Saturday, September 06, 2008

Hurricane Ike near Turks and Caicos; Cuba braces

Hurricane Ike is seen moving across the Atlantic Ocean as Tropical Storm Hanna bears down on the US

MIAMI (AP) — The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the large eye of an "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Ike is lurking "near or over" the Turks and Caicos islands as a fierce Category 4 storm.

The center said at 11 p.m. EDT Saturday that the core of the fierce hurricane has now approached the low-lying British island territory. It added that Ike is packing powerful winds of 135 mph.

The center also says a hurricane warning is now in effect for several Cuban provinces as well as parts of the southeastern and central Bahamas.

Forecasters say the outer edge of the hurricane is expeced to begin affecting parts of the Bahamas overnight as the storm approaches Cuba and southern Florida sometime Sunday night or early Monday.

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iLUWqLQhRD0-04G4mdGIPLiG1ZiwD931KB600

Financial incentives to draw people into church?



Religion today

VALLEY CITY — Carol Umsted got more than the word of God during services this summer at the Congregational United Church of Christ of Valley City.

She also got $50 worth of free gas, thanks to winning a raffle. For the local farmer, it was a nice side benefit, at a time when gas was more than $4 a gallon.

Churches nationwide are making similar offers, ranging from gas card raffles to 99-cent gas sales at local stations, to boost attendance during the vacation season and attract new members.

But some Christians question whether a financial incentive should be used to draw people into church.

Robert Kruschwitz, director of The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University, called the promotions "unseemly" and "misguided."

Umsted, a church official, said a couple of Valley City congregants stopped attending because they considered it "a bribe." But the Rev. Carl Borden, pastor of the congregation, said the overriding goal is to have a little fun and remind people that the church is there.

"It's a method of marketing for the church," he said. "For a $200 investment we've made, we got featured in the local newspaper once, twice on TV, and it's the buzz around town. I can't get a quarter-page ad for $200."

Church leaders have debated for years whether modern marketing techniques cheapen the faith or are an effective — and necessary — means of evangelizing. Even those Christians who believe some marketing is helpful disagree about how far they should take the approach.

David T. Olson, director of the American Church Research Project and head of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, said independent, Pentecostal and Baptist churches with nontraditional ways of attracting new members are more likely to use promotions like the gas raffles. But he said there are other more effective ways of drawing newcomers.

"I personally would encourage them that having people from their church build relationships with their friends who do not attend church, and invite them as their friend, would be a much better strategy," Olson said.

Nathan White, an Atlanta-area Baptist, was troubled by a church gas card raffle he learned about at a Baptist church in Snellville, Ga. The corporate executive, who plans to become a pastor, thinks gas giveaways are shameful financial gimmicks that undermine the Gospel.

"They are appealing to the natural corruptions in unbelieving people ... . The Bible warns very explicitly about the dangers of greed, the love of money being the root of all evil," said White. "Appealing to the selfish motives of people is not Christianity."

The nondenominational Liquid Church in Morristown, N.J., took its gas promotion outside of the church. Members went to a local service station in August, bought $10,000 worth of fuel and sold it for 99 cents a gallon.

"We canceled services that day, and said our service to the community will be our service," said the Rev. Tim Lucas.

"This wasn't a gimmick, 'Hey, come to our church.' There was no bait-and-switch. We didn't try to convert people. We just wanted to show we care," he said.

He noted that the church also provides money to drill wells in African countries.

There, "water is the most precious liquid," Lucas said. "In New Jersey, it's gas."

Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank, said there is a fine line between advertising a church and using what he called "huckster" means to entice outsiders.

He called the gas promotions in general "a clever tool."

"There are a lot of worse things that people can be doing in life than getting people to come to church," he said. But Cromartie said the more important issue is what message people hear once they get inside.

Kruschwitz worries that people who come to church because of the enticements won't stick around long enough to listen to the preaching and join the worship. "Are they being tempted to think the church is about such gimmicks and external rewards?" he asked.

But Borden said he has no ethical reservations about the drawings at the Valley City congregation. He just wished that as much attention could be paid to the church's other work.

"The amount of time I've spent being interviewed ... about all the good things we're doing and only hearing about the gas thing on the news is a little disappointing," he said. "It does show what people are paying attention to."

____

On the Net:

Congregational United Church of Christ:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseactionuser.viewprofile&friendID17

7177073

Source: http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/08/28/1795804-religion-today

P.S. Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis. Arsenio

Praise to the Lord







1Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

2While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

3Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

4His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

5Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

6Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

7Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:

8The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:

9The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

10The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.


Psalm 146.

The Sins of Jerusalem

1Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

3Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.

4Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries.

5Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.

6Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.

7In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.

8Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.

9In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.

