Saturday, July 21, 2007

THE SABBATH A SIGN BETWEEN GOD AND ISRAEL


12And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

15Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

17It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Genesis 31: 12-18.

Friday, July 20, 2007

OUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH


Our Redemption Draweth Nigh


When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:28.


The coming of Christ is nearer than when we first believed. The great controversy is nearing its end. The judgments of God are in the land. They speak in solemn warning, saying: "Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matthew 24:44. . . . {Mar 311.1}



We are living in the closing scenes of this earth's history. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The hours of probation are fast passing. We have no time--not a moment--to lose. Let us not be found sleeping on guard. Let no one say in his heart or by his works: "My lord delayeth his coming." Let the message of Christ's soon return sound forth in earnest words of warning. Let us persuade men and women everywhere to repent and flee from the wrath to come. . . . {Mar 311.2}



The Lord is soon to come, and we must be prepared to meet Him in peace. Let us be determined to do all in our power to impart light to those around us. We are not to be sad, but cheerful, and we are to keep the Lord Jesus ever before us. He is soon coming, and we must be ready and waiting for His appearing. Oh, how glorious it will be to see Him and be welcomed as His redeemed ones! Long have we waited, but our hope is not to grow dim. If we can but see the King in His beauty we shall be forever blessed. I feel as if I must cry aloud: "Homeward bound!" We are nearing the time when Christ will come in power and great glory to take His ransomed ones to their eternal home. . . . {Mar 311.3}



Long have we waited for our Saviour's return. But nonetheless sure is the promise. Soon we shall be in our promised home. There Jesus will lead us beside the living stream flowing from the throne of God and will explain to us the dark providences through which on this earth He brought us in order to perfect our characters. There we shall behold with undimmed vision the beauties of Eden restored. Casting at the feet of the Redeemer the crowns that He has placed on our heads, and touching our golden harps, we shall fill all heaven with praise to Him that sitteth on the throne. {Mar 311.4}



Maranatha, Ellen G. White, Page 311.

NATIONAL RICHARD HAASS DAY



Richard Nathan Haass (born July 28, 1951, Brooklyn) has been president of the Council on Foreign Relations since July of 2003, prior to which he was Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State and a close advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell. The U.S. Senate approved Haass as a candidate for the position of ambassador and he has been US Coordinator for policy on the future of Afghanistan. He succeeded George J. Mitchell as the U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland to help the peace process in Northern Ireland, for which he received the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award. At the end of 2003, Mitchell Reiss succeeded him as special envoy.
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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_N._Haass
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This morning as I drove to work,on my car radio I tuned in on the(NPR) National Public Radio. There I listened to an intervew of Richard N. Haass, president of The CFR (the Illuminati's visible arm in the U.S.), he was asked questions about the prospect of the "war" in Iraq. When I ate dinner this evening, I tuned my television set to the NBC (National Broadcasting Company) Nightly News. Guess who I saw there? None other than Richard Haass. This time giving his opinion on the situation in Pakistan, with all the upheaval against President Musharaff.
I have a few questions for Mr. Hass myself. Who will be the next president? When will the war on terror end? When will the troops come home? And yes, do you think it's going to rain?


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MALTHUS, THE WORLD BANK AND POPULATION CONTROL

Monday, July 2, 2007

Malthus, the World Bank and population control


By Daniele Stulin

It should be conceded that the history of population control in the annals of history is very old, and very pagan. Henry Kissinger´s National Security Study Memorandum 200 on Implications of Worldwide population growth on the US interests is a plagiarised version of Thomas Malthus´own plagiarism of Giammaria Ortes. Additionally, there is the conduct of Herod, as summarized in the Gospel According to St. Matthew, Chapter 2. During the recent 2,000 years of European history, the first "Malthusian" law similar to what is proposed for the U.N. 1994 Cairo Population Conference, was the "socialist" decrees of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Since the beginning of modern European history cerca 1439, the center of population-control policies has consistently been Venice.

Thomas Malthus´ famous 1798 On Population, was nothing more than a plagiarised version of Giammaria Ortes' 1790 publication, Riflessioni sulla popolazione delle nazioni.

A key character in the whole population equation is a Venetian monk Giammaria Ortes (1713-1790), unknown to most, but quite an evil character. I found reference to him in the Camaldolensian monastery of Murano, to the nort-east of Venice, where he enetered as a novice in 1727. There is a further reference to him as a “brilliant economist” in Karl Marx´s Capital, Vol. I, chap. XXV, sec. 4; However, he will be remembered, amongst other things, as the intellectual author of the 1790 Riflessioni upon which the genocidal 1994 U.N. Cairo Population Conference draft is based.

Malthusianism was imported into Britain from 16th century Venice, in the form of the 1606 English translation of Venetian Giovanni Botero's "Delle cause della grandezza e magnificenze della città." (1588).

Incidentally, Malthusianism is a theory in demography regarding population growth developed during the industrial revolution on the basis of the writings of Thomas Malthus. According to this theory, population expands faster than food supplies.

