Coming Soon: The End Of Human Government

Very often, when searching through the news for prophecy related information, a trend will emerge revealing a certain consistency in the news. Such a trend is grossly apparent today, and that trend is the massive failure of human government, as the status of the world today is a direct reflection of the inability of humans to lead other humans via government.

All one has to do is look through history at the so-called "great" empires. What happens to these great empires?

Egypt?
Babylon?
Persia?
Rome?

Regardless of which empire is viewed, they all end in complete failure - every single time, without exception.

Sooner or later these empires become dominated by greed, corruption, oppression, moral failure, violence, economic collapse and an array of related failures. Every time. No exceptions.

Take a look at 1 Samuel - as the people of Israel begged God to give them a human king:

As Samuel "prayed to the Lord" (1 Samuel 8:6) regarding the people requesting a human king, God reflected:

"And the Lord told him: 'Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king" (1 Samuel 8:7)

This is a key point. The "people" reject God and then request to be led by another human. Mistake # 1, and it's a whopper.

Sadly, does this sound familiar?

God elaborates:

"Now listen to them; but warn solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." (1 Samuel 8:9)

"This is what the king who will reign over you will do:

He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses...Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive trees and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.

Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day" (1 Samuel 8:10-18)

And how did the people respond?

"But the people refused to listen to Samuel. 'No!' they said, 'We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles."

"When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered 'Listen to them and give them a king'". (1 Samuel 8:19-21)

So God gave the people their wishes, despite his warnings.


Is it any different today?


Look at the state of the world today: Wars, persecution, torture, economic failure, greed, corruption, lies, slander, oppression, thievery, imprisionment, etc. Everything that God warned against has been revealed throughout the generations, and today we see more evidence of this than ever before.

Today's news confirms exactly what God predicted, and the first story profiles the state of California as a perfect example of the failure of human government:

Is it too late to save the Golden State?

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, some 40,000 new laws take effect across the 50 States effective January 1, 2012. California leads the nation is passing arguably the most absurd of these laws. The Assembly, State Senate and Governor Jerry Brown defy comprehension.

Among the thousands of California laws passed in 2011, California leads the pack of States with its composite head in the toilet mentality. Here are a few of the inane laws

For perspective on the absurdity that typically surrounds human government - take a look at these ridiculous laws.

It's All Over But The Voting

Below is a long article but the brief quotes below say it all:

The Republican and media Establishments have joined hands in an attempt to lead America buoyantly, triumphantly off the cliff into the bottomless pit of civilizational dissolution.

The Republican Establishment, its media supporters, and the liberal media that also has an investment in politics as usual—and in avoiding the danger presented by a genuine conservative Republican—will control the official story, and the nature of the coverage, of this primary campaign.

European Health Care: Economic Malpractice

Any reasonable person does not take satisfaction in the failure and destruction of another. This is especially true when the other is innocent of any wrongdoing or lack of judgment.

Yet sometimes, epic failure can constructively serve as an example of what not to do. If the individual states of our nation are a laboratory of democracy, then the states of Europe are the laboratory of socialism. What we are witness to in Greece, and eventually in Spain, Italy, and possibly France, is the painful death of the welfare state.

Employment is shrinking, and tax revenues are falling. Internally, the socialist cash-machine is running empty as other people's money dries up. It is all happening just as reader of American Thinker foresaw.

The welfare state's demise, long inevitable, will be painful and ugly, and it will harshly impact the weakest and the most innocent of the population. After all, the welfare state defies the laws of economics and the laws of mathematics. Take notice as the liberal and socialist agitators and pundits shake their collectivized fists at the sky and curse the gods without any noticeable change. The facts on the ground will do what they will, despite rhetoric or political pontifications coming from any quarter.


Back in May 2010, bluegrasspundit made mention of the total hypocrisy of the left with regard to ObamaCare.

After shilling for ObamaCare for months, the New York Times is now telling Greece getting out of the health care marketplace would allow health care costs to come down. The hypocrisy of the left is simple astounding.

What is also important to make note of is that these socialized countries do not have the traditional bogeyman that leftists point their finger at: a revenue-hungry military. The Greek military is small to the point of insignificance. The same is true with Spain, Italy, and most others on the continent. Their defensive needs were being functionally met and subsidized by the United States.

A recent article by the NY Times makes for overwhelming evidence of the disruption and pain this transformation causes to the innocent and the disadvantaged. While the article is slanted politically, it is worth reading in its entirety; the reader must realize that this will happen in other European nations, and eventually here in the U.S. should we be so foolish as to follow their example.

At public hospitals, doctors report shortages of all kinds of supplies, from toilet paper to catheters to syringes. Computerized equipment has gone unrepaired and is no longer in use. Nurses are handling four times the patients they should, and wait times for operations -- even cancer surgeries -- have grown longer.
Access to drugs has also been affected, as some drug manufacturers, owed tens of millions of dollars, are no longer willing to supply Greek hospitals. At the same time pharmacists, afraid that the government might not reimburse them, are asking for cash payments, even from those with insurance.

Again, EPIC FAILURE.

Our Growing Police State

Along the way a massive security infrastructure and bureaucracy was created. The Patriot Act authorized the broad use of enhanced surveillance techniques and intelligence gathering while including domestic terrorism under the scope of the intelligence services.

And we now have a Department of Homeland Security that employs over 216,000. The Transportation Security Agency consists of over 58,000 of those employees. The Border Patrol is of equivalent size, while ICE employs approximately 20,500. In an address delivered by retired General Barry McCaffrey, he emphasized the real dangers of the War on Drugs and an out of control border.

The criminal networks have become ever more sophisticated and now act as paramilitaries, destabilizing one of our most important allies. And yet the inward directed nature of much of our security establishment does nothing to address real and present dangers.

In the meantime, corruption and cronyism have risen to a level not seen since the 1870's.

Nat Hentoff has written extensively on the assault on civil liberties and on due process starting with many of the measures of the Bush Administration. This accelerated, according to Mr. Hentoff, under President Obama, who has concentrated power in the White House to an extraordinary degree. By avoiding Congressional approval and his own Executive Branch through the appointment of "czars" ranging from the auto industry to regulation to ethics to climate to consumer affairs, the president has subverted the separation of powers repeatedly in an imperial presidency that is unparalleled.


Our government has built an anti-Constitutional framework that can and will eventually be turned against our citizens. On one side we have our civil/criminal system, and the other the growing power of Orwellian dysfunction. Think about it.

Rosen: Who Is Obama Kidding?

These myriad departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions, committees, services, panels, etc., regulate and seek to control, to one degree or another, most every element of our personal lives and businesses. While government is a necessary part of our society, by its very nature and its monopoly power in most of its functions, it is inherently inefficient, bureaucratic and political. Where government or a quasi-governmental undertaking does have to compete with the private sector (like the U.S. Postal Service), its inefficiencies and excessive costs are readily apparent. It all constitutes an overhead cost on our economy that's essential to limit.



You Won't Believe How Corrupt, Lazy And Stinking Rich Our Congress Have Become

If our founding fathers could see the cesspool that the U.S. Congress has become today, they would roll over in their graves.

Members of Congress only "work" a little over a third of the days on the calendar. The rest of the time they have off.

It is no wonder why so many members of Congress are involved in so much corruption

Many members of Congress also use their positions of power and the information they learn during the course of their duties to become fabulously wealthy.

At a time when incomes nationally are actually declining, our Congress critters are becoming stinking rich at a staggering pace. Yes, politics in America has always been a game that is funded and played by wealthy individuals, but things have gotten so extreme that it is hard to argue that average Americans have any control over Congress at all at this point.

Over the past couple of decades, the "wealth gap" between members of Congress and average Americans has grown to ridiculous proportions. Things have gotten so bad that now even the New York Times is reporting on these things....

Most members of Congress do not care about you. What they do care about is taking care of their political careers and taking care of their big donors. As noted earlier, it takes enormous amounts of money to win national elections in America, and most members of Congress are not about to do anything that will threaten the gravy train.

