Prophecy in the news
"Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book:
for the time is at hand." - Rev 22:10 

Quote: "The team focused on smaller asteroids because they hit the Earth more frequently. An asteroid a few hundred metres across hits the planet about once every 10,000 years, on average, while those larger than 1 kilometre hit only every 100,000 years or so. Small asteroids are also harder to spot. "We're more likely to be hit by one without much warning," Bailey told New Scientist. Using maps of population density, the researchers charted the places likely to suffer the most casualties. As might be expected, countries with large coastal populations turned out to be most vulnerable, with China, Indonesia, India, Japan and the US in the top five spots.

Ever since the Asian tsunami in December 2004, analysts have been particularly worried about the possible effects of an asteroid impact in the ocean. The Asian tsunami struck a dozen countries and resulted in the deaths of over 300,000 people. But even though Shoemaker Levy 9 struck Jupiter in July 1994 with the whole world watching, the world in general has not thought much about the possibility that such an object could strike the earth. The Bible states that during the tribulation, a large asteroid will indeed strike the ocean, causing much devastation.

Revelation 8:8-9
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Source New Scientist, Nasa

For an example of BBC bias against Israel, last year's report focused on the use of the word "terrorism". This word was used by the BBC to describe the July 7th bombings in London, but is never used in the context of Palestinian atrocities against Jews. In fact the media in general has a different word to describe terrorists in almost every country. In Northern Ireland they are "dissidents", in Chechnya they are "separatists", in the Middle East they are "militants", if they are politically minded Muslims they are called "Islamists", if they are far right or far left they are "extremists", if they are killing people in their own country they are "insurgents", ad infinitum. My Bible has only one word for them, "murderers".  

Well it seems someone is so fed up with all this media malarkey, that they are prepared to do something about it. A few years ago, a man called Malcolm Balen was brought in by the BBC to moderate its Middle East coverage after Israel banned contact with the organization following the Vanunu nuclear spy scandal. At the end of his tenure, he commissioned a 20,000 page report on BBC coverage of the Middle East conflict. A solicitor has filed a Freedom of Information request, demanding the BBC hand over the secretive document that officially condemned BBC bias against Israel, and the BBC has spent a whopping £200,000 of public money fighting that order in the courts. 

Quote: "In October 2004, as his one-year contract drew to a close, Mr Balen presented the BBC with a 20,000-page report. Those who accuse the BBC of anti-Israeli bias suspect that it supported their case but no one outside the BBC has been allowed to see it. Mr Balen has gone on the record to say that he does not believe there is anti-Semitism in the BBC, but did imply that the Corporation had made " mistakes", which should not be seen as evidence of malice. Steven Sugar, a commercial solicitor from Putney, west London, put in a request to the BBC to see the whole report, citing the Freedom of Information Act. "A very large proportion of the Jewish community felt rightly or wrongly that the BBC's reporting of the second Palestinian intifada or uprising that broke out in 2000 was seriously distorted," he said. " I myself, as a member of the Jewish community, felt that and was very distressed by it. Now I don't know whether it is important to see this report or not. Instinct says that if they don't want to give it to me it may be important."

The BBC state that they are bringing the case to court because they needed clarity on how the Freedom of Information act applies to it, but that doesn't wash with me. Not when you are prepared to spend £200,000 to keep its contents secret.

Source Belfast Telegraph

Isaiah 60:15-16 
Whereas you (Israel) have been forsaken and hated, so that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, A joy of many generations. You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, and milk the breast of kings; You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Of course before all this comes to pass, Israel will have to endure the greatest period of persecution they have ever seen. But all this is according to God's plan, and God has promised He will not make a full end of the nation (Jeremiah 4:27). Well I have been so discontented lately, wondering if God has forgotten about me, and wondering when He is going to grant me deliverance. But talking about all this reminded me of a particular song by Len Magee, about the difference between God's perspective and man's perspective. As the Lord says, My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Some of the lyrics from the song are "I see confusion, You see a plan; I can't conceive of what You understand; You see the glory, I see the cross; You see the gain, but I see the loss; and I need to see things clearly again". God sees the future laid out before Him, just like we see the past laid out behind us. The wonder is that we get so concerned about our futures! If God can see the future, and the Bible states in Revelation that He knows the beginning from the ending (Revelation 1:8), then God must have a plan for each one of our lives. Jesus Christ said not to be anxious about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34), and He knows...

a) what is best for our lives
b) what is best for others in our lives
c) what things we need
d) what things might be a snare to us
e) what He wants us to do and be for Him

If God knows all these things, then any stress or anxiety on my part is wasted energy. I am trusting Him that I am where He wants me to be today, that I will be where He wants me to be tomorrow, and forever.