Botero (1544-1617) was a Venetian agent closely tied to Paolo Sarpi, today´s David Rockefeller and the man most likely behind the assassination of a brilliant English playwrite, Christopher Marlowe. At the National Library of Florence, I found a 1590 letter written by Sarpi instructing his henchmen to get rid of Marlowe. Marlowe was murdered in 1593. The significance of Botero in introducing Malthusianism into 17th Century England is emphasized in Joseph A. Schumpete´s A History of Economic Analysis.

Schumpete wrote that Botero's population policy was adopted by William Petty, in his 1682 Essay Concerning the Multiplication of Mankind. He is the Venice-linked grandfather of Jeremy Bentham's [first head of the British foreign intelligence service] and Thomas Malthus' Shelburne.

Why was Ortes´role so significant for the annals of history? Because his role in modern Malthusianism [ie. Human genocide] came about as a continuation of the war against Leibniz and Classical culture he represented by Venetian Abbot Paolo Conti. Think of Conti as James Bond´s nemesis “Goldfinger.”

One final note which should please those more intrested in rustling skirts through the hallways of history than scientific proof of deeds. Has anyone wondered why such a dispraportionate number of homosexual monks and nuns throughout history have come from Venice? Because Venetian nobility practiced what they preached. In the last 200 years of Venice's political independence, the oligarchy imposed increasingly strict celibacy upon a growing majority of its people. By the late 17th Century, a typical Venetian oligarch travelling abroad, practiced more or less perpetual abeyance —like Ortes. This lifestyle caused a proliferation of homosexuality among both male and female members of the Venetian oligarchy, a city which rivalled Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah on such accounts.

If we are to take this logic one step further and super impose it on the XXI century world of depleted natural resources, the following assertions can be concluded. If the majority of people [who die] were African and thus unskilled and resources were not taken from savings to fund provision of care, then in pure economic terms the survivors could be better off and per capita income could rise! I asked one former U.S.-AID representative who spent over two decades in Sub-Saharan Africa if I was on the right track in understanding the more covert aspects of the Family Planning, specifically if harsh economic reality is forcing the hand of Western nations to forcibly reduce African population. His response was short and chilling. “You are dead on target.”

Is this then not tantamount to 'indirect population reduction' or, more precisely, genocide? Thought, I´d ask.

Article from: http://www.danielestulin.com/?op=noticias¬icias=ver&id=378

Thursday, July 19, 2007

BUSH ABOLISHES FIFTH AMENDMENT

Bush Abolishes Fifth Amendment

Published on Thursday, July 19, 2007.



Source: Rogue Government - Lee Rogers

George W. Bush who has already declared himself a dictator in the case of a national emergency has now issued an executive order that effectively destroys the Fifth Amendment.

A few days ago, Bush signed a new executive order in which he uses broad language to claim that he has the power to seize the property of any person who undermines efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq. The language in the executive order is broadly defined and does not specifically identify a specific group of individuals that the order applies to. It opens up the possibility of anti-war protesters and other political dissidents having their property confiscated for simply speaking out against the war.

Below is section 1 of the order. Click here for the full text of Bush’s order.

Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,

(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:

(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or

(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;

(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to, (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order, and (ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

The language in this executive order is incredibly disturbing. Undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction as cited above is broadly defined and could mean anybody that speaks out against the Iraq war. Essentially, Bush is declaring that he can take people’s property without due process if the government determines that in some way a person is undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq. Bush fails to mention The Fifth Amendment or due process anywhere in the order.

Below is the full text of the Fifth Amendment. Clearly, this executive order is unconstitutional when you consider that the Fifth Amendment guarantees that a person will not be deprived of property without due process.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

The web site Slashdot posted an article analyzing the Bush executive order and came to the exact same conclusion. Amazingly, the establishment press has spun the coverage of this Bush order as a way to strengthen the government’s ability to fight terrorism when the real story is that this order violates the Fifth Amendment and is entirely unconstitutional.

George W. Bush is a criminal who has violated his oath of office on countless occasions. This is yet another one of those occasions. He needs to be impeached and put on trial immediately.

Source: http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=3816

SECRET PRISON UNCOVERED IN KADHIMIYA

"Secret Prison" Uncovered in Kadhimiya
Slogger Source: Illicit Facility Holds over 400 Sunnis, Militia Role Suspected
Posted 3 hr. 46 min. ago
Composite satellite image of Baghdad's Kadhimiya district, west of the Tigris river.
Google Earth image.
Composite satellite image of Baghdad's Kadhimiya district, west of the Tigris river.

A “secret prison,” possibly run by one of Iraq’s powerful militias, has been discovered by the Iraqi government in Baghdad, according to a Slogger source.

IraqSlogger has learned from an informed source inside the Iraqi administration that some days ago an off-the-grid prison was discovered in the Baghdad district of Kadhimiya, holding approximately 415 prisoners in its underground facility.

The prisoners inside reportedly date back to the tenure of the previous minister of the Interior, Bayan Jabr Solagh, who held that post from 2005 to 2006.

