NOVEMBER 2003 WORLD NEWS

November 28, 2003

Around the World
• Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Troops in Baghdad - Fox News
Turkey with the commander in chief was a surprise Thanksgiving treat for American troops in Baghdad.
• Mum's the word on Bush's secret mission - Washington Times
The president of the United States, wearing a beat-up work coat, jeans, cowboy boots and a baseball cap pulled down over his face, left his ranch Wednesday night and climbed into an unmarked car with tinted windows.
• Rumsfeld says evidence indicates Arab TV stations had advance notice of attacks against U.S. - Boston Globe
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and his top military adviser said Tuesday they have evidence the Arab television news organizations Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya cooperated with Iraqi insurgents to witness and videotape attacks on American troops.
• North Korean starvation detailed - Seattle PI
Defectors reveal tales of widespread malnutrition and censorship under current regime, and the daring humanitarian work of one anonymous pastor.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Palestinian-Israeli summit in Madrid - Jerusalem Post
Israeli Knesset members and Palestinian administration officials are meeting in Madrid as guests of an international forum seeking a solution to the Israel-Palestinian problem, Israel Radio reported Friday.
• Draft resolution urges Bush to promote 2 peace plans - Ha'aretz
A draft resolution was submitted in both houses of Congress on Thursday, urging President George Bush to adopt and promote two initiatives for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement formulated by members of the Israeli opposition and Palestinian interlocutors.
• Draft Israeli resolution successfully proves UN's bias - Jerusalem Newswire
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman was forced to withdraw his nation's first draft resolution in 27 years after a majority of the world body's member states rejected the idea of protecting Israeli children from acts of terrorism. 

Inside the United States
• Federal Marriage Amendment Introduced in Senate - CNS News
Three Republicans introduced a Federal Marriage Amendment in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The proposed constitutional amendment defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman

November 27, 2003

 The First Thanksgiving ... Chuck Missler, Koinonia House
 The Ancient Roots of Thanksgiving ... Joseph Farah, World Net Daily
 Proclamation of Thanksgiving ... Abe Lincoln, ChristianAnswers.net

Around the World
• Global HIV rates at record high - BBC
A record number of people were infected with HIV around the world this year, a report says.
• Europe aims for endless energy - London Guardian
Europe's scientists hope to mimic the power of the sun and create limitless energy on Earth with the help of a £6bn experiment in the south of France.
• Italians present governments with Constitution compromise - EU Observer
Italy has sent EU governments a basis for a compromise deal on the European Constitution just two days before foreign ministers meet in Naples to hammer out the remaining issues.
• An ATM card under your skin - MSNBC
Radio frequency identification tags aren’t just for pallets of goods in supermarkets anymore. Applied Digital Solutions (ADS) of Palm Beach, Fla., is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to implant RFID chips under their skin to identify themselves when going to a cash machine or in place of using a credit card.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• PA, Israeli politicians meet for secret talks in London - Ha'aretz
Top Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials arrived in London on Wednesday to take part in a secret conference devoted to the peace process.  The Israeli contingent includes Knesset members Omri Sharon (Likud), Ephraim Sneh (Labor) and Isaac Herzog (Labor). The Palestinian team includes PA National Security Adviser Jibril Rajoub, and Palestinian Legislative Council member Ziyad Abu Zayad.
• Israel mum on Germany's reported refusal to sell subs - Jerusalem Post
The Defense Ministry has refused to comment on a report that the German government has turned down a request from Israel for two more Dolphin-class submarines.
• US guarantee cut doesn't worry Israel - Jerusalem Post
Israel downplayed the US decision to deduct some $290 million from its loan guarantees, saying this was not a unilateral US move but rather something agreed upon by both sides.
• UK cartoon: Naked Sharon eats babies - WND
A cartoon that won first prize in Britain depicts Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eating the head of a Palestinian baby with a burning city in the background. 

Inside the United States
• Pentagon Sending More Marines to Iraq - AP
The Pentagon now says it will include several thousand more Marines than originally planned in the rotation of fresh combat and support forces in Iraq next year.
• Senators offer amendment against gay 'marriage' - Washington Times
Several senators introduced a constitutional amendment yesterday to prohibit the federal government from recognizing homosexual "marriages" and to allow states to ignore such unions conducted in other states.

November 25, 2003

The Mark of the Beast - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16-17)
The prophecy of the Mark of the Beast is one of the most universally recognized predictions contained in the New Testament. It doesn't matter whether one is a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist or Taoist, mention the Mark of the Beast of '666' and nobody is going to say to you, "Never heard of it!".
The Mark of the Beast has been a Hollywood story line for years, going back to the 'Omen' trilogy in the 70's right on through to last year's 'End of Days' starring Governor Arnold Schwartzeneggar. ('Governor' -- sounds weird)
Anyway, the point is that the Mark of the Beast is NOT something known only to initiates or Bible scholars or even Christians in general. It is pretty much a universal concept -- just as most religions have their own form of antichrist and their own form of eschatology.
With that in mind, an American company announced a new syringe-injectable microchip implant for humans at a global security conference in Paris. The chip is designed to be used as a fraud-proof payment method for cash and credit-card transactions.
The chip is being touted as a defense to identity theft. Identity fraud costs the banking and financial industry some $48 billion a year, and consumers another $5 billion. That is a lot of incentive.
Scott R. Silverman, CEO of Applied Digital Solutions, called the chip a "loss-proof solution" and said that the chip's "unique under-the-skin format" could be used for a variety of identification applications in the security and financial worlds.
Art Kranzley, senior vice president at MasterCard, commented on the Pay Pass system in a USA Today interview: "We're certainly looking at designs like key fobs. It could be in a pen or a pair of earrings. Ultimately, it could be embedded in anything – someday, maybe even under the skin."
Assessment:
Back in 1992, I covered the CardTech/SecureTech Conference held in Washington, DC. The conference was similar to the one being held in Paris, but the technology was in its infancy. The conference attendees included some of the biggest names in banking and technology and the keynote speaker was former CIA Director William Colby.
I was able to interview a number of the attendees, from the then-director of Barclay's Bank in England to the Netherlands smart card guru David Chaum.
There were two central themes to the conference. The first was to be expected -- how to get the cost of the chips down (at that time, they were a prohibitively high $5.00 per chip) and, how to get the public to accept the technology by downplaying the 'Mark of the Beast' angle. (That's what they really called it in the lectures.)
I've said it before -- its amazing the difference a decade makes. What was being discussed in 1992 as a theoretic possibility is now reality. A decade ago, the conference attendees were bemoaning the fact many people were uncomfortable with ATM technology.
Now, they bemoan the fact ATM's are insecure. A thief can force someone to discolose their PIN numbers, they argue, and drain the account. An implantable chip, they argue, will prevent that.
This is, of course, nonsense, since most ATM's limit the amount of cash withdrawn in a single day. Back in 1992, the conference attendees were presented with the blueprint for a conditioning process to prepare society for the coming cashless revolution.
First debit cards, then credit card-branded debit cards, then value-added cards, until eventually, cash would become useless except for small purchases.
Ask yourself, how many times have you purchased a big ticket item, like a fridge, or a car, and paid for it in hard cash in the last decade? Today, if you tried to buy a $300 plane ticket for cash, you'd be sitting next to an FBI agent on your flight. (If you got on the plane at all)
Ten years ago, scoffers would say, 'if somebody ever eliminates cash and demands a commercial 'mark' containing '666' -- then I will believe.
The Universal Pricing Code (UPC) has been on all products for two decades or more. 'Universal' means just what it says. No products can be sold in the US or EU commercially without it. In fact, in the EU, it is nicknamed the "EU Mark".
Take any product you have in your cupboard out and look at the UPC barcode. It is a series of parallel lines readable by a computer. Notice that it begins with a little longer series of parallel lines, then there is an identical long one in the middle and another at the end. Each of those longer lines are read by computers as a '6'. (How many long lines are in YOUR barcode?)
In the early years of computers, it was determined that the perfect 'divider' (like a period in conventional writing) would be a multiple of three. For years, it wasn't standardized. Some manufacturers would use 3's, some would use 6's and some used 9's to separate the information represented by the bar code sequences.
To standardize it, the EU insisted that all manufacturers hoping to sell their producst in the EU use three 6's on what they called the 'EU Mark.' Today, three sixes is the global standard.
So, there already IS a 'mark' for products that employs the mystery number 666. And cash is on the way out.
"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." (Revelation 13:18)

Around the World
• Iraq council seeks U.N. support - MSNBC
Iraq’s Governing Council asked the United Nations on Monday for a resolution reflecting U.S. plans to transfer power to Iraqis in June and for elections in the Mideast country by the end of 2005.
• Britain threatens veto on EU - London Telegraph
Britain is ready to veto proposals for a new constitution for the European Union rather than give up vital national powers over defence, foreign policy and taxation.
• Blair and Chirac defend EU force - BBC
Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac have insisted plans for Europe to have its own military capability will not undermine Nato.
• U.S., Europe Reach Deal on Iran Nuke Program - Fox News
U.S. and European negotiators agreed Monday on how to condemn Iran for hiding its nuclear programs while still encouraging it to cooperate with the U.N. atomic agency.  

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Geneva Accord maps out new road to peace - Swiss Info
A Swiss-backed peace plan for the Middle East is to be signed in Geneva on December 1, amid opposition from the Israeli government.
• Sharon meets secretly with U.S. envoy - Ha'aretz
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met secretly last week in Rome with Eliot Abrams, a member of the U.S. National Security Council, for talks termed "relationship maintenance" by Israeli sources.
• Sharon, Qurei meeting delayed until at least next week - Jerusalem Post
The much-anticipated meeting between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei is not expected to take place until next week, after Id al-Fitr.
• The 'new' anti-semitism: is Europe in grip of worst bout of hatred since the Holocaust? - London Guardian
Sixty years after the Holocaust, European Jews and Israelis are increasingly wondering if Europe is being sucked into the worst wave of anti-semitism since the second world war. 

Inside the United States
• Bush Signs Record $401 Billion Defense Bill - Reuters
President Bush signed a record $401.3 billion defense bill on Monday that includes a 4.15 percent raise for troops as the Iraq occupation puts increasing strain on soldiers and their families.
• Senate Expected to Pass Medicare Bill - Fox News
Democratic and Republican lawmakers expected the Senate to pass a Medicare prescription drug bill on Tuesday after opponents had failed to get enough support for a procedural vote that would sent the measure back to the drawing board.
• Senate Gives Up on Energy Bill for 2003 - AP
After nearly three months of negotiations and dealmaking, Congress is giving up on energy legislation for this year, falling two Senate votes short of sending a bill to President Bush.
• FDA Mulls Over-the-Counter 'Morning-After Pill' - Fox News
Federal health officials are debating if it's time to put emergency contraception -- also called the morning-after pill -- on pharmacy shelves right next to the aspirin, available without a prescription.
• Jury Decides on Death for Sniper Muhammad - Reuters
The jury that convicted Washington-area sniper John Muhammad of murder recommended on Monday he be sentenced to death for one of 10 fatal shootings that terrorized the U.S. capital last year.

   November 24, 2003

Around the World
• Iraq car blasts slay 14; cargo plane hit by missile - USA Today
Attackers struck two police stations with back-to-back car bombings Saturday, killing themselves and at least 12 other Iraqis. In Baghdad, a missile slammed into the wing of a DHL cargo jet, forcing it to land in the first such attack on a commercial plane in Iraq.
• Iraqi Teens Pummel Bloodied U.S. Soldiers - AP
Iraqi teenagers dragged two bloodied U.S. soldiers from a wrecked vehicle and pummeled them with concrete blocks Sunday, witnesses said, describing the killings as a burst of savagery in a city once safe for Americans.
• Rumsfeld: Arab TV Stations 'Violently' Anti-U.S. - Fox News
Two of the most popular satellite television stations in Iraq are "violently anti-coalition," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday.
• Blair faces battle over EU defense - London Telegraph
Tony Blair will come under pressure from France today to sign up to new European defence arrangements outside Nato, which could increase transatlantic tensions between the European Union and the United States.
• European report on anti-Semitism shelved due to "political" reasons - Israel Insider
The European Union's racism monitor decided not to publish a report on anti-Semitism because the study concluded that Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups were behind many of the incidents it examined, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
• Australia tries again to smooth the way to free trade pact with US - AFP
A new round of talks will be held in Washington this week to try to iron out obstacles in the way of a US-Australia free trade agreement (FTA), Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said.
• Saudis exporting hateful form of Islam, religious freedom panel told - BP News
Saudi Arabia exports an intolerant, violence-producing form of Islam to other countries, includingg the United States, witnesses told the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.  

