on a daily basis now. In today's news review, it was all about America and the continuing decline that we watch every day now. Why is this part of biblical prophecy?

First of all, prophecy scholars have said for decades that America would experience a fall from previous status as the world's superpower for a variety of reasons:

- A dominate "free" U.S. would never allow for a "world dictator" to arise and control the world's economy and governance.

- The U.S. receives no attention at all in the detailed descriptions of the various powers in the book of Revelation - which describes, in great detail what happens during the Tribulation era. The existing world powers receive ample attention in this book, but there isn't even a tangential reference to the U.S. in this prophetic book. And it makes perfect sense, given the first point above.

- The omission of such a superpower is too glaringly obvious. Something has to happen to the U.S. to reduce the country to a "non-entity" during the Tribulation.

Why this happens also receives a lot of speculation in prophecy circles. My personal theory, for years, had been that the Rapture of the Church created so much disproportionate turmoil in the U.S. that a post-Rapture world would essentially eliminate the U.S. as a world power.

However, at the same time, we know that as the world approaches the Tribulation, all events would represent a progression towards this 7-year period, rather than a sudden and acute change in the world. No. As we approach the Tribulation, the world will become more and more like the biblical descriptions of this period over time and indeed that is exactly what we are seeing.

The same holds true for the U.S. Rather than see an acute collapse of America, we would expect to see a declining trend in this country and indeed that is exactly what we are seeing today.

Just look at a few sample articles and video links which bring us news as relating to the decline and fall of the USA. The current fiscal crisis in America is a perfect example:

You Are Being Lied To

For those of you who may have forgotten and for those of you who possibly never knew, regardless of what you are hearing in the news, there are NO spending cuts. There are only “budget” cuts.

The “natural” progression of expenditures in Washington, having its own localized financial physics, is that every budget item everywhere in the budget, always increases every year.

And any failure to increase the amount by the full expected amount, is scored by the CBO as a budget cut.

To the point, where if you simply did nothing more than freeze Washington’s budget at exactly the figures they are today, cutting nothing, the CBO would score this as a 9 Trillion dollar “budget cut” over the next 10 years.

The video link is worth watching for more detailed information.

Rep. Paul Ryan in Blistering Speech

Paul Ryan, who has been demonized by the MSM puts things in perspective. Of all circulating information, he puts things in perspective in the most succinct manner possible. I highly recommend viewing this brief video.

If you are a "visual" person, as I am, the following article puts things in perspective as well:

U.S. Debt Problem Visualized

The Country Is Literally On The Brink Of Complete Economic Collapse

The country is literally on the brink of complete economic collapse,a collapse that likely will bring on a global crash,throwing the world into apocalyptic chaos,and what is the reaction of our “leaders” in Washington? Smoke-and-mirrors,dithering-and-caving.

In November 2010,a crystal clear,unequivocal message was sent from the American people to the political class.

It told them a) Taxed Enough Already;b) reduce the size of government;c) drastically reduce spending;and d) honor your oath of office:“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies,foreign and domestic;that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;that I take this obligation freely,without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter:So help me God.”

Obviously,the message is being ignored by all but about 100 of the 537 elected supposed servants of We,the People.

Around 435 senators,congressmen,and the “President” and Vice President,have,with malice aforethought,betrayed us and chosen to continue headlong down a path that they are completely aware will lead to the destruction of America as a free,capitalist nation. This can only be viewed as willful sabotage.

Five Things You Need to Know About the Economy

This article is worth reading. I'll just give the highlights of the five:

1. The U.S. remains in the grip of a debt-induced depression.

2. Interest rates can't stay low.

3. There is no non-disruptive way to resolve the debt.

4. The monetary system is irretrievably broken and will be replaced. For a recent edition of The Casey Report

5. The government is not your friend.

And a few quotes worth repeating:

To use a metaphor, the situation today is akin to a bunch of gunfighters facing off in a dusty street, hands poised over their six-shooters, eyes nervously shifting this way and that - to the eurozone, to the housing markets, to the situation in Japan, to the U.S. government spending, to the crumbling balance sheets of the banks, to the Fed.

Everyone is anxiously watching, waiting for someone else to start making the first move. The standoff can't last - and when the lead starts flying, there will be few places to hide.

As should now be clear to anyone, today's political apparatuses are not operating based on any core principles - other than getting members of the government re-elected, that is.

Ironically, the worse the situation gets - and today's GDP data again confirm the weakness in the economy - the greater the demands will be from the public for the government to do more, even though the government was mostly responsible for bringing us to this place. And so the government's reach into your private affairs, and especially your finances, will only grow.

More proof the Department of Homeland Security and TSA are actively destroying America

In previous articles I have detailed just one of the ways the TSA and DHS are tearing apart theConstitution and the most basic fabric of American society through the eradication of our right to privacy and protection from unlawful searches.

(that link is found here)

However, in this article I am going to detail some of the ways that the DHS is actively engaging in economic warfare against the people of the United States while lining their own pockets and those of their cronies at the helms of various corporations.

The most recent example is this: despite our teetering on the age of a possible default thanks to the clowns in Washington, $72 million in our non-existent tax dollars have been guaranteed to Lockheed Martin by the TSA.

Just when you thought you found your favorite airport that doesn’t use the radiation bathing machines, the TSA stepped in and spent our money on helping to ensure that you will never be able to avoid them.

Nothing short of the entirety of America stepping back and noticing the over-arching trend of wealth redistribution from the people to the elite carried out by corporations and their government cronies can stop this. Without all of America demanding that our money be accounted for and only spent when and where we decide it should be, the DHS and TSA will continue to economically rape our nation.

We are Rapidly Approaching A Dangerous Time

The only way that we can prevent blood from running in the streets is to offer a better idea of the proper role of government in a society that desires first and foremost, liberty. That is impossible without a firm commitment by our leaders to the ideas of freedom, the source of all creative energy and prosperity.

An all powerful ‘State’ is a threat to that ideal. The prevailing attitude of the people, as it once was in early America, must be that of liberty and self reliance, rather than the Nanny State and dependence. If this is understood, a smooth, although not painless transition to a free society is achievable. Ignoring this option will be very destructive to everything that is dear to the hearts of most Americans.

Rule Titled 'Martial Law' to be issued by Rules Committee for New Debt Bill

We need to find out why that irresponsible and inflammatory title was issued to this legislation. Is it just a nickname for their internal rule? Whatever it was, the use of that term must be condemned.
To verify that government should never use that phrase unless there are very extraordinary conditions, which threaten the freedom of the people — and never as a part of such a threat, we recommend, “A Primer on ‘Martial Law,’” by constitutional scholar, Edwin Vieira, Jr., Ph.D., J.D.

The referenced link above is found here:
A Primer on "Martial Law"

It is difficult these days not to come upon some pessimistic patriotic commentator expressing the fear that something called “martial law” may soon be imposed on this country, as the General Government’s response to a new “terrorist attack”, or to the economic and social chaos arising out of a collapse of the monetary and banking systems, or to some other dire event that frightens hapless Americans into trading a sure and certain loss of their liberties for a dollop of conjectural safety.

An optimistic patriot might scoff at such fears. But both pessimists and optimists typically share the same implicit first premise: namely, that the form of “martial law” they have in mind is legitimate. Most of the time, this is a rather glaring and dangerous error.

The Looting of America

A one-time limited GAO audit of the Federal Reserve that was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has uncovered some eye-popping corruption at the Fed and the mainstream media is barely even covering it.