Our system is fundamentally broken. It is time to quit pretending.

Also see:

Soros Group Merges With White House

2011: The Year The Wheels Fell Off


There are actually many many more links that could be provided, but the ones above sufficiently make the point.

Human government is a failure and it always has been.

What has this to do with biblical prophecy?

Jesus will finally end human government when He returns at the end of the Tribulation - a 7-year period which will offer the very worst that human government has to offer.

The statue of Daniel 2, which reflects four of the most potent and powerful examples of human government has a fate - a fate that is symbolic of all human government. In a symbolic gesture, we can see once again what God thinks of human government as we see the fate of the statue:

"Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces...and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace." (Daniel 2:35)

In other words, gone forever. "Swept away without leaving a trace". Thank God for that.

And what happens upon the formal ending of human government?

"...the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever." (Daniel 2:44)

At the time of the second coming, Jesus will establish His reign on earth, and we will never see human government again. Amen to that.

Only Jesus is worthy to reign over man; the history of man's rule on earth should provide ample proof of that fact.

But the time for human government is rapidly drawing to a close.

As we progress down the statue of Daniel 2, from head to toes, we progress through a representation of human government, as shown by the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, The Greek Empire and finally, the Roman Empire. Given this, we are currently at the feet - feet made of Iron and Clay which represents the dysfunctional diversity of the revived Roman Empire (aka the EU).

The only remaining stage, according to this statue, is the "toes" stage, which represents the final "10 Kings" aspect of human government - a stage which will produce the antichrist and usher in the Tribulation - and that time, the countdown begins for the final 7 year period. This will reveal the true nature of human government with all of its failures.

Fortunately, this story has a wonderful ending - Jesus has given us assurances of that fact.

When Jesus returns - He will establish His kingdom and the contrast to human government couldn't be more dramatic.

"Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom..." (Daniel 7:27)

And for eternity, following this period, we will see an even greater manifestation of God's rule as contrasted with man's rule:

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them. and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)

AMEN.

More Headlines: Updates on Iran

Iran-U.S. Brinkmanship Over Strait Of Hormuz Nears Breaking Point

Iran Ramps Up War Of Words With U.S.

Kahlili: The Coming War With Iran

"Iran War Very Dangerous Scenario"

And below we see this very interesting story:

Russian Billionaire Running For President Wants To Create A New Currency

The Russian billionaire challenging Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in March's presidential election said Thursday that he will push for a common currency with the European Union and liberalize the nation's political scene if elected.

Mikhail Prokhorov, who owns 80 percent of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, didn't detail his proposal for a "common global currency based on the euro and the ruble" in the outline of an election platform that he released on his Live Journal blog.

But he pledged to push for Russia's integration into a "Big Europe."

On The Brink With Iran

The rhetoric around Iran is increasing by the day - rhetoric which includes threats of increasing sanctions, threats of war, threats of closing the Strait of Hormuz, and threats of armed conflict and outright war. It's hard to imagine that this can continue much longer without something breaking.

Today we see yet another development which points towards conflict:

Iran Raises Anti-US Threat Level: Israel's C-of-S Warns Of Regional War

Thursday afternoon, Dec. 29, Tehran raised the pitch of its threats to the United States when Dep. Chief of the Revolutionary Guards Gen. Hossein Salami declared: "The United States is in no position to tell Tehran what to do in the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "Any threat will be responded [to] by threat… We will not relinquish our strategic moves in Iran's vital interests are undermined by any means."

At around the same time, Israel's chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz spoke of "the rising potential for a multi-arena event," i.e. a comprehensive armed conflict. Facing in several directions as we are "between terrorist organizations and Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon… we can't afford to stay on the defensive and must come up with offensive measures," he said.

US and NATO task forces in the Persian Gulf have been placed on alert after US intelligence warned that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are preparing Iranian marine commandos to sow mines in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Middle East sources warn however that the repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz coming from Tehran this week and the framework of its naval exercise clearly point to the manner in which Iran intends to hit back for the tough new sanctions which the West plans to approve next month. The new round is expected to shear off 80 percent of the Islamic Republic's revenues.

The European Union's 27 member-states meet in January to approve an embargo on Iranian oil, with effect on 25 percent of Iran's energy exports. Next month, too, President Barack Obama plans to sign into law an amendment authorizing severe penalties for foreign banks trading with Iran's central bank, CBI, including the loss of links with American banks and financial institutions.

Tehran is expected to strike back hard by sowing mines in Hormuz and in the waters opposite the oil fields and terminals of fellow Persian Gulf oil producers, including Saudi Arabia.

Interestingly, we see this happening at the same time:

US Military Chief To Visit Israel To Reassure On Iran

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs, will arrive in Israel next month for talks aimed at reassuring Israel that the US is serious about stopping Iran’s nuclear program.

Dempsey will arrive in mid- January in a trip that comes as the US escalates its rhetoric regarding US military preparations to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

In an interview with CNN last week, Dempsey said that preparations for a military option “are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary.”

Talks with Dempsey are expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program as well as regional developments such as the challenges Israel faces from a possible Islamic takeover in Egypt and from Hezbollah and Syria in the North.

Also see:

The Gathering Storm: A Pessimistic Prognosis For 2012

Israel and the U.S. will soon be called upon to decide between a preemptive military strike and coming to terms with Iran as the world’s tenth nuclear power.

In the moment of truth, if left with no other choice, I believe that Israel will choose the military option.

Realizing this, and acknowledging that a nuclear Iran is a clear and present danger to its own national security, the United States may take upon itself to carry most of the burden. From Israel’s point of view, the latter scenario is immeasurably preferable to the former, but in both cases, the cure might be just as bad, or perhaps even worse, than the disease itself, as so many of Israel’s security chiefs, in the army, the Shin Bet and the Mossad, have argued in recent years.

Iran and, no less importantly, the increasingly unpredictable Syria, have hundreds of long range, high yield ballistic missiles capable of delivering many tons of TNT as well as chemical and biological warheads to any point in Israel;

Hezbollah has at least 40,000 short and medium range missiles that could inflict heavy damage on Israel’s north; Hamas in Gaza, though not in that league, could also launch scores of less destructive but no less traumatizing missiles into Israeli cities south of Tel Aviv while creating mayhem on the borders as well; and West Bank Palestinians, as well as some Israeli Arabs, could very well decide to join such an offensive jihad themselves.

And this:

Will A U.S. Attack On Iran Become Obama's "October Surprise"?

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Today's Headlines

U.S. Sends Aircraft Carrier Through Strait Of Hormuz During Iran Wargames

The US has provocatively sent one of its biggest warships through the Strait of Hormuz amidst Iranian wargames taking place in the region shortly after warning Iran that any closure of the key oil choke point would not be tolerated.“

A US aircraft carrier entered a zone near the Strait of Hormuz being used by the Iranian navy for wargames, an Iranian official said Thursday amid rising tensions over the key oil-transit channel,” reports YNet News.

More Rocket Attacks On Southern Israel

Babies and toddlers asleep for their afternoon naps were rudely awakened and snatched from their beds as the Color Red rocket alert siren blared its warning Thursday for a second time.

Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists in northern Gaza aimed their Qassam rocket attack on Jewish communities in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council district.

People in the Eshkol Regional Council district were forced to make detours to safe spaces and bomb shelters on their way to work and school earlier in the day as they returned from their Chanukah vacations, when Gaza terrorists launched the first Qassam attack of the day on the region.

IDF Confirms Preparations For Extensive Future Gaza Military Action

Four rockets were fired Wednesday from Gaza into Israel, with two landing in open areas in the Eshkol region and another landing in the Sha'ar Hanegev region

The strike followed a targeted killing in which two sorties by the Israel Air Force killed three terrorists and wounded another nine overnight Tuesday in communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.