Quote: "Solana, who flew in from Brussels to address the annual Arab League summit in Riyadh, was hoping that a meeting of the international Middle East peace Quartet — EU, Russia, UN and United States — with key Arab players can be swiftly arranged to further the peace process. “We plan for the next Quartet meeting to take place in the region and if possible another one bringing together the so-called Arab Quartet,” he said. European sources said that initial plans were being made for a Quartet meeting at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the second half of April. Eventually it is hoped to get Israel involved in the talks.

On the Israeli front things are also "progressing", with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreeing to hold bi-weekly talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has promised to attend the talks from time to time to ensure progress is being made. The talks will be held between Olmert and Abbas on the creation of the "future Palestinian state". Rice called the meetings a confidence building measure, but the question is for who? The meetings on the formation of a Palestinian state will give confidence to terrorist organizations like Hamas and Fatah, that the goal is in reach - the ultimate destruction of Israel.  

Quote: ""In their discussions together, the parties will also begin to discuss the development of a political horizon consistent with the establishment of a Palestinian state in accordance with the road map," she said. Rice stressed these were "initial discussions to build confidence between the parties." The visiting secretary of state went on to say that "Palestinians must know that their state will be viable. Israelis must know that a future state of Palestine will be a source of security, not a threat to it." She was not sure whether the negotiations would yield a breakthrough before the U.S. presidential elections next year.

The Gaza Strip was once Israel's most productive region. It's hard to imagine that this piece of land was once home to over 8000 Israelis. But the Gaza Strip is no longer "viable", it is used as a base for carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel. If the Palestinian terrorist organizations cannot make a tiny strip of land a few miles long viable, what chance have they of making the West Bank viable? None whatsoever. So while Israel attempts to make peace, Palestinian terrorists and Islamic nations in general are bent on making war against the Jewish state. Today, Saudi Arabian Al Faisal stated that if Israel rejects the Saudi Initiative, that offers Arab recognition in return for land captured during the Six Day War, that it will be the equivalent of asking for war.

Quote: "The Telegraph quoted al-Faisal as saying that Israel could choose whether to accept the proposal or reject it. "What we have the power to do in the Arab world, we think we have done," he said. "So now it is up to the other side because if you want peace, it is not enough for one side only to want it. Both sides must want it equally." He predicted a gloomy reality in the event that would reject the initiative: "If Israel refuses, that means it doesn't want peace and it places everything back into the hands of fate. They will be putting their future not in the hands of the peacemakers but in the hands of the lords of war." "It has never been proven that reaching out to Israel achieves anything," he told the Telegraph. "Other Arab countries have recognized Israel and what has that achieved? The largest Arab country, Egypt, recognized Israel and what was the result? Not one iota of change happened in the attitude of Israel towards peace." 

My spirit says Israel should reject the Saudi Initiative outright for the devilish deal that it is, and fight these nations that have attempted to destroy Israel at least half a dozen times. But in my heart I know that Israel cannot fight their enemies without God on their side. God is for Israel, but He can't give them the victory while they walk in their sins. And this is why it will go so hard for Israel during the tribulation period, as is prophesied, the Antichrist will divide their land and the nations of the world will seek to destroy Israel at the battle of Har Megiddo. Only when they come to the end of themselves and look to Him whom they pierced (Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ), will God save the nation. 

Joshua 7:11-12
Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put [it] even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, [but] turned [their] backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

Source Khaleej Times, Haaretz, YNet News

Quote: "Let us consider the past few months. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Palestinian forces. This is three times the combined total that were the pretexts of calling special sessions in July and November... Little three year-old boy Salam Balusha and his two brothers were murdered in their car by Prime Minister Haniyeh's troops. Why has this council chosen silence? Because Israel could not be blamed," Neuer declared. "Because in truth, the despots who run this council couldn't care less about Palestinians or any human rights. They seek to demonise Israeli democracy. To delegitimize the Jewish state. To scapegoat the Jewish people. They also seek something else. To distort and pervert the very idea of human rights."