10In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.

11And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

12In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.

13Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

14Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.

15And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.

16And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

17And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

18Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

19Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

20As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

21Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof.

22As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.

23And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

24Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

26Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

27Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

28And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

29The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

31Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD..........

Ezekiel 22

*

P.S. Bolds, Highlights, and Large Fonts added for emphasis....

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Movers and Shakers of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Movers and Shakers of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

All I can say is … save it to your hardrive! (via TruthSeeker24’s anti-N.W.O. corner)

Much like the Pilgrims Society, skillfully researched by Charles Savoie and Joël van der Reijden, the Knights of Malta’s membership is secret (i.e., you can’t just give ‘em a call and ask politely for a list of members). Thus, to confirm who is or isn’t a member of these elite cabals is quite the undertaking. The above research (or data dump) into the Knights of Malta is not nearly as thoroughgoing as Reijden or Savoie, but nonetheless it’s a start. And I certainly appreciate the undertaking.

When someone dies some of their secret affiliations are revealed in the obituary. Until then, however, various other means are required in order to establish membership as a certainty: reporters sometimes let things slip; memoirs are written with revealing admissions; or, even if the obit omits, sometimes the family donates to some prestigious learning institute a large collection of papers and archives from their dearly-departed patriarch.

Source: http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/Blog/?p=184

Euro Trades at Lowest Level Since October as ECB Cites Weakness

Euro Trades at Lowest Level Since October as ECB Cites Weakness

By Stanley White and Ye Xie

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The euro fell to the lowest level since October against the dollar after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said that the region is in an ``episode of weak activity.''

The 15-nation euro also slumped to the lowest level versus the yen in a year as Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the currency is ``overvalued.'' The yen jumped to the highest in more than a month against the U.S. dollar and hit two-year highs against the Australian and New Zealand dollars on speculation a global slowdown and commodity declines will lead to a reduction in holdings of higher-yielding assets.

``The euro may fall further as Trichet's comments cause people to lower expectations for an interest-rate increase,'' said Toru Umemoto, chief currency analyst in Tokyo at Barclays Capital Inc., a unit of Britain's third-biggest lender. ``The yen is also a beneficiary as falling commodities point to a global recession, and that's decreasing risk appetite.''

The euro fell to $1.4266 at 8:29 a.m. in Tokyo, from $1.4325 yesterday. It earlier touched $1.4214, the weakest since Oct. 24. The euro slid to 150.60 yen, the lowest since Aug. 17, 2007, before trading at 152.00 yen from 153.40 yen. The yen reached 105.69 per dollar, the highest since July 17, and traded at 106.57 from 107.08. The euro may decline to $1.40 in six months, Umemoto said.

Carry Trades

The Australian dollar dropped 3.7 percent to 87.04 yen from late Asian trading yesterday. It touched 85.88 yen, the lowest since July 2006. New Zealand's dollar slumped 4.3 percent to 71.02 yen, reaching 69.96, the lowest since July 2006. The UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index reached a seven- month low and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index tumbled the most in three months.

In carry trades, investors get funds in a country with low borrowing costs and buy assets where returns are higher. Japan's 0.5 percent benchmark interest rate compares with 4.25 percent in Europe, 7 percent in Australia and 8 percent in New Zealand. The risk to these trades is that currency moves may erase profits.

The yen was little changed after a government report showed capital spending by Japanese businesses unexpectedly fell in the three months ended June 30.

The euro dropped for a seventh day against the dollar, its longest decline since October 2006. The ECB kept its main refinancing rate at a seven-year high of 4.25 percent to curb inflation running at the fastest pace in more than 16 years even amid signs of a deepening economic slowdown. The ``upside risks to price stability prevail'' and growth risks are on the ``downside,'' Trichet said at a press conference.

`Effectively Overvalued'

Europe's currency extended its decline after Luxembourg Juncker told reporters the currency is ``effectively overvalued.'' The euro has dropped more than 10 percent against the dollar from the record high of $1.6038 set on July 15.

``Juncker's comments pushed the euro lower,'' said Richard Franulovich, a senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in New York. ``It's a bit of an overshoot. It reflected a market that really wants to buy dollars.''

The ICE future exchange's Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, rose 0.2 percent to 78.795 after yesterday touching 79.077, the highest in almost a year.

U.S. payrolls probably shrank by 75,000 last month, following a drop of 51,000 in July, according to the median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Labor Department's report is due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington.

Sterling fell for a ninth day, reaching a two-year low of $1.7558 after the Bank of England yesterday kept its target lending rate at 5 percent. Policy makers judged the fastest inflation in more than a decade outweighed the risk that the British economy is sinking into a recession.