The rocket fire comes as the Israel Defense Forces' Gaza Division is preparing for a possible large-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip, now three years after Operation Cast Lead. "We are preparing and in fact are ready for another campaign, which will be varied and different, to renew our deterrence,

Pentagon: Iranian Disruption Of Oil Route "Will Not Be Tolerated"

U.S. military officials warned Wednesday that any attempt by Iran to disrupt oil shipments at the mouth of the Persian Gulf "will not be tolerated," as Iran threatened for the second day in a row to interfere with the critical passageway.

Pentagon spokesman George Little describe the route, the Strait of Hormuz, as an "economic lifeline" vital to stability in the region. He said any attempt to block it would be "problematic."

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's 5th fleet warned Iran against disrupting shipments in the strait, saying the U.S. Navy keeps a "robust presence in the region" and is "ready to counter malevolent actions to ensure freedom of navigation."

Conflict Between Iran And West "The Greatest Danger" of 2012 - Russia's UN Envoy

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, believes that the conflict looming between Iran and Western countries poses the “greatest danger” in the upcoming year.

Iran’s recent threats to block a vital oil route if the West places sanctions on its oil exports, followed by the US’s sharp response to the threat, have attracted the attention of the international community and raised concerns that the events might push the two nations to the brink of war.

And below, we see what could be the most interesting and germane article in today's news:

Obama Administration Secretly Preparing Options For Aiding The Syrian Opposition

As the violence in Syria spirals out of control, top officials in President Barack Obama's administration are quietly preparing options for how to assist the Syrian opposition, including gaming out the unlikely option of setting up a no-fly zone in Syria and preparing for another major diplomatic initiative.

National Security Council (NSC) has begun an informal, quiet interagency process to create and collect options for aiding the Syrian opposition, two administration officials confirmed to The Cable.

"The interagency is now looking at options for Syria, but it's still at the preliminary stage," one official said. "There are many people in the administration that realize the status quo is unsustainable and there is an internal recognition that existing financial sanctions are not going to bring down the Syrian regime in the near future."

After imposing several rounds of financial sanctions on Syrian regime leaders, the focus is now shifting to assisting the opposition directly. The interagency process is still ongoing and the NSC has tasked State and DOD to present options in the near future, but nothing has been decided, said the officials

We already know what Assad's response will be if and when this type of "intervention" occurs, and if Assad follows through with his promise to send missiles into Israel, we will have officially reached the first "tipping point" in the region.

Stay tuned.

In the news:

PA Terrorists Launch Rocket Attack On Southern Israel

Palestinian Authority terrorists launched a failed rocket attack on southern Israel Wednesday morning following a retaliatory IAF air strike on the region.

Although the short-range Qassam rocket was aimed at Israel's Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council district -- a fact made clear by the activation of the Color Red air raid siren -- the missile landed in an open area and did not explode. No one was physically injured and no damage was caused.

The Israeli Air Force meanwhile struck two terrorist targets in Gaza late Tuesday night in an operation carried out in cooperation with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

The strikes came in retaliation for the daily rocket and mortar attacks emanating from the region, aimed at southern Israeli civilian communities, the latest of which were fired Sunday and Monday, as well as several days last week, including over the Sabbath.

IAF Hits Islamic Jihad In Gaza

A pinpoint IAF airstrike in Gaza on Tuesday evening killed one Islamic Jihad terrorist and injured three others.

Islamic Jihad told CNN the strike hit a small vehicle in northern Gaza.

The operation targeted "a squad affiliated with recent terror activity," the IDF released in a statement. The IDF made no reference to deaths or injuries.

Second IAF Strike In Gaza Targets Terror Cell

For the second time in several hours, the IAF struck late Tuesday evening a Global Jihad terrorist cell that was preparing to carry out a terror attack against Israelis.

The IDF Spokesperson said in a statement that the terrorists were struck down in a joint IDF-Israel Security Agency (ISA) operation. The statement added the terrorists were planning an attack along Israel’s border with Egypt.

One of the terrorists in the group was identified as Rami Daoud Jaber Kafarneh from Jabalia. Kafarneh, a former member of Hamas’ military

"Arab World Must Stop Israel's Judaization of Jerusalem"

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh made an urgent call Tuesday on the international Arab and Muslim community to stop what he called Israel's "Judaization" of Jerusalem and attacks on the Jewish state's Muslim minority.

Speaking to journalists in Cairo after two days of meetings with Egyptian officials on the first leg of his tour of the Middle East, Haniyeh slammed Israel for the "demolition of houses, villages and ethnic cleansing" in Jerusalem, pan-Arab news outlet Elaph reported.

Iran: We'll Stop The Flow Of Gulf Oil If Sanctions Are Imposed

Iran today threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if the United Nations imposes sanctions on Iranian oil as a response to Iran’s sketchy uranium enrichment program, according to a report from Reuters.

Iran’s warning on Tuesday came three weeks after EU foreign ministers decided to tighten sanctions over the U.N. watchdog report and laid out plans for a possible embargo of oil from the world’s No. 5 crude exporter.

“If they (the West) impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz,” the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying.

Abbas Primes West Bank For "Palestinian Resistance" (Third Intifada)

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas kicked off preparations for a fresh outbreak of anti-Israel "resistance" – which concerned US and Israeli security circles believe will develop into "Intifada No. 3" – Tuesday, Dec. 27, by suddenly firing, the West Bank's top security officer Maj. Gen. Diab el-Ali.

DEBKAfile's military sources in Washington and Jerusalem report that in both capitals, the Palestinian leader's action is seen as paving the way for radical changes in West Bank security. This fragile edifice was kept stable for some years thanks to joint US-Israeli-Palestinian efforts to back up peaceful relations between the Palestinians and Israel after the bloody years of the "Al Aqsa Intifada" terror.

Abbas (Abu Mazen) has now decided to upset this equilibrium by orchestrating an Arab Spring-style uprising on the West Bank, the differences being that the Palestinians will not rise up against their own leaders, i.e., himself, but against Israel, and that in no time this event is liable to revert to the "intifada"-style Palestinian terrorist violence of the early 2000s.

Israel Says It Will Have To Invade Gaza Again

Israeli army chief Gen. Benny Gantz on Tuesday said there is no alternative to another major military ground operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

"I believe that the state of Israel cannot continue to live under the active threat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Sooner or later, there will be no escape from conducting a significant operation."

Gantz's remarks came just hours after Israeli aircraft struck two Palestinian terror cells en route to carry out attacks along Gaza's border fence. Gaza-based terror groups responded by firing rockets at communities in southern Israel early Wednesday morning.

Under Obama, An Emerging Global Apparatus For Drone Killing

The Obama administration’s counterterrorism accomplishments are most apparent in what it has been able to dismantle, including CIA prisons and entire tiers of al-Qaeda’s leadership. But what the administration has assembled, hidden from public view, may be equally consequential.

In the space of three years, the administration has built an extensive apparatus for using drones to carry out targeted killings of suspected terrorists and stealth surveillance of other adversaries. The apparatus involves dozens of secret facilities, including two operational hubs on the East Coast, virtual Air Force­ ­cockpits in the Southwest and clandestine bases in at least six countries on two continents.

...no president has ever relied so extensively on the secret killing of individuals to advance the nation’s security goals.

The rapid expansion of the drone program has blurred long-standing boundaries between the CIA and the military. Lethal operations are increasingly assembled a la carte, piecing together personnel and equipment in ways that allow the White House to toggle between separate legal authorities that govern the use of lethal force.

Scientists Test Sick Alaska Seals For Radiation

Scientists in Alaska are investigating whether local seals are being sickened by radiation from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Scores of ring seals have washed up on Alaska's Arctic coastline since July, suffering or killed by a mysterious disease marked by bleeding lesions on the hind flippers, irritated skin around the nose and eyes and patchy hair loss on the animals' fur coats.

Biologists at first thought the seals were suffering from a virus, but they have so far been unable to identify one, and tests are now underway to find out if radiation is a factor.