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Israel to Push 'Road Map' Peace Plan - VOA
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has appointed a team of top cabinet ministers to re-start peace talks with the Palestinians. At the same time he said he is considering taking unilateral steps to try to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Sharon to explain 'unilateral steps' to faction compatriots - Jerusalem Post
The Knesset's Likud faction will meet Monday afternoon to discuss reports of a new diplomatic initiative that includes dismantling isolated settlements and clustering others behind the security fence.
• Hezbollah: We have right to strike Israel anywhere - Ha'aretz
The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said Friday that his guerrillas would retaliate fiercely if Israel attacked Lebanon or Syria. 

Inside the United States
• GOP Gets Democrats Support for Medicare - AP
The roster of Democrats supporting a Medicare prescription drug bill is growing in the Republican-controlled Senate, despite a defiant, last-minute bid to block passage by opponents who argue the measure poses a threat to older Americans.
• House Reaches Compromise on Anti-Spam Bill - Fox News
Congress moved significantly closer to the first-ever federal protections against unwanted commercial e-mails with the House passing a bill Saturday that would impose new limits on sending irritating offers on the Internet.
• Gay 'marriage' opponents push civil-union bill - Washington Times
Opponents of same-sex "marriage" in Massachusetts are trying to counter last week's landmark court ruling by persuading the legislature to enact a civil-union law instead, and by delaying the court's decision from taking effect for long enough to amend the state constitution.
• Mass. Decision Said to Encourage Federal Marriage Amendment - CNS News
Tuesday's decision by Massachusetts' highest court, paving the way for homosexual couples to be recognized as legally "married" in that state, could provide the impetus needed for passage of a federal constitutional amendment that would legally define marriage and render the courts powerless to change that definition.

November 22, 2003

Chip implant readied for cashless commerce - By Sherrie Gossett - WorldNetDaily.com
At a global security conference held today in Paris, an American company announced a new syringe-injectable microchip implant for humans, designed to be used as a fraud-proof payment method for cash and credit-card transactions.
The chip implant is being presented as an advance over credit cards and smart cards, which, absent biometrics and appropriate safeguard technologies, are subject to theft, resulting in identity fraud.
Identity fraud costs the banking and financial industry some $48 billion a year, and consumers $5 billion, according to 2002 Federal Trade Commission estimates.
Verichip portable reader
In his speech today at the ID World 2003 conference in Paris, France, Scott R. Silverman, CEO of Applied Digital Solutions, called the chip a "loss-proof solution" and said that the chip's "unique under-the-skin format" could be used for a variety of identification applications in the security and financial worlds.
The company will have to compete, though, with organizations using just a fingerprint scan for similar applications.
The ID World Conference, held yesterday and today at the Charles de Gaulle Hilton, focused on current and future applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, biometrics, smart cards and data collection.
The company's various "VeriChips" are RFID chips, which contain a unique identification number and can carry other personal data about the implantee. When radio-frequency energy passes from a scanner, it energizes the chip, which is passive (not independently powered), and which then emits a radio-frequency signal transmitting the chip's information to the reader, which in turn links with a database.
ADS has previously touted its radio frequency identification (RFID) chips for secure building access, computer access, storage of medical records, anti-kidnapping initiatives and a variety of law-enforcement applications. The company has also developed proprietary hand-held readers and portal readers that can scan data when an implantee enters a building or room.
Verichip pocket reader
The "cashless society" application is not new -- it has been discussed previously by Applied Digital. Today's speech, however, represented the first formal public announcement by the company of such a program.
In announcing VeriPay to ID World delegates, Silverman stated the implant has "enormous marketplace potential" and invited banking and credit companies to partner with VeriChip Corporation (a subsidiary of ADS) in developing specific commercial applications beginning with pilot programs and market tests.
Applied Digital's announcement in Paris suggested wireless technologies, RFID development, new software solutions, smart-card applications and subdermal implants might one day merge as the ultimate solution for a world fraught with identity theft, threatened by terrorism, buffeted by cash-strapped governments and law-enforcement agencies looking for easy data-collection, and corporations interested in the marketing bonanza that cutting-edge identification, payment, and location-based technologies can afford.
Verichip
Cashless payment systems are now part of a larger technology development subset: government identification experiments that seek to combine cashless payment applications with national ID information on media (such as a "smart" card), which contain a whole host of government, personal, employment and commercial data and applications on a single, contactless RFID chip.
In some scenarios, government-corporate coalitions are advocating such a chip be used by employees also to access entry to their workplace and the company computer network, reducing the cost outlay of the corporations for individual ID cards.
Malaysia's "MyKad" national ID "smart" card is the foremost example.
Meanwhile, privacy advocates have expressed concern over RFID technology rollouts, citing database concerns and the specter of individuals' RFID chips being read without permission by people who have their own hand-held readers.
Several privacy and civil liberties groups have recently called for a voluntary moratorium on RFID tagging "until a formal technology assessment process involving all stakeholders, including consumers, can take place." Signatories to the petition include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Privacy International and the Foundation for Information Policy Research, a British think tank.
Commenting on today's announcement, Richard Smith, a computer industry consultant, referred to what some "netizens" are already calling "chipectomies": "VeriChips can still be stolen. It's just a bit gruesome when to think how the crooks will do these kinds of robberies."
Citing MasterCard's PayPass, Smith pointed out that most of the major credit-card companies are looking at RFID chips to make credit cards quicker, easier, and safer to use.
"The big problem is money," said Smith. "It will take billions of dollars to upgrade the credit-card networks from magstripe readers to RFID readers. During the transition, a credit card is going to need both a magstripe and an RFID chip so that it is universally accepted."
Some industry professionals advocate having citizens pay for combined national ID/cashless pay chips, which would be embedded in a chosen medium.
Identification technologies using RFID can take a wide variety of physical forms and show no sign yet of coalescing into a single worldwide standard.
Prior to today's announcement, Art Kranzley, senior vice president at MasterCard, commented on the Pay Pass system in a USA Today interview: "We're certainly looking at designs like key fobs. It could be in a pen or a pair of earrings. Ultimately, it could be embedded in anything -- someday, maybe even under the skin."

past related articles: Is the mark of the beast on the way?
 "He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor,                                    free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,                   so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name            of the beast or the number of his name."Revelation13:16-17(NIV)

November 21, 2003

Did Jesus Live in “Occupied Territory?” - Jan Markell
Thousands of lives have been lost and billions of dollars have been spent over the last many years in pursuit of a Palestinian state. The effort has been fruitless—the failure abysmal. What lies ahead in this effort could dwarf all other costs and efforts combined, particularly if the idea ever succeeds as the world insists it will and must, and that includes our State Department.
The birth of “Palestine” will strengthen the Islamic world’s determination to do away completely with the Jewish state. It would also shatter the biblical foundations on which much of Christianity stands.
The specific land that the Jewish people are being asked, ordered, and even coerced into surrendering is the very cradle of its existence as a nation, including specific areas God entered into an eternal covenant with Abraham, promising him ownership of the land forever. All you read about in the Bible about Judea and Samaria took place in areas that would be given over to thugs to create an “Arafatistan” or something similar even under a different tyrant ruler. The area to be surrendered houses the tombs of Joseph, Samuel, and David the king. Here Abraham built altars. In Ramallah—Arafat’s headquarters—God visited Jacob and confirmed to him and his descendents after him ownership of the land forever.
Here was the home of the prophet Samuel. In the surrendered territory lies Bethlehem. Here lies Jerusalem, being demanded by the Palestinians as a capital for their state, the city of David and the headquarters of our soon-coming King who will reign from that city.
In “Palestine-in-the-making” lies Bethany where Lazarus was raised, the Mount of Olives where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and Gethesemane where he was arrested. Here was Pilate’s courtyard, the Via Dolorosa where Jesus stumbled under His cross, and Golgotha where He died, as well as the garden tomb and the area from which He arose.
And Palestine will be home to the most glittering prize of all, the Temple Mount, the place where the God of Israel chose to place His name forever, the hill on which Abraham offered up Isaac, and the site of the first and second temple. The future Millennial temple where the Messiah is destined to rule will also rest on that spot.
You really have to wonder if Jesus were alive today if He would be criticized by the State Department, U.N., and E.U. as being an “obstacle-to-peace settler” living in “occupied territory.”
Islam will wield control over much that is sacred to Jews and Christians. To partition God’s Land with the formation of a Palestinian state will be to sever both Jews and Christians from their roots, from their past, and could tarnish their future.
America’s leaders have a choice they can make: Either listen to the prophets of old in the Bible, or to Colin Powell and the State Department. They are completely at odds with one another, and you can’t have it both ways.
We dare not let a “Palestine” be born.

Around the World
• Bomb Attacks Kill 27 in Istanbul - Fox News
Suspected Al Qaeda homicide bombers blew up trucks packed with explosives at the British consulate and a London-based bank Thursday, killing at least 27 people and wounding nearly 450. The twin attacks coincided with President Bush's state visit to Britain.
• Trafalgar Square Center of Bush Protests - Fox News
Cheering anti-war protesters in London's Trafalgar Square toppled a mock statue of President Bush on Thursday.
• Iraq Oil Ministry, Hotels Hit by Rockets - AP
Rockets apparently fired from donkey carts Friday morning slammed into Iraq's Oil Ministry and two hotels used by U.S. workers and foreign journalists in downtown Baghdad. At least one man was injured.
• Free-Trade Bloc Framework OK'd in Miami - AP
Trade ministers from across the Americas gave final approval Thursday to a framework for the world's largest free trade bloc as police in riot gear clashed with hundreds of demonstrators protesting the talks.
• 3 Countries ID'd as Iran Atomic Providers - Fox News
The International Atomic Energy Agency has identified Russia, China and Pakistan as probable suppliers of some of the technology Iran used to enrich uranium in its suspect nuclear programs, diplomats told The Associated Press on Thursday.
• Gospel verse found on ancient shrine - MSNBC
A barely legible clue — the name “Simon” carved in Greek letters — beckoned from high up on the weather-beaten facade of an ancient burial monument. Their curiosity piqued, two Jerusalem scholars uncovered six previously invisible lines of inscription: a Gospel verse — Luke 2:25.
• U.S. scrambles to rebuild Iraqi army - MSNBC
Seven months after the fall of Baghdad, a single Iraqi army battalion exists to reinforce overstretched U.S.-led occupation troops. As casualties climb and large foreign armies remain on the sidelines, U.S. authorities are racing to recruit a credible Iraqi force to bolster the authority of a future Baghdad government.
• U.S. deploys 20,000 troops near Syrian border - World Tribune
The United States has deployed 20,000 troops along the Syrian border after Syria failed to stop militants from crossing into Iraq.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• PM putting together unilateral initiative parallel to road map - Ha'aretz
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is putting together a package of "positive unilateral steps" for Israel to take with respect to the Palestinians, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said Thursday.
• UN endorses Mid-East roadmap - BBC
The UN Security Council has approved a Russian-led resolution endorsing the stalled Middle East peace plan.
• Bush: Palestinian state the heart of the matter - Jerusalem Newswire
Reviving a pre-Iraq war, cross-Atlantic alliance theme, US President George W. Bush told England and the world Wednesday he remains committed to seeking the birth of a viable independent Palestinian state in the biblical heartland of Israel.
• Arab TV: Jews ate Christian's blood - World Net Daily
In a reassertion of the age-old anti-Semitic blood libel, a Syrian-produced television program depicted Jews murdering a Christian boy to drain his blood for use in the special bread eaten at the Jewish Passover feast.
• Israel, U.S. can reach agreement on outposts - Ha'aretz
Israel believes it is possible to reach an understanding with the United States over a list of illegal outposts in the West Bank. The understandings will serve as a basis for discussions on the issue, sources in the prime minister's entourage said Wednesday about the U.S. criticism of the slow pace of evacuating the outposts. 

