» Sample of Our E-mail

Sept 19,  2006

Prophetic Trends & Headline News

 

Where is the U.S. in Bible Prophecy?
Israel - God's Timepiece
A Revived Roman Empire?
The Gog/Magog War
Increase in Knowledge & New Technologies
Christian Worldview & Issues
Other Events to Watch 

 



Where is the U.S. in Bible Prophecy?

Al-Qaida warns Muslims: Time to get out of U.S.

The new al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan is calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. – particularly Washington and New York – in anticipation of a major terror attack to rival Sept. 11, according to an interview by a Pakistani journalist. 

Abu Dawood told Hamid Mir, a reporter who has covered al-Qaida and met with Osama bin Laden, the attack is being coordinated by Adnan el-Shukrijumah and suggests it may involve some form of weapon of mass destruction smuggled across the Mexican border. 

"Our brothers are ready to attack inside America. We will breach their security again," he is quoted as saying. "There is no timeframe for our attack inside America; we can do it any time." 

As WND has previously reported, el-Shukrijumah is a trained nuclear technician and accomplished pilot who has been singled out by bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to serve as the field commander for the next terrorist attack on U.S. soil. 

The terrorist was last seen in Mexico, where, on Nov. 1, 2004, he allegedly hijacked a Piper PA Pawnee cropduster from Ejido Queretaro near Mexicali to transport a nuclear weapon and nuclear equipment into the U.S., according to Paul Williams, a former FBI consultant and author of "The Dunces of Doomsday." 

"He is an American and a friend of Muhammad Atta, who led 9/11 attacks five years ago," said Dawood. "We call him 'Jaffer al Tayyar' (Jafer the Pilot); he is very brave and intelligent. President Bush is aware that brother Adnan has smuggled deadly materials inside America from the Mexican border. Bush is silent about him, because he doesn’t want to panic his people. Sheikh Osama bin Laden has completed his cycle of warnings. You know, he is man of his words, he is not a politician; he always does what he says. If he said it many times that Americans will see new attacks, they will definitely see new attacks". 

Dawood said he was currently conducting operations in Afghanistan under the leadership of the Taliban. He warned of a series of upcoming suicide bombings there directed against government and coalition forces during Ramadan. 

He is also quoted as saying the next attack in America will not be conducted by people like Atta. 

"We have a different plan for the next attack," he told Mir. "You will see. Americans will hardly find out any Muslim names, after the next attack. Most of our brothers are living in Western countries, with Jewish and Christian names, with passports of Western countries. This time, someone with the name of Mohamed Atta will not attack inside America, it would be some David, Richard or Peter." 

He said there will be another audio message from bin Laden aired within the next two weeks. 

Mir reportedly interviewed Dawood Sept. 12 at the tomb of Sultan Mehmud Ghaznawi on the outskirts of Kabul. Dawood and the al-Qaida leaders who accompanied him were clean-shaven and dressed as Western reporters. The al-Qaida commander had contacted Mir by cell phone to arrange the meeting. 

In April 2001, Shukrijumah spent 10 days in Panama, where he reportedly met with al-Qaida officials to assist in the planning of 9/11. He also traveled to Trinidad and Guyana, where virulent al-Qaida cells have been established. The following month, he obtained an associate's degree in computer engineering from Broward Community College. 

Following 9/11, el-Shukrijumah was reportedly singled out by bin Laden and al-Zawahiri to spearhead the next great attack on America. One plan was for a nuclear attack that would take place simultaneously in seven U.S. cities, leaving millions dead and the richest and most powerful nation on earth in ashes. 

"Muslims should leave America," said Dawood. "We cannot stop our attack just because of the American Muslims; they must realize that American forces are killing innocent Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq; we have the right to respond back, in the same manner, in the enemy's homeland. The American Muslims are like a human shield for our enemy; they must leave New York and Washington." 

Mir, the journalist, has reported previously that al-Qaida has smuggled nuclear weapons and uranium into the U.S. 

"I am saying that Muslims must leave America, but we can attack America anytime," he said. "Our cycle of warnings has been completed, now we have fresh edicts from some prominent Muslim scholars to destroy our enemy, this is our defending of Jihad; the enemy has entered in our homes and we have the right to enter in their homes, they are killing us, we will kill them." 

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Iran president cements anti-U.S. front with Venezuela

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shored up opposition to a U.S. drive to curb Iran's nuclear program on a visit to Venezuela on Sunday that cemented an anti-American front with President Hugo Chavez.

Ahmadinejad's first trip to Venezuela highlighted Iran's backing for the fellow OPEC country's bid for a U.N. Security Council seat that Chavez would use to challenge Washington's campaign for international sanctions against Tehran.

Chavez, who Washington calls a destabilizing, anti-democratic force, cast the visit as two countries jointly defying what he says is the imperialist aggression of the world's only superpower. 

"Iran is one of the emerging countries of Asia, the Middle East. Venezuela is one of the emerging countries of Latin America," he told a state-owned TV network. "It is a union that seeks a balance in the world and to save the future of your children, my children and our grandchildren."

Buoyed by high oil prices that underpin their popularity at home and tapping into anti-American sentiment around the world, both presidents are awkward foes for the United States.

"Two revolutions are giving each other a hand," Chavez said at the capital's airport where he welcomed Ahmadinejad, walking with his arm across the visitor's shoulders.

Iran established an Islamic republic after a 1979 revolution that ousted a U.S.-backed leader and Chavez says he is creating his own revolution to overturn capitalist and U.S. influence in the South American country.

Iranian-Venezuelan ties have previously focused almost exclusively on cooperation as major oil exporters, but the leaders emphasized their new bond in standing up to America.

