The Wedding To Come

This is a perfect commentary in the context of the royal wedding and its just so uplifting. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did - predictably, it comes from Joel Rosenberg:

A Great Royal Wedding To Come

Every bit of this is worth reading, so here it is, in its entirety:

What struck me most as Lynn and I got up at 5am and watched the royal wedding as it unfolded at Westminster Abbey in London was that the Word of God went forth – and the name of Jesus Christ was repeatedly proclaimed – to an estimated one billion people around the world watching the live TV coverage. It was a gorgeous ceremony, with all its pomp and circumstance, and it reminded me that there is a Great Royal Wedding to come to which we are all invited. We need only say “yes.”

* The Rev. Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, began the ceremony noting that, ”In a sense, every wedding is a royal wedding,” then spoke of followers of Jesus Christ being children of the King who will one day have a wedding of His own.
James Middleton, Kate’s brother, read from the New Testament, Romans chapter 12, beginning with, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” — that is, we must prepare our hearts for the Royal Wedding to come.

* Dr. Rowen Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his sermon told the newlyweds, “William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another….As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light.”

* The Archbishop concludedhis sermon with this prayer, “God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage. In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy. Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

The Scriptures teach us that we are all invited to the wedding of our Lord Jesus Christ in the world to come. But while all are invited, not all will attend. We must individually accept the Lord’s invitation by personally receiving Jesus as Messiah and our Lord. Sadly, the Bible says that not all will do so.

* In Revelation chapter 19, we read, “Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder: Hallelujah! The Master reigns, our God, the Sovereign-Strong! Let us celebrate, let us rejoice, let us give him the glory! The Marriage of the Lamb has come; his Wife has made herself ready. She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen. The linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

* Speaking of the Great Royal Wedding to come, Jesus said in Matthew 22, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!”

* Speaking of His return to Earth to get His bride, Jesus said in Luke 12, ”Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.”

With the signs of the Last Days all around us, may each one of us choose today to say “yes” to the Lord Jesus’ invitation to the Great Royal Wedding to come.

Keindahan Sungai di Atas Sungai-Magdeburg Water Bidge

embatan air Magdeburg adalah saluran air navigasi di Jerman yang menghubungkan Kanal Elbe-Havel ke kanal Mittelland, dan memungkinkan kapal untuk menyeberang di atas Sungai Elbe setinggi 918 meter, Jembatan air Magdeburg adalah saluran air navigasi terpanjang di dunia.

 

Kanal Elbe-Havel dan kanal Mittelland sebelumnya bertemu di dekat Magdeburg tetapi di sisi berlawanan dari Elbe. Kapal dari Kanal Elbe-Havel menuju kanal Mittelland sebelumnya harus menempuh jalan memutar sepanjang 12 kilometer, turun dari Terusan Mittelland melalui lift air raksasa Rothensee untuk mengangkat perahu menuju Elbe, kemudian berlayar melawan arus, sebelum memasuki Kanal Elbe-Havel harus melalui Niegripp Lock. kadar air surut di Elbe sering membuat kapal yang sarat muatan kargo tidak dapat melakukan penyeberangan ini, dan hal ini memakan waktu lebih lama untuk bongkar muat kapal.

 

 

Pembangunan saluran air ini dimulai sejak tahun 1930 namun karena adanya Perang Dunia 2 dan pembagian berikutnya dari Jerman pekerjaan ditunda sampai 1997. saluran air itu akhirnya selesai dan dibuka untuk umum pada tahun 2003.

News From The Epicenter

The situation with Egypt is going exactly as many of us predicted. The latest development is very ominous for Israel:

Egypt Policy Toward Gaza, Hamas Vexes Israel

Egypt's shifting foreign policy, including its decision to open its border with the Gaza Strip, embrace Hamas and upgrade relations with Iran, has roiled Israel, which says the moves pose new security threats and risks undermining the two countries' peace.

"We are troubled by recent developments in Egypt,'' said a senior Israeli official on Friday. "These developments can affect Israel's national security at a strategic level."

Israeli official: We are troubled by developments in Egypt

Israel is concerned about recent developments in Egypt, a senior Israeli official said on Friday according to a Wall Street Journal report published Saturday.

The unnamed official said "These developments can affect Israel's national security at a strategic level."

The comments come in response to Egypt's plans to open the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian Chief of Staff General Sami Anan on Friday warned Israel not to interfere in Egypt's internal affairs.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby said the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza will open on a permanent basis within seven to ten days.

EGYPT WARNS ISRAEL: Don't Interfere With Opening Of Gaza Border Crossing

Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces General Sami Anan warned Israel against interfering with Egypt's plan to open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on a permanent basis, saying it was not a matter of Israel's concern, Army Radio reported on Saturday.

The announcement indicates a significant change in the policy on Gaza, which before Egypt's uprising, was operated in conjunction with Israel. The opening of Rafah will allow the flow of people and goods in and out of Gaza without Israeli permission or supervision, which has not been the case up until now.

Before Egypt's uprising and ousting of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, the border between Egypt and Gaza had been sealed. It has occasionally opened the passage for limited periods.

The article below underscores what all of this really means:

New Egyptian Policy

Israeli analysts see the new Egyptian border policy as part of the new government's efforts to respond to the Egyptian public's sympathy with the Palestinians in the Gaza, as well as its desire to break Mubarak's policy of cooperation with Israel.

This new border policy, on the heels of Egypt's successful brokerage of the recent Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, has Israeli concerned that Egypt will drift toward Iran's orbit of influence.

Cairo and Iran both recently announced they were "turning a new leaf" in their diplomatic relations, after more than 30 years without high-level official contact.

"In the past, despite the effort of the government of Egypt to prevent it happening, Hamas was able to build in Gaza a formidable military terrorist machine," said the Israeli official. "If Egypt ceases trying to prevent that from happening, the threat to Israel will be much greater."

This marks a significant development. With an open border between Gaza and Egypt, one could expect to see arms flowing into Gaza in an unabated way - a development which cannot be good for Israel in any way. What it actually represents is another step in the progress towards war.

In Syria, we see a course which parallels Egypt, just a few months behind. And who do we see involved? The Muslim Brotherhood. Surprise, surprise:

Muslim Brotherhood Urges Protests In Syria

The banned Muslim Brotherhood has called on Syrians to take to the streets to protest against the regime ahead of Friday prayers.

The declaration is the first time that the Brotherhood, whose leadership is in exile, have called directly for demonstrations since pro-democracy demonstrations against President Bashar al Assad's autocratic rule erupted six weeks ago.