Inside the United States
• Christians, Muslims worship same God, Bush tells reporters - Baptist Press
In an answer likely to upset evangelicals and other members of his Christian base, President Bush said Nov. 20 that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
• Congress Passes Penalties Against Syria - Fox News
Congress passed legislation Thursday to impose economic penalties against Syria, reflecting broad agreement among lawmakers that Syria has been a detriment to the fight against terrorism in the Middle East and Iraq.
• Romney pursues law on gay unions - Washington Times
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said yesterday he was ready to work with lawmakers to craft a "civil union"-style law to give some marriage rights to homosexual couples, even though he also supports a constitutional amendment to preserve traditional marriage.
• Federal Trials on Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Set for March - CNS News
Three separate legal challenges to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 will be heard in Lincoln, Neb., New York City and San Francisco on March 29, a little later than the U.S. Justice Department would have liked but much sooner than other federal cases, which often take more than a year to get before a judge.

November 20, 2003

Around the World
• Four Explosions Kill Several in Istanbul - AP
Four explosions shook Istanbul on Thursday, including blasts in front of the HSBC bank in an affluent district and another across from the British consulate, television stations reported. Several people were killed or injured in the explosions, the reports said.
• Bush to hold key talks with Blair as huge protests planned - AFP
US President George W. Bush was to hold key talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, the second day of a controversial state visit to Britain, as anti-war campaigners planned a massive protest.
• U.S. scrambles to rebuild Iraqi army - MSNBC
Seven months after the fall of Baghdad, a single Iraqi army battalion exists to reinforce overstretched U.S.-led occupation troops. As casualties climb and large foreign armies remain on the sidelines, U.S. authorities are racing to recruit a credible Iraqi force to bolster the authority of a future Baghdad government.
• U.S. deploys 20,000 troops near Syrian border - World Tribune
The United States has deployed 20,000 troops along the Syrian border after Syria failed to stop militants from crossing into Iraq.  

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• UN endorses Mid-East roadmap - BBC
The UN Security Council has approved a Russian-led resolution endorsing the stalled Middle East peace plan.
• Bush: Palestinian state the heart of the matter - Jerusalem Newswire
Reviving a pre-Iraq war, cross-Atlantic alliance theme, US President George W. Bush told England and the world Wednesday he remains committed to seeking the birth of a viable independent Palestinian state in the biblical heartland of Israel.
• Arab TV: Jews ate Christian's blood - World Net Daily
In a reassertion of the age-old anti-Semitic blood libel, a Syrian-produced television program depicted Jews murdering a Christian boy to drain his blood for use in the special bread eaten at the Jewish Passover feast.
• Israel, U.S. can reach agreement on outposts - Ha'aretz
Israel believes it is possible to reach an understanding with the United States over a list of illegal outposts in the West Bank. The understandings will serve as a basis for discussions on the issue, sources in the prime minister's entourage said Wednesday about the U.S. criticism of the slow pace of evacuating the outposts. 

Inside the United States
• Romney pursues law on gay unions - Washington Times
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said yesterday he was ready to work with lawmakers to craft a "civil union"-style law to give some marriage rights to homosexual couples, even though he also supports a constitutional amendment to preserve traditional marriage.
• Federal Trials on Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Set for March - CNS News
Three separate legal challenges to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 will be heard in Lincoln, Neb., New York City and San Francisco on March 29, a little later than the U.S. Justice Department would have liked but much sooner than other federal cases, which often take more than a year to get before a judge.

• New Virus Hits Paypal Users - Information Technology Services
This Internet worm targets Paypal users. It arrives in an email announcing the expiration of the user's Paypal account. The worm is in the attachment labeled www.paypal.com.scr or paypal.asp.scr and it attempts to steal credit card information from the user and send it to a malicious user via e-mail

November 19, 2003

Radical Islam’s Western Stronghold - By George Thomas
For years, Britain, and London in particular, has been a hub for Islamic radicals.
CBN.com – LONDON — Since 9/11, Britain has emerged as America's closest ally in the war against terrorism. Ironically, Britain is also a major base of operation for some of the most radical Islamic organizations, including some direct supporters of Osama bin Laden. At the heart of Britain's radical Islamic movement is a man named Mustafa Kamel, a.k.a. Abu Hamza al-Masri. An Egyptian cleric, Hamza is wanted by other countries for suspected terrorist activities. And the FBI is building a case against him and several of his associates.
Today, he spends his time in London running a group called "Supporters of Sharia." According to the SOS website, the goal is to replace secular rule and democracy with Sharia, a harsh form of Islamic law.
When CBN News asked Hamza if he wants to see Great Britain become a Muslim nation based on Sharia, he said, "The whole of the planet, not only Great Britain, because we are all a creation of god, we have to pay god his attributes, and follow his law."
Hamza, who has a metal hook on his right arm, lost both hands and an eye during a raid in Afghanistan 10 years ago. He believes a holy war is the only way to implement the laws of Allah in Britain. Included in this is a call for martyrdom.
"This is the only way you can prove yourself in front of god. Look, this is the dearest thing I have, is my life, if I had anything dearer than that, I would have given it to you. So being a martyr is an honor," Hamza said.
For years, Britain, and London in particular, has been a hub for Islamic radicals. Some anti-terrorism investigators have even called the British capital "Londonistan." Many fundamentalist groups find Britain, with its liberal immigration laws and tradition of free speech, to be a perfect base for their jihad against the West.
There are about two million Muslims living in Britain. About 48 percent of them live in London, and their numbers are growing fast.
Jay Smith, an American missionary to England, said, "The influence of Islam is growing dramatically for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they are doing an awful lot more than we are, than anybody else is to make sure that it grows. For that reason, people are hearing, people are listening, people are being influenced. They are converting right, left and center."
Religious experts have called London the evangelical hub of radical Islam in the West. Some see the conversion of England to Islam as an important strategy for winning Europe.
Omar Izzadeen and a number of other young men belong to a radical Muslim group called Al Muhajiroun. Their mission is to establish Al Khilafah, a global Islamic regime, starting here in Britain.
"Our message is to bring Islam to the world. Islam will conquer the White House, will conquer in Downing Street," Izzadeen said. "It means conquer, it means the Americans will live under Islam, like it or not. So will the UK."
On a Friday night, Izzadeen instructs the group to follow the example of the 19 hijackers of September 11th. He reminds them that it only took a "few good men" to bring terror to America.
"It really shook the Americans, a Superpower, shook by 19! And it showed their weakness. You see brothers, if people put their minds to something, they can do anything, and in particular, the believers," Izzadeen said.
While the majority of Muslims here have nothing to do with these radical groups, experts say Islam is becoming a major force to be reckoned with in Britain.
And for those who do not care to believe in their god, what are the consequences? Hamza said, "Well, if you live in my property and you don't pay me my rent, you get out! And Jihad is to get you out, this is the property of god, you don't worship him, you get out. How are you going to get out? You get killed!"

Around the World
• U.S., Plans New UN Resolution on New Iraq Timetable - Reuters
The United States, supported by Britain, plans a new U.N. resolution endorsing decisions by Iraqi leaders and the Bush administration to establish a provisional government in Baghdad in June, Security Council diplomats said.
• U.S. Bombs Targets in Central Iraq - Fox News
U.S. jets and helicopter gunships launched the biggest air operation in central Iraq since active combat ended, blasting suspected ambush sites and hideouts with 500-pound bombs on Tuesday. Explosions rocked western Baghdad as American troops mounted fresh attacks against Saddam loyalists.
• President Bush Defends Invasion of Iraq - AP
Amid royal pageantry and anti-war protests, President Bush is defending the invasion of Iraq as a necessary use of military power while likening reconstruction efforts to rebuilding a shattered Europe after two world wars.
• Draft Aims to Ease Trade Zone Impasse - AP
Canada, Mexico, Chile and several Caribbean nations are circulating a compromise proposal aimed at moving stalled talks that would create the world's largest free-trade area, according to documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.
• New particle is double trouble for physicists - New Scientist
A mysterious sub-atomic particle has been revealed that does not to fit any of the models currently used by physicists.
• Euro hits all-time record versus dollar - AFP
The euro surged to an all-time record high against the dollar, hitting 1.1978 dollars around 9.45 am (0045 GMT) in Tokyo trade, a foreign exchange dealer said.  

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Sharon to meet Qurei 'within days' - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will likely meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei in the next few days, after Qurei hammers out an internal Palestinian cease-fire, a senior source travelling with Sharon in Italy said Tuesday night.
• Egyptian security delegation arrives in Gaza to promote ceasefire - Jerusalem Post
An Egyptian security delegation arrived in Gaza Wednesday morning to continue discussions proposed Hudna (cease fire) as a senior spokesman for PM Ariel Sharon said that Israel would consider a cessation of targeted killings in return for a complete cessation of terror activities.
• Egypt continues truce efforts, delegation to meet Palestinian factions - SF Gate
Yasser Arafat decided to unfreeze some Islamic charities as a goodwill gesture to Islamic groups, while an Egyptian delegation headed to Gaza to press Cairo's effort to arrange a truce to end three years of Mideast violence.
• Soldiers uncover arms tunnel in Rafah - Jerusalem Post
A soldier was lightly wounded during an IDF operation to uncover weapons-smuggling tunnels on the outskirts of Rafah in the south Gaza Strip. 

Inside the United States
• Bush vows to defend 'sanctity of marriage' - Washington Times
President Bush yesterday said he will work with Congress to defend "the sanctity of marriage" against yesterday's decision by a Massachusetts court that the state's constitution guarantees same-sex couples a right to marry.
• Gay couples celebrate Massachusetts ruling - Seattle PI
Massachusetts' highest court ruled yesterday that gay couples have the right to marry under the state's Constitution, and it gave the state's Legislature 180 days to change laws to make same-sex marriages possible.
• Clergy Group to Counter Conservatives - NY Times
In an effort to counter the influence of conservative Christian organizations, a coalition of moderate and liberal religious leaders is starting a political advocacy organization to mobilize voters in opposition to Bush administration policies.
• U.S. to Test 'Mother of All Bombs' at Florida Base - Reuters
The U.S. military plans this week to conduct its final developmental test on the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal, a weapon so big it is dubbed the "mother of all bombs," the Air Force said on Tuesday.
• 'The case was fixed' - Washington Times
Senate Democratic staffers and a judge appointed by President Carter made extraordinary efforts last year to ensure that a liberal majority sat on the federal appeals court that heard the Michigan affirmative action cases, according to internal Democratic staff memos.
• Cameras Trace Students' Every Move - CBS News
"Keeping a camera on them every day of the week is teaching them that being watched is OK and possibly Big Brother is good,"