Nowadays, we have common goals and interests," Ahmadinejad said. "We have to be united ... to achieve peace and justice."

"I salute all the revolutionaries who oppose world hegemony," he added in an apparent reference to the United States.

The presidents did not focus on the nuclear issue, preferring to stress economic pacts, including a project to quantify Venezuelan oil reserves.

Ahmadinejad's two-day stop in Venezuela is sandwiched between a trip to Cuba for the summit of Non-Aligned Movement countries, which called on developing nations to challenge U.S. dominance, and a visit to the United Nations in New York.

At the world body's general assembly, Ahmadinejad will lobby for Iran's right to develop nuclear programs it says are for peaceful power generation despite Washington's assertion Tehran is trying to build an atomic weapon.

Chavez will press for a Security Council seat against a U.S. campaign supporting Venezuela's rival, Guatemala.

Chavez accused the United States of a smear campaign against Venezuela and Iran, saying it was spreading lies that Ahmadinejad's visit was to secure Venezuela's uranium for its nuclear programs.

"They don't get tired of lying," he said.

Limiting Iran's nuclear programs and curbing the socialist influence of Cuba ally Chavez are among Washington's top foreign policy priorities.

But Larry Birns of the Washington-based thinktank, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, said the United States has little to fear from the countries' closer ties.

Venezuela will keep supplying crucial oil to its main market, the United States, and if it wins a rotating U.N. seat, its vote will not be key, said Birns, who is sympathetic to some of Chavez's anti-U.S. stances.

"This is a visit that is a statement of solidarity rather than any plan for action," he said. 

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Military Orders Suggest Iran Attack On The Horizon

Two recent orders by the American military have led some observers to conclude that the U.S. is preparing for an attack on Iran.

One order was a "Prepare to Deploy" command sent to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters, telling the ships’ commanders to be ready to move by Oct. 1.

The other was a request from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for a fresh look at long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on the Persian Gulf.

The orders created a buzz within the military because there are few places in the world where minesweepers could be significant – chief among them, the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, where about 40 percent of the world’s oil passes each day.

"Coupled with the CNO’s request for a blockade review, a deployment of minesweepers to the west coast of Iran would seem to suggest that a much discussed – but until now largely theoretical – prospect has become real: that the U.S. may be preparing for war with Iran,” according to a special report in Time magazine.

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Iran Adopting N. Korean War Strategy In Preparation For Conflict with U.S.

Iran has adopted North Korea's war strategy against the United States.

U.S. intelligence sources said Iran has invested in the production of North Korean command and control systems for a missile war against the United States. The sources said Iranian engineers and military officers have been training in Pyongyang to wage a nuclear war against a much stronger opponent.

"Teheran has assessed that the United States is preparing a massive strike to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program," an intelligence source said. "The Iranians see North Korea as its only ally in any defensive effort."

Over the last year, the sources said, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has conducted exercises in both Iran and North Korea to test nuclear war scenarios. They said about a dozen senior IRGC engineers attended the North Korean launch of the Taepo Dong-2 intermediate-range missile in July 2006

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Religious Revival in the U.S. -- Hope for a Nation? ... or a Threat?

Does Christianity pose a threat in America? Apparently it depends on who you ask: President Bush ... or Rosie O'Donnell.

President Bush says he senses a religious revival that could be America's Third Great Awakening. In an interview with Associated Press, National Review editor Rich Lowry says the president shared that view with him and other conservative journalists at a White House meeting on Tuesday.

The nation's First and Second Great Awakenings -- generally considered to have occurred before the American Revolution (1730s-1770s) and the Civil War (early 1800s) -- resulted in widespread conversions, a revival of Christian fervor, and social reforms. Now here at the beginning of the 21st century, according to Lowry, the president said the frequency with which people tell him they are praying for him makes him think "there's a Third Awakening with a cultural change" taking place.

"It feels to him as though there is an up-tick in religiosity out there that possibly might qualify as the Third Awakening," Lowry shares with AP, "but he left it to the journalists in the room to investigate this further and see whether there's any merit in the idea -- but it's clearly something he's been thinking about."

The president, says Lowry, "wasn't making a big deal of this" but pointed out the number people on rope lines who tell him that they are praying for him. Bush shared that he did not have people along the rope line requesting things like a "new bridge, or how about some more highway money." But instead, "They're coming to say, 'I'm coming to tell you, Mr. President, I'm praying for you.' It's pretty remarkable," Bush said.

Adds Lowry: "He jokingly said maybe it's just the only people praying for me in America are the ones who come to my event and shake my hand at a rope line."

Still, the journalist says Bush rejected "moral relativism" and insisted that cultures can and do change. "He got into this idea of the Awakening by analogizing from the Middle East to our own culture," he says, "and he was pointing out [that] our own culture has changed." And while such change might take time, it sometimes can happen quite quickly, he adds. "[President Bush] pointed out ... how the culture from the 50s to the 60s changed quite rapidly," Lowry notes.

Now, contrast that with comments on Tuesday by comedienne Rosie O'Donnell during ABC's The View, when fellow co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck -- one day after the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S. -- referred to the threat posed by radical Islam. To which O'Donnell responded:

"Just one second -- radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state."

O'Donnell's unprovoked slap at Christianity, which was met with applause by the studio audience, came on the heels of her opinion that on September 11, 2001, the United States was not attacked by a nation; yet "as a result of the attack and the killing of nearly 3,000 innocent people, we invaded two countries and killed innocent people in their countries."

Hasselbeck and the two other co-hosts -- Barbara Walters and Joy Behar -- appeared shocked by O'Donnell's comments labeling Christianity as a threat.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council in Washington, DC, notes the contrast between O'Donnell's remarks and the president's comments that more people seem to be willing to share that they are praying for him. "The president's observations reflect the reality that Americans see religious revival as the hope for our nation, rather than a threat," states Perkins.