For his pains, the Council President said that if any further speeches were made in such a derogatory tone, that their statements would be stricken from the record. Yikes! And this guy's supposed to be in charge of Human Rights in 192 countries?! It looks like it's happening all over again. If this UN Human Rights Council had been headed by Adolph Hitler, it couldn't have made any more anti-Jewish resolutions. If 1933-1938 are anything to go by, a great time of persecution for the Jewish nation may soon be upon us.

Psalms 2:1-3
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

Source YNet News

Senior sources in Brussels have revealed that the UK is secretly backing plans for the creation of a permanent EU President. Currently the presidency of Europe rotates every six months around member states, but the European Constitution will create the posts of a permanent EU President and Foreign Minister, giving more continuity. It was revealed at last week's summit on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, that EU leaders want to revive the ill-fated constitution by at least 2009. 

Quote: "The president would be appointed by other EU leaders, rather than being directly elected. Neil O'Brien, director of the independent think tank Open Europe, warned that the new president would inevitably gain more powers as time went on. Mr O'Brien said: "It is very hard to see how the president would be accountable to the people. As for who could do it, Tony Blair would be an obvious candidate."

I thought that was real interesting that British Prime Minister Tony Blair would be a top candidate for European President. I said not so long ago that I thought he would end up with a top job in Europe, as he has served the elite well. His government has brought in homosexual marriage, homosexual adoption, has ended the prohibition on the promotion of homosexuality in schools, has made it illegal to discriminate against homosexuals, is bringing in a compulsory national identity card and has attempted to make it a crime to speak against other religions. My friend Cheryl says that Europeans should be very concerned that their future President would not be elected by the people, but appointed by other EU leaders. Unfortunately this is the way the European Union works. The European Commission is not elected by the people, ministers are appointed to the Commission by member state governments, and remain completely unaccountable to their home countries, even though they decide most of our laws. The EU is a supranational entity. It is an organization that exists above state governments, and I guess that's why it is said of Daniel's fourth beast, that it is diverse from all other empires that have come before it. The following link was sent to me by my friend Ed, and are by Javier Solana's grandfather, Salvador de Madariaga, on the subject of state sovereignty and supranational organizations...

Quote: "It is a well-known fact that the League works on the principle of unanimity. The alternative to such a principle is a super-state, since on the day a nation could be bound by decisions taken by an international body against its own vote, its own sovereignty would have been transferred to the international body in question...

Source Rader News Network

Quote: ""What we are trying to do at the moment is to pursue this through the diplomatic channels and make the Iranian government understand these people have to be released," Blair told GMTV television. "I hope we manage to get them to realise they have to release them. If not, then this will move into a different phase," he said.

There is no doubt President Ahmadinejad intends to use the sailors as a bargaining chip over the Iranian nuclear crisis. Either their presence in Teheran will prevent an Israeli-US strike in the region, or Iran will agree to release the hostages in return for certain guarantees, or perhaps its purpose is to show the West what could happen as a result of a strike. This news comes as the US launches its biggest military manoeuvre in the Gulf to date.

Quote: "The US Navy on Tuesday began its largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by a pair of aircraft carriers and backed by warplanes flying simulated attack manoeuvres off the coast of Iran. The manoeuvres bring together two strike groups of US warships and more than a hundred US warplanes to conduct simulated air warfare in the crowded Gulf shipping lanes.

Source YNet News, Jerusalem Post

Quote: "Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal reaffirmed yesterday that the 2002 Arab peace plan which offers Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for full withdrawal from Arab land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. "There will be no amendment to the Arab peace initiative. We have said this 20 times before in the past and this is the last time I will say this," Prince Saud told reporters in Riyadh.

But sources speaking on the condition of anonymity state that Arab nations are considering "re-packaging" of the Saudi deal, which may make it easier for Israel to accept the deal without making it appear that the Arabs are watering down their demands. Arab leaders have suggested Israel could accept the Saudi Initiative "in principle", after which the two sides could get down to the business of negotiating the details.