November 18, 2003

Special Report: Reaping the Whirlwind - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com
An Arab magazine claimed Tuesday that a member of al Qaeda had sent them an e-mail claiming responsibility for Saturday's homicide bombing in Riyadh that killed 17 people and left more than 100 wounded.
"We struck Muhaya compound," the London-based weekly Al-Majalla quoted an e-mail from a purported Al Qaeda operative identified as Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj as saying, referring to the residential compound attacked Saturday. The e-mail was first seen late Monday and released a statement about it to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, now Saudi ambassador to Great Britain, issued a poignant statement to 'all the peoples of the world' to help the Saudis 'stop this evil' . . . blah, blah, blah.
Prince Turki used to be the head of Saudi intelligence when he worked with Osama bin Laden during the Afghan war against the Soviets. The Saudis financed and supported al-Qaeda up to and after September 11, and right up until al-Qaeda turned on them after the money started drying up.
Assessment:
There are some six million foreign workers working in the kingdom. Not because there aren't enough Saudis to do the work -- the Saudi unemployment rate is 25% -- but because the current generation of pampered, oil-rich Saudis never had to work before.
The House of Saud buys its power using oil profits using the 'bread and circuses' principle of governing. Instead of investing in things like education and infrastructure, the House of Saud just gave the money to the people to keep them quiet.
Now there aren't enough trained Saudis to do skilled labor, or enough unskilled Saudis willing to get their hands dirty. The only real educational investment made by the House of Saud was in religious education. Students in Saudi madrassas commit the Koran to memory and learn of the need to convert the whole world to Islam -- by whatever means necessary.
It bought peace with the many Islamic conservatives in the kingdom. But long term, it guaranteed that several generations of Saudi men would be unemployable for anything except al Qaeda or teaching in a religious school, turning out more schoolteachers -- and more al-Qaeda members.
As long as the graduates of the Saudi Wahabbist schools practiced their arts outside the kingdom, the House of Saud was content to look the other way.
Thousands did, joining Osama during the Afghan war in the '80's and staying with him through the war with America.
Since then, they've been driven out of Egypt, Afghanistan, Afghanistan and Iran and repatriated back to Saudi Arabia. The 'evil' the Prince Turki called on the world to help them destroy is one of their own design.
The problem al-Qaeda has with the house of Saud isn't that they are corrupt or inept, or even that they are one of the most repressive regimes in the world.
Saudi Arabia is a country in which Wahabbi Islam is the only legal religion, where thieves have their hands amputated publicly with a sword and drinking alcohol means a prison term complete with lashes.
Although the House of Saud is the patron and defender and chief evangelist of Wahabbi Islam, they aren't 'religious' enough for al-Qaeda.
That is the nature of evil. It feeds on itself and grows until soon it turns on and destroys its container. The House of Saud sold its soul to the devil and now it wants to renegotiate the deal. It doesn't work that way . . . at least, not any more.
Time has run out.
"And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert . . . A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth." (Jeremiah 25:24,31,32)

Around the World
• Bush reassures Iraqi leaders America is staying - Washington Times
President Bush yesterday rejected the notion that a plan to transfer power to Iraqis by July 1 is tantamount to a hasty exit strategy, telling Iraqi Governing Council members at the White House "when they hear me say we're staying, that means we're staying."
• President will be protected by 16,000 police officers - London Independent
One in nine police officers in England and Wales will be protecting George Bush on his state visit to Britain, which begins today.
• U.N. group seeks control of Internet - Washington Times
Governments spearheaded by China, Brazil, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia are trying to place the Internet under the control of the United Nations or its member governments, a move that the United States and other developed countries are determined to resist.
• Iran leads Aid for Syria's Missile Programs - MENL
The United States has determined that Iran has been a major contributor to Syria's missile development programs.
• Nukes option by U.S. in Korea - Washington Times
The United States is committed to defending South Korea from an attack by the North and would use nuclear forces if needed, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told the government here yesterday.
• EU defence agency gets the go ahead - EU Observer
EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday have agreed to the setting up of a European defence agency.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Arafat pockets NIS 62m. in 60 days - Jerusalem Post
Despite recent allegations of corruption and mishandling of public funds by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, he continues to directly receive as much as 10 percent of the official PA budget.
• Palestinians reprint schoolbooks praising jihad 'martyrs' - London Telegraph
A textbook on Islam that preaches the value of "holy war" and "martyrdom" for all Muslims is being reprinted by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority for use in schools in the occupied West Bank.
• Israel waters down tough stance in face of EU criticism - EU Observer
Following harsh criticism from the EU, which was again repeated today, the Israeli government is to tell leaders that it will dismantle its security fence if attacks against Israelis stop, the EUobserver has learned.
• Mossad head: Nuclear Iran is worst-ever threat to Israel - Ha'aretz
Mossad intelligence service chief Meir Dagan said Monday that the specter of nuclear weaponry in Iran was the greatest threat that Israel has faced since its founding in 1948, Israel Radio reported.
• 2 Israelis killed near Gush Etzion-JLM tunnel - Jerusalem Post
Two Israelis were killed Tuesday morning on the tunnel road which links the Bethlehem-area Gush Etzion communities to Jerusalem.

Inside the United States
• Schwarzenegger Becomes Calif. Governor - AP
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who arrived in the United States 35 years ago as a bodybuilder dreaming of fame and fortune, was sworn in Monday as governor of California and said he was ready to take on the "massive weight we must lift off our state."
• Energy Bill Deal With Tax Breaks OK'd - AP
After months of sometimes bitter wrangling, Congress is on the verge of approving a far-reaching energy bill that would provide billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil, gas and coal industries and bring an economic boon to farmers who grow corn for ethanol.
• Washington Sniper Guilty, Prosecutor Urges Death - Reuters
A jury on Monday found Gulf War veteran John Muhammad guilty of two counts of capital murder in last year's string of sniper shootings that killed 10 people and terrorized the Washington area.

• New Virus Hits Paypal Users - Information Technology Services
This Internet worm targets Paypal users. It arrives in an email announcing the expiration of the user's Paypal account. The worm is in the attachment labeled www.paypal.com.scr or paypal.asp.scr and it attempts to steal credit card information from the user and send it to a malicious user via e-mail.

November 17, 2003

Around the World
• U.S. Troops Crack Down in Baghdad - Fox News
As an audiotape purportedly made by Saddam Hussein urged Iraqis to escalate their fight against the occupation, U.S. troops flooded a Baghdad neighborhood and fired a missile at an alleged training base in northern Iraq in a new military offensive against guerrillas Sunday.
• US agrees to international control of its troops in Iraq - London Independent
The United States accepts that to avoid humiliating failure in Iraq it needs to bring its forces quickly under international control and speed the handover of power, Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, has said.
• Iraqis to Take Control of Iraq by June 2004 - Fox News
American administrators will hand over sovereignty to a new transitional government by June, the Iraqi Governing Council said Saturday, announcing an accelerated U.S. plan for ending the occupation of Iraq.
• 'Biggest' terrorist alert for Bush visit - London Telegraph
Scotland Yard will mount the largest anti-terrorist operation London has ever seen when President George W Bush arrives tomorrow for the first State Visit by an American president.
• EU expansion concerns five-nation Arab bloc - Washington Times
The European Union's approaching expansion has caused Arab concern that one of the results could be the neglect of North Africa.
• New drive for Americas trade zone - BBC
Negotiators from 34 countries are gathering in Miami to try to thrash out their differences over what could become the world's biggest free-trade area.
• Anti-globalization activists begin free-trade protests outside Miami meeting - Boston Herald
Hundreds of anti-globalization activists kicked off demonstrations Sunday as representatives of 34 Western Hemisphere nations started talks on creating the world's largest free trade bloc.   

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Al-Qaida claims Turkey bombings - Jerusalem Post
Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the twin synagogue bombings in Istanbul that killed 23 and wounded more than 300.
• U.S. to support proposal seeking UN support of road map - Ha'aretz
The U.S. administration informed Israel on Sunday that it plans to support the Russian resolution seeking United Nations Security Council endorsement of the road map peace initiative.
• Unofficial Mideast plan gains ground - MSNBC
On Sunday, a weighty document will drop through the letter box of every home in Israel. Depending on the views of the household, it will either be discarded as an act of treachery, or held up as the only real hope for peace in a country locked in a seemingly intractable struggle with Palestinians, a violent confrontation that has spiraled with tragic results over the past three years.   

Inside the United States
• Marathon debate on judicial nominees ends; GOP argues filibuster is unconstitutional - BP News
A 40-hour marathon debate on judicial nominees went into overtime but finally ended Nov. 14, with Democrats filibustering two more White House nominees and Republicans warning of an escalating crisis that threatens the chamber's integrity.
• FCC: Stations may use F-word - KOBTV
After a group filed complaints against stations that aired this year's Golden Globe Awards because a performer used the F-word, the Federal Communications Commission said it's okay to use it on television, as long as it's done properly.
• Republicans Open Drive to Pass Medicare Bill - Reuters
With a Medicare drug deal in hand, President Bush and congressional Republicans on Sunday opened a drive to enact an ambitious reform of the health care program for seniors despite opposition from some top Democrats.
• Energy Bill Would impose Power Grid Rules - Fox News
Responding to the summer's massive power blackout, Congress is considering in its broad energy bill the first federal rules, with penalties, to protect electricity transmission systems from rapidly cascading outages.

November 14, 2003

A DEMOCRATIC IRAQ: AN OXYMORON
   The politicization of the Iraq quagmire is more than troubling.  The president's intentions were good.  The torture chambers and rape rooms are shut down.  Saddam can no longer gas Kurds or anyone else, nor will he ever be remembered as the modern day Nebuchadnezzar who destroyed Israel.
   But an exit strategy is flawed to be sure, and the dream of a "democratic Iraq" is just that--a dream.  No other Arab country has this form of government. As Jerusalem-based Christian correspondent David Dolan says, "Arab nations are run by unelected kings, sheiks, dictators, or men that are 'elected' in closed votes."
   The Iraqi people know nothing of a Western-style democracy.  Why did we expect Iraq to emerge out of Saddam's evil shadow into the light of democracy?  Thugocracies do not go gently into oblivion, transformed like a monarch butterfly into a Westernized enclave in the heart of Islam.
   It is hard to know if the planners of the post-war Iraq were just too optimistic, naive, or more likely, they just don't understand Islam. The mantra out of the White House is still that "Islam is a religion of peace."  Believing that would put the most positive spin on the whole situation, and weaken the resolve and credibility of America.
   So what to do?  For the U.S. to withdraw would give spectacular impetus to the terrorists inside and outside of Iraq...in other words, to the whole jihad movement.  It would also open the door for a bloodbath in which Iraqis who didn't oppose the U.S. would be slaughtered by those who did.  That happened to the Shi'ites and Kurds in the post 1991 Gulf War.
   With an estimated 50,000 foreign terrorists and Saddam loyalists at work, the end seems nowhere in sight. And the guerrillas are getting bolder and more efficient.
   The president is between "Iraq and a hard place."  Pray for him and his advisors that they would have supernatural wisdom in this precarious situation. The president is under pressure unknown to most.  If the situation continues to deteriorate, his re-election next year is hardly a certainty.
   Joining me on air tomorrow, Saturday, November 15 at 9 AM Central on AM980 KKMS is White House correspondent Bill Koenig, one of four Christians serving in this capacity in the entire White House press corps.  We'll discuss this and other current issues, and in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area the program is repeated on AM980 KKMS at 12 Noon. Prophecy scholar Dr. David Reagan joins me at 10 AM Central. The program is posted to our "Radio Archives" on our Web site a week later.
   A reminder that we are now heard live at the same time on KPSZ AM940 in Des Moines, Iowa.  WWJC 850AM plays one hour a week later tape-delayed in Duluth/Superior Saturdays at 10 AM. KOLM 1520AM in Rochester, MN rebroadcasts one hour on Sundays at 8 AM.  Consult our Web site, www.olivetreeviews.org for the cities in the signal range of these stations.

