1. Where is the United States in
Prophecy?
A North American Army? New military agreement allows for crossing borders
In a ceremony that received virtually no attention in the American media, the United States and Canada signed a military agreement Feb. 14 allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis. The agreement, defined as a Civil Assistance Plan, was not submitted to Congress for approval, nor did Congress pass any law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United States and Canada in the event of a wide range of domestic civil disturbances ranging from violent storms, to health epidemics, to civil riots or terrorist attacks.....
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A new map of faith in the USA shows a nation constantly shifting
A new map of faith in the USA shows a nation constantly shifting amid religious choices, unaware or unconcerned with doctrinal distinctions. Unbelief is on the rise. And immigration is introducing new faces in the pews, new cultural concerns, new forces in the public square. The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, documents new peaks, deepening valleys and fast-running rivers of change in American religiosity. Based on interviews with 35,556 adults in the continental United States, it shows so much diversity and dynamism that a co-author sums it up simply. "Churn. Churn. Churn. The biggest news here is change," says Pew Forum research fellow Gregory Smith.
"It's not that religion won't matter in the future, but that it will matter in new and less predictable ways," says co-author John Green, a political scientist and Pew Forum senior fellow.
Key findings from the survey include.... read
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Food inflation to hit US consumers
When William Lapp, of US-based consultancy Advanced Economic Solutions, took the podium at the annual US Department of Agriculture conference, the sentiment was already bullish for agricultural commodities boosted by demand from the biofuels industry and emerging countries. He added a twist – that rising agricultural raw material prices would translate this year into sharply higher food inflation. “I hope you enjoy your meal,” Mr Lapp told delegates during a luncheon. “It is the cheapest one you are going to have at this forum for a while.” His warning that a strong wave of food inflation is heading towards the world economy was met by nods from agriculture traders, food industry executives and western’s government officials at the USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum. Larry Pope, chief executive of Smithfield Foods, the largest US pork processor, warned delegates of a wave of “real food inflation” just at the time central banks were under pressure to cut interest rates. “I think we need to tell the American consumer that prices are going up,” he said. “We’re seeing cost increases that we’ve never seen in our business.”..... read
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2. Israel - God's Timepiece
Olmert to go down in history as divider of Jerusalem?
A group of hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis this week urged a religious partner of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government to immediately bolt the Israeli leader's coalition amid rampant media reports Jerusalem is up for negotiations. The rabbis warned that if the Orthodox Shas party remains in Olmert's government, they will urge Jews against supporting Shas. If the party bolts, Olmert's coalition government could fall apart, precipitating new elections. "We are seriously considering issuing a statement signed by the hundreds of rabbis of the organization declaring it is absolutely forbidden for any observant Jew to vote for a party that lent its support to a government that negotiated the division of Jerusalem, a move that will place the entire population in Israel in mortal danger," Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Lewin, director general of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, told WND. The Congress is a coalition of more than 350 Israeli rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis...... read
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Kuwaiti Paper: Mega-Attack on Israel in March after 40-day Mughniyeh mourning
The Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan quoted "top Western sources" Monday saying that, "according to reliable intelligence information, Hizbullah has begun planning a large-scale attack on Israel in retaliation for its alleged assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniya." According to the report, translated by MEMRI, the attack is being planned in coordination with Syria and Iran, and is to take place before the Arab summit next month. It was also reported that there would be a simultaneous terrorist escalation by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other PA groups in Gaza. This was predicted by Israel’s military intelligence AMAN chief, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin in his briefing to the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee Tuesday, Feb. 26. In the past, Hizballah has timed its reprisals for the 40th day of mourning, in this case March 22-23, - 40 days after its military commander Imad Mughniyeh was blown up in Damascus. Yadlin also reported that in the month since Hamas flattened Gaza’s border wall for free Palestinian access to Egyptian Sinai, al Qaeda operatives have used the opportunity to steal into the Gaza Strip, along with scores of Palestinian terrorists returning from special courses in Iran and Syria....... read
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Abbas Says Terrorist Path May Not Be Ruled Out In The Future
Mahmoud Abbas - Israel's partner in peace talks and the head of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority - enjoys a reputation as a "moderate," largely in light of his juxtaposition with the arch-terrorists of his rivals/allies in Hamas. However, he now says that terrorism and violence against Israel are actually the preferred approach, and certainly need not be ruled out in the future. "At present," Abbas told the Jordanian newspaper A-Doustour, "I am against an armed struggle against Israel because we can't do it, but in the coming stages, things may change." "I am against an armed struggle against Israel because we can't do it," Abbas said. "I do not rule out a return to the way of armed struggle against Israel," he said in the Wednesday night interview........ read
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3.