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Israel - God's Timepiece

Arab leader: Muslims will rule Jerusalem sooner than you think

Head of the northern faction of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Raed Salah said Friday that “soon Jerusalem will be the capital of the new Muslim caliphate, and the caliph’s seat will be there.”

Salah addressed an audience of 50,000 attending the Islamic Movement’s 11th annual rally in Umm al-Fahm. “Caliph” refers to a leader of the Muslim nation and in Arabic means the “heir” or “substitute” of the prophet Muhammad. 

Salah noted that history tells of many occasions in which the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was occupied by foreign conquerors, but the occupiers left after a short time, and thus will also be the fate of the Israeli occupation. 

“The Israeli occupation will leave Jerusalem soon. It will happen sooner than is thought,” Salah said at the rally, which was held under the slogan “Al-Aqsa endangered”.

The former mufti of Jerusalem Ekrima Sabri and the archbishop of the Greek-Orthodox church who is considered close to the Palestinian Authority also spoke at the rally. Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Musa also sent his blessings to the assembly.

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Syria preparing to act on Golan Heights

Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said that his country is losing patience in the matter of the Golan Heights, and that the Syrians would not wait much longer before they act. 

"Syria has made a strategic choice for peace, but it will not wait much longer before it recaptures the Golan Heights," Bilal told Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram al-Arabi. 

"The Syrian people have waited 40 years for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, but to no avail, and they are losing their patience," he stated.

"Syria chose peace as a strategic option, especially after former president Hafez Assad received a letter from President George Bush that included the principle of peace in exchange for territories, a letter that has become known as 'the Madrid principle.'," he explained. "It's been 16 years and still we have reached no results," he added. 

In the course of the interview, Bilal was asked whether he believes that "in wake of the Israeli war machine's defeat to Hizbullah, Israel is plotting to hurt Syria in a bid to compensate for its loss." 

Bilal replied: "Common sense, logic, and the international law – or what is left of them – say that this won't happen. But madness and stupidity can lead to this. I hope that common sense and logic prevail. This is our hope. If not – the chaos that will erupt will harm everyone." 

"in any case, if we are attacked – we will know how to defend ourselves and how to safeguard our land, our will, our values and our dignity," he concluded. 

Another menacing message was received from Iran on Sunday: Commander of the Iranian Navy Admiral Sajjad Kouchaki said that military industry experts in his country succeeded in constructing “the most advanced sea cannon in the world,” according to Iran’s Fars news agency. 

He further claimed that Iran was the third nation in the world that succeeded in developing such a weapon, after the United States and Italy. The Fajr missile can hit underwater targets up to 19 km away and air targets up to 23,000 feet away

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Rosh Hashana 5767: Israel's population stands at 6,990,700 

On the eve of Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year) 5767, the population of Israel stands at 6,990,700, of them 5,313,800 are Jewish and 1,377,100 Arabs, the annual statistical summary of 2005 published on Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) showed. 

The population growth rate in 2005 stood at 1.8 percent, roughly the same figure as the previous two years. 

The rate of growth among the Jewish population was steady at 1.5%, among Muslims 3% (a drop from previous years that can be mainly attributed to a lower birth rate), Druze 1.9% and Christians 1.4%. 

The population figure is comprised of: 5,313,800 Jews, 1,140,600 Muslims, 146,000 Christians (of them 118,000 Christian Arabs), 115,200 Druze and 272,200 who did not classify a religion. 

City slickers 

The vast majority of the Israeli population (91%) lives in cities, of them 28% live in one of the five largest cities in the country. 

The population, according to gender and age 

The Israeli population is considered a relatively "young" population: In Israel, the percentage of children between ages 0-14 is 28%, as opposed to 17% on average in other Western countries. In older groups (65 and up) the gaps decrease; seniors make up about 10% of the population in Israel, as opposed to about 15% in other Western countries. 

From a comparison between different religions, it can be seen that the Jewish population is the "oldest" population, and the Muslim population is the "youngest" one - 11.8% of Jews are 65 and older, as opposed to only 2.8% among Muslims. The percentage of children between the ages of 0-14 among Muslims is 42.6%, as opposed to 25.6% among Jews. The median age among Jews is 30.6, as opposed to 18.6 among Muslims. The main point of explaining these differences is the high fertility rate of the Muslim population compared to the Jewish population. 

Ethnicity 

In 2005, the number of native Israelis continued to grow and reached approximately 3.7 million people. The portion of Israeli-born children has grown steadily since the establishment of the state. In 1948, approximately 35% of the general Jewish populace were sabras, as opposed to 65% at the end of 2005 (of the general Jewish populace and others). 

33% of the general Jewish population and others were of Israeli descent (native Israelis and their children who were born in Israel). 

The largest ethnic group was Europeans/Americans and their descendants (those born on the continent and their children who were born in Israel). This group numbered approximately 2.2 million people at the end of 2005, making up 39% of the Jewish population and others. 

The group of those of African descent and their children includes 867,000 people, approximately 15% of the general Jewish population and others, of which 105,000 people are Ethiopian. 

The smallest ethnic group was the Asian populace, which included approximately 695,400 at the end of 2005, approximately 12.4% of the general Jewish population and others. Native Asians immigrated mostly during the 50s and 60s. Unlike the Europeans and Africans, Asian immigration has stopped almost completely. 