It comes as members of the country's army units have reportedly clashed with each other over the crackdown on protesters in the city of Deraa - the heart of the popular uprising.

Ausama Monajed, a spokesman for a group of opposition figures in Syria and abroad, said the clashes among the troops have occurred since President Assad sent the army into the city on Monday.
He said: "There are some battalions that refused to open fire on the people.

"Battalions of the 5th Division were protecting people, and returned fire when they were subjected to attacks by the 4th Division." The 4th division is run by the president's brother, Maher.

European governments will discuss the situation on Friday. A push for the UN Security Council to condemn the crackdown was blocked by Russia, China and Lebanon on Wednesday night.

Israel Watches Events in Syria Carefully

Israel is watching events in neighboring Syria carefully. Relations between the two have remained hostile since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war in which Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria, but the area has been mostly quiet. Now, there is concern among Israelis that Syria's uprising could further destabilize relations.

Privately, officials have said they are concerned that the turmoil in Syria could further destabilize relations, and they wonder what kind of enemy Syria will be in the future.

"We are concerned that in the event that Assad would ultimately have to leave the presidency in one form or another, we are faced with a host of imponderables," he said. "We have no idea who will take over. We have no idea what the relative influence will be of the Muslim Brothers, which are there, [and] what will happen to Iranian influence in Syria. We have to have to watch this very carefully."

What is interesting in these developments (Egypt, Syria, Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Libya etc.) is this:

The future invasions of Israel must be coordinated in some way. Watching events now occurring with these uprisings, seems to reveal a centrally coordinated effort, whether its the Muslim Brotherhood or somehow, Iran, as has been suggested in so many news reports.

These "uprisings" have also been occurring with amazing consistency both in terms of how they began to the similar timing, and then how they have become co-opted by the Muslim Brotherhood.

If these uprisings can be coordinated by some central "motivation", whether it is Iran pushing the buttons behind the scenes or the Muslim Brotherhood, then its not a stretch to see how an invasion of Israel could be similarly coordinated in the future.

What we may be seeing now in the Middle East is simply preparatory work for the ultimate goal of invading and attempting to destroy Israel. If so, then things are progressing at amazing speed.

One aspect of all recent events in the epicenter is this: Israel is the ultimate focus and Israel's destruction is the primary goal of everything that we see happening in the region today. That's a guarantee.

HARI INI TUJUH BELAS TAHUN YANG LALU

HARI YANG AKU NANTI

     KINI TELAH HADIR BERSAMAKU DI SINI

KEDUA TANGANNYA MEMEGANG KEDUA TANGANKU

KEDUA MATANYA MENATAP KEDUA MATAKU

IA TERSENYUM

     LALU MASUK MENEMBUS JANTUNGKU

          SAMBIL BERBISIK “HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYAH AYU”

TIBA-TIBA AKU MERASA SEMUA MATA TERTUJU PADAKU

     MEREKA MENYAPA DAN MENAGIH JANJIKU

     “HAI, PAKABAR DYAH AYU?  AKU RINDU PADA JANJIMU”

SEKETIKA AKU TERJAGA DARI MIMPIKU

MIMPI UNTUK MERAIH CITA-CITAKU

MIMPI UNTUK MEMELIHARA IBADAHKU

MIMPI UNTUK MERAJUT CINTAKU

DAN MIMPI-MIMPI LAIN YANG TERPENDAM DALAM LUBUK HATIKU

MIMPI-MIMPI ITULAH YANG BELAKANGAN INI SELALU MENGGANGGU TIDURKU

ENTAH BERAPA KALI AKU MENCOBA MEMBUNUH MEREKA

     DENGAN BELAJARKU, DENGAN SHOLATKU, DENGAN KETEKUNANKU

TETAPI SEKIAN KALI PULA MEREKA MENERTAWAIKU

     LALU MENCIBIR “PERCUMA SAJA, DYAH AYU”

HARI INI, SEKALI LAGI

     AKU BERJANJI PADA DIRIKU

          MENITI SEBUAH JALAN BARU    

          MENATAP LANGIT MASA DEPAN BARU

“NOW YOU MUST BE THE WINNER, UNLESS YOU WILL BE THE LOSER...FOREVER”

HARI INI TUJUH BELAS TAHUN YANG LALU

     ORANG BILANG AKU KELUAR DARI RAHIM MAMAKU

AKU MENANGIS

     ORANG-ORANG DI SEKITAR GEMPAR MENYAMBUT KEHADIRANKU

ORANG BILANG AKU LAHIR SEBELUM MAMA MEMBAWAKU

     KE SEBUAH RUMAH SAKIT DI KOTAKU 

HARI INI

     AKU INGIN MERENUNG

          MENYAKSIKAN KEMBALI KISAH PERJALANAN HIDUPKU

               YANG BISA MEMBUATKU TERSENYUM

               BISA PULA MEMAKSAKU MENITIKKAN AIR MATA 

HARI INI

     AKU INGIN MELUPAKAN SEMUANYA

     YANG KUINGIN HANYALAH MENRAKTIR KAMU-KAMU

MAU NONTON ATAU MAKAN-MAKAN, ITU UP TO YOU

IJINKANLAH PADA HARI SPESIALKU INI

     AKU MEMBAGI SEPOTONG KUE KEBAHAGIAANKU PADAMU

                                                                                                2011

Headlines for a day

Its amazing how many prophecy related stories appear in a single day now. I can recall several years ago, weeks would pass before we'd see anything prophetically related in the news. These days there are several such stories in the news almost hourly, and then there are days like this in which you can barely fit all of the stories into one post:

IAEA chief: Syria tried to secretly build nuclear reactor

The head of the UN atomic watchdog, Yukiya Amano, on Thursday said for the first time that Syria tried in the past to secretly build a nuclear reactor, which was destroyed by Israeli warplanes five years ago, The Associated Press reported. The IAEA carried out an agreed inspection of another Syrian plant earlier in April as part of a long-stalled probe into suspected covert nuclear activity.

Muslim Brotherhood Urges Protests In Syria

The banned Muslim Brotherhood has called on Syrians to take to the streets to protest against the regime ahead of Friday prayers. The declaration is the first time that the Brotherhood, whose leadership is in exile, have called directly for demonstrations since pro-democracy demonstrations against President Bashar al Assad's autocratic rule erupted six weeks ago.
European governments will discuss the situation on Friday
A push for the UN Security Council to condemn the crackdown was blocked by Russia, China and Lebanon on Wednesday night.