Quote: "The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, said Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia would be proposing "a repackaging" of the deal. Under that repackaging, the Arab leaders would insist that Israel accept the 2002 Arab peace plan in principle before returning to any talks, but would also agree that the Palestinians and Arab countries would be ready to soften their conditions once negotiations began, the diplomats said. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, who spoke Monday at the foreign ministers' meeting in addition to al-Faisal, did not insist in his speech that the plan could never be changed. That was viewed as significant.

This is the exact situation I predicted may happen last month, that Arab leaders could accept a normalization of relations with Israel in return for a promise to withdraw from all land captured during the Six Day War. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has already stated he views parts of the Saudi Initiative as positive. Of course we don't know whether it will be this plan or whether it will be a European plan that will be adopted. But what seems certain is that Israel is moving towards making peace with their enemies, which will culminate in the greatest period of persecution the Jewish nation has ever faced.

Source Asharq Alawsat, Jerusalem Post

Quote: "The process would involve extracting stem cells from the donor's bone marrow and injecting them into the peritoneum of a sheep's foetus. When the lamb is born, two months later, it would have a liver, heart, lungs and brain that are partly human and available for transplant.

The British government recently permitted UK scientists to create human-cow hybrids, from an animal nucleus and a human egg, although this results in a cow with around only one percent of human genes. I find this particular development worrying, even if the benefits to mankind are great. I don't believe God intended us to mess with the building blocks of life, at least not in this manner. The Bible states that during the tribulation period mankind will be afflicted by a bizarre creature, that seems to be part locust, part scorpion, part human. I don't know whether this is a literal creature or whether John is using symbolic language to describe something he doesn't understand. But with the recent advancements of genetics, it is entirely possible for this Scripture to be literally fulfilled. 

Revelation 9:7-10
And the shapes of the locusts [were] like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads [were] as it were crowns like gold, and their faces [were] as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as [the teeth] of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings [was] as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power [was] to hurt men five months.

Source Mail on Sunday, ENS Newswire

Quote: "With European unification a dream of earlier generations has become a reality. Our history reminds us that we must protect this for the good of future generations. For that reason we must always renew the political shape of Europe in keeping with the times. That is why today, 50 years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, we are united in our aim of placing the European Union on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009.

There is no doubt the European Union has been successful in ending war between the states of Europe. As a European I am thankful for that. Angela Merkel stated that the EU has come closer to creating a common army. Thanks to Javier Solana, who also heads the European Defence Association, has helped implement a single European defence market, and heads a single EU Anti-Terrorism Force. The EU has also created a single European Police Force. We've been saying it, and EU leaders have been saying it, the next step is the creation of a de-facto European army. 

Quote: "In her interview with Bild, Mrs Merkel added: "In the EU itself, we have to come closer to creating a common European army. A European federal state won’t exist either in 50 years, we will keep the diversity of member states. 

Europe isn't all bad, Europe is a good idea from man's perspective. The Bible teaches us to be subject to the powers that be (Romans 13), and as our country is a member of the European Union, that includes being subject to Europe. I think it's either Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons that claim that the powers that be are not ordained of God, and that we must not be subject to them. This is not taught in Scripture, anywhere. Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's", Matthew 22:21. But man's perspective of governmental authority and God's perspective are two completely different things. Nebuchadnezzar viewed world empires as a wonderful statue crafted with precious metals (Daniel 2), while God viewed the same as brute beasts that devoured the earth (Daniel 7). In the spiritual realm the European Union is a beast, and will and is already defying the God of heaven. Praise God that those who have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation are citizens of another country. 

Daniel 2:44 
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Source BBC, Times Online

Quote: "Supporting the idea of a common EU foreign minister, the Germans have also granted Javier Solana, the EU's top foreign-policy chief, the chair in no less than 11 of 21 EU meetings. 'We thought Solana would get to chair one or two meetings for symbolic reasons,' Maurer said. 'But 11, that's more than just a symbol.'

And as the world marks the 50th birthday of the Daniel's fourth beast, the Revived Roman Empire, another prophecy relating to the end times is also coming to pass. On March 31st, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will receive hundreds of submissions from across the globe in a new competition which intends to help create a "Just Jerusalem". Organizations have been asked by the MIT to think of ideas which will help solve the ongoing conflict between the world's "three monotheistic religions", and end thousands of years of enmity between the seed of promise and the seed of the bondwoman. The participants will have to decide how Jerusalem can become "just, peaceful, and sustainable" by 2050, and whether it should be the divided capital of Israel and Palestine, or the capital of one state.