The prison was reportedly discovered in Kadhimiya’s fifth district within the last few days, and very few Iraqi officials even at high levels of government know any details about the installation.

According to Slogger's source, the facility is said to have contained over 600 people at one time, mostly Sunni Arabs, among them pilots, colonels, generals and other military officers who held positions of influence in the former regime, though many prisoners were also ordinary citizens.

Militia groups running the site reportedly execute prisoners periodically, leaving the population of the prison around 415 at the time of its discovery.

Such operations, Slogger’s source says, are one of the “secrets” behind the bodies regularly discovered in Baghdad’s streets, suggesting that some of the bodies found each day belong to individuals held for extended periods in secret militia-run prison facilities.

The prison is located in an underground level in the building, down what may be two flights of stairs to where the prisoners are kept. The source believes the site exhibited signs of being used by the Badr corps, but had no confirmation of that impression.

The Badr corps, more recently known as the Badr organization, is the militia attached to the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council as it is now called.

Solagh, the former interior minister, was a longtime activist with the SCIRI/SIIS, and currently serves as Iraq’s finance minister.

It is commonly alleged that during Solagh’s tenure at the Interior ministry, militiamen from the Badr corps infiltrated Iraq’s security forces, from which they especially targeted Iraq’s Sunni population and anyone suspected of links to the old regime.

The prison was reportedly found by a person living in the street where the prison is located, who alerted a member of the Iraqi authorities who works in the field of human rights for the Maliki government.

According to Slogger's source, Iraqi and American personnel would have passed by the alleged prison’s location in Kadhimiya, but no evidence of a prison is visible from the street. Not even a guard is posted at the door.

Little information could be gleaned about the condition of the prisoners themselves, although the source did learn that each day the approximately 415 prisoners are given around 15 to 20 bottles of water for the whole group, and the meals consist largely of food scraps.

Slogger's contact speculates that the prisoners may have been detained by interior ministry forces with militia ties in 2005 or 2006, and subsequently disappeared in the Iraqi prison system. If that is true, the prisoners may have been photographed and recorded on file by Coalition forces at the time of their initial detention in 2005 or 2006, as a routine part of the prisoner intake process.

Another possibility is that militia members abducted the prisoners directly, and that they have not passed through any formal prisoner registration procedure with the Iraqi government.

Kadhimiya, one of the few majority-Shi'a areas west of the Tigris River, is known as one of the relatively calmer districts in the capital – by Baghdad standards, that is. It is also known as a stronghold of Shi'a militias such as the Mahdi Army and the Badr corps, who control much of the district.

Source: http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/3652/Secret_Prison_Uncovered_in_Kadhimiya

SCARED SILLY IN THE HOMELAND



July 19, 2007 at 10:32:43


Scared Silly in the Homeland



by Stephen Fournier Page 1 of 1 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com/




Looks like Director Chertoff's gut feeling has spread throughout the commercial media. NPR, ABC, CNN, and the others can't seem to talk about anything but the threat of terrorism. And they call it a threat, too, even though there is no evidence of anything except hysteria.

Fortunately, the panic is confined to the news-mongers. Despite the blitz of terrorism "news," there's no sign of mass hysteria. That's probably because so few people believe what they're told by the commercial media. News-consumers have been disinformed so many times, they don't know what's true and what's not, and great numbers of them have quit trying to follow current events altogether. It's hard to scare people who aren't paying attention.




If you don't share the gut feeling of the Director that an attack is imminent, you're resisting a wave of hype that's transparent in its purpose: to scare the hapless people of the homeland silly. Why would the government and the mass media want to scare you? Is it possible that our political leaders and our opinion leaders profit in some way from terrorizing us? Could they be applying the old axiom that it's easier to control people who are frightened of an enemy? There's no question that government and the media want to control us, and their motives seem to be entirely material. In the case of government, the object is to enrich government officials and their patrons. In the case of the media, the object is to sell stuff for profit. The path to these ends is a lot easier when the people you are exploiting are fearful.




NPR goes so far as to congratulate itself for apprising you of the manifest dangers you face. They hawk hysteria, and this is supposed to make you feel safer and thank them for it with a pledge. Listen at pledge time the next time it rolls around for how good your local affiliate is at keeping you informed of terrorist alarms. It's worth asking why NPR and the others would credit any of the stuff that comes to them as "intelligence. " Every key pronouncement so far has been false, but this one's true? Most likely, the folks at NPR don't believe it any more than you do. They report it knowing it's probably false. When your source is the government, according to prevailing canons of journalistic ethics, one source will suffice.