China Launches Rival To GPS Satellite System

China started a drive to end its reliance on the U.S. global positioning system in 2000, when it sent an experimental pair of positioning satellites into orbit.
Ran Chengqi, spokesman for the new system, told reporters that Beidou, or "Big Dipper", would cover most parts of the Asia Pacific by next year and then the world by 2020.
China has already launched 10 satellites to support Beidou and would launch another six next year, he said.
State media have said the system will eventually comprise 35 satellites, which will be used for a variety of sectors including fisheries, meteorology and telecommunications.

"Very Strong, Dangerous Earthquake In Siberia"

Very strong shallow and dangerous earthquake in Siberia - severe shaking reported

Earthquake overview : A very strong earthquake (M 6.5 to M 7.0 following different sources) happened in the South Western part of Siberia. The epicenter was located in a sparsely populated wilderness area at a distance of 120 km from Kyzyl, a city with 109,000 inhabitants and the capital of the Tuva Republic.

The earthquake in Siberia is estimated at 9.5 MSK, according to Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Description IX MSK : Destructive – General panic. People may be forcibly thrown to the ground. Waves are seen on soft ground. Substandard structures collapse. Substantial damage to well-constructed structures. Underground pipelines ruptured. Ground fracturing, widespread landslides.

This comes just after the strong "dangerous" aftershocks which have been hitting Christchurch recently:

3 large dangerous aftershocks hit Christchurch, New Zealand - shaking video

Multiple aftershocks hit the city of Christchurch and his suburbs during the early afternoon of December 23. 2 major aftershocks measuring 5.8 and 5.9 magnitude were the largest since many months.

Brave New World: Paving the Road...

...towards the Tribulation. The implications of this technology are obvious:

Street Cams Can Now Tag, Track and Follow Individuals (video)

The dystopian nightmare described in George Orwell’s novel 1984 took place in London, UK. This very city is today one of the most heavily monitored places in the world, using a record number of cameras and the most advanced surveillance technology to keep track of its citizens. Reuters now reports that the CCTV system of London has now the ability to tag specific people, track them across the entire system and even run a “search” on them for previous footage.


The report basically praises the software and quickly dismisses the privacy concerns it raises, stating that most citizens approve of being monitored (I’d like to see a scientific survey proving this). Of course, this summer’s London Riots were mentioned as an excuse to implement this technology, as anticipated in my article entitled The London Riots and How They Will be Used to the Elite's Advantage

A brave new world indeed.

Daily Headlines:

IRAN:

Iran Begins Naval Drills In Strait Of Hormuz

Iran's navy has started a 10-day drill in international waters near the strategic oil route that passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The exercises, dubbed "Velayat 90", could bring Iranian ships into proximity with United States Navy vessels in the area. "Velayat" is a Persian word for "supremacy" and it is currently used as a title of deference for the Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Strait of Hormuz is of strategic significance as the passageway for about a third of the world's oil tanker traffic. Beyond it lie vast bodies of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The US Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet is also active in the area, as are warships of several other countries that patrol for pirates there.

Iran Says It Warns Off Foreign Helicopter Near Naval Maneuvers

Iran's Navy ordered a helicopter from an unspecified foreign country to leave to leave the area of maneuvers it is conducting in the Persian Gulf, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Monday.
"The helicopter ignored the first two warnings but left the area after the third and severe warning," Fars quoted Rear Adm. Seyed Mahmoud Musavi, the deputy commander of operations for Iran's Navy, as saying.

"Hormuz Naval Drill, Message To West"

“The [Iranian] Navy's military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman indicate the power and dominance of Iran's Navy in regional waters,” member of the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Zohreh Elahian said Monday.

The lawmaker stated that military drills also aim to increase Iran's deterrence power and prove its regional dominance.

“The exercises send an important message to the whole world, especially the colonialist powers…and also show the power of [Iran's] armed forces, particularly [the country's] Navy,” she noted.

Also see:

Preparing To Attack Iran With Nuclear Weapons: "No Option Can Be Taken Off The Table"

THE EPICENTER:

"Hanukkah Miracle" Nixes Likely Terror Attack

An observant IDF soldier may have prevented a major terrorist attack in a large Israeli city, in what soldiers and commanders called a “Hanukkah miracle.” An Arab terrorist who may have been on his way to the town of Har Bracha in central Samaria, was nabbed Tuesday morning when an IDF soldier arrested him, finding two large pipe bombs on his person.

Report: Israeli Troops Roamed Freely In Sudan

Speculation as to an alleged Israeli strike in Sudan dominated Sudanese press reports in the past week. The Al-Rakoba newspaper claimed that two Israeli Apache helicopters landed in an island off the Sudan coast where a radar station is located. According to the report, IDF soldiers roamed the island freely and the helicopters managed to return safely without being intercepted by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Burning Books In Cairo

Any number of political analysts have tried to write off the electoral gains by Islamist parties in Egypt, insisting that once in power, groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist al-Nour Party will take a pragmatic approach to governing.

It is the same nonsense that was spouted as the Nazis rose to power in Germany, when the Ayatollah Khomeini made his triumphant return to Iran, when Yasser Arafat's PLO terrorist organization was elevated to the status of a national government, and when Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election.

On December 17, an Egyptian mob - presumably of the type that has been voting for the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Nour - demonstrated that they have no intention of "modernizing" or adopting Western-style pragmatism when they torched the Institute of Egypt in Cairo.
Among the casualties of the Islamist assault were some 192,000 rare books and manuscripts.

The Institute of Egypt was established by Napoleon Bonaparte when he invaded Egypt in the late 18th century. For centuries the Institute of Egypt housed priceless chronicles of the nation's history, as well as the findings of hundreds of top scholars and scientists.

The Institute of Egypt symbolized Egypt's connection to the West, and for many its establishment was the start of the "modern era" in Egypt. And that is why it had to go. Because Egypt's Islamists have no intention of modernizing, not on Western terms, at any rate. Like the Ayatollahs in Iran and Hamas in Gaza, their ultimate goal is to return Egypt to a medieval form of life where a strict interpretation of Sharia Law governs the actions of all.

The first to suffer will be Egypt's Christians. They are suffering already.

Which leads to the next category in the news:

PERSECUTION:

Report: Iranian Authorities Detain Children During Raid On Church's Christmas Celebrations

There‘s no shortage of stories surrounding Iran’s continually-horrendous human rights record. Following the Christmas holiday, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a U.K.-based nonprofit, is making some startling charges. According to the group, Iranian authorities raided a church that was celebrating Christmas last week and detained everyone in the building — including kids who were in Sunday school.

CSW claims that officials in Ahwaz, a southern town in Iran, raided the church — an affiliate of Assemblies of God — and placed all congregants into two buses. The majority of those celebrating at the house of worship were purportedly interrogated, threatened and then eventually released, but the church’s senior pastor (a man known only as “Farhad”) apparently remains in detention. His wife and some church leaders, too, were said to be held still by Iranian officials.

This case is highly reminiscent of Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani’s ongoing legal drama, which the Blaze has highlighted frequently over the past few months. While the reasons for Nadarkhani’s detainment continue to evolve, a decision regarding his fate could come at any moment. Currently, he faces the death penalty for apostasy (although the government has claimed his situation comes as a result of a number of other alleged crimes).

Religious freedom clearly isn‘t at the forefront of Iranian authorities’ concerns.

Radical Islamic Attack In Nigeria Spawns Fears Of More Anti-Christian Violence

Yesterday’s tragic terror attack in Nigeria has many wondering if more violence — particularly acts against Christian believers — may be on the way.

In the chaos after the Christmas terror attack on a Catholic church, one mortally wounded man cradled his wounded stomach and begged a priest for religious atonement. “Father, pray for me. I will not survive,” he said.

At least 35 people died at St. Theresa Catholic Church and dozens were wounded as radical Muslim militants launched coordinated attacks across Africa’s most populous nation within hours of one another. Four more people were killed in other violence blamed on the group known as Boko Haram.

It was the second year in a row that the extremists seeking to install Islamic Shariah law across the country of 160 million have staged Christmas attacks. Last year, a series of bombings on Christmas Eve killed 32 people in Nigeria.