The largest country of origin continues to be the former Soviet Union, including its Asiatic republics. The population from the former Soviet Union numbers 1.177 million people (of whom 242,000 were born in Israel). The second-largest country of origin is Morocco, the population from which numbers approximately 492,000 people (of whom 337,000 were born in Israel). Approximately 239,000 are of Iraqi descent (of whom 170,000 were born in Israel), some 228,000 are Romanian (of whom 122,000 were born in Israel), and approximately 210,000 are Polish (of whom 150,000 were born in Israel). 

Immigration 

In 2005, 21,000 immigrants arrived in Israel, similar to the number of immigrants who arrived in 2004. 

In 2005, 9,400 immigrants were from the former Soviet Union, making up 44% of all immigrants. This is the second year running since the wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union began (in 1990) in which immigrants from the former Soviet Union make up less than 50% of all immigrants. 

In 2005, 3,600 immigrants arrived from Ethiopia, similar to 2004. 

2,500 immigrants came from France - an increase of 25% compared to the previous year. 2,000 immigrants came from the United States - an increase of 5% compared to 2004. 

The contribution of immigration to the annual population growth stands at less than 9%, whereas in 1990-1991, its contribution was 75-80%. 

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A Revived Roman Empire?

Popular opinion backs EU foreign minister post

A majority of EU citizens are in favour of having a single EU foreign minister for the bloc, the results of a new survey have shown.

Conducted by the German Marshall Fund in June across several member states including France, Germany, the UK and Italy, the survey showed that 65 percent of respondents would like to see the post created.

The same survey shows that European support for US leadership in world affairs has dropped significantly (from 64% to 37%) since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington five years ago.

On a similar note, European disapproval of US president George W. Bush's handling of international affairs has risen strongly from 56 percent to 77 percent - with the French, Germans and Spanish proving to be the most critical with an 85 percent disapproval rate.

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The Gog/Magog War

Putin: Russia’s Next Czar?

The people of Russia are facing a stark reversal of their democratic rights. 

It's a retreat from democracy that comes just 15 years after Boris Yelstin's standoff with the Soviet Union from a tank turret in Moscow that marks the collapse of Communism in Russia.

In a nation conditioned by centuries of czarist rule and decades of Communist control, Russians seem satisfied with the pace of democratic progress: 

"It's much better than it was before. There are a lot of privileges. Now there is food in the supermarkets." 

"We have so many changes that it justifies what's going on now. Putin's priority is order, but changes are never smooth in a transition to democracy." 

But Western observers say that the tide of freedom turned in 1999 when Boris Yeltsin handed the presidency to Putin, his handpicked successor and a former agent with the Soviet Secret Police. 

Joel Rosenberg is a political analyst and author of the book Epicenter, from the moment Vladimir Putin rose to power, he says, he began building up the military and alliances with anti-Western, authoritarian regimes. 

The ex-kgb colonel, Rosenberg says, has become the "anti-Democrat- in-chief."

"Freedom is getting in Putin's way. Putin wants to be the new czar of Russia,” said Rosenberg. “He is not interested in a democracy. He is rolling back freedoms. His goal is to be a czar and to rebuild the Russian empire." 

Raised in St. Petersburg, the home of Peter the Great and the Russian czars, Putin has stated that Russia should be a free and democratic society, but one based on Russian traditions, "not Western ideals."

As president, Putin restored some traditions of the past Soviet tyranny, reviving the Communist flag as a military symbol. He also restored the Soviet national anthem. 

In a speech last year, Putin called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century." 

Rosenberg said, "Now a speech like that gives you a window into his soul. And his world view is that Russia needs tough Stalinistic leadership and needs to rebuild the Russian empire."

In 2004, putin’s Kremlin abolished direct elections for the nation's regional governors. The now presidentially-appointed governors could move to amend Russia's constitution, allowing Putin to run for a third term in 2008.

That's sparked speculation that Putin could cling to power long after his term expires, signaling the end of democracy and the rise of a new Russian emperor. 

“Now if the governors are directly elected by the people there's a lesser chance he'll continue in power,” Rosenberg said. “If he appoints them, then he controls them. That's where I see we'll see a real crisis emerging over the next 18 months, if Putin decides to stay in office.”

Beyond that, Rosenberg says the trend toward a new Russian empire is one the rest of the world, and particularly the United States, cannot ignore.

“When you watch the anti-democracy move he's making in Russia and the alliances he's building with Islamic countries like Iran, you begin to see how that world view is playing out, and this is what President Bush and the American government right now have to confront.”

Since taking office, Putin has consolidated Moscow's grip on political speech, the economy, religion, and the press. 

In a state takeover of major Russian oil companies, some suspect that the Kremlin engineered the sentencing of oil tycoon Mikhail Khodor-Kovsky to nine years in a Siberian jail.

Russia's leaders deny any muzzling of independent media. But Putin supporters have controlling interests in the nation's main newspapers, radio, and television channels. The state also is tightening control over the religious community.

A new state department report on religious freedoms cites Russia for its poor protection of religious minorities. 

Though the Russian Orthodox church enjoys favor with Putin officials, many religious groups report a rise in harassment, persecution, and threats. Too often ignored by officials.

Igor Nikitin, of the Association of Christian Churches of Russia, said, "The government can protect our human rights, can protect us as citizens of Russia, but it's not been happening so far.” 

Churches are now required to register and file cumbersome reports, under a new law that clamps down on non-governmental organizations, or ngos. 

“It's become quite a problem for all of us,” Nikitin said. “It's not just requiring groups to register with the government, it's controlling everything, all that NGOs are doing."

Churches and ngos are now seen as subversive agents that undermine the Putin regime. One example is the Orange Revolution that was, in part, religiously motivated, and led Ukraine’s breakaway from Russia’s sphere of influence.

“They also say they're spies from the West. That's why they want to increase control over the NGOs and their operations. That also gives them the right to close a non-government organization for no particular reason,” said author Anna Parechkevova. 