To those who resist the temptation to be afraid it looks as if the leaders of our government, in collusion with a talented cast of shills and touts pretending to be journalists, have used the events of September 11, 2001, to maintain a stranglehold over the American public. Government and the media are the only interests that derived a benefit from those events, and they have kept the public on a terror alert ever since. If terrorism means frightening people for political or material advantage, the terrorists are all here. They're in the White House, in almost every seat in Congress, in the courts, and especially in the media. These fellows laugh when they give us some tidbit from the National Intelligence Estimate or from other estimable sources, like Chertoff's gut. "Any imbecile that believes this crap," the reporters seem to be saying, "deserves what happens to him. "




If you're not scared of an attack on the homeland, maybe it's because, like me, you don't happen to live in a homeland. Maybe you live in a republic. Or maybe you insist on living in a nation, even at a time when nations have been declared obsolete. I refuse to live in a homeland. To the tiny minority of people who want to turn my country into their homeland, I say, "We're trying to maintain a nation here. Find someplace else for your Nazi homeland. " This term, along with the rest of the alarmist nomenclature adopted by the press, leaves me fearful, not of terrorists in distant lands, but of terrorists in my own government and their agents in the commercial media.

http://www.currentinvective.com/

Hartford, Connecticut, lawyer, grandfather, Air Force veteran.

Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__070718_scared_silly_in_the_.htm

FED CHIEF SOUNDS BLEAK

Fed chief sounds bleak

He calls rate cut unlikely as economy slows for rest of '07

Ben S. Bernanke

Getty Images, July 18, 2007

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testifies before House Financial Services Committee.


WASHINGTON

The U.S. economy will slow until the end of this year because of a significant deterioration in the subprime mortgage market, a slowdown in residential construction and tighter credit standards for consumers and business, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday.

Bernanke said that improvements in inflation might be only temporary, signaling that he doesn't favor lowering interest rates anytime soon. His comments came in his semiannual report on monetary policy to the House Financial Services Committee.

Fed economists, he testified, have lowered their growth forecast for 2007 by a quarter of a percentage point. The Fed in February had forecast growth of the gross domestic product at up to 3 percent this year. It now expects growth of 2.5 percent to 2.75 percent.

Bernanke's testimony underscored the housing sector's continued drag on the economy. "Conditions in the subprime mortgage sector have deteriorated significantly, reflecting mounting delinquency rates on adjustable-rate loans," which are at record levels, the Fed chief said.

And, he said, problems in the subprime market - which involves home loans to borrowers with weak credit histories - are spreading to other financial instruments.

"Credit spreads on lower-quality corporate debt have widened somewhat, and terms for some leveraged business loans have tightened," he said. Translation: Businesses with shakier balance sheets are finding it harder to get loans, and banks are less willing to lend for buyouts of companies if the deal involves issuing a lot of debt.

But these widening credit spreads - the difference in yields between different financial instruments - remain near the low end of the historical range, Bernanke warned, adding that bond and business loan markets remain brisk.

The Fed chairman devoted much of his testimony to what the Fed is doing to strengthen supervision of mortgage and home-equity lending. He expects to implement new rules to combat unfair and deceptive advertising in mortgage and home equity lending later this year.

Bernanke also acknowledged that he's considering supporting the idea of federally licensing mortgage brokers, whom Congress has blamed for many of the abuses and problems in the subprime mortgage market.

Economic growth next year is expected to be 2.5 percent to 2.75 percent, Bernanke said, while unemployment is expected to remain low at 4.75 percent, though that's slightly higher than this year.

"It struck me as a little cautious. I think the economy is going to be a little stronger than Bernanke indicated, but it's his job to be cautious," said Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wachovia, a large national bank based in Charlotte, N.C.

Vitner thinks a more robust rebound is in store as inflation threats ebb.

On inflation and interest rates, Bernanke signaled clearly that he doesn't expect the Fed's rate-setting body, the Federal Open Market Committee, to move its benchmark federal-funds rate anytime soon.

The rate has been 5.25 percent since June 2006. That's the overnight rate that banks charge one another, and it influences everything from mortgage rates to the interest charged for credit-card debt.

ka10"With the level of resource utilization relatively high and with a sustained moderation in inflation pressures yet to be convincingly demonstrated, the FOMC has consistently stated that upside risks to inflation are its predominant policy concern," he testified.

In other words, the threat of inflation remains greater than the need to lower lending rates to boost the slumping housing market.

Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said that finding "troubles me."

In Frank's view, the biggest problem is the growing gap between low-wage and high-wage workers. Democrats have accused the Bush administration of not doing enough to narrow this gap.

Core inflation is expected to moderate this year and return to within the Fed's comfort zone - less than 2 percent - next year, Bernanke said. New Labor Department data yesterday showed that consumer core inflation grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent for the first six months of 2007.

Core inflation measures the general rise in prices across the economy after stripping out volatile food and energy prices, whose short-term fluctuations can distort broader trends.

MANHATTAN STEAM PIPE BLAST

Posted: Thursday, 19 July 2007 6:16PM

Bloomberg: Air Tests Clean after Manhattan Steam Pipe Blast

NEW YORK (AP) -- The day after a deadly steam pipe explosion in midtown Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg sought to assure worried residents and workers on Thursday that the air was safe to breathe.