But it just wasn't U.S. banksters that were showered with nearly interest-free loans. It turns out that approximately $3.08 trillion went to foreign financial institutions all over Europe and Asia.

So who in the world gave the Federal Reserve permission to bail out financial institutions all over the world?

Nobody did.

But under our current system the Federal Reserve doesn't have to get permission. They literally get to do whatever they want.

The Federal Reserve is run like a dictatorship. They get to do what they want and nobody can stop them.

Not only did the Fed dish out over $16 trillion in secret loans to their friends, but they also paid their bankster friends over 600 million dollars to help them do it.

According to the GAO, the Federal Reserve paid $659.4 million to the very financial institutions which caused the financial crisis to help the Fed manage all of these emergency loans.

Can anyone say "conflict of interest"?

Bill Approved To Create Massive Surveillance Database Of Internet Users

Legislation that will force Internet providers to store information on all their customers and share it with the federal government and law enforcement agencies was significantly beefed at the last minute yesterday and approved by a U.S. House of Representatives committee.

It represents “a data bank of every digital act by every American” that would “let us find out where every single American visited Web sites,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who led Democratic opposition to the bill. The Californian Representative described the legislation as a “mess of a bill” and a “stalking horse for a massive expansion of federal power”.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., noted that the bill would open a Pandora’s box of government abuse.

“This is not about child porn. It never has been and never will be,” Issa said. “This is a convenient way for law enforcement to get what they couldn’t get in the PATRIOT Act.”

There is NO Plan to CUT the Deficit

Of the current plans being considered, neither the Boehner nor Reid plan will actually eat into the $14.3 trillion dollar yoke that is being fitted for our grandchildren, and Lord knows how many generations to follow.

Because this nation spends about $100 billion more each month than revenues received, the deficit automatically grows by about one-trillion each year. And that does not include interest on the debt or unexpected emergencies.

Thus, when John Boehner or Harry Reid boasts of saving a couple of trillion dollars over 10 years, the simple truth is that that would barely enable America to keep up with the escalating deficit!

If either of these plans is enacted, in year 2021 America will still have a $14.3 trillion dollar deficit, or more.

Max Keiser: 'America will lose its sovereignty'

This is another video worth watching. Here is the preface:

The countdown to armadebtdon carries on and we are just 3 days away from the debt ceiling deadline. If a discussion is not reached will the US lose its AAA rating? The problem is we are not taking in enough revenue to continue spending like we are. Max Keiser of Keiser Report gives us his insight on what that means to the US.

Also see this video clip:

Martial Law And The New World Order

Obama's ineligibility: Prepare to defend America - The insanity must be stopped

It is a waste of time writing to your elected officials. They only care about their political careers. They are parasites. Ayn Rand described them accurately:

“When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you. . . you may know that your society is doomed.”

During the recent recession, Congressional members’ net worth went up by 3,669 percent, while Main Street America is going broke.

With our current crop of career, elitist politicians, the US is indeed doomed.

We also witness a decline in the U.S. Military might:

Russia Downs U.S. Missile

In actions more reminiscent of the Cold War than modern times the foreign military intelligence directorate of the Russian General Staff (GRU) is reporting today that the Northern Fleet’s Yekaterinburg nuclear powered submarine successfully fired a RSM-54 Sineva (SS-N-23 Skiff in NATO classification) ballistic missile from the Barents Sea across the North Pole into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean where upon its deploying of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) “device” succeeded in destroying an American Minuteman III ICBM fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

United States Air Force Colonel Matthew Carroll in a statement to American propaganda media organs stated that the destruction of this Minuteman III ICBM was caused by an unexplained “flight anomaly” failing to mention the rapidly deteriorating relations between the US and Russia that in fact caused this incident to occur.

It had to happen sooner or later, and we are watching the dismantling of America before our very eyes. What is even more amazing is the speed with which this is happening.

But our eyes need to be firmly set on Jesus and His return, as directed in the Holy Bible. We are not to watch these events with dismay - rather, we are to watch these events with excitement knowing that Jesus' return is near.

The decline of America is a fully expected event from knowledge of biblical prophecy, and watching it happen in real time should come as no surprise.

Rather than being depressed by this information (as tempting as it is) - lets get excited at the prospect of Jesus returning and gathering up His bride for something FAR FAR better than anything that this earth has to offer.

Therefore, we should be looking up with great anticipation because the signs are all around us. The fall of the U.S. is simply one more of these signs.

Daily Headlines:

First up, we see more and more war preparations:

U.S. missile shield may be precursor for Iran attack

Russia's envoy to NATO said on Thursday that the United States might use the European missile defense project as preparation for an attack on Iran.

Washington has said its nuclear missile defense plans were designed to prevent any possible missile strikes from Iran or North Korea

."The missile defense system is not purely a defensive system," envoy Dmitry Rogozin said. "There are serious and authoritative experts in Russia and in other countries who fear that the creation of a European missile defense system, officially assigned the task of blocking a threat from Iran, may in fact be a pretext for preparing an attack on Iran."

U.S. in talks with NATO states on deployment of radar system in Europe

The United States is in talks with a number of NATO states on the deployment of a radar system as part of its mooted missile shield in Europe, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State said.

"We're talking to a number of countries within NATO about this radar system and when it might be deployed but I don't want to get into the substance of those discussions," Mark Toner told a daily press briefing, adding that Turkey is among the possible countries.

And of course, the land of MaGog objects:

Russia against U.S. missile shield elements in Black Sea

Russia is opposed to deploying sea-based missiles and radars of the planned U.S. missile shield in Europe in Turkey's Black Sea region, Russia's envoy to NATO said on Thursday.

Russia has retained staunch opposition to the planned deployment of U.S. missile defense systems near its borders, claiming they would be a security threat. NATO and the United States insist that the shield would defend NATO members against missiles from North Korea and Iran and would not be directed at Russia.

In other news around the world:

Tropical Storm Don: Warning for Texas, Energy Operators Evacuate

A tropical storm warning has been issued across the Texas coast early Thursday. Tropical Storm Don is violently blasting its way into the central Gulf of Mexico and forecasters are telling those in the path of the storm to stay on alert over the coming days.

Tracking Map

Mega-quake could hit south of Vancouver Island

A B.C. study says the fault line between two tectonic plates in the Pacific Northwest is seven kilometres deeper than originally believed.

But he speculates it could mean the mega quake expected to hit the West Coast could occur beneath the Olympic Peninsula, south of Vancouver Island.

GOP Senator Blasts Soros for Evading Hedge Fund Rules

Sen. Richard Shelby accused billionaire financier George Soros on Wednesday of evading hedge fund regulations Soros previously supported, in what Shelby called an effort to dodge new Wall Street disclosure rules that smaller businesses are forced to observe.

Lebanon tribunal releases Hariri indictment details

AMSTERDAM - The UN-backed Lebanon tribunal on Friday released the names of four men wanted for the killing in 2005 of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen ordered the lifting of confidentiality on the full names, aliases, biographical information, photographs and charges against the individuals named in the indictment, the tribunal said in a statement.

The four men named in the indictment are Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra, the tribunal said.

The indictments were issued late last month but the identities of the accused were kept secret for a short period in order to allow the Lebanese government to investigate and arrest them.

The names released on Friday matched those reported by Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper upon the original issuing of the indictments last month.

All four of the suspects are linked to Hezbollah.