Fayyad: PA Already Moving to Make Jerusalem its Capital

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad used his weekly address to tell listeners the PA would be making unilateral moves to establish Jerusalem as the capital for a PA stat

Telling listeners the last two years [during which the PA adamantly refused to sit down and discuss peace with Israel -Ed.] had focused on resistance to Israeli "occupation" of eastern Jerusalem, Fayyad said that now it was time to focus instead on turning the city into a capital for a PA state.

U.S. dollar's dizzying drop wreaks economic havoc

The U.S. dollar’s long decline has turned into a sudden plunge, throwing currency markets into a frenzy that is complicating life for policy makers and executives the world over. The U.S. dollar is in the midst of what Nomura Securities International analyst Jens Nordvig called a “violent … weakening move,” as a confluence of factors drive investors to seek short-term gains outside the United States.

America's Fiscal High Noon

According to the unclassified 2009 report “Economic Warfare: Risks and Responses” by financial analyst Kevin D. Freeman, what’s referred to as “Bear Raid II” — phase III of an economic terrorist attack against the United States — is poised to fatally hit the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. dollar, causing the collapse of America’s economy.

It was a threat former Secretary of State James A. Baker III underscored on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS on April 10, noting if the dollar was replaced as the global reserve currency, it would be catastrophic for America.

Yet red flags galore signal that the train has already left the station.

US South drought Causes Massive Crop Losses

A devastating drought intensified across Texas over the last week, with high winds and heat causing "massive crop losses," and weather experts said Thursday that little relief was in sight. Ranchers were struggling to feed and water cattle, and farmers were left to watch their crops shrivel into the dusty soil. Some experts estimated that producers were giving up on up to 70 percent of the state's wheat acreage.

Fuchs said the drought in Texas was one of the worst in decades. The dramatically lower-than-normal amount of moisture in the soil has caused widespread crop failures, including to the state's hard red winter wheat crop.

Texas is a key production area for wheat. The losses there and in parts of the U.S. Plains hit by drought will aggravate already short supplies around the world.

Soaring crude prices putting squeeze on U.S. GDP

As crude prices soar, oil dependence is once again proving a glaring vulnerability for the U.S. economy and, ultimately, the global recession. “That’s the single biggest risk to the U.S. and the global recovery at this point, the risk that oil prices are not done with us yet,” said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. “And they could rise further.”

On Thursday, crude futures neared $113 a barrel, up more than 40% since November and up more than 30% in the last three months alone. The current price was last hit in April 2008.

US at risk of war with China, Russia

The US is at the risk of a war with Russia and China as its main objective behind engineering the Libyan war and Syrian unrest is to remove the two world powers out of the Mediterranean, a former US official warns.

“Washington is all for invading against Libya and is putting more and more pressure to intervene in Syria because we want to … clear China and Russia out of the Mediterranean,” Paul Craig Roberts, former assistant secretary to US Treasury in Panama City said in an interview with Press TV.

“Once Russia and China come to the conclusion that the Americans simply cannot be dealt with it in any rational way and are determined to somehow subdue them and do them damage, all kinds of escalations can result. This is the real danger and we’re risking a major war,” the former senior US official cautioned.

Iran's growing clout

The fast-paced political earthquakes in the Middle East that we have been witnessing in recent weeks have one common denominator -- President Obama's influence in the region has shrunk to somewhere between a pittance and zero, while Iran's has been bolstered across the board.

By his inability to shape events, Obama created a political vacuum that Iran's theocratic rulers are filling at an accelerating pace

Abbas completely distanced himself from Obama by cutting a reconciliation deal with Hamas, another terrorist surrogate of Iran. Riding high, Tehran immediately blessed the Fatah-Hamas "unity' agreement, brokered by Cairo's new power elite, as "the first achievement of the Egyptian revolution." Hamas immediately vowed there would be ''no recognition, no negotiations'' with Israel with Hamas sharing power.

Barak reiterates: Israel won't talk to Palestinian government that includes Hamas

Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued an official response on Thursday to the announcement of Palestinian reconciliation, saying there was "no chance that we will talk with this government, if they try to create it."

"Hamas is a murderous terrorist organization that fires rockets on citizens and recently fired an anti-tank missile at a school bus of students," Barak said. "This is an organization with whom there is nothing to discuss, and therefore we will have no discourse with them."

Earlier in the day, Barak had said that Israel should negotiate with the planned Fatah-Hamas Palestinian unity government only and if it renounces terror activities and recognizes Israel.

In his official statement, the defense minister also demanded that Israel's international friends also refuse to speak with a unity government which includes Hamas, unless the group "undergoes a deep and fundamental change."

The Palestinian announcement was met with skepticism, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warning that a reconciliation deal could result in a Hamas takeover of the currently PA-ruled West Bank.

Lieberman told Army Radio of his fears that Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, would eventually take over the Palestinian Authority-ruled West Bank as well, making use of Hamas activists freed by Fatah as part of the new agreement.

President Shimon Peres also commented on the burgeoning Palestinian reconciliation agreement on Thursday, saying he felt the deal was a mistake that could prevent the formation of an independent Palestinian state.

Peace vs Terrorism

Its easy to see what path Fatah has chosen as they have essentially merged with Hamas.

Joel Rosenberg provides his insight:

Fatah Chooses Peace With Hamas Terrorists, Not With Israel

The leaders of the beleagured Palestinian people chose to embrace terrorists today, not the road to true peace, justice and reconciliation. What a tragedy. Instead of spending the last 18 months engaging in peace talks with Israel, PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas has spent the last several months engaged in secret peace talks with rival Hamas, the radical Islamic terrorist group that calls for the annihilation of the Jewish State.

The talks, brokered by Egyptian intelligence, concluded with an announcement today that Fatah (PLO) and Hamas have sealed a unity agreement that some reporters are describing as “an historic reconciliation deal.”

In theory, the deal helps pave the way for the Palestinians soon to unilaterally declare a state encompassing the Fatah-controlled territory of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), the Hamas-controlled territory of Gaza, and assert their capital in East Jerusalem

They will claim that their unity signals they are ready to govern themselves and assume the responsibilities of statehood.

It is amazing how these rivals are willing to unite in a common hatred of Israel. Take a look at their recent history:

In reality, it is a shotgun wedding, at best. Fatah and Hamas leaders have historically not only hated each other but gunned each other down in broad daylight. When Hamas took over Gaza in 2005 and 2006, it set into motion a bloodbath, killing scores of Fatah officials and party members, even throwing some off of high rise buildings.