Around the World
• Al Qaida commander 'anticipates' 100,000 Americans dead in attack - MEMRI
In regard to rumors about a large-scale attack against the U.S. during the month of Ramadan, Al-Hijazi said that "a huge and very courageous strike" will take place and that the number of infidels expected to be killed in this attack, according to primary estimates, exceeds 100,000. He added that he "anticipates, but will not swear, that the attack will happen during Ramadan."
• Six-Way North Korea Talks May Resume in December - Reuters
A new round of six-way talks on ending North Korea's suspected nuclear arms program appears likely in December, but Pyongyang has not yet committed to any dates, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
• Core Franco-German Union considered - EU Observer
Paris and Berlin are considering plans to create a core union, which would keep the two countries strong in an enlarged European Union.
• Latin American States Give Aliens ID Cards in U.S. - Washington Post
Several Latin American countries plan to follow Mexico's example by issuing consular identification cards to illegal immigrants in the United States, despite FBI warnings that the cards pose a security threat, officials said on Thursday.
• Cheaper cellphone calls on horizon - Int'l Herald Tribune
New technology being evaluated by phone operators in Europe, Asia and the United States promises to achieve what regulators and competition have so far failed to: drastically reduce mobile phone bills.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Israel presents UN resolution protecting children - Jerusalem Post
A General Assembly draft resolution that calls for the protection of Israeli children from Palestinian terrorist attacks – the first resolution introduced by Israel to the UN since 1976 – was presented to the assembly's Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee Wednesday afternoon.
• Likud makes plans for Sharon quitting - Jerusalem Post
The Likud Convention will consider the question of how to replace Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the event that investigations of him and his sons force him to resign, a Likud spokesman said on Thursday.
• Rice: Unclear whether fence money to be cut from loans - Ha'aretz
United States National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice indicated Thursday that the White House had not come to any decision on whether the money Israel spends on building the West Bank security fence will be deducted from the $9 billion package of loan guarantees it receives from the U.S.
• Hamas talks of new 'hudna' - Jerusalem Post
Hamas confirmed on Thursday that its representatives were holding talks with Egyptian and Palestinian Authority officials to discuss the possibility of reaching a new cease-fire agreement.  

Inside the United States
• GOP Keeps Senate Open Overnight Again - AP
Republicans kept the Senate open for a second straight night Thursday after some of their freshmen senators said 30 hours are not enough in the GOP's attempt to pry conservative jurists loose from Democratic filibusters.
• 'Ten Commandments' Justice Expelled - Fox News
A judicial panel on Thursday banished Chief Justice Roy Moore from the bench, rejecting his argument that he was upholding his oath when he ignored a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama judicial building. In a press conference following the ruling, Moore said he would consult with his lawyers and with political and religious leaders as to whether to appeal and would make an announcement next week that could "alter the course of this country."
• Rain and Hail Deluge a Slice of the Los Angeles Basin - NY Times
Two weeks after the most destructive wildfires in state history blackened the skies over Southern California, a freak storm deluged Los Angeles on Wednesday night and left piles of hail more than a foot deep in some parts of the city.
• Windstorms Knock Out Power to 1.4 Million - AP
Windstorms gusting to more than 70 mph swept across the Midwest and the East, knocking out power to more than 1.4 million customers and bringing rain and flooding that flushed out buildings "like a toilet."

November 13, 2003

A Tunnel from Israel’s Past Offers a Lesson for the Future - By Chris Mitchell

The Gihon Spring, still running today after more than 3,000 years, was the life source for Jerusalem.

CBN.com – JERUSALEM — The status of Jerusalem is one of the most hotly contested issues in world diplomacy today. But the battle over Jerusalem goes back thousands of years. So CBN News decided to examine another time when Jerusalem was under siege, during the reign of King Hezekiah, and the lessons history offers for us today.

Just outside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem lies the city of David, the birthplace of Jerusalem and the capital of Israel for more than 3,000 years. It is the place where kings and prophets once roamed, and the site of one of the marvels of the ancient world — King Hezekiah's tunnel.

CBN News took a walk down to the tunnel. Down several hundred feet, back several thousand years and into the pages of scripture.

"It was really an extraordinary time in the history of the Middle East," explained Claire Pfann, a professor of biblical studies at Jerusalem's University of the Holy Land. She describes the story of King Hezekiah as a story of the Jews under siege and threatened with a deadly water shortage.

"The first mega-empire Assyria had spread all the way from Mesopotamia to Egypt, and conquered all the peoples of those lands. There was a single enclave that had not been defeated, that of Judea," Pfann said. "The prophet Isaiah counseled him and said if he would stay true to God, God would preserve the kingdom of Judea, the city of Jerusalem. And so Hezekiah was thrust into action."

Before the tunnel was built, Hezekiah faced a crisis. The Assyrians had captured the ten northern tribes of Israel, many cities in Judah and were marching toward Jerusalem. So Hezekiah ordered the tunnel to be built to channel the city's only source of water, the Gihon Spring, inside the city walls.

"This water fed fresh water for the whole city. However, the entrance to this spring lay outside the city walls, and that was a double whammy. That meant the Assyrians who besieged the city would have access to fresh water and likewise they would be able to cut off the water supply for the Judeans," Pfann said. "What was Hezekiah to do? He consulted his engineers and they devised an extraordinary plan, to create an underground tunnel that would connect the source of the spring to the pool of Siloam to the outflow at the bottom of the hill. Now this was one of the two great engineering feats of waterworks in the pre-historic period, in the ancient times."

The Gihon Spring, still running today after more than 3,000 years, was the life source for Jerusalem. The tunnel became a civil defense project of immense proportions. Jerusalem was at stake and so was the future of Israel.

The tunnel varies in height. Sometimes it gets so low that you can hardly stand up. You can also see water dripping down from the sides of the tunnel and you can see the mark of the pick axes the tunnelers used when they cut through solid bedrock.

"We can assume that they worked 24 hours a day, six days a week because they probably took Shabbat off, in order to finish this before the troops of Sennacherib actually arrived outside the city of Judea… What did they use to light their way? Did they have lanterns? Did they have candles? What type of lighting they used we can only imagine," Pfann said.

With the Assyrians marching toward Jerusalem, Hezekiah was desperate. So he ordered the tunnel to be built from two directions from the north and the south. The story of how they met is told in these rocks. When they got close enough to each other, they made adjustments so they would meet up. The story of how the two tunnels met without the use of modern instruments, even a magnetic compass, some call an engineering marvel, or a miracle.

"When they broke through that rock, the water flowed completely from the north to the south and Jerusalem was insured a supply of fresh, pure water, spring water throughout the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians," Pfann said.

The tunnelers recorded their dramatic meeting on a famous tablet called the Siloam Plaque. But while they documented their ancient drama, some have suggested a theory that the tunnel is not really as old as the biblical account.

Professor Amos Frumkin of Hebrew University disagrees. He is an expert on caves, and has studied the materials from Hezekiah's tunnel. He examined both the stalactites on the ceiling of the tunnel and the plaster used to seal the floor.

"Within this plaster we found pieces of organic material which was also very fortunate. It was quite rare to find such materials and we dated it by radio-carbon and this gives a very good approximate date of the tunnel," Frumkin said.

Frumkin's research refutes a theory that the tunnel is much younger than the biblical account. His documentation puts the age of the tunnel about 2,700 years old, which is just about the time of King Hezekiah

The Assyrians never did capture Jerusalem, one of the few cities spared their onslaught. They fled after the Bible says God slew 185,000 Assyrians.

Walking through the tunnel, more than 100 feet below ground, can be a powerful experience. One visitor says he feels the power and drama of Jerusalem more there than in any other spot in the city. The chisel marks, still fresh today, bear silent witness to a remarkable biblical time when Jerusalem was saved from the mightiest war-machine of its day.

"The combination of the prophetic counsel of Isaiah to not surrender, the leadership of Hezekiah to fortify the city and provide fresh water, and the divine, sovereign activity in slaying the hosts of the Assyrian army outside the walls of Jerusalem enabled the survival of this nation," Pfann said.

It takes about an hour to walk the length of King Hezekiah's tunnel, but the travel through time can teach some critical lessons.

Pfann said, "Size is not the most important factor, neither military might, but having the direction of God is the important basis for which we can plan our lives and our strategies."

Around the World
• U.S. Forces Launch Operation Iron Hammer - Fox News
U.S. forces in Iraq on Wednesday launched a planned and coordinated operation codenamed Iron Hammer that targeted pro-Saddam loyalists, a senior military source told Fox News.
• Is targeting U.S. coalition allies a new strategy? - MSNBC
Barely a week after Turkey rescinded its offer to send 20,000 troops into Iraq, Iraqi insurgents are targeting other foreign components of the U.S.-led coalition, adding new strains to a mission that is proving far more difficult than U.S. military planners had hoped.
• CIA Says U.S. Losing Popular Support in Iraq - Reuters
A CIA report concludes that ordinary Iraqis increasingly are siding with the insurgency amid doubts about the U.S. ability to stamp it out, officials said on Wednesday, while the U.S. administrator in Iraq said it was hard to figure out where the Iraqi public stands. 

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Sharon to meet Qurei within 10 days; PA cabinet sworn in - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet his Palestinian counterpart, Ahmed Qurei, within 10 days, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Thursday.
• Ministry slams UN fence 'propaganda' - Jerusalem Post
The Foreign Ministry blasted a new UN report on the security fence Tuesday as Palestinian propaganda and wildly inaccurate "even by UN standards."
• Does Israel have the right to exist? Do Jews? - Ha'aretz
If recent polls are an indication, substantial numbers of Europeans may have a different one-state solution in mind: the end of the independent state of Israel.  

Inside the United States
• Senate Holds Around-The-Clock Debate on Judges - Reuters
Senators moved toward waging the longest nonstop debate in their chamber in a decade on Thursday as they exchanged yawns and angry words over President Bush's four blocked judicial nominees.
• Hatch joins Kennedy to push hate-crimes bill - Washington Times
A new "hate-crimes" proposal supported by Democrats and key Senate Republicans, including Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, would vastly expand the federal government's power to prosecute such crimes committed anywhere in the country.
• 'Ten Commandments' Ruling Comes Thursday - Fox News
Prosecutors urged a judicial panel to oust suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore on Wednesday for disobeying a federal judge's order to move his Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse rotunda -- a defiant stand that Moore said was moral and lawful.

November 12, 2003

The following was sent to me via email:

MAYBE SOME OF THOSE ALL FIRED POLITICALLY CORRECT PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR SURROUNDINGS!
DID YOU KNOW?
As you walk up the steps to the Capitol Building which houses the
Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view - it is Moses and the Ten Commandments!
As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door. As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the
Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!
There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monum ents in Washington, D.C.
James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement "We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government,
upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to
control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great
nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on
religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".
Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.
Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.
Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their
authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law....an oligarchy....the rule of few over many.
The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said, "Americans
should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."
How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?
Please forward this to everyone you can. Lets put it around the world and let the world see what this country was built on.

Around the World
• Truck Bomb at Italian Police HQ in Iraq Kills 11 - Fox News
A truck bomb rocked the headquarters of the Italian Carabinieri police in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and possibly trapping others under the debris, coalition officials said.
• White House aims to speed Iraq self-rule - Washington Times
L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. official in Iraq, arrived in Washington yesterday for urgent discussions at the White House on speeding up the creation of a new Iraqi-run government in Baghdad.
• CIA: Iraq security to get worse - CNN
A recent CIA assessment of Iraq warns the security situation will worsen across the country, not just in Baghdad but in the north and south as well, a senior administration source told CNN Tuesday.
• EU aims at becoming a superpower in space - EU Observer
The European Commission on Tuesday (11 November) launched a 60-page white paper, entitled, "A New European Frontier for an Expanding Union", which calls for more money to be spend on space technologies.
• A message for Damascus - Washington Times
The Senate yesterday voted 89-4 to approve the Syria Accountability Act, which gives President Bush the authority to impose tough sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, so long as Syria supports terrorists and continues to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Arafat: Israel pursuing "dangerous aim" in the region - Jerusalem Post
Speaking to a session of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah on Wednesday, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat accused Israel of launching a deadly attack against the Palestinian leadership, but stressed that he would not renounce his recognition of Israel and its right to exist in peace and security.
• Palestinians laugh at American deaths - World Net Daily
In a continuing blitz of what some analysts call "new" anti-Semitism targeting Americans, the official Palestinian daily newspaper published a cartoon deriding U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.
• Court reverses ban on 'Jenin, Jenin' - Jerusalem Post
Israeli Arab director Muhammad Bakri on Tuesday was granted permission to show in Israel his documentary, Jenin, Jenin, about last year's IDF operation in the Jenin refugee camp.