The Norway Massacre and Europe's War on Free Speech

Media outlets in Europe and the United States are accusing Western critics of Islam and multiculturalism of complicity in the mass killing of more than 70 people in Norway. The attempt to exploit this crime for political gain is not just a case of malicious opportunism. It also represents the latest and most unsavoury salvo in the long-running war on free speech in Europe.

The primary weapon in this war on free speech has been lawfare: the malicious use of European courts to criminalize criticism of Islam.

European socialists now view multiculturalism as a means to eliminate the entire Judeo-Christian worldview. This is certainly the case in Spain, where socialists have joined arms with Islam in a "Red-Green Alliance" to confront a common enemy, Christianity, as represented, in this case, by the Roman Catholic Church.

In the news...

Israel sees Lebanon bombing as warning to UNIFEL

The bombing of a UNIFIL convoy in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night was likely aimed at sending a message to the peacekeeping force to scale back its operations against Hezbollah, Israeli defense officials said on Wednesday.

UNIFIL’s mandate is up for renewal in mid-August and the attack is understood in Israel as a sign of Hezbollah concern that the force is looking to bolster its rules of engagement.

Some background on this story:

Six officers from the French contingent were wounded when an explosion targeted a convoy of four trucks traveling near the southern Lebanese town of Sidon. In May, a similar bomb attack took place wounding six soldiers from the Italian contingent just a few kilometers from the scene of Tuesday night’s attack.

Israel has been lobbying diplomats from countries which contribute to UNIFIL – particularly Spain, Italy and France – to get the UN to issue new rules of engagement for the peacekeeping force that will enable it to search Lebanese villages without prior coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

And this is exactly what Hezbollah cannot allow, thus the bomb attacks. We'll have to keep an eye on this situation.

The next story is posted simply because I am always keeping a close eye on the actions of Jordanian King Abdullah:

Abdullah 'Refused to Meet Netanyahu'

Jordan's King Abdullah II recently turned down a request from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to hold a secret meeting in Akaba, according to Kuwaiti paper Al Jareeda.

Unnamed "well informed sources" told the newspaper that Netanyahu sent a special emissary to the king and requested the meeting, but the King refused

The sources said that the king is angry with Netanyahu over the position of his government on the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, and over statements by people close to Netanyahu that "Jordan is Palestine."

The king is also reportedly upset that Netanyahu insists on leaving the Jordan Valley under Israeli sovereignty.

This Is What A Collapsing Ponzi Scheme Looks Like

With defaults already piling up, the shadow inventory of homes has been growing rapidly, and given this new datathe number is going to skyrocket. As this chart shows, the total has gone up from 2 million homes in 2009 to 3.35 million as of April, a 67.5% increase already.

28% of US homeowners already owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. A recent survey by Fannie Mae found that 27% of American homeowners are considering walking away from their mortgage. A perfect storm is brewing. As prices continue to drop, with 10 million now at risk of default, a strategic default movement could devastate the “too big to fail” banks that caused this mess in the first place.

This is what a collapsing Ponzi scheme looks like.

Sharia Law Zones in the UK?

Islamic extremists have launched a poster campaign across the UK proclaiming areas where Sharia law enforcement zones have been set up.

Communities have been bombarded with the posters, which read: ‘You are entering a Sharia-controlled zone – Islamic rules enforced.’

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has claimed responsibility for the scheme, saying he plans to flood specific Muslim and non-Muslim communities around the UK and ‘put the seeds down for an Islamic Emirate in the long term’.

‘We are going to go to all these same areas and implement our own Sharia-controlled zones.

‘We want to run the area as a Sharia-controlled zone and really to put the seeds down for an Islamic Emirate in the long term.’

U.S. military chief nominee warns Iran

The nominee to be the next chief of the US military on Tuesday warned Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons or sponsor attacks in Iraq, saying it would be making a "serious miscalculation."

Dempsey, now the US Army's chief of staff, saved some of his toughest criticism for Iran. In prepared testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, he called the clerical regime a "destabilizing force."

"With its nuclear activities and its surrogate activities in southern Iraq, there is a high potential that Iran will make a serious miscalculation of US resolve," said Dempsey, nominated to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Christian Rocker Sues MSNBC for Defamation

A $50 million defamation lawsuit has been filed against MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and the network on behalf of Bradlee Dean, a former heavy metal rocker who founded a ministry called, You Can Run But You Can’t Hide.

The lawsuit was filed by Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, “as a matter of principle” because Maddow allegedly accused Dean of calling for the execution of homosexuals – a claim which Dean denies.

Hizballah and Israel Five Years After Lebanon War

Five years have passed since the Second Lebanon War. Five years since the burnt forests, the Katyusha rockets, the blazing sunlight, and bitter lessons of that summer in 2006. A half-decade on, Israel has improved both its battle readiness and its knowledge of the enemy. As for Hizballah, it is both stronger yet paradoxically also more vulnerable and isolated than it was back then.

We continue to see the build-up for the approaching wars:

Today, the IDF has significantly improved its stance vis-a-vis Hizballah. Tactics and equipment have been modified, training has focused on specific countermeasures, and there is a far higher rate of combat readiness.

Yet Hizballah too has vastly increased its capabilities. It now possesses 60,000 short range missiles aimed at Israel. It has also, according to reliable sources, significantly improved its medium and long-range missile capabilities. The movement’s possession of the M-600 missile system gives it the ability to hit populated areas in central Israel. It is reported also to possess a number of Scud-D missiles which might possibly strike targets anywhere in Israel.

In February 2008 its most senior military activist, Imad Mughniya, was assassinated in Damascus. Hizballah, blaming Israel, wants revenge for this. This could be the spark for a renewed conflict.

Should conflict with Israel return, it would acquire dimensions that would make 2006 look like a small rehearsal. This time around, Israel would be likely to regard the conflict as a state-to-state war– the first between Israel and an Arab state since 1973.

For the moment, Israel and Hizballah-controlled Lebanon watch each other across the border. The frontier is unusually quiet, but permanently tense. So if war comes, Hizballah will enter it physically stronger than in 2006, but also politically more isolated, more exposed, and hence more vulnerable. As for Israel it will be at this point, and only at this point, that it will be possible to examine the claims of greater readiness, better planning and sharper intelligence against the test of reality.

Also see:

Tropical Storm forms in the Gulf of Mexico, heads for Texas

Dunes Sagebrush Lizards - Another Spotted Owl Fiasco?

The Man Without A Plan

Shaking the Nations

I am often asked the question: "Ok, I understand and agree that we're living in the last generation, now what do I do?"

We often quote the well familiar scriptures in Luke 21:28 and 31, where we are told to "look up" as we await our redemption. We also quote the apostle Paul who instructed us to gather togetherand give each other support in the form of "hope" and "encouragement" in these last days. Additinally, Jesus instructed us to continually watch the signs and to be acutely aware that we are indeed in this last generation.

With these general thoughts in mind, Joel Rosenberg has provided a timely review of recent events and thoughts on what we can be doing as we observe the signs around us:

The Lord Is Shaking The Nations Physically, Spiritually, Financially: Why, and how should we respond?

(Jerusalem, Israel) The nations are being shaken – physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially, politically and in so many other ways.

After listing 7 major events from around the world - events which may have prophetic significance, we see the following:

The Lord said through the ancient Hebrew Prophet Haggai that the nations would be shaken in the future.