One this is for certain: the Palestinian leadership is taking yet another stop away from making peace with Israel. “The Palestinian Authority has to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas,” Prime Minister Netanyahu told reporters. “Peace with both of them is impossible, because Hamas aspires to destroy the state of Israel and says so openly.” Netanyahu added: “Hamas fires rockets at our cities and anti-tank missiles at our children. I think the mere idea of reconciliation demonstrates the Palestinian Authority’s weakness, and brings up the question of whether Hamas will take over Judea and Samaria as it did Gaza.”

It seems obvious that these two groups want to present a united front before September when the UN is scheduled to take a vote regarding a separate "PA State", and once again, we see momentum building towards that effort. Additionally, now we are seeing the various terrorist groups doing whatever is possible to make this happen.

Ahmadinejad to address nation

This one is very interesting for a number of reasons. First, to the article:

'Absent' Ahmadinejad to address nation next week: media

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has not appeared in public for more than a week, is to make a televised address to the nation within days, local media reported Thursday, citing an official.

"Ahmadinejad will speak to the nation next week, and his comments are going to please the friends of the revolution and despair the enemies of the regime," several newspapers reported the vice-president in charge of parliamentary affairs, Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajedini, as saying.

Well, that alone tweaks my interest, particularly the bolded comments above: "despair the enemies of the regime" and, "please the friends of the revolution". That leaves the door open to many possibilities. Is this a reference to nuclear development? Does it have to do with the Mahdi's return? Does it have to do with Israel's destruction?

The president has not been seen in public since April 22, when supreme leader Ali Khamenei overturned the resignation of Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, which was imposed by Ahmadinejad.

The rebuke and reinstatement of Moslehi has given rise to media reports of sharp differences between Ahmadinejad and his opponents, notably the ultra-conservatives who dominate parliament and thrive on Khamenei's backing.

According to Fars news agency which is close to the regime's hardliners, the conservative majority in the parliament met on Thursday morning with Majlis speaker Ali Larijani to discuss the situation, after hearing a report by a deputy who recently met with Ahmadinejad.

Fifty conservative lawmakers on Wednesday signed a petition demanding that Ahmadinejad appear before parliament.

Now this too is interesting and adds another layer to the situation. Note that Ahmadinejad is being pressured by the "conservative" element in Iran - which is hard to imagine as Ahmadinejad is typically viewed as a "hard-line" Islamic with fairly radical views - yet apparently, in Iran, he isn't conservative enough for the lawmakers and clerics.

Just to speculate on this situation, we can see the following:

- Ahmadinejad is under pressure by the conservative groups within Iran.
- Ahmadinejad is under pressure to keep his current position as President of Iran.
- Ahmadinejad will have to find a way to please this conservative block of clerics and lawmakers in order to remain in power.

How can he accomplish this?

That would require even more speculation, but it is interesting that he has chosen this time to make a televised address and is considering his 'announcement' as something that will "please the friends of the revolution" - which is another way of stating that his announcements will please this conservative block of Iran's leadership.

This is worth watching very closely and we should know "within days" what Ahmadinejad has up his sleeve.

Why do I have a feeling that somehow it will involve Israel?

We shall see.

In the news:

Today's news from around the world:

Japan's nuclear plants 'can't keep reactors cool'

The plant at Tsuruga needs 3500 kilowatts to safely cool its reactors, but the backups can only deliver 1020 kilowatts, says Kyodo - and that can't be fixed til next March. The agency's sources says the power available will "only run measuring gauges and small-scale water injection devices". And at the Tomari power station, a 3,200 kilowatt backup generator cannot "achieve stable shutdown" of the reactors - and that won't be fixed until some time in the next two years.

If confirmed, Kyodo's story is appalling news for Japan. Nuclear power stations can never be switched off since residual heat from low level fission must continually be transported away from the core. The lack of backup power means further accidents are waiting to happen

Ecuador raises alert as Tungurahua volcano spews ash

Ecuador has declared an amber alert after the Tungurahua volcano started spewing ash again.

A plume more than 7km (4.3 miles) high could be seen emerging from the volcano in central Ecuador.

The authorities evacuated residents living near the volcano's rim and ordered local schools to close.

"According to our observations, damages to crops, pastures and small effects to the health of people are already evident," the Ecuadorean geophysics institute said.

Gov't officials skeptical about Hamas-Fatah agreement

Barak admitted that Israeli intelligence had foreseen a low probability for a reconciliation agreement between the two factions, and noted that Palestinian officials were also skeptical about it.

The defense minister also reiterated Israeli's position that it would not hold any discussions with Hamas, "a murderous organization whose aim is to destroy Israel."

However, he said that if a joint Palestinian government were to rise, Israel would hold talks with the new government only if Hamas would dismantle its terrorist infrastructure and recognize Israel and previous agreements made with the PLO.

"Hamas isn't changing its charter, hasn't ceased to be a terrorist organization, serves Iran and smuggles weapons," Peres said

'Syria, Hezbollah to compete over firing Scud at Tel Aviv'

If war breaks out between Israel, Syria, and Hezbollah, Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime will "play powerful cards" in south Lebanon and will not hesitate to respond, senior security officials in Syria said, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.

According to the officials, in case of war with Israel, Syria and Hezbollah will compete with each other over who will fire the first Scud or Fateh missile at Tel Aviv.

The Syrian officials also warned that the deteriorating security situation in Syria and damage to the country's stability may also have an effect on the situation in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Israel wary of change in security arrangements with PA

IDF braces for what sources call 'shaky future' of security collaboration between Israel, Palestinian forces following Hamas, Fatah reconciliations

"Despite statements to the contrary in Egypt, we know that the deal between Hamas and Fatah is plagued by serious misgivings and differences that cannot be bridged easily," a military source said.

Any change in the Palestinians' modus operandi in the West Bank will require the IDF to bolster its presence on the ground, especially in the more sensitive sectors.

The IDF is also gearing for more extreme scenarios, including seeing Palestinian police officers take actions against Israel

Hamas: We won't negotiate peace with Israel

Mahmoud al-Zahar says peace with Israel not on new Palestinian government's agenda. Meanwhile, Fatah and Hamas officials outline terms of reconciliation agreement, stress deal is first step on the way to establish independent state, in joint press conference in Cairo

The Palestinian factions have reconciled in the hopes of establishing an independent state, they said in a press conference on Wednesday. Fatah Central Committee Member and chief negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed said, "The agreement is the beginning and we shall take quick steps to end the occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state."