When Ukraine voters rejected the Putin-backed candidate in favor of a pro-Western Democrat, Russia cut off the country's winter supply of oil. 

Rosenberg said, “It was punishment. Putin was sending a message: 'Don't mess with the Kremlin. If you get in our way, we have ways to deal with it.'” 

Putin's democratic reversal hasn't seemed to get in his way or hurt his popularity. His approval ratings are soaring at 59 percent. 

The Bush administration has chastised Putin for backsliding on democracy and amassing personal power. But critics say it will take more than words to stop Russia's retreat from democracy and return to the path of freedom. 

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Russia successfully test launches intercontinental ballistic missile from submarine

Russia successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine from the area of the North Pole, The Associated Press reported Sunday citing the country’s defense minister. The nuclear submarine K-84 launched the missile Saturday, and all three test warheads hit their target, a testing range in the Archangelsk region on the Barents Sea, Sergei Ivanov reported to President Vladimir Putin in televised comments.

“The launch was successful,” he said, adding that it had been challenging: “Aiming from the North Pole, where the concepts of latitude and longitude are relative, makes this launch difficult.” Ivanov suggested it was the first time a test-launch from the area had been conducted by the Russian military in 11 years.

He spoke days after an unsuccessful test of a new sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile. An experimental Bulava missile launched from a submerged nuclear submarine in the White Sea on Thursday veered off its designated flight path and fell into the sea, according to the Defense Ministry.

Following that failure, Ivanov urged quick action to prevent the failure from derailing plans for commissioning a new class of submarines and said sea-based nuclear missiles should remain an important component of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, Russian news agencies reported.

On Sunday, Ivanov told Putin — and the nation, as his comments were prominently featured on state-run television — that Russia has eight nuclear-armed submarines on duty at sea.

Putin and Ivanov, who is also vice-premier and seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2008, have repeatedly stressed that Russia will maintain enough nuclear weapons to provide for its security.

Ivanov said Saturday’s test-launch was part of “serious exercises of the sea-based strategic nuclear forces” that ended Sunday. He also said that another submarine, in the Pacific Ocean, test-fired an ICBM on Sunday, and that two of its test warheads hit the targeted range, Russia news agencies reported.  

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Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies

Surveillance Cameras That Watch And Talk To You?

Big Brother is not only watching you - now he's barking orders too. Britain's first 'talking' CCTV cameras have arrived, publicly berating bad behaviour and shaming offenders into acting more responsibly. 

The system allows control room operators who spot any anti-social acts - from dropping litter to late-night brawls - to send out a verbal warning: 'We are watching you'. 

Middlesbrough has fitted loudspeakers on seven of its 158 cameras in an experiment already being hailed as a success. Jack Bonner, who manages the system, said: 'It is one hell of a deterrent. It's one thing to know that there are CCTV cameras about, but it's quite another when they loudly point out what you have just done wrong. 

'Most people are so ashamed and embarrassed at being caught they quickly slink off without further trouble. 

'There was one incident when two men started fighting outside a nightclub. One of the control room operators warned them over the loudspeakers and they looked up, startled, stopped fighting and scarpered in opposite directions. 

'This isn't about keeping tabs on people, it's about making the streets safer for the law-abiding majority and helping to change the attitudes of those who cause trouble. It challenges unacceptable behaviour and makes people think twice.' 

The Mail on Sunday watched as a cyclist riding through a pedestrian area was ordered to stop. 

'Would the young man on the bike please get off and walk as he is riding in a pedestrian area,' came the command. 

The surprised youth stopped, and looked about. A look of horror spread across his face as he realised the voice was referring to him. 

He dismounted and wheeled his bike through the crowded streets, as instructed. 

Law-abiding shopper Karen Margery, 40, was shocked to hear the speakers spring into action as she walked past them. 

Afterwards she said: 'It's quite scary to realise that your every move could be monitored - it really is like Big Brother. 

'But Middlesbrough does have a big problem with anti-social behaviour, so it is very reassuring.' 

The scheme has been introduced by Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon, a former police superintendent who was dubbed Robocop for pioneering the zero-tolerance approach to crime. 

He believes the talking cameras will dramatically cut not just anti-social behaviour, but violent crime, too. 

And if the city centre scheme proves a success, it will be extended into residential areas. 

The control room operators have been given strict guidelines about what commands they can give. Yelling 'Oi you, stop that', is not permitted. 

Instead, their instructions make the following suggestions: 'Warning - you are being monitored by CCTV - Warning - you are in an alcohol-free zone, please refrain from drinking'; and Warning - your behaviour is being monitored by CCTV. It is being recorded and the police are attending.' 

Mr Bonner said: 'We always make the requests polite, and if the offender obeys, the operator adds 'thank you'. We think that's a nice finishing touch. 

'It would appear that the offenders are the only ones who find the audio cameras intrusive. The vast majority of people welcome these cameras. 

'Put it this way, we never have requests to remove them.' 

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Insurers Study Implanting RFID Chips in Patients

Hackensack University Medical Center and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey are recruiting volunteers to have an RFID device implanted under the skin. 

The chips, made by VeriChip Corporation, will contain a 16-digit identifying number that can be used to bring up medical and family contact information stored electronically in a database. 

The chips will be tested in patients with chronic conditions who are more likely to need care in hospital emergency rooms. 

In the two-year trial, the insurance company will pay about $200 for the chips to be implanted, plus $80 a month for a subscription fee, according to reports in the RFID Journal. 

Horizon will then assess whether the devices lower health care costs by reducing duplicate lab tests, drug interactions or misdiagnoses. 