“For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations….I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.” (Haggai 2:6, 7, 21, 22)

And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven’….Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:25-29)

In conclusion:

Bible prophecy is clear: the Lord shakes individuals and nations that we might let go of all of the flawed political, philosophical, intellectual and religions notions that we cling to that won’t give us true peace, that don’t give us real hope, that can’t bring us any security, that can’t provide forgiveness from our sins much less eternal life for our souls.

The God of the Bible wants to shake us loose of such things that we might turn to Him, and to the life He offers through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord isn’t letting us be shaken because He hates us. He’s letting us be shaken precisely because He loves us and wants us to repent and turn to Him and call out to Him, as individuals, as families, and as nations.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

One sentence stands out:

"The Lord isn't letting us be shaken because He hates us. He's letting us be shaken precisely because He loves us and wants us to repent and turn to Him and call out to Him..."

Amen.

Persecution Increasing Around the World

The increasing persecution is a big story in these last days leading into the Tribulation, but you won't find it in the MSM.

Jesus warned us of this situation, and for good reason:

Hal Lindsey has a video up on his site (which is a good site to bookmark) and it is worth watching. This video is the main one currently on his site dated 7/22/2011:

Hal Lindsey site

Then we turn to this site, probably the best site for covering the persecution story on a daily basis:

Voice of the Martyrs

See these stories in today's edition:

- Indonesia: Officials close Church
- Kazakhstan: Pastors Fined For Praying
- Iran: Life In Prison
- West Bank: Ministry Harassed
- Iran: Death for Nadarkhani?
- Eritrea: Unimaginable Suffering
- India: Christians Expelled
- Algeria: Churches Threatened

Related stories:

Women Who Sang on Temple Mount Barred by Police

The rules on the Temple Mount are unique for Jews: No singing, no prayer books and certainly not a Torah scroll, but Muslim can play soccer outside their holy mosques while Arab workers remove dirt containing archeological proof of the destroyed Jewish Temples.

The spokesman also noted that a man who took out a small Torah scroll n the Temple Mount also was expelled and invesigated.

Glick also has been barred by the police, who said that no permission is given to anyone who violates government and High Court decisions against blatant Jewish activity that could cause a provocation among Muslims.

Also see:

Texas Lawmaker Calls for Congressional Probe Into Ban of Christian Prayers at Military Funerals

A Texas lawmaker is calling for a congressional investigation of the Houston National Cemetery after he went undercover and determined that cemetery officials are still preventing Christian prayers at the funerals of military veterans.

“The Obama administration continues to try to prevent the word ‘God’ from being used at the funerals of our heroes,” said. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas).

“It’s unacceptable and I’m going to put a stop to it as fast as humanly possible,” Culberson told Fox News Radio. He attended a burial service at the cemetery undercover on July 8, when he says he witnessed volunteer members of the honor guard from the Veterans of Foreign Wars being prohibited from using any references to God.

And this sobering reality:

Persecution of Coptic Christians

Three videos are linked in this article, with the following preface:

The systemic horrors being perpetrated on an entire people seems like it would actually fit the U.N. definition of ‘Genocide’. Muslim Egyptians stripping Copts of identity, freedoms and even any human dignity.

Persecuton is worse today than it has ever been in human history, period. Jesus mentioned this as one of the many generational signs that we would observe during these last days, and indeed it is growing daily, around the world. And it will continue to worsen as we approach the Tribulation.

Lets all remember to keep these brave Christians in our daily prayers.

In the news...

Neo-Communism Spreads as Media Fiddle

This article simply reveals what is really important as far as news around the world - yet such news are completely ignored as the U.S. focuses on insignificant matters:

The ongoing crisis in the South China Sea, Russia’s military expansion into the Arctic, the cyber war with China, and Russian/Chinese/Cuban espionage continually perpetrated against the United States are but a few of the dangerous issues rarely, if ever mentioned, by the Liberal/Conservative media combine.

The absence of coverage of other important issues is a serious threat to the survival of the United States.

Below we see just a few examples cited:

Take as an example the soon-to-be defunct space shuttle program. The end of this American scientific and technical triumph has attracted little attention so far from Liberal or Conservative media. This is the case, despite America becoming reliant upon Russia for space travel, and as mainland Communist China applies significant resources to developing its own manned spacecraft.

Little coverage, if any, is given to the joint effort by China and Russia to establish a lunar space station.

Any consideration of Russia and China must also include those respective nations’ aggressive actions against the U.S. and its allies – another topic dangerously under-reported by both Liberal and Conservative media.

While America was nearly transfixed with the Casey Anthony trial and verdict, American allies Taiwan and the Philippines were both being threatened by neighboring mainland Chinese Communist aggression in the South China Sea, yet the Liberal and Conservative media hardly mentioned this potentially explosive situation.

America must wake up from the numbing sameness of the Liberal/Conservative media monopoly. We must be alert to the world around us. If our nation is to survive, the debate over spending and who becomes U.S. President must also include consideration of the growing international threats around us.

Alarming NOAA Data, Rapid Pole Shift

The NOAA National Geophysical Data Center maintains a data set of annual magnetic north pole coordinates going back to the year 1590, derived from early measurements from ships logs to modern day techniques.

Noting that there has been lots of reporting of pole shift lately, to the point where the phenomenon is actually causing real-world issues such as temporary airport closures, a deeper investigation was in order.

After transferring 420 years of north pole position data from the NOAA Geo Data Center, configuring it to fit in an Excel spreadsheet, adding a complicated formula to determine exact distance between 2 sets of latitude-longitude coordinates, applying the formula to each data point in the series, and then finally plotting it all in a visual graph, it is alarming to discover the amount of magnetic pole shift – just over the past 10 to 20 years.

In other words, pole shifts are not unusual, but the speed with which this shift is being observed is highly unusual:

The following fact is even more astonishing…

During the past 10 years, the magnetic north pole has shifted nearly half of the total distance of the past 50 years! In other words, the pole shift has apparently sped up substantially.

The issue now is, since the pole shift has been at 400 year record high rates during the past 10 to 20 years, the cumulative effect is now beginning to cause real-world issues.

6 Ways Food is Being Used as a Weapon

Hungry people will do anything for food, which means that those who have control over food can use it as leverage. In 1974, Henry Kissinger suggested using food as a weapon to induce targeted population reduction in a previously classified 200-page report, National Security Study Memorandum 200: Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests. The primary tactic to be applied is that food aid would be withheld from developing nations until they submitted to birth control policies:

Today, however, it appears that the entire globe is receiving an arsenal of food bombs as there appears to be a multifaceted attack on people's access to food. In other words, what has been an admitted tactic for nearly 40 years of controlling food aid for regional population reduction has now grown more complex and expansive.

Because of massive corporate consolidation of agriculture, centrally coordinated global regulations, a devalued commodity-dollar and unrestrained commodity speculation, chemical and genetic modification, and real or manipulated food shortages; there is indeed a war being waged -- with food as the primary weapon. Understand, this is a not purely a war on food, but rather a war on the general population.

Therefore, it is crucial to understand these tactics in order to defend against them.

Also see:

Photo Essay: Arab Arson, IDF Helplessness

More Gigantic Earthcracks - in Valley of Mexico

IRAN: "We Have No Option but to Destroy Israel"

This stark warning comes from Iran's chief commander of the Basij Brigadier, General Mohammad-Reza Naghdi:

"No Option but to Destroy Israel"

In reaction to the recent assassination of Iranian scientist Dariush Rezaiinejad, chief commander of the Basij Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naghdi stated:

The main plot for this criminal act was conceived by the American government, and since it is scared of the reaction by the Muslim world due to the uprisings in the region, it had the Zionist regime commit the heinous act.