Inside the United States
• Bush cheers 'gay' church after 'Marriage Week' - World Net Daily
Not long after he endorsed "Marriage Protection Week," President Bush sent a letter of congratulations to a denomination founded by homosexual activists that performs more than 6,000 same-sex "weddings" each year.
• Ethics Trial of Alabama Judge to Begin - AP
Suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore says he did not violate judicial ethics when he ignored a judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from his courthouse.
• NYC district denies birth of Jesus? - World Net Daily
In a dispute over display of holiday symbols, New York City schools are allowing Jewish menorahs and Islamic crescents but barring Christian nativity scenes, alleging the depiction of the birth of Christ does not represent a historical event.

November 11, 2003

China, the Growing Stronghold of Christianity
CBN.com – China has often been described as a sleeping dragon. Well, that sleeping dragon has awakened, and it is expected to dominate the world politics and economics in the years ahead. But some extraordinary spiritual developments are underway that could be making China the most Christian nation on the face of the earth. China is a country in the midst of economic and cultural change, but for nearly 60 years, this Asian giant has also been undergoing another revolution, one from within, one of the Spirit. In 1947, there were just 700,000 Christians in China. Today, conservative estimates put that number at 70 million. And this dramatic spiritual change has taken place despite more than 50 years of Communist rule and repression of religious belief.
In his new book, Jesus in Beijing, David Aikman points out that at the present rate of growth, Christians will constitute 20 to 30 percent of China’s population within three decades, a number well able to influence the future course of a nation. With China’s more than 1.2 billion people and its growing body of Christian believers, Aikman says it is poised for the moment of its greatest achievement and of the most benefit to the rest of the world, when the Chinese dragon is tamed by the power of the Christian lamb.
For more on the future of Christianity in China, Pat Robertson spoke with David Aikman.
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, joining us from Washington is the former Beijing bureau chief for Time magazine. He’s the author of the new book called Jesus in Beijing. David Aikman has traveled all over the world. He’s been a Jerusalem correspondent. He’s been a Moscow correspondent. He’s been a Beijing correspondent. He speaks several languages. David, it’s a pleasure to have you back with us on The 700 Club.
DAVID AIKMAN: Thank you very much for having me on your show, Pat.
PAT ROBERTSON: Your book is very encouraging, called Jesus in Beijing. It’s amazing that as we are gripped by political correctness in this country and struggling against Islam, that the Chinese are moving forward into what looks like very vibrant Christianity. Tell us about it.
DAVID AIKMAN: Well, it’s been an amazing development, Pat. I think the most striking thing is when everybody thought Christianity had been almost wiped out in China during the cultural revolution in the 60’s and 70’s, that’s when the seeds were being planted of the current revival. And it really has been a revival. I mean, we’re talking about a total number of Christians in 1949 of maybe one million to four million Catholics and Protestants to about 80 million today, Catholics and Protestants, throughout China. And that number is continuing to grow, not only in the countryside, but also in the cities.
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, when I’ve been over there it seems like some of the repression is easing up. Of course, it’s from province to province. But what have you found when you’ve talked to some of these people in the house churches and also the Three-Self Church?
DAVID AIKMAN: Well, there’s no question that persecution is still continuing in different parts of China. Some of the people I’ve met have been arrested even in the last few weeks. It’s sporadic in that some provinces seem able to coexist with the Christian faith much more easily than others. One of the interesting things is that in the cities of China, particularly in the universities, you are beginning to see a really strong Christian presence, quite overt, quite specific, which you didn’t see 10 years ago.
PAT ROBERTSON: The Chinese leadership, when I talked to people over there several years ago, were afraid that what happened in Russia would happen to China, there would be just a complete collapse.
DAVID AIKMAN: Right.
PAT ROBERTSON: And they attributed some of the problems over there to Christianity, and I’ve tried to assure them that that’s not the case, that Christians are good citizens. Is that what you’ve found when you’ve talked to leaders or the people themselves?
DAVID AIKMAN: Well, I think there are two thoughts here. The first is that indeed it is true that the rise of the Christian faith in eastern Europe really helped people turn away from communism and undermined people’s belief in communism as a system. But the fact is, even Chinese officials know that hardly anybody in China believes in communism anymore anyway. So the question is, which community of people in China are its best citizens? And that is something that both communists and sort of government officials really understand, that the Christians pay taxes, they don’t commit crimes, their families hold together better, juvenile delinquency is much lower. There is a real understanding that, purely from a utilitarian, ethical point of view, Christians are good for China.
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, what about some of these faithful saints? You’ve written about the underground movement. Allen Yuan, for example. What about him?
DAVID AIKMAN: Well, he’s a wonderful man. Even at the age of – I think he’s 88 now, he’s under fairly tight surveillance. He’s not allowed to have Christian meetings in his home, which he did have when he lived in his previous apartment. But every year he faithfully goes out of the city of Beijing to a lake about two hours away and he baptizes about 300 people. And he is still the mentor to many other Christian leaders in the city of Beijing, and he’s highly respected in China.
PAT ROBERTSON: Did you find those Christians really understand the biblical truth? Are they being seduced by some strange doctrines or not?
DAVID AIKMAN: Well, there really are some strange cults, and one of the worst of them, which is called Lightening from the East, has actually gotten into kidnapping and even murder of Christian groups, because they understand that the biggest threat to any cultic activity is when the Gospel is preached truthfully and strongly. But now the Christian house churches, as well as the Three-Self Patriotic Church, which is the communist approved Protestant body, have come together in a very strong effort to resist this cultic activity.
PAT ROBERTSON: The Chinese, from what I gather, are poised to begin to take Christianity back toward the West, I guess—I’m thinking which way it goes back—into the Muslim world.
DAVID AIKMAN: Yes. They have a movement called "Back to Jerusalem." And this is really one of the most exciting things about China. Chinese Christians uniformly, this wasn’t just a small group here or there, believe that they are called by God to take the Gospel back to Jerusalem. Now, they don’t mean to evangelize the Jewish people or the Israelis. They mean to take the Gospel to every country on the way back to Jerusalem. And, of course, if you look at the map, that’s the 10-40 window. That’s the Muslim world. And they are really determined to do it.
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, they would be acceptable… they’ve got those so-called Uighurs out there in the extreme part of China who are Muslims, but the Islam has not had much of a foothold in China itself.
DAVID AIKMAN: Well, Islam has maybe 25 million Chinese, if you include the people in the West and some people of ethnic Hun-Chinese background called the Hui, who are Muslims. But the fact of the matter is that Chinese Christians are active in every part of China, including the areas where the Uighurs and the Muslims are fairly strong. But they’re absolutely determined, Pat, to complete the Great Commission. It’s the most astonishing thing I’ve seen in any church in the world.
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, it looks like we may find ourselves with a very strong ally in China, which is what I’ve preaching for a number of years now. But if those figures that we said in the set-up piece are correct, if you’re talking about 30, 35, 40 percent of the Chinese, that would make that the largest Christian country on earth.
DAVID AIKMAN: It would indeed. What I have said is, you don’t need to see the majority of the population becoming Christian believers. You only need about 20 to 30 percent. We saw this happen in South Korea. When you get 20 to 30 percent of any population of any country fervently Christian, the whole culture changes, politics changes, the legal system changes, the media changes, etcetera. And if that happened, China would essentially be a nation with a predominantly Christian worldview, and that’s what I say in the book.
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, David, I appreciate what you’re saying and your work. You’re a great friend and a terrific scholar. David Aikman, ladies and gentlemen. This will encourage you. We’ve got this on our website, by the way, Jesus in Beijing, and it’s also available in bookstores across the country. It’s published by Regnery Press. And you don’t want to miss this one. David, thank you again.
DAVID AIKMAN: Thank you.

Around the World
• U.S. Military Detained 20 Al Qaeda Suspects in Iraq - Fox News
The U.S. military has detained about 20 people suspected of links to Al Qaeda, the commander of American forces said Tuesday.
• Top U.S. general warns of harsh measures unless attacks stop - Boston Globe
America's top general in the Middle East has warned community leaders the U.S. military will use stern measures unless they curb attacks against coalition forces, an Iraqi who attended the meeting said Monday.
• WTO rules U.S. tariffs on steel are illegal - Int'l Herald Tribune
A World Trade Organization appeals panel on Monday ruled that steel tariffs imposed by President George W. Bush last year are illegal, clearing the way for the European Union to impose more than $2 billion of sanctions on U.S. imports unless the administration drops the duties quickly.
• Iran Cleared by U.N. of Atomic Ambitions - AP
A confidential U.N. nuclear agency report criticized Iran for a "pattern of concealment" about its nuclear program but said no evidence has been found to back U.S. claims it tried to make atomic bombs, according to diplomats.
• US goods set to double in price as Europe plans huge trade war - London Independent
American jeans, Florida orange juice and dozens of other US products could double in price from next month because of a growing transatlantic trade war.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Mofaz: Rumsfeld talks dealt with more security cooperation - Ha'aretz
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Tuesday described his meeting Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as "very good," saying that the talks dealt with strategic matters, including cooperation between Israel and U.S.
• Why is the U.S. Funding the Palestinian Authority? - CBN
The United States gives the Palestinian Authority hundreds of millions of dollars, and the PA teaches its people to hate and kill Americans and Israelis.
• IMF report: 8 percent of PA budget is at Arafat's sole discretion - Ha'aretz
Some 8 percent of the Palestinian Authority's budget is managed by a single individual, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, according to an official report compiled by the International Monetary Fund.
• Arab states oppose UN measure on Israeli children - Ha'aretz
Arab nations will oppose an Israeli resolution condemning Palestinian attacks on Israeli children that is awaiting a vote this week in a UN General Assembly committee, a Palestinian diplomat said on Monday. 

Inside the United States
• Top U.S. court to hear anti-terrorism challenge - Toronto Star
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its first challenge to George W. Bush's sweeping anti-terrorism measures, agreeing yesterday to consider appeals from prisoners being held without charge or access to family or lawyers at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba.
• Republicans reject faith-based bill with tax break - Washington Times
Nearly 30 House Republicans are threatening to vote against legislation that represents the remaining pieces of President Bush's faith-based initiative if it contains a tax break favoring environmental groups.
• Gore Blasts PATRIOT Act, Which Mirrors His 10-Year-Old Plan - CNS News
Former Vice President Al Gore made headlines with his criticisms on Sunday of the Bush administration's implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and the post-9/11 consolidation of federal law enforcement. But a CNSNews.com investigation shows that Gore proposed a very similar program 10 years earlier.
• Foreigners Investors Own Almost Half of US Treasury Bonds - Financial Times
Holdings of US Treasury and agency bonds by foreign central banks have for the first time exceeded $1,000bn, calming fears that a rise in Asian currencies against the US dollar would prompt mass selling of US assets.
• Soros's Deep Pockets vs. Bush - Washington Post
George Soros, one of the world's richest men, has given away nearly $5 billion to promote democracy in the former Soviet bloc, Africa and Asia. Now he has a new project: defeating President Bush.
• Soros blames U.S., Israel for anti-Semitism - World Net Daily
Billionaire George Soros, who says his highest calling in life is to turn George Bush out of office, told a New York audience of wealthy Jews that that the policies of Israel and the U.S. are partly to blame for the rise of anti-Semitism around the world.

November 10, 2003

Around the World
• Saudi Suicide Attack Kills Up to 30; Qaeda Blamed - Reuters
Suspected al Qaeda suicide bombers mounted a devastating attack on a Riyadh residential compound of foreigners mostly from Arab states Sunday, killing between 20 and 30 people and injuring up 100, diplomats said.
• Investigators Say Iraqi Mass Graves Hold 300,000 - Reuters
Iraqi and U.S. rights investigators said Saturday they suspected Iraq had up to 260 mass graves containing the bodies of at least 300,000 people murdered by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.
• Mosques on Front Line of Battle With U.S. - Newsday
It was Friday prayers at Haibat Khatoun mosque, and the imam faced worshippers to deliver a fiery sermon accusing American troops of insulting the Muslim holy book and trampling the honor of women.
• Plan for UN to run internet 'will be shelved' - Financial Times
An attempt by developing countries to put management of the internet under United Nations auspices is likely to be shelved at next month's world information summit in Geneva - but the issue is now firmly on the international agenda, summit sources say. 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Arafat wins control of PA security forces - Jerusalem Post
Mideast peace moves were thrown into disarray by the makeup of a new Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, as Yasser Arafat maintained indirect control of Palestinian security forces despite Israeli and U.S. demands that he step aside.
• New Palestinian Cabinet Casts Uncertainty on Peace Process - Fox News
Mideast peace moves were thrown into disarray by the makeup of a new Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, as Yasser Arafat maintained indirect control of Palestinian security forces despite Israeli and U.S. demands that he step aside.
• U.S. to dock Israeli aid for cost of security fence - World Tribune
The United States has deemed that Israel's security fence does not protect the Jewish state and plans to impose sanctions in connection with the project.