1010 WINS SLIDESHOW: Images from the Scene

"Every single test we did of the air showed there is no asbestos in the air,'' he said at a news conference.

1010 WINS AUDIO: Mayor's Briefing on Air, Explosion

All 12 air sample tests came back negative, he said. There also were 71 pieces of debris sampled, and of those, results from 56 were available. Bloomberg said 14 tested positive for asbestos, but most had only trace amounts.

OEM officials said any exposures to asbestos would have been brief and the health risks limited.

"Developing an asbestos-related illness after being exposed for a short time -- even at high levels -- is very unlikely,'' the agency said.

The cause of the rupture remained under investigation. Officials said the pipe, installed in 1924, might have exploded under extreme pressure caused by an infiltration of cold rainwater, or might have been damaged by a water main break.

The blast during Wednesday evening's rush hour gouged a yawning crater at the busy intersection of 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, killing a New Jersey woman, injuring 41 others, snarling traffic and sending geysers of steam and dirt into the air.

Do You Have a Go Bag?

Streets remained blocked off around the blast site. People trying to get to work near the explosion site had to weave around utility trucks, generators, metal barricades, police tape and emergency vehicles.

Some people had their faces covered with masks. Clumps of office workers, cell phones and BlackBerries in hand, huddled on street corners, waiting for word about whether their offices would open.

Some businesses were prepared. A group from Cash Zone, a check-cashing business with an office on Park Avenue, met in front of a nearby church as part of a longstanding emergency plan. As employees arrived, managers made plans to send them to other branches.

Rich Ortiz, 51, a collection manager at branch, was philosophical. "It's no biggie. We're not talking about 9/11,'' he said.

But in an echo of 9/11 -- when the federal government rushed to reassure people that the air around ground zero was safe to breathe -- the blast raised concerns about airborne asbestos contamination.

Some of the pipes carrying steam through the city are wrapped in the chemical commonly used until the mid-1970s in insulation and fireproofing material. Its tiny fibers can cause cancer and other serious diseases when inhaled over many years.

NYC.gov: Midtown Steam Pipe Explosion Information

Officials took eight air samples Wednesday night, and none came back positive for asbestos, the emergency-management agency said. But asbestos was found in six of 10 samples of debris and settled dust.

Residents who were already in the area were allowed to stay, but the city told them to keep windows closed and air conditioners set to recirculate indoor air instead of drawing it from outside.

The OEM set up a tent and van a few blocks from the blast site, where officials told people with contaminated clothes to rinse them in a bucket of water and then machine-wash them.

Nearby, Con Ed was collecting clothes and items exposed to debris and planned to destroy them. Con Ed asks anyone who was in that area around 6 p.m. who has dust or debris on clothing or belongings should put them in a plastic bag and bring it to the Con Edison customer service van parked at the corner of Madison Avenue and 42nd Street. The van will be at that location for the next several days from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Con Edison will arrange for the safe disposal of these items. Customer care personnel will be available to help people fill out a reimbursement request.

The conflicting advice created some confusion.

"I understand asbestos -- it's dangerous,'' said Stefanie Gordon, 30, of Hoboken, N.J., who was in the neighborhood Wednesday when the pipe exploded. "But it's just the conflicting messages. Con Ed and OEM should get their story straight.''

The woman killed in the blast was identified as Lois Baumerich, 51, of Hawthorne, N.J. She worked in the legal department at Pfizer Inc., about a block from the company's corporate headquarters and very close to the explosion site. Company spokesman Bryant Haskins said she was believed to be outside her office building when she began having chest pains after the explosion.

Forty-one other people were taken to area hospitals. Three remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition. The others were treated and released.

Previous Story:
Manhattan Steam Explosion Leaves 1 Dead


(TM & © 2007 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & © 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. In the interest of timeliness, this story is fed directly from the newswire and may contain occasional typographical errors. )

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

ALQAEDA ATTACKS FORESEEN IN U.S.

Al-Qaida plots new attacks on U.S. soil

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 13 minutes ago This image from video made available by IntelCenter, on Saturday, July 14, 2007, shows Osama bin Laden in a new videotape posted on a militant Web site by Al-Qaida's media production wing. The bin Laden clip, which lasted less than a minute, was undated and part of a 40-minute video featuring purported al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan paying tribute to fellow militants who have been killed in the country. (AP Photo/via INTELCENTER)

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on U.S. soil, heightening the terror threat facing the United States over the next few years, intelligence agencies concluded in a report unveiled Tuesday.

At the same time, the intelligence analysts worry that international cooperation against terrorism will be hard to sustain as memories of Sept. 11 fade and nations' views diverge on what the real threat is.

In the National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush and other top policymakers, analysts laid out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years.

The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.

National Intelligence Council Chairman Thomas Fingar warned that the group's operatives in Iraq are getting portable, firsthand experience in covert communications, smuggling, improvised explosive devices, understanding U.S. military tactics and more.

The Iraqi affiliate also helps al-Qaida more broadly as it tries to energize Sunni Muslim extremists around the globe, raise resources and recruit and indoctrinate operatives — "including for homeland attacks," according to a declassified summary of the report's main findings.