In order to protect the security of our country, we have no option but to have the Zionist regime wiped off the map.

We shouldn't be surprised, as we have heard this rhetoric from Iran before. At least he is being completely honest.

He has previously threatened to assassinate American generals in retaliation for the killings of the Iranian nuclear scientists.

Last Saturday, the Iranian scientist was gunned down outside his home in Tehran by assailants on a motorcycle. Since then, the state-owned Iranian media has sent out conflicting reports: first, that the scientist was a physicist involved in Iran’s nuclear program; later, that he was just a student studying for a master’s degree in electricity.

Iran’s Fars News Agency, operated by the Revolutionary Guards, claimed that the scientist was one of the researchers working on electric detonators which can be used on missiles or nuclear bombs. They stated that it was because of this activity that he was assassinated by the enemy.

The reaction by Iranian officials indicates that the slain scientist was an integral and important part of the Iranian nuclear bomb program. Said Tehran Governor General Morteza Tamadon to reporters during Dariush Rezaiinejad’s funeral procession in Tehran:

Undoubtedly, this was an American-Israeli project against our intellectuals and thinkers, with the aim of discouraging the Iranian nation from continuing the path it has taken.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani also said the assassination was planned by the U.S. and Israel:

The days of adventurous U.S. policies in the region are numbered, so the U.S. has turned to terrorist groups to cover up its failures.

Radicals ruling Iran are determined to make the bomb, and reports from Iran indicate that Iranian officials are now considering a measure to move all of their nuclear scientists, along with their immediate families, to a secure site such as the Parchin military complex.

It seems that a covert war is being fought, as Iran races to produce nuclear weapons and Israel has determined that for now, a covert war makes the most sense. It doesn't seem to be working as Iran seems undeterred in their nuclear efforts. That leads to the next question:

Will the effort to block Iran from their goal of nuclear weapons lead to an all-out war?

We know that ultimately, Israel and Iran will engage in all-out war; we just don't know what the final tipping point will be. But most certainly, Iran's quest for nuclear weapons and Israel's determination to thwart such ambitions are headed towards a climax.

We see yet another tipping point. Sooner or later we'll reach that tipping point - and when we do, the prophetic dominos will fall
and they will fall rapidly.

Meanwhile, we continue looking up for the bridegroom and His coming for the bride.

Earthquakes Increasing Around The World

There have been a lot of quakes lately - without posting all of the various articles, just take a look at the map:

Earthquakes

Just in the last couple of days we have seen both an increase and a lot of diversity in location:

5.3 Chile
4.5 Chile
5.0 Chile
5.4 Peru
4.8 Italy
4.9 Turkey
5.3 Tonga Islands
4.6 Tonga Islands
6.2 Papua New Guinea
4.9 Papua New Guinea
5.9 Philippine Islands
6.4 Japan
6.2 Japan
5.1 Japan
5.0 China
5.0 Pakistan
4.9 Peru
5.1 Indonesia
4.8 Indonesia
4.8 Solomon Islands

It has been a while since we have seen so many significant quakes in such a brief period, and that alone makes it worth watching closely.

Daily Headlines:

It is getting harder and harder to differentiate "mainstream news" from "conspiracy news" these days. I'm considering having an "alternative news" section but for now will keep everything together as we all must use our abilities to discern from casting a wide net for news stories. Today is no exception:

Ayalon Challenges PA to a Duel

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon reacted Monday (July 25) to condemnation by the Palestinian Authority over his video titled 'The Truth About the West Bank'.

Deputy Minister Ayalon said that the video is clearly worrying the Palestinians as it challenges their narrative.

"For too long the Palestinian narrative of international law and rights has gone unchallenged and this over the top reaction to a public diplomacy video proves that they are acting like spoiled children who have had their way for too long," Ayalon said. "They are unable to challenge a single fact in the video and have completely avoided a legitimate and honest discussion on the issue

The euro bail-out is a conspiracy against democracy

Exactly as predicted:

How very appropriate that tanks should have been rolling through the streets of Brussels on the day that Europe dismantled another pillar of democracy. The military display, as it happened, was commemorating Belgium National Day, not the triumphal march toward financial union, but the coincidence was one of history’s better jokes.

Europe is now galloping toward the final realisation of its great post-war dream:

the abolition of independent nation states whose governments are answerable to their own people

This article is worth reading, and it reveals exactly what many of us have been saying throughout this EU financial crisis: The "fix" includes a loss of national sovereignty as we watch more and more EU centralized power become the dominant position.

There is nothing accidental about this trajectory. The Greek (and Irish, and Portuguese, and Italian, and Spanish) crisis has been useful, as everyone now seems to be admitting, as an accelerant: having to scrape a whole cohort of eurozone countries off the floor has simply made the “need” for financial integration undeniable.

The logical conclusion of an economically illiterate project has been reached. No more messing with the will of the people: resentful Germans and rebellious Greeks will be equally overridden in the name of – what? An international welfare state in which wealth is redistributed not just from the hard-working to the non-working classes of one’s own country, but from industrious nations to failing ones.

This development is also consistent with the UN dream for the entire world.

The next statements are worth reading very closely and digesting very slowly:

And what of their voters? They will scarcely be electorates in the true sense at all.

Which is why the Greeks were rioting in the streets: not just because they saw their early retirement age and their casual attitude to taxpaying under threat, but because they recognised that their views would now be irrelevant to their fate.

The will of the people is not a mere irritant or an obstacle, to be overcome under the pressure of particular circumstances. It is inherently volatile and dangerous: a threat to the benign, enlightened governance which only an apolitical bureaucratic administration can deliver.

Read the rest and ponder where we are in terms of progression towards the Tribulation.

Threat to Japanese Food Chain Multiplies as Cesium Contamination Spreads

Radiation fallout from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant poses a growing threat to Japan’s food chain as unsafe levels of cesium found in beef on supermarket shelves were also detected in more vegetables and the ocean.

Aeon Co., Japan’s biggest supermarket chain, said today 4,108 kilograms (9,056 pounds) of beef suspected of being contaminated was inadvertantly put on sale at 174 stores across Japan. Supermarkets started testing beef after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government found radioactive cesium in slaughtered cattle this month.

Seafood is another concern after cesium-134 in seawater near the Fukushima plant climbed to levels 30 times the allowed safety standards last week, according to tests performed by Tokyo Electric Power Co, national broadcaster NHK reported.

Strong quake jolts northeast Japan

The U.S.G.S. says the magnitude 6.2-quake struck at 3:51 a.m. local time Monday and was centred at a depth of 35.6 kilometres in the Pacific Ocean, 94 kilometers east of Fukushima prefecture. The epicenter is 282 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

On Saturday, a magnitude-6.4 quake struck in the same area off the east coast of Honshu.

This next story is interesting because at least one of the Canary Islands (because of the way the Islands were formed) is ripe for a massive "land slide" (my choice of words) which would trigger a huge tsunami along the east coast of the U.S.:

Alert - Canary Islands 400 Tremors In Four Days - El Hierro Volcano-Mega Tsunami Prediction?

Around 20 tremors were recorded by measuring stations in the 2-day period, although at approximately 1.8-2.0 on the Richter scale none gave cause for specific alarm and most went unnoticed by the population. Geologists say the tremors may well indicate increased volcanic activity in the western Canaries and are in close contact with the local authorities to update them on the situation.