Inside the United States
• Talk of a draft grows despite denials by White House - Seattle PI
The United States' uneven record in Iraq has kindled a small but persistent push to reinstitute the military draft, a politically charged idea that hasn't been seriously considered since the end of the Vietnam War.
• Gay Marriage Gets Million-Dollar Ad Campaign - Washington Post
Gay marriage is shaping up as a hot-button issue for the Republicans in 2004 -- which is why one gay rights group is spending as much as $1 million on advertising to frame the issue in positive terms.

November 8, 2003

Was Jesus married? - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com
I was stunned by the audacity of the ABC News special, "Jesus, Mary and DaVinci," which sought to build a case that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. They even went so far as to give credence to a completely unfounded myth that he had a child by her.
Using unfounded and speculative sources, they sought to build a case on assumptions to prove their suppositions. The amazing thing to me is why a major network would give prime time to such baseless speculation that is in extreme conflict with the well-established history of the Bible.
Simon Greenleaf, who was head of the Harvard Law School for nearly 30 years, is recognized as the world's greatest authority on legal evidence. His volumes, called "The Laws of Legal Evidence," are still the standard work on how to evaluate evidence in the courtrooms.
In response to a challenge, he wrote a book called "The Testimony of the Four Evangelists." He evaluated the New Testament and ancient extra-biblical history using his "Laws of Legal Evidence." He concluded that the veracity of the Four Gospels is supported by fuller and better evidence than any other documents from antiquity.
One of the arguments he presented was based on the principle that the best evidence to support a case is the witness of the opposition. In the case of Jesus Christ, that pertained to the witness and actions of the Jewish religious leaders who had every motive to disprove any statement about Jesus that was not true. They were at such enmity with Jesus that they engineered his crucifixion.
So if they could have disproved or discredited any statement the Apostles first preached and then wrote about Jesus, they had every motive to do so. Within 50 days after the Crucifixion, the disciples of Jesus proclaimed all of the things in the streets of Jerusalem, later written down in the Gospels. If they could have disproved any point, they would have destroyed the movement at its beginning. Christianity would have been destroyed before it began.
But instead, we find they had no answers. So they put them to death to silence them, which was a moot admission that they had no case against what the disciples were proclaiming from the rooftops.
The real problem this ABC program brought out is how impossible it is for a person who is not born spiritually to understand spiritual things. The Bible declares: "The man without spiritual life does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Corinthians 2:13).
This is why Jesus told a great religious leader of his time, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot perceive the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). He basically told the teacher that he couldn't talk to him about the things of God's kingdom until he was born spiritually. It is like trying to teach a man born blind what a rainbow looks like.
The natural man can only look at a man-woman relationship from a sexually based orientation. I am not saying that sex is in itself bad. In God's will, it is a wonderful gift. But there is a spiritual kind of love that God gives that is not sexual. It is a love that seeks the greatest good for the opposite sex. Jesus saw women in terms of their greater need for deliverance from sin and a relationship with God.
It is impossible for a person without God-given spiritual life to comprehend the true nature of the person of Jesus Christ and His all consuming reason for coming to Earth.
Jesus was driven by the mission for which his Father sent Him into the world. He said, "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). And on another occasion, He said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work" (John 4:34) and "For I have come down from Heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise Him up on the last day" (John 6:38-39).
This is the part that is so difficult for a person without spiritual life to understand. Jesus stated seven times in the Gospel of John that he came down from Heaven (John 6:33, 38, 41, 42, 50, 51, and 58). Jesus knew that He was both man and God in one person. He was truly man, but He was also the eternal second person of the Godhead who came down and took upon Himself a true human nature.
This is beautifully illustrated by His testimony to a hostile interrogation from the religious leaders. He made the statement that Abraham had foreseen His coming and rejoiced. The religious leaders challenged, "You are not yet 50 years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM" (John 8:57-58). Since Abraham had lived 2,000 years before this, what He was claiming is clear.
Jesus loved women, but with a kind of love that the unregenerate carnal mind cannot understand. If you would like to understand, then accept the gift of pardon for your sins that He died in your place to give you as a gift.
___________________________________________________________________

Around the World
• Black Hawk Crashes Near Tikrit, Killing Four Soldiers - Fox News
At least four soldiers were killed and two were injured when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Friday, Central Command in Baghdad said.
• Bush urges liberty in Mideast - Washington Times
President Bush yesterday condemned 60 years of failed Western policy that supported Middle East governments not devoted to political freedom, and urged Iran, Syria and the Palestinian Authority to move swiftly toward democracy.
• Arabs recognize Bush's pro-democracy message, but doubt his intentions - SF Gate
Many people across the Middle East agreed with President Bush's call Thursday for greater democracy in the region, but they reacted coolly to backing a message from a U.S. leadership seen as siding unfairly with Israel and fomenting war in Iraq.
• Mediator says U.S. rejected Iraq deal - Atlanta Journal Constitution
Negotiators for Saddam Hussein tried to strike a last-minute deal with the Bush administration to avoid an invasion after realizing "the threat was real," a Lebanese-American businessman who tried to serve as a go-between said Thursday.
• UN vote postpones decision on banning human cloning - Financial Times
In the closest of votes the United Nations on Thursday postponed for two years a General Assembly decision on whether to ban human cloning, defying intense last-minute lobbying by the US.
• Lunar eclipse to turn moon red - CNN
Stargazers across North and South America, Europe and Africa will watch the full moon dim into a dark, ruddy orb over the weekend as the moon drifts through Earth's shadow in the latest celestial event this year to pull eyes skyward. 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Palestinian press vilifies U.S. - World Net Daily
Recent reports in the Palestinian Authority-controlled press have vilified the U.S., President Bush and other Western leaders, calling the president and his secretary of defense "bloodthirsty beasts."
• UN adopts resolution on protection for Palestinian children - Ha'aretz
An Egyptian-sponsored resolution demanding that Israel protect Palestinian children was adopted by a UN General Assembly panel on Thursday, while a corresponding measure on Israeli children was postponed until next week.
• Report: Arafat funnels $100,000 PA aid monthly to wife - Ha'aretz
An investigative report by CBS television 60 Minutes will claim that Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat transfers $100,000 a month from funds directed to the Palestinian Authority to his wife Suha. 

Inside the United States
• Bush Promises to Defend New Abortion Law - AP
The government promised to defend a new law banning certain late-term abortions, despite rulings by three federal judges who blocked its enforcement so legal challenges — which they concluded would likely succeed — can go forward.
• 2 more judges block abortion law - MSNBC
The legal attack against a new ban on so-called partial birth abortions escalated rapidly Thursday as federal judges in New York and California blocked the law, delivering a serious setback to President Bush only a day after he signed it.
• Greenspan sees job boom - Washington Times
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan yesterday said the odds favor a revival of job growth after this summer's surge in economic growth, but much depends on whether the extraordinary productivity boom persists.
• Pentagon preparing biggest troop rotation since World War II - Boston Globe
The Army next year will undertake its largest series of troop rotations since World War II when it sends 85,000 new Army and Marine combat forces to Iraq to replace soldiers ending one-year tours.
• Pentagon Says a Covert Force Hunts Hussein - NY Times
The top American military commander for the Middle East has created a covert commando force to hunt Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and key terrorists throughout the region, according to Pentagon and military officials.

November 6, 2003

Around the World
• White House Follows Hill Approach to Syria - Fox News
Congress has nearly finished a bill that allows President Bush to sanction Syria for its support for terrorism and aid to insurgents in Iraq, authority the White House has been reluctant to accept as it pursues alternative maneuvers to influence the Middle Eastern nation.
• Baltic states say will be ready to join EU on time - EU Business
Three future Baltic European Union members said on Wednesday they would be ready to join the bloc on time, after the EU executive highlighted areas of "serious concern" in their entry preparations.
• Ill-prepared, corrupt and disorganised but 10 countries are welcomed into the EU - London Telegraph
Just six months before the European Union's biggest expansion, the 10 newcomers are still mostly corrupt, disorganised and alarmingly ill-prepared for the cold blast of market competition, the European Commission said yesterday. 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Israel Holds Out The Olive Branch - CBS News
In a gesture to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, Israeli defense officials said Wednesday they had begun easing travel restrictions in the West Bank and were discussing the removal of unauthorized settlement outposts.
• 'Map' leads to U.S. dilemma in Russia-Israel conflict - Washington Times
With Israel opposing a Russian push for a U.N. Security Council endorsement of the "road map" Middle East peace plan, the Bush administration is facing a tough choice between offending Israel or repudiating its own plan.
• Sharon to seek cabinet okay for hostage swap - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced Wednesday that he will present the details of the impending prisoner swap with Hizbullah for cabinet approval Sunday, possibly paving the way for the repatriation of Elhanan Tannenbaum and the remains of St.-Sgts. Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan, and Omar Sawayid by the end of the month.
• Annan Hails Informal Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan - Fox News
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday welcomed an informal Mideast peace plan, which Palestinians would exchange their right of return for a state on land captured during the 1967 Six day war. 

Inside the United States
• Bush Signs Partial Birth Abortion Ban - AP
President Bush on Wednesday signed legislation banning a certain type of abortion, handing its opponents a long-sought victory even as a federal judge sharply questioned the constitutionality of the new law.
• Abortion Bill May Trigger Election Battle - AP
President Bush's signing of a ban on a certain type of abortion helps him shore up re-election support within his party's conservative core. It also appears to be triggering some unintended political consequences, from mobilizing abortion-rights activists, who consider it the first attack on the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, to setting up a divisive election-year battle over the court's next vacancy.
• Judge Issues Abortion Law Injunction - Fox News
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a federal ban on certain late-term abortions from applying to four doctors in a ruling issued less than an hour after President Bush signed the ban into law.

November 5, 2003

Around the World
• New Attacks in Baghdad, Mosul - Fox News
Violence against coalition forces continued Tuesday as three explosions rocked central Baghdad, with two mortars landing in the city center, the U.S. military confirmed.
• Religious fervor behind Iraqi fighting - MSNBC
Fallujah was still gloating three days after a U.S. helicopter was shot out of the sky just south of here.
• Christian families in Iraq targeted - Washington Times
Hostile sounds of a city in revolt drift over the iron gate as one of the last Christian families in Ramadi prepares for lunch.
• Sun produces monster solar flare - BBC
The Sun has unleashed its largest recorded solar flare, capping 10 days of unprecedented activity for the star.
• Stark warning to new EU members - BBC
The European Commission is warning the 10 countries set to join the EU next spring they could be punished unless they deal with persistent problems. 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• IDF lifts closures around most W. Bank cities - Jerusalem Post
Israeli defense officials have lifted internal closures around all West Bank Palestinian towns, except two, on Wednesday as a gesture to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei who is trying to form a new government.
• Union heads call on Peretz to declare general strike - Ha'aretz
Eighteen labor union heads on Tuesday night called on Histadrut Chairman Amir Peretz to defy a decision by the National Labor Court and declare a general strike immediately.

Inside the United States
• American Muslims Told to Leave Major U.S. Cities - Fox News
An Al Qaeda Web site is running a warning issued to Muslims to leave Washington D.C., New York City and Los Angeles because of implied imminent terrorist attacks, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.
• Republicans Win in Kentucky, Mississippi - Reuters
Republicans swept hard-fought governor's races in Kentucky and Mississippi on Tuesday, expanding their base in the South as Americans cast votes in state and local elections that could set the political tone for 2004.