A Revived Roman Empire?
France prefers EU president with charisma, looks to Union for the Mediterranean
Paris is not officially supporting anybody for the post of EU president, French EU affairs minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet has said, while describing France's ideal candidate for the top job. "Any choice now would be premature... We will see when the time comes, and not before the end of the year," Mr Jouyet said during a debate organised by Brussels-based think-tank. Nonetheless, France would like the person occupying this post to be "a personality who has charisma, experience, and enough drive to energise the work of the European Council," Mr Jouyet underlined. He stopped short of pointing to specific individuals, however
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Europe's Power to Lead
A recent Pew poll found that many Europeans would like Europe to play a larger role in other parts of the world. To balance U.S. military power, however, would require a doubling or tripling of defense spending, and few Europeans are interested in such an increase. Nevertheless, a smart strategy for Europe will require greater investments in hard power. The picture for Europe, however, is not as bleak as pessimists assume. Power is the ability to get the outcomes one wants, and the resources that produce such behavior depend upon the context.
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4.
The Gog/Magog War
Kremlin ruler or Putin's puppet: Who is Medvedev?
People who know Dmitry Medvedev describe him as an intelligent and straightforward man who dislikes risk -- but does he have the political instincts to survive as Russia's next president? He has been overwhelming favorite to win the March 2 presidential election ever since his mentor, the outgoing President Vladimir Putin, endorsed Medvedev to replace him. Medvedev's personal qualities could suit Putin's purposes: he needs a reliable and loyal ally in the Kremlin job if he is to exert influence after his own presidential term ends. Some ex-colleagues question though whether Medvedev has the cunning and ruthlessness to impose his own authority in the job."Dima is clever, clever enough to be president and he is tough, tough enough to be president," one former colleague from the 1990s told Reuters on condition his name was not published. If he wins the election, the 42-year-old Medvedev will become the youngest Russian leader since Russia's last emperor, Tsar Nikolai II. He will also be the first Russian leader with a background in private business. In contrast to Putin, a former KGB spy accused of rolling back democracy, former lawyer Medvedev has stressed the importance of freedom and justice. He pleased markets by saying he wants to limit the Kremlin's role in big corporations. But with a week to go before polling day, Medvedev's personality remains something of a mystery.......
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5.
Apostate Christianity
The Fuzzy-Wuzzy World of Charismatic Morality
In an era when evangelical ministers are endorsing pro-abortion candidates and an Episcopal bishop is marrying his gay lover, I guess it is no surprise that our own charismatic church leaders are sending out confusing signals about morality these days. It seems that in 2008, up is down, right is wrong and biblical absolutes are up for grabs. This is especially true when it comes to marriage, an institution that once was considered sacred by all Christians. Nowadays, many preachers and even famous evangelical authors have created a new trend: Throwaway wedding vows. Christian divorce today is cheap, easy and not that much more expensive than a facelift. And some of our superstar preachers have figured out a way to use Bible verses to support their moral
failures..... read
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6.
The Rise of Islam
Study: 3 in 4 U.S. mosques preach anti-West extremism
An undercover survey of more than 100 mosques and Islamic schools in America has exposed widespread radicalism, including the alarming finding that 3 in 4 Islamic centers are hotbeds of anti-Western extremism, WND has learned. The Mapping Sharia in America Project, sponsored by the Washington-based Center for Security Policy, has trained former counterintelligence and counterterrorism agents from the FBI, CIA and U.S. military, who are skilled in Arabic and Urdu, to conduct undercover reconnaissance at some 2,300 mosques and Islamic centers and schools across the country. "So far of 100 mapped, 75 should be on a watchlist," an official familiar with the project said.....