Who knows the reality or truth behind the next article, but it is worth posting because it is part of the daily news these days:

Bad News from NASA: Proof That Comet Elenin Is Affecting Earth

This is going to be the most extraordinary communication so fasten your seatbelts; we are in for a rough ride. I have known in my heart for months that I would have to make a communication like this but had no idea it would be this soon.

Last night, looking at a NASA mathematical model of comet Elenin, I found out that a large celestial body has already penetrated the solar system and is on course for a near and possibly horrific encounter with the earth in the fall of 2011. What we do not know is the size and mass of comet Elenin though I have no doubt that it is known by the authorities.

We have an incoming mass (what might possibly be a neutron star) coming in and it will do a hard turn around the sun like any comet would, crossing and coming in between Mercury and Venus before starting its journey back out. On its way out it will cross our bow, meaning it will pass very close to the earth and the earth will pass behind it, plowing into its tail.

Christchurch residents wake to 4.3 quake

Two shallow earthquakes rattled Christchurch overnight and a 4.3 magnitude quake struck the shaken city.

The 4.3 quake hit the city at 7.45am and was centred 20km south of Darfield, at 11km deep. It was felt throughout the Canterbury region.

A magnitude 3.1 quake struck the city at 10.25pm yesterday. It was 5km deep and centred 20km north-east of Christchurch.

That quake followed a magnitude 2.9 which struck at 5.45pm. It was centred 5km from Oxford and was 5km deep.

A 5.1 magnitude quake woke people from their sleeps when it hit the city yesterday morning. That quake occurred at 5.39am, at a depth of 12km and 40km west of Christchurch.

Slain Iranian scientist was working on a nuclear bomb detonator

Daryush Rezaee-Nejad, 35, who died Saturday, July 23, when two motorcyclists shot him in the head and throat in front of his home in Tehran, was a rising star of the new generation of Iranian nuclear scientists. DEBKAfile's Iranian sources disclose he was attached to one of the most secret teams of Iran's nuclear program, employed by the defense ministry to construct detonators for the nuclear bombs and warhead already in advanced stages of development.
This was another in the series in the past year of mysterious attacks of top-flight scientists attached to the Iranian nuclear program.

In the news...

Watching Jordan has been interesting because they have a relatively stable government and one has to wonder if the radical uprising will occur there as it has in the rest of the Middle East:

U.S. Warns Jordan's king: Arab Revolt is on your doorstep

Jordan's King Abdullah II was warned in Washington this week that he had better start introducing political reforms without delay because a revolt against his throne was knocking at his door from neighboring Syria, DEBKAfile's Washington sources report.

The king was handed intelligence updates at the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council, informing him that the threat to destabilize the kingdom did not emanate from a deliberate plot by the Assad regime or the Syrian opposition. It came from the potential spillover of the tumult rocking Syria and two sources in particular:.

One: Many Syrian opposition factions had tribal and familial connections in Jordan from which they have been drawing much of their funding and arms. The Jordanian branches of these tribes are asking themselves if an uprising can be organized against Bashar Assad in Syria, why not against the Jordanian king?

US officials warned Abdullah that the Jordanian groups helping their brethren rise up in Syria are getting organized for armed revolt against him too and have begun collecting arms and explosives.

Two: The Muslim Brotherhood is on the ascendant in the Arab world after partially hijacking the revolts in Syria and Egypt. The Brotherhood has worldwide Islamic religious and political pretensions. The Syrian chapter senses it is on the brink of success, thanks partly to assistance from the Jordanian branch. So, they say, why not help our Jordanian brothers just as they helped us?

And to conclude:

DEBKAfile's sources say that Washington officials who spoke with King Abdullah were worried by the slowness of his responses and actions: One senior American official remarked: "By the time King Abdullah moves, the Arab Revolt will be upon him in the cities, and it will be too late to institute political reforms."

This evolving situation is worth watching very closely.

Iran blames US, Israel for killing of scientist

A senior Iranian official on Sunday blamed the United States and Israel for the assassination of an Iranian scientist, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Darioush Rezaie, 35, a university lecturer with a physics doctorate, was shot dead by a motorcyclist in Tehran on Saturday. The student news agency ISNA quoted an unnamed police official as saying Rezaie was a nuclear scientist but Deputy Interior Minister Safarali Baratlou said this was not certain.

There has been no claim of responsibility for Rezaie's killing. Several nuclear scientists have been assassinated in Iran in the last few years. One scientist was killed and another wounded in Tehran in November.

Mainstream media admits 'Palestine' is not impoverished

Over the past few years evidence has been trickling out that perhaps the Palestinians are not really all that impoverished, and only continue to receive so much foreign aid in order to paint Israel as an oppressor.

The evidence has built to the point that the mainstream media - the vehicle through which Israel is so often criticized - can no longer ignore it.

In a blog post titled "Palestine - 'Occupation Incorporated,'" Sky News correspondent Tim Marshall reveals that the Palestinian-controlled territories are "awash with money."

Marshall writes of the "smart restaurants, sparkling new hotels, and the scale of building work" that regularly greets him when he visits Ramallah or Jericho

And we also see two excellent commentaries provided by American Thinker:

The Palestinians Are Bluffing

The Palestinian Authority has been agitating to become a U.N. member-state for two years. It appears they have secured the support of a majority of other member-states in the General Assembly to achieve U.N. recognition as a state. But they will not become members of the organization because the U.S. intends to veto their request in the UNSC

Personally, I'm not so confident that the U.S. will veto this request, and the U.S. vote would be huge - in either direction.

First of all, Abbas has made it perfectly clear that it isn't an independent sovereign state per se that interests the Palestinians. Instead, they intend to use their U.N. statehood status as an instrument to gore Israel internationally:

Palestine's admission to the United Nations would pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only a political one. It would also pave the way for us to pursue claims against Israel at the United Nations, human rights treaty bodies and the International Court of Justice.

Meanwhile, here's Pinhas Inbari's thesis:

What the Palestinians really envisage after September is to exploit a UN endorsement of statehood to legitimize an escalation of the conflict... After the Palestinians have the 1967 borders recognized so as to negate the results of the Six Day War, they intend to seek recognition of the 1947 partition lines.

This article is definitely worth reading. Below may be the most significant point - one that must always be remembered:

Benny Morris sums up all of the above, and then he continues:

Arafat and Abbas rejected the offered compromises because they do not want a two-state solution, they want all of Palestine.
Once the Palestinians get their West Bank-Gaza state, they will use it as a springboard for their second-stage assault, political and military, on Israel-and they will no doubt lodge claims "at the United Nations, human rights treaty bodies, and the International Court of Justice" as part of that assault.

But the major basis of political and moral assault on Israel will be the Palestinian demand for a "Right of Return"-and its international acceptance and implementation-of the 1948 refugees, who now number, them and their descendants, 5-6 million souls.

Also see:

Israel's War of the Words

Almost everyone agrees about Israel's military superiority over its adversaries. After all, it has won all the conventional wars, as well as the non-conventional ones -- Hamas's fantastic victory declarations in 2009, amidst the ruins of Gaza City, notwithstanding. But there is another war, an ongoing war, in which Israel suffers nothing but defeat after defeat. And in the long term this war might be even more important than the military wars, the economic wars, and the political wars.

That is the War of the Words.

This is another article that is really worth reading. I'll cut to the bottom line:

These points show Israel's willingness to make major concessions for peace with its neighbors.