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader who participated in the talks said that peace with Israel was not on the table. "Our program does not include negotiations with Israel or recognizing it," Zahhar said in Cairo. "It will not be possible for the interim national government to participate or bet on or work on the peace process with Israel."

Lieberman: Palestinian unity will lead to Hamas West Bank takeover

A Palestinian reconciliation deal signed between rival factions Fatah and Hamas is the result of recent Mideast unrest, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday, adding he feared Hamas would eventually take over the West Bank.

Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official who participated in the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, said Wednesday that the interim Palestinian government would not be able to hold peace negotiations with Israel.

"One of the clauses of the agreement is the release of hundreds of Hamas prisoners from Palestinian jails, which would flood the West Bank with armed terrorists, and the IDF must prepare accordingly," Lieberman said.

Food prices to hit record

Global food prices may rise 4.4% to a record by the end of the year, driven by demand for meat, oilseeds and grains used to make ethanol, adding to costs that mean inflation is accelerating from the U.S. to China.

The United Nations’ Food Price Index may climb to 240 points from 229.84 last month, said William Adams, a fund manager at Zurich-based Resilience AG, which has US$22.2-million of assets. Global corn stockpiles are shrinking the most in seven years, inventories of nine edible oils will drop to the lowest since 1974 and U.S. beef stocks will be the smallest since 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates.

“The stockpiles are being severely depleted,” said Mr. Adams, who correctly forecast gains in heating oil and gasoline prices last year. “Eventually it gets to the consumer. The U.S. government isn’t subsidizing pork chops like it is ethanol.”

Collisions?

Below is a very interesting story which is worth reading. It seems that more and more non-prophecy sites are carrying the same information that prophecy sites are carrying and the article below is no exception:

Collisions for global security, 2011

Momentum is building for two collisions of international interests in 2011. One involves the nature of the coalition operation in Libya, which carries with it implications about the role of the West in global security in general. The other is the status of a Palestinian state, and the jockeying of various regional actors to assume the lead role in brokering the fate of Israel.

Yet this is military force we’re talking about here, wielded by one group of sovereign nations against another. Treating the action as if it doesn’t merit the conventional signs of deliberation and bona fides is inherently destabilizing.

The collision that is coming is thus due to two factors: the West’s inability to achieve a resolution in Libya through the methods it has confined itself to, and its irresponsible, even unethical attitude toward the underpinnings of international security.

Aspiring leadership rivals are plentiful. They are scrambling now, but what we can expect to see from them are more alternative initiatives for handling Libya (some are already in the works) – along with, soon enough, a host of other regional security issues.

There may be a dramatic moment when Russia exercises a veto at the UN over a proposal from the NATO-led coalition. But even if there’s not, the West will have lost standing if the threat of a veto limits what it can do in Libya. It will lose standing if the exertions of a non-US, non-European actor, undertaken in an unrelated initiative, are what obtain a settlement in Libya. And it will lose standing with every day that the situation in Libya remains unresolved.

Nothing is certain at the moment, including how the various actors will line up. The “BRICS” group, for example – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – condemned the Libya intervention at its 14 April meeting. Can the BRICS retain their cohesion if Russia or South Africa (or both) presses for a particular resolution in Libya?

The bottom line?

Russia, Greece, and the African Union are all willing to back a settlement that leaves Qaddafi in a power position of some kind, with final conditions to be negotiated and multinational peacekeepers in Libya. (The latter factor would be a boon to Russia and/or some members of the African Union.)

The US and Western Europe have backed themselves into the opposite corner.

The longer we dither, however, the more coherent the alternative proposition will become.

Russia holds veto power over any UN endorsement of a ramp-up in NATO-led operations. Turkey will almost certainly try to play both sides. Coalition partners like Italy and Qatar – neither of which is a fan of major military action – may begin to waver.

Only one thing would have the hope of restoring the global power relationships that are being thrown up for grabs, and that is the US taking leadership to secure a resolution in Libya. Even now it’s not too late in terms of the conditions at hand. It is highly improbable, however.

Also in the news today, we see a long-awaited alliance between Hamas and Fatah, an alliance which will most likely have ramifications in the Middle East:

Hamas and Fatah?

Egyptian officials claim delegations from Fatah and Hamas have hammered out an agreement to form an interim Palestinian Authority unity government and fix a date for elections, Reuters reports.

The announcement comes as Abbas lobbies for the unilateral declaration of a PA state by the United Nations in September.

Many security officials have warned that allowing Hamas to return to prominence in the PA would lead to a Hamas takeover in Judea and Samaria, similar to that carried out in Gaza in 2007

The Fatah-Hamas Agreement

It has just been announced that Fatah and Hamas, the two bitter rivals in the Palestinian nationalist movement, have signed a unity accord to end their decade’s long divide. Their preliminary agreement, according to The New York Times, provides for their creation of a transnational unity government for both the West Bank and Gaza, to be followed by new elections after one year.

So, its all about forming a "unified" government so the world will more easily support a unity government in the West bank and Gaza. Interesting.

Prime Minister Netanyahu isn't so positive:

Immediately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a firm statement about the meaning of this agreement:

“The Palestinian Authority has to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a televised address on Wednesday. “Peace with both of them is impossible because Hamas aspires to destroy the state of Israel and says so openly.”

the PA decided that rather than go along any more with the current U.S. administration’s lofty plans, it had better cut a deal with Hamas than find that Hamas would take over the West Bank on its own, assuring the arrest, imprisonment or elimination of Fatah leaders, or the total collapse of any Fatah role in a forthcoming Palestinian state or territory.

Egypt is also involved in this scenario:

It also appears that helping broker the agreement between Fatah and Hamas was none other than representatives of the new post-Mubarak Egyptian government, a government that already has made some noises about wanting to abrogate the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

Moussa Abu Marzzouq, a Hamas negotiator, told the press that previously deadlocked talks had taken place because of help from the Egyptian mediators, who showed “exemplary performance.”

If there had to be further evidence of how dangerous the ousting of Mubarak was for the maintenance of Middle Eastern peace, this is it. As the NYT story put it, “the Egyptian revolution has reshuffled regional diplomacy.” Mubarak, despite his many faults, was considered hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood. Now that this is no longer the case, and that Hamas is a brother organization and offshoot of the MB, this problem no longer existed.