Quote: "Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem from Jordan with the rest of the West Bank in 1967 and annexed it, declaring it part of what it calls its "united and eternal capital". The world does not recognise the annexation, while Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

In actual fact, the West Bank never belonged to Jordan in the first place. It was originally intended to be given to the Jewish people as part of the Balfour Declaration, but after Western leaders succumbed to Islamic pressure, the land was divided and the UN decided to give most of the area west of the Jordan river to the Palestinians. But when Israel declared independence in 1948, and the surrounding Arab nations launched a war intending to destroy the newly created Jewish state, Jordan captured the areas of Judea and Samaria which is now called the West Bank. Jordan again lost control of this land during the Six Day War in 1967. And that is why Israel sees no problem with "occupying" the West Bank and Gaza, they are the legitimate spoils of war and they did not belong to any country before hand. So as you can see, with the Revived Roman Empire increasing its influence in the region, and the issue of Jerusalem at the very heart of the world's political problems, it won't be long before the events spoken of concerning the end times in the Bible come to pass.

Joel 3:2 
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

Daniel 7:7-8
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn (Antichrist), before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Source People's Daily, Monsters and Critics, Reuters

Quote: "Sir Elton, who turns 60 on Sunday, "married" long-time partner David Furnish in a civil partnership in 2005. The singer said the union was his legal and human right, adding: "And I wanted everyone to know, I wanted to shout about it." But he went on: "In some countries, my voice would have been drowned out. Maybe even stamped out. "Men and women are persecuted and attacked every day all over the world, just because of who they love and who they make love to."

It's not the first time the singer has courted controversy. Not so long ago, he also expressed his desire that organized religion would be banned, because it turned people against homosexuality.

Quote: "On Sunday, November 12, Sir Elton told interviewer Jake Shears (a performer with the group "Scissor Sisters") that he wants to see an organized effort to suppress institutionalised faith. "From my point of view I would ban religion completely," the superstar declared, "even though there are some wonderful things about it... But the reality is that organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate."

That's something I find very hard to understand. The world expects Christians to be tolerant, just as Christ demonstrated love to all men. And so we should be. Jesus Christ is our greatest example, and no man can out-love God. But when Christians condemn sin for what it is (really the Scriptures condemn it, not Christians), they are slammed as being intolerant bigots. Why? Because Christians believe in moral absolutes (God defines right and wrong, Leviticus 11:44), while men believe in moral relativism (every man doing that which is right in his own eyes, Judges 17:6). But Jesus Christ was never tolerant of sin, even though He showed compassion and mercy to those who were caught up in it. He did not approve of the lifestyle of the woman at the well (John 4), who had five husbands and was living with another man. Neither did He approve of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery (John 8:4). If He did, there would have been no reason why the Lord had to go to the cross and die for our sins. And this is why Elton John must ban religion, despite believing it has so many good points, because God's Word condemns him in his sin and commands him to be reconciled to God.

Source BBC, Town Hall

Quote: "At least five people were killed and several churches burned down in February 2006 in the neighbouring state of Bauchi by Muslims infuriated that a Christian teacher in a secondary school had tried to confiscate a Koran from a student who was reading it during class. Word got out into the streets that the teacher had desecrated the Koran, infuriating Muslims who went on the rampage.

The BBC ran the same story, but attempts to justify the Muslim murderers.

Quote: "Religious differences have long been used to justify all kinds of violence in Nigeria, our reporter says. In reality it is often fuelled by ethnic or political conflicts and competition for resources, which can be fierce, given that so many people live in poverty, he says.

So according to Alex Last, this is not your typical Islamic murder story. No, on the surface it looks that way, but you have to look deeper to the underlying cause, poverty. Just like those poor French Muslims, who didn't know how to do anything else except riot, because they were so poor. 

In reality, it seems you don't even need to desecrate a Qur'an to get yourself in trouble. A few years ago, the media reported that US soldiers stationed in Iraq had flushed a Qur'an down the toilet. The story was blown out of all proportions across the Western media, prompting riots across the Islamic world which resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. It was later discovered the story was a complete fabrication, and the news media had not bothered to corroborate their facts. 