Horizon will invite patients with conditions like diabetes and heart disease to participate and hopes to enroll about 300 volunteers. 

Though non-implanted devices, like bracelets or dog tags, could also provide the identifying numbers, chip proponents said that the implanted tags are less likely to be removed or damaged and that scanning for implants will take less time than looking for other means of identification. 

Earlier this year, four hospitals in Puerto Rico announced plans to implant chips in patients with Alzheimer's Disease and other memory problems. 

VeriChip has given several New Jersey hospitals—Beth Israel, Clara Maass, Columbus, Hackensack, Kimball, Newark, Ocean and PBI Regional—equipment to read the chips and access the company's database. 

Across the country, about 100 hospitals have the appropriate scanning equipment, according to VeriChip. 

The chip, about the size of a grain of rice, was approved by the FDA as a medical device in 2004. 

But critics, including the authors of SpyChips, argue against the technology, citing everything from loss of privacy to signs of the apocalypse. 

Once implanted, people cannot control who reads the identifying number from the chip, and critics worry the chips could be used to track people's movements and behavior. 

That ability is limited, however, because the chips can only be read from a distance of a few centimeters. 

However, VeriChip itself has said that the chips could be used to control access to secure areas. And news reports state that the Department of Homeland Security has considered using the chips to track people. 

According to the New Jersey study, patients will be able to approve information that is stored in the database that medical workers would access using the chip. 

Critics also argue against the chips on technical grounds, saying that they could be useless if computers crash, too many radio signals confuse readers, and even that the chips are vulnerable to viruses. 

However, some health IT advocates have come out strongly in favor of the chips. CIO of Harvard Medical School John Halamka had one implanted last year. 

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Meet the forerunner of a generation of talking robots

George, who is 39, single and light-hearted, is looking for friends on the Internet. He has gifts -- the ability to speak in 40 languages and with 2,000 people at the same time.

And one quirk: he doesn't really exist. 

George is a piece of software, arguably the best of the speaking "chatbots" or talking robots, and he's recently received the Loebner prize in Britain, a scientific award recognising the machines best capable of matching the most realistic human dialogues with their own. 

Seven years after being invented, George evolved a few months ago into what experts call an avatar, gaining a physical image, a voice and voice recognition software. 

One can now have an oral discussion with him over the Internet -- "face to face". 

George appears on the website www.jabberwacky.com and takes the form of a thin, bald man with yellow glasses who wears a white turtleneck sweater. 

He can smile, laugh, sulk and bang his fist on his virtual table. He can turn on the charm and wax romantic. But he can also turn coarse at times. 

It isn't as if George only learned good manners. 

All that he knows, he has accumulated in some 10 million conversations online, and he has not forgotten a single word. 

"The machine borrows the intelligence and the words of the people it talks with, and little by little learns how to place responses in the correct context of a conversation," Rollo Carpenter, an expert in artificial intelligence and the person who conceived of George, explained to AFP. 

George has one goal: to make friends on the Internet. He is talkative and persevering. He can re-start lackadaisical conversations ad infinitum and for good reason: the more he speaks, the more relevant his remarks become. 

"The percentage of correct answers rises constantly, as the database increases," Carpenter said. "The more that is added, the more he is able to distinguish between several choices of answers." 

The first chatbot, albeit a basic version, was created in the 1980s, but there are now a growing number of them on the Internet with names ranging from Billy and Alice to Chomskybot and the John Lennon Artificial Intelligence Project, an attempt to recreate the personality of the late Beatle. 

A selection can be found http://www.botspot.com/pages/chatbots.html

But George's inventors say he is the forerunner of a coming generation of talking robots which inventors and marketing experts hope will unlock vast commercial possibilities. 

Icogno, Carpenter's company, is talking with marketing experts who say avatars will soon be able to suggest customers' purchases at supermarkets, using their previous purchases to determine tastes and interests. 

Another possibility being considered in the medium term: call centres, where just one avatar could respond to telephone calls from millions of customers at the same time. 

Celebrities may also want to program George's more advanced descendants to make imitations of themselves for their fans, marketing experts forecast. 

Another suggestion is the concept of "visual pets", proposed by Tim Child, a partner at Icogno, while for a younger audience there are plans to create teddy bears able to speak with their owners. 

The avatars could also be used as video game partners, or play the role of historical characters to illustrate lessons in class. 

Is George the pioneer of a generation of avatars to be used by childrens' teachers? Carpenter thinks so, insisting "the interactive process is the best means of learning". 

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Christian Worldview/Issues

NBC, Madonna Set To Mock The Crucifixion of Christ

Following the lead of Rosie O'Donnell and ABC, NBC has decided to join in the bashing of Christians by airing a Madonna special in November. A specific date has not been released.

In the show, Madonna, wearing a fake crown of thorns, descends on a suspended mirrored, disco ball-type cross. When some Christian leaders complained about the mockery, NBC ignored their concerns.

Making mockery of the crucifixion of Christ has been a trademark of Madonna for many years. In 1989 she had a video for the hit song "Like A Prayer." The video featured burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna--representing Jesus--freeing a saint from his sexual repression by seducing him. This is the same Madonna who once said, "Crucifixes are sexy because there's a naked man on them."

Kevin Reilly, an executive at NBC, said Madonna considered the scene mocking the crucifixion of Christ the highlight of her show. "We (NBC) viewed it and didn't see it as being inappropriate." Madonna considers mocking the crucifixion of Jesus the highlight of her show and NBC agrees.

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Bible clubs spreading across school campuses

A dozen hands shot up in a before-school Bible club meeting Wednesday at McAuliffe Elementary School when leader Bob Heath asked if anyone wanted prayer. 