Exactly as predicted. Now we see what is being discussed for "security":

They also agreed on the issue of control of the security services. This is particularly dangerous, since the United States had been working with Fatah to help build these services in the West Bank, in the hope that Fatah could broaden its base and control and be able to stand up against Hamas. Now, this very service, which has received U.S. aid, is likely to fall under Hamas control.

This new development makes it even more than likely that with Assad in power in Syria, and Hamas in both Gaza and now the West Bank, that a new Middle East war is likely to break out.

One hopes that finally, even the witless Obama administration will see that appeasing the Palestinians and the Arab street is a hopeless task, and that putting a “peace process” in first place as Administration policy for the region is the worst possible policy to pursue.

And this:

Analysis: Syria unrest could destabilize Lebanon

The unrest sweeping Syria may whip up sectarian divisions that could spill across the border and threaten to destabilise Lebanon, a small neighbour where Damascus has both strong allies and enemies.

The upheaval in Syria, where a rights group said on Tuesday 400 people have been killed by security forces, has sectarian undercurrents because of Syrian President Bashar Assad's minority Alawite rule in a mainly Sunni Muslim country.

Alawite loyalists occupy pivotal positions in the Syrian military and Assad family insiders run the crucial security bodies, tying senior officers closely to Assad's own fate.

"If there is sectarian tension between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria this will definitely spill over to Lebanon," said a Lebanese analyst, alluding to past fighting between Alawites and Sunnis in northern Lebanon.

"Collisions" is one way to see these situations. I call them tipping points. But whatever you call them, they are being noticed by reporters around the world, and it confirms one common thought among prophecy watchers: Time is about up. The lid cannot be kept on this powder keg for much longer, its bound to erupt. Sooner or later, one of these "collisions", or "tipping points" will be reached and when that happens, the powder keg blows. And when that happens....Well, you know the rest of that story.

Israel Erased?

PA Carries out Ahmadinejad's Threat and Wipes Israel Off Map

The Palestinian Authority has carried out Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threat to “wipe Israel off the map” and literally has done so by displaying maps of “Palestine” covering all of Israel at the same time its leaders talk about “two states for two people.”

It is interesting that the PA is being so open about this right now. They seem very confident with what appears to be implicit agreement among the UN Nations that in September a vote will be favorable to creating a "PA State".

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah movement that controls the PA in Judea and Samaria, has in effect established a “one-state” solution in Fatah offices and in Palestinian Authority schools and offices.

The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented that professional unions and private PA groups display maps showing a rifle and a quill over “Palestine,” from the Lebanese border in the north to Eilat in the south and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.

The maps declare Abbas’ intentions of making the “1967 borders” the temporary outline of a would-be Palestinian Authority

That last statement is key. Any return to the "pre-'67" borders is seen as temporary - just part of an overall process that involves the complete destruction of Israel, as indicated by these maps.

Nevertheless, the PA’s version “Palestine,” as illustrated on the map with a rifle and quill, was displayed last week at a meeting of the General Union of Palestinian Writers, PMW reported.

The Palestinian Authority has embedded in its school system the ”one-state” idea of a Palestine – without Israel – for years. As far back as 2003, school posters have displayed the Palestinian flag over a map erasing Israel.

But its never been produced in such public displays as we're now seeing.

The policy has continued unchanged despite statements by Abbas to President Obama that the PA has ceased anti-Israel incitement. Earlier this year, a map in principal’s office in a PA school erases Israel and replaces it with "Palestine", with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag flying over Israel.

One has to wonder how so much of the world can be so blind when it involves the facts involving Israel and what's really going on in the region. The very existence of Israel as a nation is at stake.

Just imagine that. The country in which you live is under constant threat from around the world, whether diplomatically or militarily or by terrorism on a mass scale - creating a scenario where your very existence is threatened on a daily basis. Its unimaginable, yet this is the very real threat that the tiny nation of Israel lives under every day.

Now, the world pretends that the motivation in the Middle East is for peace, and if only a separate "PA State" is formed, all will be well. We heard the same arguments about the Gaza Strip and look what that promise of peace created.

There is an overall plan involved which goes far beyond the formation of a "PA State". If a "PA State" is formed, and the West Bank and the Golan Heights are given up, Israel will be in a defenseless position - one which would virtually guarantee an attack.

It looks like we may have another potential tipping point to add to the growing list - the tipping point which could ignite the entire Middle East into the final prophetic scenarios described in the scriptures.

By September we should have some sort of resolution on this issue. There is one certainty - this will be a fascinating story to follow.

When You Put It All Together....

The latest from Jerry Golden is a fascinating read and once again, he appears to have nailed it - in terms of putting current events in perspective:

When you put it all together - it looks like this

On our return to Israel we once again found the threat of imminent war with the drums beating louder every hour. The "Palestinians" are saying they are going to march on Jerusalem on May 15th (they call it Nakba Day) and that it will be the start of the third Intifada. At the same time the IHH Turkish Terrorist Group has assembled another Flotilla with dozens of ships ready to break through the Gaza Sea Blockade.

This promises to bring more condemnation upon Israel regardless of how it is handled, or what the results may be. And the so-called "Palestinians" are saying they are going to ask the UN to proclaim their statehood. That of course would bring everything to a violent head very quickly as well.

We are, at the same time, watching the Syrian Government of Bashar Assad shoot and kill its citizens with no condemnation from the UN or the world at large. From the Obama White House all we hear in Israel is that these "rebels" are "freedom fighters". Yet the rest of the world knows they are Islamic extremists putting the finishing touches to their Arab "Caliphate".

We are witnessing many end time prophetic events happening very quickly right in front of our eyes. As Syria moves to become a totally Islamic Sharia State aligned with Hezbollah in Lebanon it becomes very easy to see Isa. 17:1, the Destruction of Damascus, coming into view. In fact, what we are witnessing is a repeat of what just happened in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood is now in firm control of the military. Therefore all the military hardware supplied by the United States is now pointing directly at Jerusalem.

I keep looking at this report - for paragraphs to cut out for this summary, but what the heck, lets just put the whole report in. Here is the rest:

The Egyptian threat is a really big one for Israel, as they are very strong both on land and at sea with many fast missiles ships and F-15's ready for war. Until just the other day I wondered how Egypt could be stopped in order for Israel to survive such an attack. A ministry supporter (Keith L.) sent me an email and ask me to look at Ezekiel 29:10 Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.