Video: Islamists Bomb Nigerian Churches On Christmas Day - At Least 25 Dead

Witnesses say at least 25 dead bodies removed from St. Theresa Church outside the Nigerian capital Abuja. There were four other attacks reported.

France 24 reported, via Free Republic: An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria’s capital Sunday, killing at least 25 people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect claimed the attack and another bombing near a church in the restive city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation’s northeast.

Mark Steyn: War On Christmas Indicative Of The "Western World At Twilight"

Mark Steyn essentially says yes — or, at the very least, that political correctness is part and parcel of the problems we face as a nation. The words we use reflect the attitudes we have, and those attitudes, in turn, are both the outgrowth and the molder of our reality. According to Steyn, objections to Christmas expressions indicate that the West, in some ways, exists in contradiction to itself. The Daily Caller reports:

Steyn went on to note that there is no crusade to generalize other religious holidays and that the West’s budding hatred of itself and its values was at the “heart” of the matter.

“There’s something very odd by the way, as I said about this stilted artificial avoidance of Christmas,” he said.

“We would[n't] have, you know, a day off on December 25 if it wasn’t Christmas. But somehow it has to be a generalized holiday. Nobody does this with Ramadan, for example. I notice when you look at the big Ramadan festivities at the White House that every president conducts now — nobody bothers to pretend that is a kind of general celebration. Nobody says ‘happy holiday’ instead of Ramadan. And I think there’s something sort of slightly — it’s not a small thing in that sense. It gets to the heart of the most disturbing feature of Western world at twilight, which is this kind of institutional self-loathing that’s at the heart of it.”

We need to remember to include our persecuted brothers and sisters in our daily prayers.

In the news:

There are several very interesting stories in the news today:

Pretext To Attack - United States Federal Judge: Iran Responsible For September 11th Attacks

The drumbeat continues which appears directed towards setting the stage for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. The video in this link is worth watching.

More than 10 years after the dreadful events of 9/11 a New York judge has ruled that Iran was partially responsible for the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks.

On December 15th a victory by default was issued by a federal judge as attorneys emerged from a federal court in Manhattan after making their case that Iran was linked to the 9/11 attacks in a clear attempt for the warmongers of the establishment to push toward an incursion on Iran (based on false pretenses) in the near future.

According to the judge, the plaintiffs established the claims with “sufficient” evidence.

The suit filed on behalf of widows from the 9/11 attacks could be used to set precedence for the establishment to bombard Iran in the near future.

Iran: Negotiating With The Devil

Iran's mullahs have repeatedly indicated their willingness and ability to help restore order in Iraq, on the condition that the United States pack up and leave the region. And now that U.S. forces have left Iraq, the Islamic regime clearly is one of the strategic winners in this deadly game.

Keep in mind that the very name "Islam" means "submission" -- unquestioning submission to the will of Allah.

Qur'an 33:36 "It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error."

And in the Quran itself, Allah gives these fellows their mandate: cleanse the earth from all kefir (infidels), and help usher in the Golden Rule of Islam over a corrupt world. This high-purpose strategic goal of Islamization legitimizes any and all tactics.

Qur'an 8:39 "Fight them until all opposition ends and all submit to Allah."

These men of Allah are urged to use every "stratagem of war," to kill and take the disbelievers as captives. The ones they do not kill, mostly women and children, they take as booty of war and slaves. These devotees of Allah have been and continue to be among the most persistent practitioners of slavery.

Qur'an 9:5 "Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war."

So how does this apply to Iran?

And as for Iran's mullahs' unyielding drive to acquire the ultimate weapon, it is in obedience to the command of the Quran. And "terrorism," abhorrent to the civilized world, is explicitly enjoined of the faithful.

Qur'an 8:59 "The infidels should not think that they can get away from us. Prepare against them whatever arms and weaponry you can muster so that you may terrorize them. They are your enemy and Allah's enemy."

To the misguided "Supreme Guide," mullah Ali Khamenei of Iran, a few words are in order. The civilized Iranians, descendants of Cyrus the Great, find you, mullah Ali Khamenei, and your cabal of Islamists guilty of heinous crimes. A partial list of charges is given below.

There is a long list of "charges" against the mullahs; below are just a few:

* You do not represent the Iranian people. You are an Islamist terrorist. You are a usurper of power. You are guilty of transforming a noble nation into a world pariah.

* You systematically beat, rape, imprison, and torture all manner of citizens, from schoolteachers to students to union workers, for daring to raise their voices against the plight to which you have subjected them.

* You are guilty of beating, imprisoning, and torturing a few dozen women who braved participating in a peaceful demonstration pleading for equal family rights on the recent International Women's Day.

* You have savagely beaten and hauled to your dungeons of torture and death over a thousand of the tens of thousands of teachers who had gathered in front of the parliament requesting nothing more than their back pay and living wages.

* You arrest some Christians -- even your Qur'an calls them "People of the Book" -- for observing Christmas.

* You implement barbaric practices of stoning, hanging, and amputations for those who are convicted of crimes in your kangaroo courts without due process. You even imprison those few lawyers who rise in the defense of the innocent.

* You spare no efforts at sabotaging any settlement between the Palestinians and Israelis. You arm and train all Palestinian factions such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and any and all that come.

Iran Toughens Cyber Challenge to US, Claims Superior Drones

Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi Monday, Dec. 26, replied to Sunday's DEBKAfile report which revealed Tehran's plan to use its big 10-day naval drill east of the Strait of Hormuz to test its vaunted cyber intelligence prowess against US warships.

Vahidi's words implied two key points: That Tehran did not expect the US to carry out a lone strike against its nuclear facilities but in conjunction with fellow NATO member and Israel. And two, that the Islamic Republic has convinced itself that by downing the US stealth drone RQ-170, it has acquired all the technology necessary for repelling penetrations and attacks by drones and warplanes with stealth capabilities.

A Terrible Truth Written In Blood

The Christmas bombings by Islamists across Northern Nigeria and the exodus of Christians from Egypt, Iraq and elsewhere carry a serious message - one which we need to hear. So far, it's getting lost in the now-all-too-routine reporting and commentary.

"Getting" what's actually going on is especially critical to the survival of Israel, given the spreading darkness all around that nation. On Israel, the emerging conventional wisdom (now beginning to be accepted not only by Europeans but by too many American Jews) is that the Jewish state is a "honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake," an attempt to plant a Western, European-style democracy and a Western population in the heart of the Arab Middle East.

Islamists seem to be going for the Christians with unrelenting fury. The violence is increasing, not diminishing.

How did American and the West cause this? We didn't. The truth lies elsewhere.

The people whom the Islamists are attacking and killing are not "Crusaders" or the descendants of Polish or Russian Jews transplanted to "Islamic land" by European "colonial powers" consumed with guilt over the Holocaust. The victims dying in Nigeria, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Iraq can, by no stretch of the imagination, be called "Franks" or "Crusaders." They're not Westerners at all.

What's happening is, in the words of Fraser Nelson of the Spectator, "religious cleansing."

It is a terrible truth, but a simple one.

Montanans Launch Recall of Senators Who Approved NDAA Military Detention

Moving quickly on Christmas Day after the US Senate voted 86 - 14 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA) which allows for the indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial, Montanans have announced the launch of recall campaigns against Senators Max Baucus and Jonathan Tester, who voted for the bill.

Montana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, pursuant to Montana Code 2-16-603, on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.

"These politicians from both parties betrayed our trust, and violated the oath they took to defend the Constitution. It's not about the left or right, it's about our Bill of Rights. Without the Bill of Rights, there is no America. It is the Crown Jewel of our Constitution, and the high-water mark of Western Civilization."

"Two time Medal of Honor winner Marine General Smedley Butler once said "There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights." Time to fight. "

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said in opposing the final NDAA:

”This bill also contains misguided provisions that in the name of fighting terrorism essentially authorize the indefinite imprisonment of American citizens without charges.”

And in a New York Times op-ed piece by two retired four-star U.S. Marine generals, Charles Krulak and Joseph Hoar, Krulak and Hoar said that "Due process would be a thing of the past."