In addition, analysts stressed the importance of al-Qaida's increasingly comfortable hideout in Pakistan that has resulted from a hands-off accord between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and tribal leaders along the Afghan border. That 10-month-old deal, which has unraveled in recent days, gave al-Qaida new opportunities to set up compounds for terror training, improve its international communications with associates and bolster its operations.

The assessment shows how the threat has changed.

Just two years ago, the intelligence agencies considered al-Qaida's various "franchises" decentralized offshoots, with bin Laden mostly providing ideological direction.

Fingar said his experts believe bin Laden and his top deputy are hiding in Pakistan. "There is no question that the ungoverned character of the space is a major factor in the Taliban's and al-Qaida's and other extremist groups' ability to hide — hide in plain sight," he said.

National Intelligence Estimates are the most authoritative written judgments of the 16 spy agencies across the breadth of the U.S. government. These documents reflect the consensus long-term thinking of top intelligence analysts.

Tuesday's publicly disclosed judgments are part of a more expansive, still-classified document, approved by the heads of all 16 intelligence agencies on June 21.

Analysts — who concluded the U.S. now faces a "heightened threat environment" — painted an increasingly familiar picture of al-Qaida: A group focused on high-profile attacks against political, economic and infrastructure targets, while striving to cause mass casualties and dramatic destruction.

FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said the bureau does not know of any al-Qaida cells in the United States, although his agents continue investigating such questions. The estimate said international counterterrorism efforts since 2001 have hampered al-Qaida's ability to attack the United States again, while also convincing terror groups that U.S. soil is a tougher target.

Charles Allen, the Department of Homeland Security's top intelligence official, said the department isn't changing the nation's threat level, which remains at yellow, or "elevated" — the middle of a five-point scale. Airlines remain one step higher, at orange.

Even as authorities warn of dangers in the U.S., analysts concluded the threat is more severe in Europe. The problem could touch the United States directly, Fingar noted, because of the ease of travel between Europe and here.

The White House sought to downplay the report's worries about the future of international counterterrorism cooperation. Bush's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, said the administration isn't concerned about being abandoned by allies. Cooperation is "actually as strong as it's ever been," she said.

The Bush administration also brushed off critics who say the administration released the intelligence estimate now to help its case as the Senate debates whether to withdraw troops from Iraq. White House press secretary Tony Snow said critics are "engaged in a little selective hearing ... to shape the story in their own political ways."

Meanwhile, Democrats said the report was proof that U.S. anti-terrorism efforts are being drained by the Iraq war.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., called on the U.S. to "responsibly redeploy" its troops from Iraq and turn security over to the Iraqis. "In hindsight, we should have concentrated our efforts on al-Qaida in Afghanistan from the beginning," he said.

Significant debate in recent weeks has focused on the genesis of the al-Qaida threat in Iraq and the nature of its links to al-Qaida's leaders. With the intelligence report's release, Bush sought to draw the threat in Iraq closer to bin Laden. "These people have sworn allegiance to the very same man who ordered the attack on September the 11th, 2001," he said.

At a briefing and in a later interview, Ted Gistaro, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats, said al-Qaida in Iraq did not have any active cells when the U.S. invaded in March 2003. He said the watershed moment was when its now-deceased leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, declared his allegiance to bin Laden in an October 2004 Internet message.

Beyond al-Qaida, the report also laid out three other potential terror threats to the country:

_Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim extremist group, may be more likely to consider attacking here, especially if it believes the United States is directly threatening the group or its main sponsor, Iran.

_The number of homegrown extremists in the U.S. and its Western allies is growing, fueled by Internet web sites and anti-American rhetoric.

_So-called "single issue" terrorist groups probably will attack here on a smaller scale. They include white supremacists, anarchists and animal rights groups, such as Animal Liberation Front.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070717/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_terror_threat;_ylt=AmWXqmamuks0us5XEPI6rEKs0NUE

JESUS REBUKES THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES

Matthew 23

1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

2Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

4For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.

19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

20Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.

21And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

22And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.


BRITAIN'S TOUGH LINE WITH RUSSIA

Britain's New Tough Line With Russia

Russian Embassy in London
The Russian Embassy in London. The Kremlin has warned Britain it faces 'serious consequences' after expelling four Russian diplomats from the Russian Embassy in London. The move followed Moscow's refusal to hand over the former KGB agent accused of murdering Alexander Litvinenko in London last year.
Andy Rain / EPA

Four Russian diplomats packed their bags and left London this week. They were expelled, said Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, as a response to "Russia's failure to cooperate" with London's efforts to extradite Andrei Lugovoi to stand trial for the poisoning last year of Alexander Litvinenko, his former KGB colleague. "The heinous crime of murder does require justice," said Miliband. But the Russian media scoffed that this was an asymmetrical kind of justice, citing the British rebuff of Moscow's bids to extradite exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky and the Chechen envoy Akmed Zakayev. Instead, Moscow sees what a foreign ministry spokesman described on Monday as "a flare-up in Russo-phobic sentiments in British society and political circles."