So I began searching for information on this place called the "Tower of Syene". According to one Bible reference the biblical town of Syene is near modern-day Aswan, which is on the Nile River in southern Egypt. Another reference says that the name "Syene" means "opening" or "key," which would refer to that area being an entry point into Egypt. Today this place is known as the "Aswan High Dam". If you want to know how Egypt could be totally destroyed in one attack - it would be by hitting this high dam. For those who don't understand this - here is a shot from outer space.

(click on the original link above in order to see this photo of the Nile for some perspective)

That line of lights you can see is the Nile River and if the Aswan Dam was destroyed all the humanity you are looking at would be destroyed, including the city of Cairo.

In fact our Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has recently remarked that should Egypt attack Israel she would be forced to blow up the Aswan dam thereby causing a devastating flood which would destroy Egypt. Somehow when I heard that said on the Israeli news at the time I didn't connect it to Ezekiel 29:10

So I will merely ask you to pray - and I believe God will speak to your heart, for we are speaking here of the "Apple of His Eye". Gen. 12:3.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem for our son Joel and all the IDF soldiers.

AMEN.

The reference to Ezekiel 29 is interesting and makes watching the events in and around Egypt even more important.

More news below:

Witnesses: Mass arrests and gunfire in the streets as Syria crackdown continues

Poll: Over half of Egypt wants end to Israel peace

PA Continues Strongarm Tactics in Statehood Bid

This statement puts it all in perspective:

While PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said the Quartet would set benchmarks for talks, he also predicated 'serious' negotiations on several maximalist PA preconditions. Notably, borders based on the 1949 armistice lines, minimal land-exchange, and no population transfer.

Abed Rabbo maintained, however, that if the PA was unhappy with its gains during talks with Israel it would still seek an imposed solution by the United Nations. This, effectively, would mean Israel would be negotiating at the point of a PA gun.

'US in talks with Israel, PA to quell statehood bid at UN'

The New World Order

This article gives a detailed summary of the planned or "managed" decline of the U.S. dollar as part of a process to install a new world order, and this sounds hauntingly like a world that we would expect to see as the Tribulation approaches. We see many quotes from other references, and when put together, the story becomes more and more ominous.

George Soros: Managed Dollar Decline, New World Order

The article linked above contains the video which has been discussed before on this forum, but if you missed it it is worth watching. In the video he talks openly about the planned "slow decline" of the U.S. dollar and desires a world currency.

He is the founder of the Open Society Institute. Think about that name. It means advocating for “transnationalism.”

From Transnationalism: What it Means for America

In short, the U.N. defines transnationalism as a type of globalization that is, this minute, turning the world into a “global village.” That “global village” will give back control of “peace, equity, social justice, democracy and human rights,” to the people. The U.N.’s vision of globalization is one that makes all industry, throughout the world “work for the benefit of everyone to eradicate poverty and hunger globally…”

The following is one way to do it. From the U.N. Millenium Development Goal (read text here):

The MDG says this can be done by initiating a worldwide freeze on armed forces – prohibitions of the use of force…move towards the abolition of war and…the UN Secretariat and interested Governments, or a separate group of Governments, should develop a draft proposal for global disarmament.

From Investor’s Business Daily:

By adopting the Millennium goals in 2000, the U.N. escalated its demands to impose international taxes. Specifically, the Millennium called for a “currency transfer tax,” a “tax on the rental value of land and natural resources,” a “royalty on worldwide fossil energy projection — oil, natural gas, coal,” “fees for the commercial use of the oceans, fees for airplane use of the skies, fees for use of the electromagnetic spectrum, fees on foreign exchange transactions, and a tax on the carbon content of fuels.”

That is how a World Order comes about. Soros sits on a U.N. climate panel (I’m assuming a sub-panel to the IPCC – The Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change):

“The 21-member United Nations panel included Lawrence H. Summers, the White House’s departing national economics adviser; the billionaire financier George Soros; Ernesto Cordero Arroyo, the finance minister of Mexico; and Christine Lagarde, the French economic minister,” the Times reports.
That’s right, the same George Soros who has railed against American independence and sovereignty is now organizing a massive wealth transfer to third world countries in the name of environmentalism.

The New World Order will depend on taxing fossile fuels, natural gas, even the air air space our air travel uses – all of which the UNMDG calls for. More from Investor’s Business Daily:

By adopting the Millennium goals in 2000, the U.N. escalated its demands to impose international taxes. Specifically, the Millennium called for a “currency transfer tax,” a “tax on the rental value of land and natural resources,” a “royalty on worldwide fossil energy projection — oil, natural gas, coal,” “fees for the commercial use of the oceans, fees for airplane use of the skies, fees for use of the electromagnetic spectrum, fees on foreign exchange transactions, and a tax on the carbon content of fuels.”

From The Economic Collapse blog:

So exactly what is it that George Soros is trying to accomplish? Well, in a nutshell, what he wants is a Big Brother-style one world government based on extreme European-style socialism, strict population control and the radical green agenda. It would be a world where the state tightly regulates everything that we do for the greater benefit of the environment and of society as a whole.

And with this last quote, I'm in full agreement:

While this cannot happen overnight. The “pot has been cooking” for a very long time. We must pay attention to George Soros. He loves the camera and may be our best clue to the decline of the dollar and the New World Order...

It seems that Mr Soros is lurking behind so many of the big changes that are happening on the earth today - from the uprisings in the Middle East, to the world's financial situation, to the collapsing dollar, to various new policies being implemented in the U.S. (such as the "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine, which has us involved in Libya and possibly Israel in the future), to the environmental policies which are crippling the economy - the list goes on and on.

It would be interesting to know more about his view for a "new world order". Perhaps in the coming months we'll find out.

News From The Middle East

First we turn to Syria:

Syrian forces storm Damascus suburb

Syrian writers issued a declaration on Monday denouncing a bloody crackdown on protesters, a sign of outrage surging through the intellectual elite as violence has escalated dramatically in recent days.

Security forces and gunmen loyal to President Bashar Assad stormed the large Damascus suburb of Douma early on Monday, shooting at unarmed civilians and arresting residents, rights campaigners said.

Also Monday, a senior diplomat in Amman said Syria had closed all its land border crossings with Jordan, following the deployment of Syrian army tanks in Deraa. An official told Reuters the "timing is related to what appears to be a major security operation that is taking place right now".