Montana would be the first recall drive to be launched as a result of the vote for the NDAA military detentions provisions. A number of Facebook pages appeared after the passage of the bill from locations across the country.

A Promise Kept

In an interview on November 2, 2008, Obama-Soetoro outlined his plan to impose the so-called cap-and-trade system, a plan devised by radical inventors of man-made global warming, that he said would bankrupt the coal and coal-fired energy industry by imposing hugely expensive environmental restrictions on them. As it turned out, the American people, led by the Tea Parties, pressured Congress to kill this bald-faced attempt to wreck the economy.

Not to be deterred though, by the wishes of the people they are supposed to serve, the Marxists and neo-fascists in the Obama-Soetoro administration have made it clear that they intend to ignore the Constitution, end-run Congress, and impose their job-killing, economy-destroying agenda on America, whether Americans like it or not.

And they have chosen the EPA – the unconstitutional Environmental Protection Agency – as the vehicle to do this

The most recent among many draconian outrages imposed by the rogue EPA are a set of regulations called MACT – Maximum Achievable Control Technology. They are Barack Hussein Obama-Soetoro’s green and red Christmas gift to the nation.

It is estimated they will result in the closing of some 60 coal-fired power plants, huge rises in the cost of electricity, and the direct destruction of at least 3000 jobs. The ripple effect from this, though, is likely to be tens of thousands of lost jobs and the human misery caused by this, and billions in economic losses. Merry Christmas, America!

These regulations require that power plants eliminate 90 percent of their emissions of mercury. However, power plant emissions of mercury, reduced over the years by energy producers, amount to a mere 0.5 percent of the mercury in the atmosphere. Most atmospheric mercury occurs naturally or is produced by industry in Communist China.

The simple truth is that this regulation will have virtually no effect on the environment, but will indeed, as promised by Barack Hussein Obama-Soetoro, bankrupt the coal and coal-fired electricity production industries.

As has become the norm of late, this situation is not just the result of an out-of-control executive branch running wild, but of the failure of Congress to do their Constitutionally mandated duty to rein them in. It cannot be emphasized enough, repeated too many times:

We need to clean out Congress in 2012, replacing the corrupt, spineless parasites infesting both houses with honest and honorable men and women who will adhere to the Constitution – the supreme law of the land. We need to elect public servants who will commit to shutting down unconstitutional, and therefore illegal, agencies and departments such as the EPA, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam.

You wouldn't expect George Soros' tentacles here, or would you?

J Street, the supposedly pro-Israel, pro-peace political action committee and lobbyist group, is actually backed by a controversial far-left clearinghouse financed by billionaire George Soros, WND has learned.

J Street claims to be pro-Israel, yet it has faced mounting criticism for its policies and advocacy that many argue is harmful to the Jewish state.

Soros himself recently spelled out his formula toward Israel in a Washington Post op-ed concerning the revolutions in the Middle East, which many say have been favoring the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties.

Soros singled out Israel as "the main stumbling block" in paving the way toward transition in the Middle East.

News From The Epicenter: Sudan?

Some interesting and unexpected news broke today regarding possible Israeli military action in Sudan. It appears that convoys bringing weapons to terrorist groups could have been the stimulus for this action:

'IAF planes strike convoy of vehicles in Sudan'

Sudanese media reported over the weekend that IAF planes struck a number of targets in the east of the country last week.

According to the reports, the planes attacked a convoy of land cruiser jeeps and a number of people were reportedly killed.

Another strike took place last Sunday against a truck near the border with Egypt, according to the reports.

In another incident in early December Israeli planes were reported to have been spotted over some islands near Sudan.

According to that report, the governor of Sudan's Red Sea State district recently received notification from several citizens in the region that the IAF had raided smuggler convoys,

According to Sudanese newspaper al-Rakoba, last November Israeli air strikes targeted a convoy of vehicles near Sudan's border with Egypt, in Wadi Allaqi in the Hala'ib triangle region, an area whose ownership is disputed between Egypt and Sudan.

That raid allegedly hit and destroyed two cars, a Land Cruiser and a Toyota Hilux, killing two people and wounding several more, who fled in the direction of the Sudanese border, according to al-Rakoba. The report also said that eyewitnesses reported several people missing after the alleged raid, and also that the Egyptian air force flew over the area several times.

Israeli Jets, Sub 'Strike in Sudan'

Israeli fighter jets, helicopters and possibly a submarine were involved in multiple attacks on targets in Sudan last week, according to local news outlets.

The reports say that Israeli jets hit targets in the eastern part of the African country, near its border with Egypt, last Thursday. They hit six Land Cruiser jeeps and killed four people. An earlier strike took place last Sunday and reportedly involved Israeli helicopters. A truck was targeted. Some reports say an Israeli submarine was also spotted at the same time.

Sudanese media report on Israeli air strikes

Also in the Epicenter:

Netanyahu: Hamas-Fatah Union Means No Talks

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that if Hamas joins the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) government, Israel will not be able to negotiate with the PA.

Speaking at a conference of Foreign Ministry delegation heads, Netanyahu stressed: "We are prepared to meet the Palestinians at any time and place.

"The Palestinians will have to recognize the state of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people," he said, but added: "This is not a precondition for negotiations."

'Military action in Syria is lesser evil'

Western military intervention is the “lesser evil” of a range of difficult options in Syria, according to a report released last week by a UK think tank that offers the first comprehensive analysis of a potential armed intervention in the battle-scarred country.

The report – entitled “Intervention in Syria? An Assessment of Legality, Logistics and Hazards” – calls for the creation of a political and military base for rebel fighters in the country’s northwest, as well as humanitarian “safe zones” for civilians fleeing the bloodshed. It also offers diplomatic avenues for authorizing military action in spite of continued Russian opposition to taking tougher measures against Damascus at the UN Security Council.

This is exactly the kind of 'military action' that Assad warned against when he threatened to attack Israel.

“I would say better to have a multilateral, Western-fronted coalition on the ground to forestall the worst-case scenario rather than let this play out on the ground,” Weiss said by phone. “People in Syria have been holding up signs saying ‘NATO, where’s our no-fly zone?’ You see women in hijabs in Homs with signs saying ‘We want NATO to invade.’ I would hazard that there is now a critical mass of support for a Western-backed intervention.”

The report says Syria could be expected to seize on any Western intervention to try to ignite its border with Israel.

And if that happens, once again, Israel is being asked to sit back and take their punishment without any retaliation:

“Any interventionist force must therefore persuade Israel not to retaliate in the event that it is attacked,” it says. “Such forbearance proved successful during the First Gulf War, and it can be argued that it is in Israel’s strategic interest to assist in the removal of the Assad regime.

It is hard to imagine the Nation of Israel, under the leadership of Netanyahu simply absorbing a massive missile attack without any retaliation.

Either way, the current rhetoric around Syria is almost identical to the rhetoric we all heard in the weeks leading into the Libya incursion.

The evolution of these events seems to be leading in one of two directions, neither of which is favorable to Israel:

1) Assad will step down, and in this scenario a repeat of Libya and Egypt seems certain: Radical Islamic elements are almost guaranteed to assume control of the nation.

or

2) Assad will not step down. In this scenario, it seems certain that he will become more and more desperate - a situation that seems headed in the direction of a Syrian attack on Israel, whether triggered by "outside intervention" or not.

In either of these two options above, one can easily see the set-up for the Isaiah 17 prophecies to be fulfilled - which we believe will trigger the subsequent Ezekiel 37-38 prophetic fulfillments.

As always, this is worth watching closely for future developments.

The First Christmas Greeting

Another great commentary for Christmas season is linked below; this one by Reverend David Holloway. It gives meaning and focus to the "first ever Christmas greeting" which was given to Mary, the Mother of Jesus:

Christmas Message

As we heard, it was from an Angel:

“Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1.28)

But, we are told, she “was greatly troubled” at what she heard. She learnt she would be pregnant, though in a secret and miraculous way. However, such a pregnancy before marriage could mean rejection by Joseph, her husband to be, and a tarnished reputation for life. Learning the truth is sometimes hard.