"If it's important to you, it's important to God," Heath told about 70 kindergarten through fifth-grade students. 

The meeting began at 8 a.m. with games and worship songs. 

Heath got the boisterous group settled down quietly on the floor before beginning a short message. 

"When you give your life to Jesus, he comes to live inside of you, and something amazing happens," he said. "When we're full of him, we're full of the love of God." 

The club was dismissed at 8:40 a.m. after a half-banana snack. 

McAuliffe's Bible club is one of 39 such clubs getting under way this fall at Tulsa-area public schools under the leadership of Kids for Christ USA, which Heath founded five years ago. 

They are in Tulsa, Jenks, Union, Broken Arrow and Bixby schools. Five more clubs are being organized. Another dozen clubs have been started in California, Kansas, Massachusetts and other states. 

About 1,200 students attend the clubs weekly, Heath said, and approximately 9,600 children have made some type of decision to "follow Christ" at clubs since he started in 2001. 

Heath said the clubs are needed because in many of the schools, a majority of the students do not have a home church. 

A recent study suggested only 25 percent of the 85,000 teens in the Tulsa area are in church regularly, he said. 

"The clubs are an incredible way to reach kids," he said. 

Heath is sometimes asked how he can "get away with" holding Bible clubs in public schools. 

"We follow the guidelines and stay within the law," he said. 

The Equal Access Act of 1985 and court rulings have held that if schools allow any student clubs, they have to allow Bible clubs, he said, and that to deny a club because it is religious would be to show hostility, not neutrality, toward religion. 

Not all educators understand that, he said. 

One Tulsa-area school he would not identify would not allow a Bible club after three requests over a three-year period, and relented only through the efforts of a "pit bull parent" and the mention of a lawsuit. 

In a school in Brookfield, Mass., he said, the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State first resisted a Kids for Christ USA Bible club in a school, and later agreed the club had a legal right to be there. 

Heath said the law opens the door not only for Christian clubs, but also for any other religious organizations. 

"I don't agree with Islam, but I defend their right to free expression," he said. 

Jeremy Leaming, spokesman for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said the Equal Access Act allows public schools to permit student organizations to hold Bible clubs. 

"If a school allows other student organizations to have clubs, it cannot bar religious groups from doing so," he said. 

"Public school officials have to make sure that they're doing nothing that appears to promote them, or give them special privileges," he said. 

If a school rejects a secular humanist club or a gay rights club and allows a Bible club, "then they have a problem," he said. 

McAuliffe Principal Kim Whiteley said Union Public Schools allows all groups to use the facility before and after school. 

John Hamill, director of public information at Tulsa Public Schools, said it is "perfectly permissible" for Bible clubs to meet in school buildings, before school, after school or during lunch hours. Decisions about posting fliers or making announcements about the clubs are made at the school level, he said. 

Tulsa Public School board policy allows use of buildings for educational, political, literary, cultural, religious, scientific, civic or recreational purposes that are beneficial to young people, the community or the district, and that are acceptable to the superintendent or a designee. 

It forbids meetings promoting "subversive teachings and doctrines contrary to the spirit of American institutions" or activities "violating the patterns of good taste, manners or morals." 

Each Kids for Christ USA club has parent and student sponsors in the school where the club meets. Heath himself and his son are the sponsors of the McAuliffe club. A network of parents, churches and church children's ministers helps conduct the clubs. 

Kids for Christ USA is supported by private donations. Involved parents often help with treats and prizes at their individual schools. The ministry was recently incorporated and is preparing its first required 501(c)(3) filing, Heath said. Before that, it operated under the legal authority of a church. 

Heath works full time on the project, but has yet to draw a full salary. 

Trojans for Christ was an inspiration for Kids for Christ USA. 

Heath said he spoke at the Jenks club years ago, and said to himself, "Someone needs to do this on a bigger scale." 

He started the club at McAuliffe Elementary in January 2001, after a parent asked him to, and other clubs grew from there. 

His goal is to establish the program in the Tulsa area and then see it expand to every school in the United States. 

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New Fox Unit to Produce Christian Films

The company that brought TV viewers racy and irreverent programs such as "Nip/Tuck," "Temptation Island" and "The Simpsons" has found religion.

In the biggest commitment of its sort by a Hollywood studio, News Corp.'s Fox Filmed Entertainment is expected to unveil plans today to capture the gargantuan Christian audience that made "The Passion of the Christ" a global phenomenon.

The home entertainment division of Rupert Murdoch's movie studio plans to produce as many as a dozen films a year under a banner called FoxFaith. At least six of those films will be released in theaters under an agreement with two of the nation's largest chains, AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas.

The first theatrical release, called "Love's Abiding Joy," is scheduled to hit the big screen Oct. 6. The movie, which cost about $2 million to make, is based on the fourth installment of Christian novelist Janette Oke's popular series, "Love Comes Softly."

"A segment of the market is starving for this type of content," said Simon Swart, general manager of Fox's U.S. home entertainment unit.

"We want to push the production value, not videotape sermons or proselytize."

Hollywood has made religious-themed movies for years including such memorable titles as "The Ten Commandments" and "The Greatest Story Ever Told." But FoxFaith will target evangelical Christians who often have shunned popular entertainment as offensive.

Fox might seem an unlikely studio to pioneer a religious label, given its history as a purveyor of salacious TV programming. Yet people in the Christian community say the company has gained credibility as the voice for conservative America through its Fox News Channel.

Still, courting evangelical Christians can be tricky. "If this is something Fox is doing only to exploit the audience — or if it's something they don't believe in or are doing cynically — then there could be problems," said Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo, a box-office reporting service. "There isn't a huge turnout for these films unless they speak to what Christianity is all about. People want a guide to life and Hollywood has ignored that by saying nothing or dwelling on vices."