They also show something else.

Had Israel been the aggressor in 1967 then its control of the West Bank and Gaza would indeed have been against international law. But as the victim of aggression its position is quite different, for according to the Charters of the League of Nations and subsequently of the United Nations -- which govern such situations -- the legal status of territories captured in self-defense can only be determined by peace treaties between the warring parties. When the Arabs uttered their three Nos, therefore, Israel would have been perfectly justified, legally, in annexing those territories.

So not only has there never been a sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, but to date the Palestinians have rejected every proposed treaty which would create such a state.

In the absence of such a treaty, again, there quite literally is nothing to "occupy."

What Will September Bring?

Thanks to Jec for finding this one. Jerry Golden always reminds us of what Israel is facing in the near future, and it is a good reminder to take a look at the current status of the powder keg known as the Middle East:

What Will September Bring?

We've all heard it said, "Smile - Things Could Be Worse" so we smiled and sure enough things got worse. Okay I know that is not a nice way to begin a report. Yet as most of us try to remain positive it seems to become more difficult to do so every day with the horrible news coming at us from all directions.

The war here in Israel always seems to be on the very edge of happening. Sometimes it is a little more frightening than others - and this is one of those times. All indicators are now pointing to September of this year, - if these indicators are true, and war is imminent, it would seem to me that the element of surprise is no longer a factor on either side.

So, the advantage would go to the one who pulls the trigger first. If you give that some thought, it's way past time to prepare.

Therefore we all should be on our faces before God in prayer.

Because this war will be far worse than any before here in Israel, and even our top Generals are telling us in our Israeli newspapers, that many will die in this coming war.

Sometimes we forget just how close we may be to seeing war in this region. We also forget just how prepared all sides are to go to war:

I have reported many times about the unbelievable build-up of long and medium range missiles amassed at our northern border. They are estimated now at over 50,000 and many are believed to be loaded with chemical warheads. Syria now is faced with nothing less than a civil war and Assad confronted with his final days unless he can find a way out. War with Israel is looking better to him every day.

Hamas in Gaza is now fully armed for war. The Egyptian border is open and in the control of the Moslem Brotherhood. The same Moslem Brotherhood that gave birth to Hamas in Gaza.

They no longer have to depend on smuggling tunnels, they come across now by truck caravans. Keep in mind that we are speaking of Islamists who love death more than you love life, and have for generations indoctrinated their kids that to die for Allah whilst killing Jews is the way to their "heaven".

And we have to recall who is working behind the scenes:

And anyone who believes that Iran doesn't already have nuclear weapons is well past being naive They are plain stupid. The CVN 77 G.H.W. Bush has just entered the Persian Gulf along with CVN 76 Ronald Reagan. These aircraft carriers don't travel alone, but with a group of battleships and at least one nuclear submarine

Israel, in the meantime, is caught between a rock and hard place. If they wait too long and the missiles start falling upon Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem they have given up the first strike advantage. If they hit Iran [the real source to all the above] they will be blamed for starting World War III. Nevertheless, the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people is not an option therefore something has to happen - and very soon.

Is really is a region that is just on the brink.

But nothing will happen outside of God's plan, and that includes the timing of the various wars and battles that are to be fought.

Meanhwhile, we are specifically directed to be on the watch for Jesus during these times:

"Be on guard! Be Alert!

If He comes suddenly, do not let him catch you sleeping."
(Mark 13:33-37)

"It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes."
(Luke 12:37)

"It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night."
(Luke 12:38)

Ready and watching.

That's how He wants to find us - not trembling in fear, but looking up with the faith that we know what awaits us in the midst of these signs.

"Amen. Come, Lord Jesus"
(Revelation 22:20)

Standing With Israel

This article comes from the American Thinker and it is most certainly a worthwhile read:

Standing With Israel

"Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried."

This famous pledge by Ruth, a young Moabite widow, to her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi is such a moving declaration of loyalty that it is frequently cited in marriage ceremonies.

It was also frequently repeated at the three-day (July 18-20) Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Summit in Washington D.C. When Glenn Beck, the keynote speaker at the culminating Summit banquet, quoted that biblical pledge of friendship, five thousand Christians leapt to their feet in praise and affirmation, and I, a Jew, a child of Holocaust survivors, was moved to tears by this army of unshakeable friends.

Exactly as God would have it.

The Christians who assembled at the Summit and made their heartfelt pledge to protect and stand with Israel did so out of unconditional love and with no expectations of rewards.

They acknowledge what so many refuse to see:

Jews and Christians face the same enemies and their destinies are bound today as never before.

What begins with the Jews doesn't end with the Jews. Today I read about Yousef Nadarkhani, a 32 year-old Iranian evangelical pastor, who had been commanded by the Iranian regime to renounce his Christian faith or face execution.

Nadarkhani's dooming sentencing is only the latest occurrence in the Islamic Republic's aggressive and heightened attack on the Christian population. It is not just Iran. USA Today reports that "The single most dangerous thing in the world to be, right now, is a Christian in a Muslim country.

All you have to do is take a look at Voice of the Martyrs (here) and see the evidence.

Those who are attempting to erase Jewish history from the land of Israel are also bent on eliminating the Christian presence. In1995. Bethlehem, the most identifiably Christian town, had a Christian population of 80 percent. Today with a population of under 30 percent Christians, Bethlehem has, for the first time in over two thousand years, lost its Christian majority. The same changes have taken place in two other famously Christian towns, Nazareth and Jerusalem.

Just read that again and let it sink in.

The story's the same in Egypt, Iraq and elsewhere in the Mideast. The only place in the region where the Christian population is growing is in Israel.

Just as Ruth, Christians United for Israel pledge their loyalty clear-eyed about the realities of the hostilities they can encounter and expecti no rewards for their act of love. However, the story of Ruth and Naomi does not end with a declaration of loyalty.

With Naomi's guidance, Ruth remarries and has a son. Naomi goes from feeling isolated to the joy of holding a grandchild in her arms. And Ruth's son Oved becomes the father of Jesse, whose youngest son is David, the beloved king of all the Jewish people. Years later Jesus, a descendant of David, is born in Bethlehem.

Without Ruth, Jewish history could not continue.

And Christian history could not begin. CUFI stands with Israel in an ultimate pledge of loyalty, and without that pledge, Jewish and Christian destinies would be more vulnerable.

We prophecy watchers stand firmly with Israel.

God would have it no other way. Period.

Is a "PA State" Inevitable?

Joel Rosenberg attempts to answer a question that many of us ask:

Is A Palestinian State Inevitable?

This is a very interesting article, whether you agree or not. Here are a few of his comments:

While traveling through Israel this month, I’ve been asked by many people if a Palestinian state inevitable, and will it happen this fall? It’s a controversial topic, to be sure, and an increasingly relevant one given the upcoming vote in the U.N. General Assembly this fall. Here’s what I’ve been sharing with people here:

1. The Bible doesn’t speak specifically to the issue of whether a sovereign Palestinian state will be created or not.

2. That said, I tend to believe the geopolitical and prophetic evidence suggests there will probably be a Palestinian state in the not-too-distant future.

I'm not sure if I would agree with this or not. I could see the remaining prophetic events occurring with or without a "PA State".

3. International pressure on Israel to cut a deal, divide the Land, and create a Palestinian state is overwhelming, relentless, and intensifying.

True.