Perhaps you have recently learnt something regarding your family or health or work that means you, too, are “greatly troubled”.

Well, the message of Christmas provides true hope and encouragement for all. It teaches you not only that God is real but God loves you (the evidence is Christ’s coming in history); God is for you (the evidence is Christ’s death on the Cross); and God is with you (for Christ is “Emmanuel” – meaning “God is with us”, as we shall be singing). So how you need to trust him!

But what did Mary learn new from that angelic message that is still important for today? Three things.

First, she learnt she was to give her son “the name Jesus” which, originally in Hebrew, means “God saves”. The one born, therefore, is our “Saviour”.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1.15)

Christ came to die, in our place, for our sins to restore our relationship with God; and then he rose from the dead conquering death, to give new life for now and for eternity by his Holy Spirit. And none are too bad to be saved, or too good to need saving.

Secondly, Mary was told:

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1.32)

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1.35)

So Mary learnt her baby would be none other than the divine Son of God

Thirdly, she then heard these words:

“The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1.32-33)

The following quote deserves its own space:

She was being told that Jesus would be the one the ancient prophets looked forward to and predicted. He was not only “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father”, but would also be “Prince of Peace.” He was truly unique, with no equals and no successors. And, as we can now see, his resurrection confirmed that he would indeed be not just the King of Israel but the eternal King of all kings, and Lord of all Lords.

AMEN.

Merry Christmas to everyone who visits this site. I hope you have a blessed and meaningful Christmas.

Perhaps next Christmas will be spent in New Jerusalem. We can hope.

Maranatha!

In the news:

Anti-Christian Violence in the Middle East

The UK Daily Telegraph recently posted an article entitled, "How can we remain silent while Christians are being persecuted?" Anybody reading the Daily Bell this past year will not be surprised by this headline, nor the article itself. Turns out that the writer is reporting on "a new evil [that] is sweeping the Middle East" – and that evil is violence against Christians.

"How can we remain silent while Christians are being persecuted?" the article asks. "The Americans have gone now, and Iraq's Christian communities – some of the world's oldest – are undergoing an exodus on a biblical scale."

The article does not only mention Iraq and makes it clear that the anti-Christian sentiment is broad-based: "The attacks, which peak at Christmas, have already spread to Egypt, where Coptic Christians have seen their churches firebombed by Islamic fundamentalists ...

"The Arab Spring was always going to mean danger for religious minorities, unleashing the Islamic extremists who previously were kept at bay," the article informs us. We also learn that religious persecution was not a hallmark of previous (overthrown) regimes. "For all their evil, the old secular tyrants abused their victims equally, whether they wore the cross, hijab or skullcap."

Mashaal: Hamas Will Focus On Arab Spring-Style Protests

Hamas will focus on holding Arab Spring-style mass protests against Israel but is not renouncing the use of violence against the Jewish state, leader Khaled Mashaal told The Associated Press late Thursday.

Mashaal told the news agency that popular protests have “the power of a tsunami,” pointing to the recent waves of demonstrations across the Arab world.

Mashaal also gave rare Hamas public support to the idea of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

Turkish Warships Shell Narrow Water Between Israeli And Cypriot Gas Fields

President Demetris Christofias has warned Turkey to stop its warships shelling the strip of water dividing the Cypriot and Israeli gas exploration zones in the eastern Mediterranean.

Wednesday, Dec. 21, Turkish warships began turning their guns on the strip dividing Israel's Leviathan gas field from Block 12 of Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone-EEZ, where a large gas field was recently discovered.

Neither Israel nor Cyprus reported the Turkish attacks which are staged in international waters, but both reinforced their naval units around the gas fields. It was the Cypriot president who broke the silence Friday, Dec. 23 with a warning: "If Turkey does not change its gunboat diplomacy and stop playing the part of regional police officer, there will be consequences which, for sure, will not be good - either for the whole region or the Turkish people and first and foremost for Turkish Cypriots," he said.

Tens Of Thousands Rally Across Russia Against Putin

Tens of thousands of flag-waving and chanting protesters called on Saturday for a disputed parliamentary election to be rerun, increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin as he seeks a new term as Russian president.

The protesters chanted "Russia without Putin" and "New elections, New elections" as speakers called for an end to Putin's 12-year domination of the country at the second big
opposition rally in two weeks in central Moscow.

The big turnout is likely to encourage organisers to believe they can keep up the momentum of the biggest opposition demonstrations since Putin rose to power 12 years ago, although the prime minister seems intent on riding out the protests.

And below we see a few stories which relate to Christmas:

Miraculous Christmas Story: Finding God In Hell

This is a fascinating account of a prisoner who spent 8 long years in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton". It's a long read but very moving.

The paragraphs below say it all:

The punishment was so gory that each day Happy, after tightening the ropes, would still be weeping when he went to the next cell to let Mulligan out to empty his bucket. For five more days and nights, I remained in the rig. My back got one respite in that time. I managed to lean against my bucket, which I had maneuvered into position on the pallet, and relieve the strain enough to get some sleep. Even a roving guard took some pity. He saw me leaning against the bucket but didn't report it for 18 hours.

By the fifth morning, I was nearing despair. I offered myself to God with an admission that I could take no more on my own. Tears ran down my face as I repeated my vow of surrender to Him. Strangely, as soon as I made the vow, a deep feeling of peace settled into my tortured mind and pain-wracked body, and the suffering left me completely. It was the most profound and deeply inspiring moment of my life.

Retailing in the Age of Political Correctness

It was December of 2007, in The Age of Political Correctness. As I drove to town from my house in the country, I passed by the local high school with its brand new $10,000 electronic sign—used to advertise school events like sports, drama, musicals, or the beginning day of vacation. “Pretty cool,” I thought as I watched the time of day and school events flash across the screen. As I passed by, something caught my eye. The sign read:

X-MAS PROGRAM DECEMBER 17TH

There was plenty of room on the sign and six more letters would not have made a great deal of difference. “X-MAS” is less controversial. It eliminates the need to say that word.

The next day, driving to town, I passed the high school again. This day the sign read:

X-MAS PLAY—“A X-MAS CAROL BY DICKENS” DECEMBER 19TH

Frankly, Dickens is my favorite author and I thought I had read everything of his. Until this day, I did not know that Dickens had written a play called “A X-MAS CAROL.”

Either the incompetent person who typed in the message on the electronic sign was a bad speller, or wanted to save energy by leaving off the Savior’s name again (concededly, typing twelve extra characters can wear a person out).

Whichever it was, the name of the Person for whom we celebrate the holiday was conspicuously missing once again.

“A Christmas Carol” a secular story featuring an old grump, some ghostly visitors, and a change of heart—in truth , Dickens was a devout, if subtle, Christian whose mission in life was to gently bring people to Christ.

Thus, while the school was trying to be politically correct by “X-ing out” the name of the One whose birth made the holiday possible, the truth is that they were enacting a deeply religious, Christian play.

So it was, in December of 2007, in The Age of Political Correctness, I decided I would no longer play the X-Mas game. I would not attend any X-MAS events at any school that cannot spell the holiday, or whose faculty is so inept that they cannot spell Dickens’ most famous short story title.

It is a very simple concept, really. If you are embarrassed to say the word Christ, or use His name in your advertising; if you want to demean the holiday by calling it “X-MAS,” go right ahead. But, like many millions of others, I will be your X-customer.

Thousands Gather To Celebrate Christmas Eve In Bethlehem

Thousands of pilgrims, tourists and local Christians gather in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem on Saturday to celebrate Christmas Eve, where Jesus is said to have been born.

The day's celebration will culminate at the Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built on the site of the manger where Jesus is believed to have been born.

Bethlehem is today surrounded on three sides by a barrier Israel built to stop Palestinian militants from attacking Israel.

Savior of the World

David Jeremiah has a way with words. I stumbled on this article today and thought it was a good read:

What Child Is This?