Over the last four years, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has quietly built a network to mobilize evangelical Christian moviegoers in an era of diminishing box-office returns. The network includes 90,000 congregations and a database of more than 14 million mainly evangelical households.

FoxFaith films, to be based on Christian bestsellers, will have small budgets of less than $5 million each, compared with the $60-million average. The movies each will be backed by $5-million marketing campaigns. Although that is skimpy compared with the $36 million Hollywood spends to market the average movie, the budget is significant for targeting a niche audience, especially one as fervent as many evangelical Christians.

For instance, "The Passion" grossed $612 million worldwide, thanks in part to its appeal to Christians. Another spiritual odyssey, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," took in $745 million globally. Most recently, Christians came out for this summer's controversial "The Da Vinci Code," which has brought in $754 million worldwide.

Other studios also are beginning to dip an oar into Christian waters. New Line Cinema's "The Nativity Story," scheduled to be released in December, tells the story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter to give birth to Jesus. Legendary Pictures, which has a multi-film deal with Warner Bros., is planning to make a movie version of John Milton's epic 17th century poem about the fall of man, "Paradise Lost."

Fox seems to be getting a warm reception from the Christian community. "It is extremely satisfying to be taken seriously," said Nancy Neutzling, vice president of marketing for Word Distribution, FoxFaith's distributor to Christian retailers. "It's like we have arrived."

Fox saw an opportunity to tap into the Christian market four years ago through Ralph Winter, the producer behind the studio's "X-Men" franchise. During a visit to the set of "The Planet of the Apes," Swart introduced Winter, the executive producer, to a representative from a major retailer, who asked whether he would make more movies like "Left Behind," a Christian apocalyptic thriller released in 2001.

The conversation led Winter, a Christian, to co-produce for Fox's home entertainment division the supernatural Christian thriller "The Hangman's Curse," based on the Frank Peretti novel. Released on a limited basis in fall 2003, the movie flopped at the box office but did well on DVD.

The experience taught Jeff Yordy, vice president of marketing for FoxFaith, a valuable lesson about the Christian audience when an avalanche of letters flooded his office from Christians protesting a Bible study companion to the film.

"We got 10,000 letters from ministers telling me I was not interpreting the scripture correctly," recalled Yordy, a Christian. "You have to take a broader perspective so everybody can interpret based on their own faith."

But what really propelled the idea of devoting a label to Christian titles was Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." The film's success stunned Hollywood and confirmed Fox executives' hunches about the Christian market.

Although 20th Century Fox passed on distributing "The Passion," fearing a firestorm of controversy, its home entertainment division, which acquired the domestic home video rights, has sold more than 15 million units on DVD. Fox Home Entertainment continued to acquire and distribute Christian videos such as "Mother Teresa" and the documentary "Beyond the Gates of Splendor."

Last year, the studio developed a FoxFaith website and since has sold more than 30 million faith-based DVD titles to Christian retailers. FoxFaith has brought in about $200 million over the last year, which is equivalent to the box-office sales of Fox Searchlight, the studio's specialty film division. Both Fox units share some portion of their revenue with partners.

In preparation for its theatrical debut, FoxFaith partnered with the Dove Foundation, a nonprofit organization that monitors "wholesome" family entertainment. Dove agreed to place its seal of approval on some FoxFaith films.

In February, Yordy unveiled the FoxFaith logo at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, bringing the normally skeptical crowd to its feet. Seeing the label on the big screen formalized the commitment from Fox, Yordy said.

Three years earlier, the idea of launching a Christian label at Fox was considered a joke, but Yordy said the use of humor helped win the convention-goers' trust this time around.

"The approach we took was … 'At Fox, you may know us for our quality family programming,' " Yordy said he told the audience, against a backdrop of video clips from Paris Hilton's "The Simple Life" and the reality show "Temptation Island."

"The room just died laughing," he said. "I said to them, 'That is exactly what you expect from Fox. But that is not what we at FoxFaith are.' "

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Other Events to Watch 

Security Council divided on successor to Kofi Annan - Muslim frontrunner?

The United Nations Security Council is struggling to agree on a high-profile successor to Kofi Annan, the Secretary General, who will step down at the end of the year. With time running out and after months of lobbying and inconclusive consultations, the council is due to restart the selection process with a vote on Thursday.

Choosing a strong secretary general who enjoys broad support is crucial for the future of the UN, whose reputation has been battered by the Iraq war, the failure of peacekeeping operations and a United States-inspired campaign to undermine Annan.

There are five men in the running at present -- although more candidates are expected to emerge -- of whom Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein of Jordan has emerged as one of the favourites, according to diplomats based at the UN and in Western capitals. "Everyone likes him. He is young, appealing, knows the UN system but is not part of it. That is crucial because the Americans said they do not want another insider," a diplomat close to the race said on Monday.

Zeid has played up this advantage, telling Associated Press: "We believe there is considerable scope to be given by the Security Council and the general assembly to a Muslim candidate who is familiar with the UN but not of the UN."

He is reported to have the backing of John Bolton, US ambassador to the UN, and the United Kingdom government, which has indicated it is likely to support him.

Other frontrunners are Ban Ki-moon, the South Korean Foreign Minister, and Shashi Tharoor, a UN under-secretary of state, from India.

Although the US and Britain do not normally field candidates, there is potentially a wild card in the contest: the Fijian Foreign Minister, Kaliopate Tavola, has recommended a British Conservative Euro-MP, Nirj Deva. But diplomats at the UN say the Euro MP, who has joint British-Sri Lankan citizenship, has no chance of winning. A Western diplomat said: "I cannot imagine this is going to prosper."<