Russo-phobic sentiments were certainly splashed all over Britain's pugnacious tabloids, which never miss an opportunity to rattle a few sabers. "We have learned in two World Wars not to appease bullies," opined Britain's largest mass market daily, The Sun. "This is the biggest test for European nerve since the Cold War."

Well, maybe. But the expulsion of the Russians is a largely symbolic gesture that nobody expects will break the impasse. Russia is considering its response, and Britain is quietly lobbying its European Union partners for support. They, like the British government itself, are conflicted. Increasingly dependent on Russian oil and gas supplies, and painfully aware of Moscow's influence in tricky international negotiations on Kosovo and Iran — as well as needing Russian help in combating terrorism — European countries have preferred to avoid open confrontation with Russia.

President Vladimir Putin, for his part, appears, if anything, to be spoiling for a fight. Moscow has tangled with the Europeans and the U.S. on a growing range of issues, and last weekend it announced Russia's withdrawal from the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, signed at the end of the Cold War in 1990. The apparent deterioration in relations with the West has raised the specter of the bad old days, when tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats were almost commonplace.

Yet cut through the thickets of martial hyperbole, and you'll find Russian bear and British bulldog are still sharing a large patch of common ground. "Russo-phobia" is a myth, says Katinka Barysch, the Deputy Director of London-based think tank the Centre for European Reform. Instead, she detects in Britain a kind of "Putin-phobia, a certain queasiness. It's more directed to the Russian state, not the Russian people, in the same way perhaps that Britons are very capable of making a distinction of disliking President Bush but not the American people."

And while their governments may be at loggerheads, the business communities of Russia and the U.K. are closely entwined. "In former days, Communists from Western Europe went to worship the master in the Kremlin. Now it's capitalists from West Europe who go thinking that there's money to be made. So there's been a lot of pressure on governments to go soft on Russia because it's seen as an important new economic player," says Denis MacShane, Britain's Europe Minister from 2002-2005. That pressure cuts both ways, says Barysch. "Russia still gets foreign direct investment from the U.K. and there's 400,000 Russians living in the U.K., and this is the Russian elite. They're sending kids to school here. Their wives go shopping here. The U.K. has an interest in them being here because they bring in a lot of money, and the Russians have an interest because they want to be here, with all these Russian companies listed on the London Stock Exchange."

Natasha Chouvaeva, who edits the Russian-London Courier, Britain's first Russian-language newspaper, founded in 1994, says that the Russian expatriate community, politically diverse and often deeply divided, is also united in its desire to avoid an escalation. "Nobody wants for visas to be restricted, or for there to be any impact on business," she says. "Confrontation is not an option." Neither, she adds, is "to look the other way. What is in the interests of the Russian community is that [Litvenenko's murder] is solved. If we do look away, how many others will die in this way? Anyone can be the next."

With so many vested interests in play, looking away still holds attractions for some Western diplomats, but former Europe Minister MacShane believes Russia "has already been cut enough slack."

"Russia is the new bully on the European block. It's trying to control European foreign policy in the Balkans. It is harassing and intimidating nations that were formerly in the Soviet imperium. It thinks its agents can come and murder, in atrocious circumstances, a British citizen in London, and it plays divide and rule trying to influence, at times to buy, political support in key European capitals," he says. "This is not the civilized behavior of a the rule of law democracy and I'm glad that London, speaking on behalf of many in Europe, has decided to say enough is enough."

— With reporting by Yuri Zarakhovich/Moscow

Source: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1644075,00.html

CATHOLIC CHURCH SADDENED BY PEDOPHILIA



Spokesman: Church Saddened by Pedophilia


Comments on Settlement From L.A. Archdiocese



VATICAN CITY, JULY 17, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The compensation offered by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to victims of pedophilia is proof of the Church's efforts to fight these crimes, says a Vatican spokesman.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced Sunday the largest Church settlement in sexual abuse lawsuits to date, agreeing to pay a total of $660 million to more than 500 alleged victims.

A note released by Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, explained that the settlement is also a guarantee of commitment to eliminate such crimes.

"The Archdiocese of Los Angeles' settlement for a large number of cases of sexual abuse by priests, religious and lay members of the archdiocese in the last few decades is a story that understandably received a lot of attention because of the number of cases involved as well as the sum of the settlement," Father Lombardi said.

Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony apologized to the victims in a statement on Monday.

"I again extend my personal apology to victims who suffered sexual abuse by clergy and repeat again my steadfast commitment to continuing all of the abuse prevention programs and policies currently in force in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles," the statement read.

Firm resolve

Father Lombardi spoke of the attitude the Church takes regarding the crime of sexual abuse.

He said: "Cardinal Mahony explained -- as John Paul II and Benedict XVI have said many times -- that the Church is evidently and above all saddened by the suffering of the victims and their families, for the harm caused by the grave and inexcusable behavior of some of its members, and is firm in its resolve to avoid future vile acts of this kind.