At least 18 said killed as Syrian forces in tanks, APCs fire on protesters

Syrian President Bashar Assad's security forces opened fire on pro-democracy protesters across the country Monday, reportedly killing 13 in the coastal town of Jabla and another five in the southern town of Daraa.

Security forces backed by armored vehicles entered Daraa overnight and opened fire, a resident told Al Jazeera television Monday. Eight tanks were deployed in the old quarter of Daraa, a witness said, adding that several bodies were lying in the main street.

Despite Assad's caoncellation of decades-long emergency laws, his forces have continued to clash with protesters, killing more than 100 Syrians on Friday in the most brutal crackdown since the pro-democracy protests began some six weeks ago.

Syrian security forces detained dozens of opposition activists and protesters in raids on Sunday, yet another indication that Assad has little intent of relinquishing his authoritarian rule.

Assad is 'World's Most Dangerous Man'

Syrian President Bashar Assad is the world’s “most dangerous man,” according to Pulitzer Prize winner journalist Joel Brinkley, who added that the Obama government has “delusional views” of the dictato

Writing for Tribune Media Services, Brinkley said Assad overshadows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for being dangerous because the “duplicitous dictator…has duped presidents and prime ministers into believing he is their indispensable friend - even as he facilitates the killing of American troops, collects weapons of mass destruction and serves as the supply master for terrorist groups.”

[Assad] has been the best friend of Islamic extremists transiting into Iraq. They've crossed the Syrian border by the busload, in full view of U.S. spy satellites

“He sells missiles to Hizbullah, the terrorist group in southern Lebanon that is the avowed enemy of Israel and the United States.

“Khaled Mashaal, the Hamas leader, actually lives in Damascus and does his murderous business openly from a storefront.

Persecution in the Middle East:

A Mideast Devoid of Christians

This is the goal of the Muslim world. In every Muslim nation there is an official systematic policy to destroy every Christian church, community, life in order to free themselves of the blight they see within their midst. This isn’t a new phenomena in these countries, they rid themselves of Jews decades ago.

This is the saddest Easter in the long epic of Arab Christianity: The cross is near extinction in the lands of it origin. The much-vaunted diversity of the Middle East is going to be reduced to the flat monotony of a single religion, Islam, and to a handful of languages.

The numbers are telling. Today there is only one Middle Eastern country where the number of Christians has grown: Israel. As documented in the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, the Christian community that numbered 34,000 people in 1949 is now 163,000-strong, and will reach 187,000 in 2020.

In the rest of the Middle East, the drive for Islamic purity is going to banish all traces of pre-Islamic pasts. This has affected not only Christians, but other non-Islamic communities too, such as the Zoroastrians and Baha’is in Iran (the late also found refuge in Israel, in Haifa.)

The silence of the global forums, the flawed conscience of human rights groups, the self-denial of the media and the Vatican’s appeasement is helping facilitate this Islamist campaign. According to a report on religious freedom compiled by the US Department of State, the number of Christians in Turkey declined from two million to 85,000; in Lebanon they have gone from 55% to 35% of the population; in Syria, from half the population they have been reduced to 4%; in Jordan, from 18% to 2%. In Iraq, they will be exterminated.

Should the exodus of Christians from Bethlehem continue in the next two or three decades, there may be no clergy left to conduct religious services in Jesus’ birthplace. In Iran, Christians have become virtually non-existent since 1979, when Khomeini ordered the immediate closure of all Christian schools. In Gaza, the 3,000 who remain are subjected to persecution. In Sudan, Christians in the South are forced into slavery.

Has a new computer virus weapon been unleashed?

After Stuxnet: Iran says it's discovered 2nd cyber attack

TEHRAN - Iran has been targeted by a second computer virus in a "cyber war" waged by its enemies, its commander of civil defense said on Monday.

Gholamreza Jalali told the semi-official Mehr news agency that the new virus, called "Stars", was being investigated by experts.

"The particular characteristics of the Stars virus have been discovered," Jalali said. "The virus is congruous and harmonious with the [computer] system and in the initial phase it does minor damage and might be mistaken for some executive files of government organizations."

Iran says targeted by second computer virus

Iran has been targeted by a second computer virus in a "cyber war" waged by its enemies, its commander of civil defence said on Monday.

Gholamreza Jalali told the semi-official Mehr news agency that the new virus, called "Stars", was being investigated by experts.

Some defense analysts say the main target was more likely to be Iran's uranium enrichment program. Enrichment creates fuel for nuclear power plants or, if pursued to a much higher degree, can provide material for an atomic bomb.

Back to Israel:

PA will defer UN statehood bid if 'serious talks begin'

Abed Rabbo says PA is determined to achieve statehood but will delay UN plan if negotiations based on '67 borders start before September

The Palestinian leadership will defer its plan to seek a declaration of statehood in the United Nations this September if "real and serious" negotiations begin before that point, PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Abed Rabbo told London-based Al-Hayyat on Monday.

Describing what the Palestinian Authority would find acceptable in negotiations, he said they must be based on benchmarks set by the Quartet, notably, being based on pre-1967 lines with minimal land exchanges without any population transfer.

Rabbo added that if the United Nations does confer statehood on a Palestinian state, that one of its first moves would be to ask the international community to force Israel to withdraw its military forces from Palestinian territories.

Speculating on the level of support the Palestinians can expect to receive in their planned statehood bid, he told Al-Hayyat that "the vast majority of influential countries, including European countries, will recognize the state of Palestine," predicting near unanimous support.

Palestinian police open fire on pilgrims visiting Joseph's Tomb

A group of Breslov Hassidim's regular twilight visit to Palestinian controlled Joseph's Tomb in Nablus came to a tragically violent end Sunday: According to one of the Breslovers, Palestinian police officers fired at the convoy as they were on their way in to the Tomb.The fire continued as they drove out, killing Ben-Yosef Livnat, a 24 year-old father of four from Jerusalem and the nephew of Minister Limor Livnat, and injuring five others.

The Palestinians and the IDF are investigating the incident but it seems unlikely that pilgrims on the way to kiss the Tomb of one of Judaism's most revered figures would be armed - especially since the visit was a regular occurrence and they apparently had no trouble previously in making the pilgrimage. Apparently, the pilgrims did not "register" with the Palestinians their intent to visit the Tomb, but even if they did not follow the rules, was this any reason to shoot them?

One therefore must come to the inescapable conclusion that this was a deliberate Palestinian provocation.

Just one more piece of evidence of how serious they are at reaching a peace agreement.