This is a fairly brief article that is well worth reading. Just a few good quotes below:

Only one baby came as the Savior of the world. His name was called Jesus because He came to save His people from their sins.

A "savior" is someone who saves. But there's only One who was sent from heaven on a divine search-and-rescue mission, and meeting Him must be our ultimate goal in life.

His name, Jesus, comes from the Greek words for Jehovah Saves; and that's why the angels hovering above sleepy little Bethlehem sang: "For there is born to you this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

In John 4:42, Jesus is called "the Savior of the world," and the apostle Paul called Him, "God our Savior" (1 Timothy 1:1 and 2:3). Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah had predicted:

- He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them (Isaiah 19:20).
- I, even I, am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior (Isaiah 43:11).
- He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted (Isaiah 63:8-9).
- He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities . . . . His soul (was) an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:5, 10).

The Bible tells us He was born to die; He died to overcome death; and He rose again to save us from sin, guilt, shame, despair, and hell. He came to seek and to save those who are lost.

When the Bible uses the words salvation, Savior, and save, it's speaking of the total work of God in bringing people from a state of death - hopeless separation from God - to a state of everlasting life through the forgiveness of sin, based on the merits of Christ Jesus who died and rose again. Saving us is the greatest and most concrete demonstration of God's love, the definitive display of His grace throughout time and eternity.

As Alister McGrath put it, "God did not send a subordinate to redeem us. He chose to do it himself."

Jesus became mortal to give you immortality; and today, through Him, you can be free.

In the news:

How much longer will the "international community" allow the Syrian carnage to continue?

"Fourty Killed, 100 wounded in Syrian blasts"

Two booby-trapped cars blew up at security sites in Damascus on Friday, killing a number of civilians and soldiers, state television said, in the worst violence to hit Syria's capital during nine months of unrest against President Bashar Assad.

Syria's Dunia television channel put the number of dead from the blasts at 40 with 100 wounded and said most of the casualties were civilians. Dunia cited information from its own correspondents at the scene.

The attack came a day after the arrival of Arab League officials to prepare for a monitoring team that will check whether Assad is implementing a plan to end the bloodshed.

State television broadcast footage of bloodied bodies being carried in blankets and stretchers into ambulances and people hunting through rubble of a badly damaged building.

A Reuters cameraman was barred from the site. State television also broadcast shots of bloodied streets littered with mangled human remains and blackened debris.

Iran Navy To Hold War Games Near Crucial Sea Lanes

Iran put neighbors on notice Thursday that it was about to conduct vast naval exercises in the Arabian Sea, including war games near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for international oil traffic.

The exercises, to start Saturday and last 10 days, are Iran’s first since May 2010 and were described by the official news media as the largest the country ever planned.

The exercises are bound to put Iranian warships close to vessels of the United States Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, which patrols some of the same waters, including the Strait of Hormuz.

About one-third of the world’s oil tanker shipments pass through the strait, which the United States Energy Information Administration has called “the world’s most important oil chokepoint.”

With All Of The Pieces In Place, When Will The Hammer Drop?

Over the past few months, those who have been paying attention have witnessed some of the most disturbing developments in modern American history unfold at breakneck speed.

This includes the explicit codification of indefinite detention without charge or trial as well as rendition under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Fiscal Year 2012, the KBR move to create a team of sub-contractors to activate the so-called FEMA camps on a moment’s notice and the designation of American citizens as the enemy under Continuity of Government (COG) plans created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Unfortunately, the file revealing the FEMA COG plans, entitled “National Continuity Programs (NCP) Program and Mission Support Services (PAMSS)” was quickly removed from the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) official website, according to Infowars.
All that is left is a message warning users to not upload any classified materials, even though the document was listed as “Source Selection Sensitive” and not classified, as the warning notice might have you believe.

These developments have been part of a gradual march toward an all-encompassing authoritarian police state with a massive surveillance grid so expansive George Orwell would likely never believe it could be reality.

This surveillance state, which has already been rolled out and is only increasing in reach and depth, is complimented by the militarization of police moving towards a de facto martial law.
However, the NDAA makes the steady move to turn local and state police departments into paramilitary forces look like child’s play.

Declaring martial law would just be redundant, given that there is absolutely nothing stopping the military from kicking down the doors of innocent Americans and holding them indefinitely under the guise of fighting terrorism.

Christchurch rocked by earthquakes

A series of earthquakes have terrified many already-frazzled Christchurch residents this afternoon, starting with a 5.8 magnitude tremor at 1.58pm.

It was followed by a 6.0 magnitude aftershock at 3.18pm, centred 10km east of Christchurch in South New Brighton.

There was also a 5.3 magnitude quake at 2.06pm and a 5.0 at 4.50pm.

GNS seismologist Ken Gledhill told TVNZ "this is part of a series of earthquakes that have been set off by what happened in September 2010.

"In the coming days the most likely scenario is that there will be a series of aftershocks in a similar location.

"This is just a reminder that this area is more active than what it was before September 2010."

Walter Reed Banned Family Members From Bringing Bibles To Wounded Warriors

In a Sept. 14 policy memorandum, Col. Chuck Callahan, chief of staff of Walter Reed National Medical Center, banned family members from bringing Bibles and other "religious items" when visiting wounded military personnel at the facility.

In a section entitled “Partners in Care Guidelines," describing what family members can bring to their wounded warrior in the hospital, the memo states: “No religious items (i.e., Bibles, reading materials and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.”

Only after the Family Research Council, a conservative pro-family advocate, got a copy of the memo and shared it with members of Congress, did the military issue a statement saying it was rewriting the policy because it was “incorrect.”

It's Massive Assault On Christmas Across U.S.

Christmas carolers are thrown out of a U.S. Post Office.

The U.S. military apologizes for promoting a Christian-based charity and relief program providing holiday gifts to poor children.

Across the country, Christmas lights, Christmas trees and menorahs are banned in public areas.

Atheists and "free-thinkers" sue cities into submission, forcing removal of all things "Christ" on public property during the Christian holiday.

Is the nation that puts "In God We Trust" on its currency at war with Christmas?

In Santa Monica, Calif., atheists complained about a 58-year tradition of displaying life-size paintings of the Nativity story at Palisades Park, the Los Angeles Times reported. They argued that the scene was a religious display in a public park, so they applied for space to share their anti-religion message.

Of the 21 park plots for displays, the atheists won 18 in a lottery overseen by the Santa Monica city attorney. The Nativity story typically spreads across 14 displays, but it had to be shortened to only three and crammed into two plots this year.

Israel: Some Basic Facts

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Nothing could attest to that fact more than the Israel-Arab conflict, which in reality is the Israel-Islamist conflict.

This is not a territorial dispute between Israel and those Arabs who call themselves Palestinians, though it is framed as such. No, the stark reality of the Muslim war against the Jewish state is rooted in one fundamental fact: namely, the unchangeable refusal by Muslims to ever accept a non-Islamic nation in territory once conquered in the name of Allah, even if that nation -- the Jewish nation -- precedes Islam by millennia.

Since 1973, when the same Muslim-Arab world attacked Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, members of the "religion of peace" have sensed a growing opportunity to destroy Israel root and branch. Even now, Iran's mullahs and the devil-clown Mahmoud Ahmadinejad call not only for the destruction of the embattled Jewish state, but also for the extermination of Jews worldwide. In this they echo the same call by Gaza's Hamas rulers, who are the junior partner of the Muslim Brotherhood.

That such words are not condemned utterly by nation-states reveals the moral decay so prevalent in the world today, just 66 years since the Holocaust ended.

The basic facts, which should be self-evident, need to be repeated again and again, as Golda Meir urged nearly forty years ago. Perhaps the following is the most basic and pernicious falsehood leveled at the reconstituted Jewish state. It is predictably made by a hostile Muslim and Arab world, but it is echoed by their useful idiot supporters in the West.

Read the rest of the article for "myth-busting", regarding many common mistakes that people make regarding Israel.