4. Currently, the Palestinian leadership refuses to negotiate directly with Israel. Rather, they hope to unilaterally declare a state by getting the vast majority of countries at the U.N. to vote for the creation of state at the General Assembly session in New York in September.

5. The Palestinians have more than enough votes to pass such a U.N. resolution in the General Assembly (though the U.S. has suggested it would veto a unilateral declaration if it came to the Security Council).

True. I also wonder if we could really count on the U.S. in "crunch time".

Jumping ahead:

9. However, the Bible strongly warns the nations not to divide the Land of Israel and states that all nations who do so will face God’s judgment. The Lord said to the Hebrew Prophet Joel, “And I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” (Joel 3:2)

10. Despite this warning, the nations have repeatedly divided the Land of Israel over the centuries.

In addition to points about expecting to see a "PA State" formed, Mr Rosenberg adds this:

So we should expect European pressure to continue to build and eventually a European leader to take the lead and get a deal done — to many, it will look like a wonderful peace deal, at first, but the Bible makes clear it will turn disastrous for Israel, and the Palestinians, and the world.

And lastly:

Let us continue to pray for the Prince of Peace — Jesus the Messiah — to draw more and more people in the epicenter to Himself. This is the only true and lasting hope for peace.

Amen.

In other news...

IDF in buying spree in anticipation of September

As the Palestinians move forward with their plans to unilaterally declare statehood in September, the army has decided to procure new non-lethal weapons that will help disperse large demonstrations and marches that could break out in the West Bank and along Israel’s borders in the North.

"We Are Here to Stay" Says Prime Minister Netanyahu

Introduced by Pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United For Israel (CUFI), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a gathering of thousands of ardent Christian Zionists via satellite from Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon, July 19th at a special “Middle East Briefing” session at the sixth annual CUFI national summit in Washington.

Greeted with over 10 minutes of applause and enthusiastic cheers, Mr. Netanyahu extended his appreciation to Pastor Hagee for his “unwavering support and commitment for Israel” and for those Christian supporters of Israel who have the “courage to stand up and speak the truth.” Sharing the same sentiments that he did in his speech before the Joint Sessions of Congress in late May, Netanyahu said, “Israel is not what’s wrong with the Middle East; it’s what is right about it. Israel is a country that draws from the same well as you. Both America and Israel were forged on the same principles, the same ideas and so we have shared values and common hopes for the future.”

Drawing the largest applause was Netanyahu’s reference to the biblical connection of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland. “The Jewish people are not occupiers in the land of Israel. We have returned to the land of our forebearers; of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Solomon and we are here to stay.”

Glenn Beck; John Hagee Stir Crowd at CUFI Summit

Receiving numerous rousing ovations and thunderous applause, FOX television personality Glenn Beck told an audience of over 5000 gathered at the Christians United For Israel (CUFI) national summit in Washington that if the pernicious trends in global anti-Semitism culminate in another genocide “then count me as a Jew, and come for me first.” Mr. Beck delivered these remarks as part of his keynote address at “The Night to Honor Israel” gala banquet at organization’s sixth annual convocation on Tuesday evening, February 19th.

Reiterating Mr. Beck’s sentiments was Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United For Israel who also delivered an impassioned address. “Mr. Ahmadinejad: Do not threaten the people of Israel and the people of America,” he said. Citing those miscreants throughout history who have sought to eradicate the Jewish people, he noted, “Look at Pharoah of Egypt and Haman of Persia in the story of Purim and you will have some idea of G-d’s punishment for you.”

Chinese Regime Developed Space-Age Weapons Against Taiwan, US

The Chinese military years ago mulled the use of electromagnetic weapons against the United States and Taiwan, and could have built on that technology to have in its arsenal a working radiation weapon today, according to U.S. National Security Archive documents declassified and released on Thursday.

Chinese communists have also been intent on acquiring the capability to knock out U.S. aircraft carriers and their escorts with sophisticated weaponry, and also being able to wipe out electronics in Taiwan as part of a potential attempt to invade the island, the NGIC paper says.

Homeland Security warns of potential threats against utilities

...several recent incidents highlight the ongoing threat to infrastructure in the utility sectors from insiders and outsiders seeking facility-specific information that might be exploited in an attack," DHS spokesman Matthew Chandler said.

A bulletin the Department of Homeland Security sent to local law enforcement officials this week warns of possible threats to private utility facilities in the United States.

Another must see video:

Video: Understanding UN Bias Against Israel

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has made the democratic State of Israel the target of incessant condemnation while neglecting its mandate in challenging the oppressive regimes around the world.

The following film clip uncovers the factors behind the United Nations bias against Israel. We encourage you to view the clip, forward to friends, and partner with us to counter the hypocrisy and expose the truth.

EU Update: More Central Power

This week has had some interesting developments within the EU, and it appears to have consolidated more centralized power as a result of the financial crisis:

Eurozone leaders hail leap towards economic union

The attempt to bail-out Greece and other struggling eurozone countries raised the prospect of a two-speed European Union with far closer ties between countries using the euro compared with those, such as Britain, that remained outside.

European leaders thrashed out an agreement to save the stricken euro last night, with a major step towards a full economic union in which taxpayers in rich nations would cover the spending of poorer ones.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said the deal had pulled the eurozone back from the brink of disaster and laid foundations for the creation of an EU “economic government”.

He hailed it as “a historic moment” that would provide “bold and ambitious” plans for the creation of an embryonic EU treasury in the form of a European Monetary Fund.

Our ambition is to seize the Greek crisis to make a quantum leap in eurozone government,” he said.

“The very words were once taboo. We will give a clearer vision of the way we see the eurozone evolving. We have done something historic.

It looks like the EU may emerge as strong as ever - certainly in terms of more and more centralized power - not surprising for a prophecy watcher.

The Greek bail-out: what does it mean and why is it happening?

The agreement points to what many suspect — that the ultimate solution to draw a line under the crisis may have to come in the form of ever greater economic financial integration across the euro nations, with stronger members supporting the weaker.

Euro leaders agree second Greece bailout and overhaul of rescue fund

Following weeks of political and market turbulence, eurozone leaders on Thursday undertook radical steps to safeguard the single currency agreeing the beginnings of a European Monetary Fund and a fresh bailout for Greece.

"For the first time, the politics and the markets are coming together," said European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, with markets having to date doubted the fundamental commitment of leaders to saving the eurozone.

EU council president Herman Van Rompuy said the deal proved "we will not waver in defence of our common currency

"We have agreed to create the beginnings of a European Monetary Fund," said French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Merkel, who forced Paris to back down on a proposed bank levy in return for giving new powers to the rescue fund, said the move was "historic".

"What we are doing now is an example for deeper integration - handing over and transferring more competences to EU institutions. This is a historic day."

EU leaders look to expanded bailout

The most striking departure outlined on Thursday at the eurozone's "moment of truth" summit in Brussels was a raft of measures that, if agreed and implemented, would turn the single currency's bailout fund into a baby EMF, replicating the kind of remit across the eurozone that the IMF operates globally.

Politically, it is a big move, inconceivable only weeks ago, indicating how the swirling crisis has concentrated minds.

They are supposed to save Greece and ringfence the euro. They also mark an incremental step towards eurozone government and fiscal union

These are interesting developments. It is almost becoming a "government within a government" with the eurozone nations now having their own financial agreements.

How this will impact the greater EU is anyone's guess, but for now, the EU has locked down their centralized power and kept the Euro alive.

We have also learned from this crisis that the EU will go to almost any lengths to keep this union together.

Very interesting indeed.