Source News, BBC

Quote: "BRUSSELS (AFX) - The European Union has made its first official contact with a member of the new Palestinian unity government, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana's spokeswoman confirmed. She said that the EU's Middle East envoy, Marc Otte, held talks in Gaza City with Palestinian foreign minister Ziad Abu Amr, who is an independent member of the cabinet, grouping Western-backed moderates and Islamic radicals. The spokeswoman gave no details about their meeting.

The European Union has stated that they will meet with ministers of the government that are not members of the terrorist organization Hamas, but I personally doubt that promise will be kept considering British officials have already been holding secret talks with the terrorist group. In fact Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen met with Hamas-member Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh yesterday, despite Hamas' refusal to abide by the principles laid down by the Quartet.

Quote: "Norway became the first European country to lift the boycott of the Palestinian Unity Government, and Raymond Johansen met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza on Monday. NRK correspondent Odd Karsten Tveit says the cancellation of the meetings is to show the Israeli government's displeasure with Norway's decision, and to discourage other countries from doing the same.

So the financial and political boycott against Hamas will soon be lifted, despite the group's defiance of the international community, its recent affirmation that it is working towards the liberation of all Palestine, and that it will use "all forms of resistance" to achieve that goal...

Quote: "The platform makes some rhetorical bows toward satisfying the demands, but also refers to resistance "in all forms" to Israeli occupation. Israeli officials read that as a coded endorsement of suicide bombings or other violence. "I'm not going to try to interpret what the right of resistance means," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday after a meeting with European diplomats. "But I'll tell you it doesn't sound very good to me when one talks about 'all forms' of resistance."

It's a shame the US Secretary of State was unable to declare what the rest of us already know. We need some bold-faced politicians in this Middle East peace process that are willing to call terrorism for what it is, stop deceiving the people and stop appeasing "militant" Islam. The reason why we are in this situation in the first place is because of Western pressure on Israel to permit Hamas to take part in the elections. And Western nations will be the ones to pay the price for rewarding Israel's enemies. Russia, which is currently pressing for the lifting of the economic boycott against the Palestinian Authority, is reeling from three separate disasters that occurred across the country within the last few days, claiming hundreds of lives.

Quote: "PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin ordered yesterday a special Kremlin inquiry into the three tragedies to hit Russia since the weekend, as he sought to show leadership in a moment of national grief. A plane crash, mine disaster and retirement home fire have claimed nearly 200 lives at three separate locations across the country in a matter of days, highlighting the country's lax safety standards and strained emergency services. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov will lead the high-level probe into the incidents and see if any lessons can be drawn from them.

Source III, Jerusalem Post, Norway Post, Brunei Times

Quote: "The third proposal, which was accepted by the EU monitors, was to make a dash for the Gaza security fence that separates Israel from Gaza, where they would be rescued by the IDF. "They want to know that we will help them escape if the need arises," the defense official said. "Their concerns are understandable if you take into account the large number of threats they face."

Meanwhile Iranian President Ahmadinejad continues his defiance of the international community, attempting to hasten the coming of the Mahdi and the ultimate destruction of the "Zionist regime". Israel held a nation-wide missile attack drill today, in preparation for the likely event of Ahmadinejad or Hizbullah launching more missiles at the Jewish state.

Quote: "The drill was temporarily halted in the center of Israel Tuesday morning after security forces received a warning on terrorists' plans to carry out a terror attack. Road 2 was blocked for traffic in the Sharon region, north of Tel Aviv, and large police forces were dispatched to the area.

So it seems that as the world prepares to accept the Palestinian unity government as a partner for "peace", Israel is preparing for what seems to be an inevitable war...

Source Arutz 7, Jerusalem Post, YNet News

Quote: "Mr Solana told the BBC: "I can tell you that from the very first day we have been doing the utmost, talking to all the leaders, from the Palestinians and to some friends, [and in] civil society that I know and he knew, and to try to see if we can liberate him - the sooner, the better. "I don't have any specific information to be made public now, but the other thing I would like to insist on once again is that we are concerned, that we keep on doing all our efforts every day," he said.