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A New Muslim Nation in Europe?
Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, caused international furor when it declared its independence this week. While the world community works out the international implications of Kosovo's independence, others are worried about a Muslim-majority state in Europe. The creation of a such a state raises fears of a radical Islamic state that would persecute Christians and become a base for terrorism. Since 1999, the Orthodox Christian Serb minority has been attacked by the Albanian Muslim population. In 2004, Muslim mobs attacked Serb enclaves, destroying hundreds of churches and monasteries. Some terrorism experts believe Islamic states like Saudi Arabia want to export their strict brand of Wahhabi Islam to Kosovo. They warn that Kosovo's moderate Muslims, angry at high unemployment, organized crime, and drug smuggling, would welcome a Taliban-type rule......
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7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies
Rise of the Machines - Automated killer robots 'threat to humanity'
Increasingly autonomous, gun-totting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race, a top expert on artificial intelligence told AFP. "They pose a threat to humanity," said University of Sheffield professor Noel Sharkey ahead of a keynote address Wednesday before Britain's Royal United Services Institute. Intelligent machines deployed on battlefields around the world -- from mobile grenade launchers to rocket-firing drones -- can already identify and lock onto targets without human help. There are more than 4,000 US military robots on the ground in Iraq, as well as unmanned aircraft that have clocked hundreds of thousands of flight hours. The first three armed combat robots fitted with large-caliber machine guns deployed to Iraq last summer, manufactured by US arms maker Foster-Miller, proved so successful that 80 more are on order, said Sharkey. But up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger. It we are not careful, he said, that could change. Military leaders "are quite clear that they want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more cost-effective and give a risk-free war," he said. Several countries, led by the United States, have already invested heavily in robot warriors developed for use on the battlefield.......
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Why cash is no longer king
Inside a popular Canadian electronics store, a woman trying to pay for a DVD is being refused at the register. Her money is no good there. The snubbed customer is not a counterfeiter or a shoplifter barred from shopping in the store, she's simply a woman who wants to pay for a purchase with dollars and cents. Increasingly, cold hard cash is the victim of a digital economy that favours symbols of money -- plastic cards, electronic key fobs, and online payments -- over the real deal. Nowhere is this more evident than in the diminishing presence of automated teller machines, which in 2007 saw their biggest drop in the U.S. (nine per cent) since their debut in the 1970s. In Canada, the latest data point to a future similar to that of our American neighbours, as cash withdrawals steadily decline and shoppers prefer to pay with plastic. According to Moneris, Canada's largest processor of debit, credit and gift card transactions, one of the strongest aggressors "directly attacking cash" is technology that allows consumers to use plastic for small purchases. Examples include No Signature Required credit card programs, as well as "tap and go" key fobs.......
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Brain-Reading Headset to Sell for $299
Hands cramping up from too many video games? How about controlling games with your thoughts instead? Later this year, Emotiv Systems Inc. plans to start selling the $299 EPOC neuroheadset to let you do just that. The headset's sensors are designed to detect conscious thoughts and expressions as well as "non-conscious emotions" by reading electrical signals around the brain, says the company, which demonstrated the wireless gadget at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The company, which unveiled a prototype last year, says the headset can detect emotions such as anger, excitement and tension, as well as facial expressions and cognitive actions like pushing and pulling objects. The "brain computer interface" technology could transform not only gaming, but how humans and computers interact.
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Preparing the way for the Mark - Introducing Digital Tattoo Interface
Jim Mielke's wireless blood-fueled display is a true merging of technology and body art. At the recent Greener Gadgets Design Competition, the engineer demonstrated a subcutaneously implanted touch-screen that operates as a cell phone display, with the potential for 3G video calls that are visible just underneath the skin. The basis of the 2x4-inch "Digital Tattoo Interface" is a Bluetooth device made of thin, flexible silicon and silicone. It´s inserted through a small incision as a tightly rolled tube, and then it unfurls beneath the skin to align between skin and muscle. Through the same incision, two small tubes on the device are attached to an artery and a vein to allow the blood to flow to a coin-sized blood fuel cell that converts glucose and oxygen to electricity. After blood flows in from the artery to the fuel cell, it flows out again through the vein. On both the top and bottom surfaces of the display is a matching matrix of field-producing pixels. The top surface also enables touch-screen control through the skin. Instead of ink, the display uses tiny microscopic spheres, somewhat similar to tattoo ink.