November 4, 2003

Around the World
• Deadly Attacks Continue as Troops Search for Missiles - Fox News
As U.S. troops continue to scour Iraq for anti-aircraft missiles following Sunday's deadly helicopter ambush that killed 16 troops, fresh attacks on coalition forces in Baghdad and Tikrit killed two American soldiers, U.S. military officials said Tuesday.
• Portable Missiles Remain Significant Threat to US Aircraft in Iraq - VOA News
U.S. military personnel have begun hauling away the wreckage of the helicopter shot down Sunday in Iraq. Sixteen American servicemen were killed and 20 injured in the crash. It is believed the helicopter was hit by a surface-to-air missile. Such missiles remain a significant threat to coalition aircraft.
• Saddam's Secrets Exposed by Aide - Fox News
Former Iraqi Vice Premier Tariq Aziz, who surrendered to U.S. authorities on May 24, has been providing considerable information about Saddam Hussein, officials familiar with his interrogation told Fox News.
• Constitution seeks unity of Afghans under Islam - AZ Central
Two years after the fall of the Taliban, the Afghan government unveiled a draft constitution Monday, aiming to cast aside a quarter-century of conflict with a unified Islamic state under a powerful presidency. 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• PM presses Putin on road map, Iran - Jerusalem Post
Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Russia may reconsider the resolution it introduced to the UN Security Council Thursday calling on it to formally endorse the road map.
• IDF worried of attempts to 'heat up' Jordanian border - Ha'aretz
Defense officials have recently become concerned about the attempts of terror organizations, apparently with Syrian encouragement, to "heat up" the border between Israel and Jordan. In recent weeks, the Israel Defense Forces has deployed some additional troops along the northern section of the Jordanian border, especially near the "border triangle" with Syria.
• Hillary decries brainwash of child 'martyrs' - World Net Daily
A Senate appropriations committee watched excerpts from Palestinian television illustrating the Palestinian Authority's indoctrination and grooming of children to become suicide bombers, prompting calls for a cessation of aid unless the propaganda stops.
• Dead Sea Drying Up, Israeli Study Warns - London Guardian
The Dead Sea is dying, and only a major engineering effort can save it, Israel's Minister of the Environment said Monday.

Inside the United States
• High Court Won't Hear 10 Commandments Case - Fox News
The Supreme Court refused Monday to enter the long-running fight over an enormous monument depicting the Ten Commandments and the judge who wants to keep the biblical list on display in an Alabama courthouse.
• Congress OKs $87 Billion Iraq Bill - Fox News
Handing a legislative victory to President Bush, Congress voted its final approval Monday for $87.5 billion for U.S. military operations and aid in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Bush says God chose him to lead his nation - London Guardian
President George W. Bush stood before a cheering crowd at a Dallas Christian youth centre last week, and told them about being 'born again' as a Christian.
• Wal-Mart to hold ID tag meeting - C-Net
Wal-Mart Stores and its largest 100 merchandise suppliers plan to meet this week to plot the implementation of a new high-tech inventory-tracking system, a project expected to send ripples across the retail industry.

November 3, 2003

Around the World
• Eighteen Die in Second Deadliest Day for U.S. in Iraq - Reuters
Eighteen Americans died in guerrilla attacks in Iraq on Sunday, including 15 soldiers killed when a helicopter was downed in the deadliest single strike on U.S. forces since they invaded to oust Saddam Hussein.
• Flat tax system imposed on Iraq - MSNBC
The flat tax, long a dream of economic conservatives, is finally getting its day — not in the United States, but in Iraq.
• African church anger over gay appointment - BBC
Leaders of the Anglican Church in Africa have condemned the appointment of the first openly gay Anglican bishop.
• US TV set for 'Jesus wife' storm - BBC
A leading US TV news reporter has said her network is taking a risk with a news special which asks whether Jesus Christ had a wife.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• PM meets Putin in Kremlin, talks to focus on Iran, road map - Ha'aretz
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday, for the third time since he took office almost three years ago. Among the matters for discussion between the two are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear arms program.
• Sharon says talks with Qurei 'soon' - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said upon his arrival in Moscow Sunday that a meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei will take place "soon," and that Israel is not the obstacle to such a meeting.
• EU poll: Israel greatest threat to world peace - Jerusalem Post
Fifty-nine percent of Europeans say that Israel is a larger threat to world peace than North Korea, Iran or Afghanistan, according to a European Commission survey scheduled to be made public on Monday.
• Report: Syria to redeploy troops in Lebanon - Al Bawaba
The Syrian army is inclined to carry out a new redeployment operation in Lebanon following the recent talks between the commanding generals of the Lebanese and Syrian armies, An Nahar daily reported Friday. Quoting "informed sources", the report added the Syrian move is connected to "possible developments on the border with Israel."
• Suicide bomber explodes after cornered by troops -  Jerusalem Post
A suicide bomber who was planning to attack Israeli civilians but was hunted by security forces attacked an army patrol Monday morning near the West Bank town of Azun, in the Nablus area.
• Palestinians seek apology for Balfour Declaration - Jerusalem Post
Palestinians on Sunday marked the 86th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration by demanding an apology from Britain for promising "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." 

Inside the United States
• Foes of abortion bill go to court - MSNBC
In an unusual legal maneuver, two organizations went to court Friday to block legislation banning a procedure that critics call “partial birth” abortions.
• Teen's death is linked to use of abortion pill - Mercury News
The coroner's preliminary report put in writing what Monty Patterson says he already knew in his heart: His 18-year-old daughter, Holly, died Sept. 17 of complications from a drug-induced abortion.
• Bush gets economic boost like Reagan - Washington Times
President Bush, like President Reagan before him, will begin his re-election campaign next year with a strong economic recovery that will make the chances of defeating him a steeper climb for the Democrats, economic analysts said over the weekend.
• Victory Declared in Calif. Blazes, Firemen Head Home - Reuters
Declaring victory over fires that ravaged many Southern California mountain communities for the last 10 days, officials sent more than 2,000 weary firefighters home on Sunday, saying the blazes were all but extinguished.

November 1, 2003

Daniel's 70 Weeks - Ikvot ha'Mashiach
Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and your Holy City to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most Holy. Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until The Anointed One the Ruler comes there will be seven weeks and sixty two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench but in times of trouble. After the sixty two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue till the end and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the Temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Daniel 9:24-27).
No prophecy in all of Scripture is more critical to our understanding of the end times than these four verses. A few basic clarifications are in order first, then we'll interpret the passage verse by verse. The Hebrew word translated weeks (or sevens) refers to a period of 7 years, like our word decade refers to a period of 10 years. It literally means "a week of years." So 70 weeks is 70 X 7 years or 490 years. This period is divided into two parts, 7 weeks or 49 years and 62 weeks or 434 years. Let's begin.
Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and your Holy City to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most Holy (place) (9:24). These 6 things would be accomplished for Daniel's people (Israel) and Daniel's Holy City (Jerusalem) during a specified period of 490 years. I've inserted the word "place" after Holy at the end of the verse to clarify the fact that it refers to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until The Anointed One the Ruler comes there will be seven weeks and sixty two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench but in times of trouble (9:25). Here is a clear prophecy of the timing of the First Coming. When this message was given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel, Jerusalem had lain in ruin for nearly 70 years and the Jews were captive in Babylon. Counting forward for 62 + 7 periods of 7 years each from a future decree freeing the Jews and giving them permission to restore and rebuild Jerusalem they should expect the Messiah. That's a total of 483 years. The Jews were freed a few years later, but According to Nehemiah 2:1 the actual decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given in the first month of the 20th year of his reign by King Artaxerxes of Persia (March of 445 BC on our calendar). Exactly 483 years later Lord Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of "Hosanna", on the only day in His life He permitted His followers to proclaim Him as Israel's King. The Hebrew in 9:25 calls Him Messiah the Prince, denoting the fact that He was coming as the Anointed Son of the King and was not yet crowned King Himself.
After the sixty two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue till the end and desolations have been decreed (9:26).
At the end of this 2nd period their Messiah King would be executed (literally destroyed in the making of a covenant) having received none of the honor, glory and blessing the Scriptures promised Him, and the people of a ruler yet to come would destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. The Israelites would be scattered abroad and peace would elude the world. We all know that Jesus was crucified, establishing the New Covenant in the process, and 35 years later the Romans put the torch to the city and the Temple destroying both. Surviving Jews were forced to flee for their lives and in the ensuing 2000 years I don't believe a single generation has escaped involvement in a war of some kind.
And then something strange happened: The Heavenly clock stopped. 69 of the 70 weeks had passed and all that was prophesied to happen during those 483 years had come to pass but there was still one week (7 years) left. There are hints in the Old Testament that the clock had stopped several times before in Israel's history when for one reason or another they were out of the land. And in the New Testament we're also given hints that while God is dealing with the Church, time ceases to exist for Israel (Acts 15:13-18). But the clearest indication is that the events foretold in Daniel 9:27 simply haven't happened yet.
He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the Temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Daniel 9:27). Here is the missing 70th week, but before we try to understand it let's recall a rule of grammar that will help make our interpretation correct. The rule is this: Pronouns refer to the closest previous noun. "He" being a personal pronoun refers to the closest previous person, in this case the "ruler who will come." So a ruler who will come from among the old Roman Empire (European Union?) will confirm a 7 year treaty with Israel that permits them to build a Temple and re-instate their Old Covenant worship system. 3 1/2; years later he will violate this treaty by setting up an abomination that causes the Temple to become desolate putting an end to their worship. This abomination brings the wrath of God down upon him and he will be destroyed.
The most obvious way in which we know these things haven't happened is that the Jewish Old Covenant worship system requires a Temple and there hasn't been one since 67 AD when the Romans destroyed it. Some say this prophecy was fulfilled during the Roman destruction but most believe it's yet future partly because of the term Abomination that causes Desolation. It's a specific insult to God that has happened only once previously. Antiochus Epiphanes, a powerful Syrian king, had attacked Jerusalem and entered the Temple area. There he had sacrificed a pig on the Temple altar and erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus with his own face on it in the Holy Place. He then required everyone to worship it on pain of death. This rendered the Temple unfit for worshiping God and so incensed the Jews that they revolted and defeated the Syrians. This event is recorded in Jewish history (1st Maccabees) where it's called the Abomination that caused Desolation. The subsequent cleansing of the Temple is celebrated to this day in the Feast of Hanukkah.
Paul warned us that in the latter days a world leader will become so powerful that he will exalt himself above everything that is called god or is worshipped and will stand in the Temple proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thes 2:4). In Rev 13:14-15 we're told that he'll have a statue of himself erected and require everyone to worship it on pain of death. In Matt 24:15-21 Jesus says that the Abomination that causes Desolation spoken of by Daniel will kick off the Great Tribulation, a period of time 3 1/2; years long that coincides with the last half of the 70th week. The similarities between this coming event and the one from history being so obvious, most scholars are persuaded that one points to the other since nothing in the intervening years fits so completely.
Soon And Very Soon
Perhaps because of a devastating war in the Middle East, a new leader will soon emerge on the scene. With great personal charisma and a plan end to all wars, he will captivate and control the world. Since all true believers will have recently disappeared from Earth, he'll have no trouble persuading most remaining inhabitants that he is the promised Messiah, the Prince of Peace. He will astound and amaze them all with feats of diplomacy and conquest, even performing the supernatural. But when he claims to be God, all hell will break loose on Earth and 3 1/2; years of the most terrible times mankind has ever known will threaten their very existence. Before that can happen the real Prince of Peace will return and overthrow this imposter. He will set up His kingdom on earth, a kingdom that will never be destroyed nor left to another. Having given His life to finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for wickedness and bring in everlasting righteousness, and having fulfilled all Biblical vision and prophecy, He will anoint the most Holy Place and receive all the honor, glory and blessing the Scriptures promised Him. Israel will finally have her Kingdom restored and will live in peace with God in her midst, and you and I as the bride of the Christ will rule and reign with Him forever. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

HOME