Foreigners have been kidnapped in Gaza before, and are usually released relatively quickly without harm. That is, as long as you aren't Jewish. Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped shortly before the outbreak of the war with Hizbullah, is still being held by Hamas in Gaza. And I presume it is Palestinian terrorists affiliated with Hamas that are also holding Alan Johnston. But it seems Johnston is in good company according to the BBC, who claim that Johnston's job was to highlight the "Palestinian predicament" in Gaza. It is very unlikely then that the Palestinians would harm a reporter that has served their cause.

Quote: "The BBC described Johnston as a "highly experienced and respected reporter". "It is his job to bring us day after day reports of the Palestinian predicament in the Gaza Strip," said the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams, himself a former Middle East reporter.

Even members of the Palestinian Authority government have urged the terrorists to release Alan Johnston, lauding him as a "staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause"...

Quote: ""We are opposed to the kidnapping of foreign journalists who serve the Palestinian cause," new PA "minister" of information Mustafa Barghouti said Saturday.

Source BBC, BBC, Jerusalem Newswire

Around 60 schools in the Philadelphia School District have issued students with contactless RFID cards, to help the relevant authorities keep a better track of them. A company called ScholarChip had been conducting a pilot programme in two schools for a year and a half, and was recently awarded the contract which will see over 56,000 people numbered for identification purposes. The new scheme will electronically record when a pupil enters school grounds, eliminating the need for roll call. Eventually the schools hope there will be enough RFID readers to monitor attendance of classes, and for this they are encouraging students to "wear" their cards, rather than carrying them on their person. The RFID badges can be used to purchase lunch at the cafeteria, gain access to lockers and even alert teachers to which classes truant pupils should be attending. 

Quote: "Students are encouraged to wear the lanyard-attached badge around their necks, however, many are still simply carrying them on their persons, said Ms. DiLella. "We want them to get used to wearing the cards because they’re going to be used (eventually) for classroom attendance." The smart ID badge is tapped when a student enters school grounds. Attendance is taken in a classroom in the normal fashion and the results are compared with the records generated when the students first enter the school. In addition, the badges can be read by portable, PDA-style readers. So, if a student is in the hallway, the badge can be read by an administrator to determine where the student should be.

I thought the idea of "wearing" the RFID cards was particularly striking. For as we have seen, identity cards can be stolen, lost and left at home. "Wearing" the cards would help reduce those problems, and as RFID grows more common place, would become essential for accessing everyday services. And of course wearing the card is one more step towards having the actual chips implanted in your hand or forehead. As we can see, from the speed of this particular implementation process - 59 schools in six weeks, it would not be too difficult for states to scale that up to country-wide identification schemes. In fact that's already happening, and when all our biometric data is finally recorded on computer, it will just be a case of issuing chips - or whatever "Mark" they happen to chose - to all these people on their database. So when the False Prophet declares that all mankind should receive the "Mark", quite possibly many people will view this as the next logical step to ensure their own protection.

Source Raiders News Network

Quote: ""The Presidency of the EU welcomes the formation of a Palestinian Government of National Unity pursuant to the agreement reached in Mecca on 8 February 2007, which lays the foundation for Palestinian reconciliation," a statement issued by EU president Germany said. "The Presidency of the EU recalls the readiness of the EU to work with and to resume its assistance to a legitimate Palestinian government adopting a platform reflecting the Quartet principles. The EU will carefully assess the platform and actions of the new government and its ministers," it said.

Russia on the other hand, has praised the formation of the unity government, and is calling for the lifting of the embargo against the Palestinian Authority. While Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, called on the international community to shun the new government and all its members.  

Quote: "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged the international community on Sunday to join Israel in shunning the new Palestinian unity government, calling its platform "very problematic." "We will not be able to pursue contacts with the government or its members," Olmert told the cabinet. "We expect that the international community will not be misled by the creation of the coalition government."

While I agree with what Olmert says, I can't help but feeling that he is somehow responsible for this whole mess in the first place. Olmert should have condemned the Mecca agreement as soon as it was announced. We knew from the start Hamas had no intention to recognize Israel's right to exist, Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh said it himself. Initially Olmert said Israel neither accepted nor rejected the deal. Saying that was a big mistake, for it offered legitimacy to the PA in the eyes of the world. Olmert even said that Israel was willing to