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San Jose Police To Use Crowd Control Sound Wave Weapons
Think louder than a jet engine. Think the front row of a Metallica concert. Think of the piercing scream of a smoke alarm - inches from your ear. Now, imagine a bad guy, holed up with hostages, refusing to budge, surrounded by sharp-shooters and anxious neighbors. Instead of bullets, San Jose police can blast him with the latest in high-tech cop gadgetry: a dish-shaped, sonic weapon. This ear-splitting, mind-blowing device is growing in popularity around the globe, used by soldiers flushing terrorists out of caves in Afghanistan to cruise ships scaring off pirates in the sea off Somalia.
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8. Christian Worldview/Issues
Catholic tradition fading in U.S. as Evangelicals become majority
Evangelical Christianity has become the largest religious tradition in this country, supplanting Roman Catholicism, which is slowly bleeding members, according to a survey released yesterday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Evangelical Protestants outnumber Catholics by 26.3 percent (59 million) to 24 percent (54 million) of the population, according to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, a massive 45-question poll conducted last summer of more than 35,000 American adults. "There is no question that the demographic balance has shifted in past few decades toward evangelical churches," said Greg Smith, a research fellow at the Pew Forum. "They are now the mainline of American Protestantism." The traditional mainline Protestant churches, which in 1957 constituted about 66 percent of the populace, now count just 18 percent as adherents.....
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Death of a Taboo: Acceptance of Sex-Selective Abortion Growing
An article in this weekend's Los Angeles Times reports that more North American women are using inexpensive genetic tests to determine the sex of their children before birth. These tests may then become the determining factor in deciding for abortion. The tests, which cost $300 or less, are often used to determine the sex of a child before birth. The new twist on sex-selective abortion, which is known to be widespread in North America and has had devastating demographic consequences in India, is the "ease, safety and privacy" with which it is now available. Sex-selection tests are cheap and easy, and although their accuracy has come into question, they are often a precursor to abortion. Pro-life groups have not failed to warn that this is the natural result of a combination of easily available tests and abortion-on-demand. In May last year, the UK pro-life group LIFE warned that genetic testing for the baby's sex would lead to increased rates of abortion. LIFE spokesman, Michaela Aston, told the Sun Online that the new test is "very dangerous." "It could lead to babies being aborted simply for being the 'wrong'
sex".....
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Christians being squeezed out of adoptions due to views on homosexuality
In November 2007, LifeSiteNews.com reported that a Christian couple in Somerset, UK, was being forced to retire from fostering needy children on conscientious grounds after the local council imposed rules requiring them to discuss homosexuality with the children. Now a similar case is reported in Derby, in which the local council is being sued after rejecting an application from a Christian couple to assist foster children under ten years old. The Telegraph reports that Eunice and Owen Johns refused to talk to children about homosexuality as though it were an acceptable "lifestyle". The Labour-controlled council adoption panel was also reportedly "upset" that the couple insisted that children in their care would be required to accompany the family to church on Sundays.... read
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9. Other Events
To Watch
How close are we to a food crisis - ten weeks left of wheat
The world is only ten weeks away from running out of wheat supplies after stocks fell to their lowest levels for 50 years. The crisis has pushed prices to an all-time high and could lead to further hikes in the price of bread, beer, biscuits and other basic foods. It could also exacerbate serious food shortages in developing countries especially in Africa. The crisis comes after two successive years of disastrous wheat harvests, which saw production fall from 624m to 600m tonnes, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Experts blame climate change as heatwaves caused a slump in harvests last year in eastern Europe, Canada, Morocco and Australia, all big wheat producers. Booming populations and a switch to a meat-rich diet in the developing world also mean that about 110m tons of the world’s annual wheat crop is being diverted to feed
livestock.....
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