"The agreement, and the sacrifice it involves, are also a sign of this resolve, of the decision to close a sorrowful chapter in history and to look forward in terms of prevention and the establishment of a secure environment for children and young people in all areas of the Church's pastoral work."

The Vatican spokesman affirmed that other institutions should take needed steps to prevent pedophilia, "given the fact that the problem of the abuse of childhood and its adequate protection certainly does not regard only the Church, but also many other institutions."

He added: "The Church, aware of its educational responsibility toward young people, intends to be a protagonist in the struggle against pedophilia, which involves an ever-growing number of sectors of society throughout the world."



© Innovative Media, Inc.


Source: http://www.zenit.org/article-20153?l=english

COAST TO COAST AM: DECEPTION CENTRAL


George Noory, the impressive journalist and knowledgeable talk-show host has inhereted the Coast to Coast Show. The founder and host of the program, Art Bell after several absences, and retirements, he finally called it quits 2 weeks ago. The show deals with the paranormal, extra-terrestrials, secret societies, and many other sometimes interesting topics. George Noory has had several impressive programs with a myriad of revealers of (some) truth such as Texe Marrs, Richard Perez, Stephen Quail, Jim Mars, Linda Morton Howe, Michael Rupert* (Three World Wars), Stan Dale*, and John Rappaport(Nomorefakenews.com).

Last night, July 16, 2007, George featured an Archbishop James Long: Ordained exorcist and paranormal investigator, Archbishop James Long, speaks about his experience performing exorcisms and his investigations with the paranormal.

In the light of the latest (out of court 'hush money') settlement of $600,000,000.00*, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles is paying the 500 + victims of child rape and molestation. George Noory how can you bring on this ARCHBISHOP OF EXCORCISM on your show at a time like this? Isn't it rather ironic? What were you thinking about? The face on Mars? What timing?
Earth to George Noory, come in?


P.S. *Corrections: Michael Rupert of 'From the Wilderness'; Settlement amount was $660 Million:
Stan Deyo.

Monday, July 16, 2007

BEST PRESIDENT MONEY CAN BUY?


Banking on Becoming President

After six months of fundraising, the candidates for president in 2008 have already raised more than $265 million. No presidential money chase has ever started so quickly. By some predictions, the eventual nominees will need to raise $500 million apiece to compete--a record sum. To find out where all this money is coming from, explore the options to the left. The next campaign finance reports are due to the Federal Election Commission by October 15, covering July through September.
Democratic Candidates
Candidate ↓ Home State ↓ Q2 Raised ↓ Q2 Spent ↓ Total Raised ↓ Total Spent ↓ Cash on Hand ↓ Debts ↓

Clinton, Hillary

NY

$27,021,358

$12,769,306

$63,075,927

$17,849,095

$45,226,832

$3,026,522

Obama, Barack

IL

$33,120,440

$16,042,388

$58,912,520

$22,648,832

$36,263,688

$922,848

Edwards, John

NC

$9,097,495

$6,485,422

$23,129,158

$9,785,203

$13,343,954

$333,586

Richardson, Bill

NM

$7,090,278

$4,983,067

$13,339,633

$6,209,949

$7,129,684

$61,104

Dodd, Chris

CT

$3,280,384

$4,384,580

$12,076,091

$5,697,820

$6,378,271

$0

Biden, Joe

DE

$2,451,180

$2,517,654

$6,461,745

$3,691,828

$2,772,442

$0

Kucinich, Dennis

OH

$757,035

$707,653

$1,117,566

$902,355

$213,269

$0

Gravel, Mike

AK

$130,510

$99,866

$238,745

$207,604

$31,141

$64,716



Republican Candidates
Candidate ↓ Home State ↓ Q2 Raised ↓ Q2 Spent ↓ Raised ↓ Spent ↓ Cash on Hand ↓ Debts ↓

Romney, Mitt

MA

$20,997,715

$20,739,814

$44,432,350

$32,310,796

$12,121,554

$8,945,028

Giuliani, Rudy

NY

$17,599,292

$11,222,806

$35,629,265

$17,303,045

$18,326,220

$0

McCain, John

AZ

$11,591,044

$13,071,657

$25,328,694

$21,926,631

$3,224,428

$1,783,523

Brownback, Sam

KS

$1,425,767

$1,798,493

$3,321,965

$2,861,729

$460,236

$0

Paul, Ron

TX

$2,369,453

$539,517

$3,009,997

$655,142

$2,354,855

$0

Tancredo, Tom

CO

$1,466,188

$1,474,791

$2,807,879

$2,209,606

$598,451

$15,000

Hunter, Duncan

CA

$814,417

$874,042

$1,352,941

$1,140,014

$212,927

$0

Huckabee, Mike

AR

$765,873

$702,622

$1,310,753

$873,584

$437,169

$31,045

Thompson, Tommy

WI

$486,555

$504,631

$890,398

$768,750

$121,648

$127,434