`Financial Tsunami'

The U.S. government needs to start using more of its money to support markets to stem a burgeoning ``financial tsunami,'' said Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of Newport California-based Pacific Investment Management Co., manager of the world's biggest bond fund, on the firm's Web site yesterday.

``The market remains fearful of another `credit event,''' said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities Inc. in Toronto. ``Demand for safe-haven currencies should rise. Tightening credit standards force hedge funds out of these carry positions.''

The ECB lowered its 2008 economic growth forecast yesterday to about 1.4 percent from 1.8 percent and its 2009 prediction to 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent. The central bank raised its inflation forecast for this year to 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent and 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent for 2009.

``It's very tough for them to cut rates,'' said Jens Nordvig, a senior currency strategist in New York at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ``It's difficult for the dollar rally to have another leg.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Stanley White in Tokyo at swhite28@bloomberg.netYe Xie in New York at yxie6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 4, 2008 19:56 EDT


Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aFK4beZ9PV8k&refer=japan

Canada Needs a National Water Policy That Bans Bulk Water Exports

By Dana Gabriel http://intelstrike.com/?p=298



Canada Needs a National Water Policy That Bans Bulk Water Exports




By: Dana Gabriel - 29 August, 2008

There is little doubt that NAFTA has brought about the loss of Canadian sovereignty over its own resources and further threatens its water supply. Through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), bulk water transfers are being discussed. The SPP is carrying on where NAFTA left off, and this includes the U.S. further gaining access to Canadian oil, gas, electricity, and water. The Montreal Economic Institute, a Quebec think tank, is now urging Canada to export its fresh water for financial gain. This will mortgage Canada’s future for possible short-term benefits. A continental resource pact, which includes energy and water, is all part of deeper integration into a North American Union.

An internal report by Environment Canada was recently obtained through the Access to Information Act and it states that as Canadians, “We can no longer take our extensive water supplies for granted.” The report calls on the Canadian government to take a more hands-on approach in managing its water supplies. It also forecasts droughts in the prairies and ground water shortages in British Colombia. There are already signs of water shortages in the Great Lakes, and last September, Lake Superior fell to its lowest level on record. According to the report, one percent of Canada’s water supply is renewed each year by precipitation, and only seven percent of its fresh water supply is renewable. Climate change as well as population growth will also further drain water resources. This report by Environment Canada parallels a National Resource Canada study that was released in the spring that forecasted more frequent droughts and severe floods, as well as declining water quality and quantity.

It is already well documented that under NAFTA, Canada cannot reduce its energy exports to the U.S., even in times of shortages. The fear is that once bulk water exports begin, they will be next to impossible to stop. With a potential water crisis on the horizon, Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians said, “The Harper government has bought the myth of limitless abundance, which this report on looming water scarcity in Canada indicates is clearly not true.” Canada desperately needs a water strategy and policy that bans bulk water exports and protects Canadian sovereignty over its resources, therefore putting its own future needs ahead of others.

According to NAFTA, bulk water is recognized as a “good.” It was about 10 years ago that the American company Sun Belt Water Inc. sued the Canadian federal government under NAFTA’s Chapter 11 because the province of British Colombia banned water exports that would have went to California. NDP Trade Critic Peter Julian said, “As a foreign investor, all you need to do is apply for a permit. You’ll either get to export water, or you can sue for compensation.”

In April of last year, the North American Future 2025 Project met and discussed water transfers, consumption, and artificial diversions. Leaked documents show that the Canadian government, along with business elites, are actively discussing and further pursuing bulk water transfers to the United States. Through the SPP, the North American Competitiveness Council is pushing Alberta tar sands development. It takes 3 barrels of fresh water to produce one barrel of oil from the tar sands, and future projects will put a further strain on water supplies. Many believe that Alberta cannot handle any more tar sands expansion without severe consequences to the environment.

A poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians back in April showed that 88 percent of Canadians want a comprehensive national water policy that bans bulk water exports of fresh water. The Harper government has failed to deliver a national water strategy, and like previous governments, has shown a lack of leadership and concern in protecting its nation’s water supplies. Forget about renegotiating, get out of NAFTA- it is so badly flawed. At the same time get rid of the SPP, which would be another stake in the heart for plans to create a North American Union. Failure to do so could result in Canada becoming nothing more than a resource colony.

You can contact Dana @ newworldordermustbestopped@hotmail.com

Source: http://intelstrike.com/?p=298

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The IRA Is No Longer A Threat, Report Says

Army Council Said to Have Been Abandoned



Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, September 4, 2008; Page A06

LONDON, Sept. 3 -- The Irish Republican Army's once powerful military leadership group, known as the army council, has been abandoned and no longer "presents a threat to peace or democratic politics" in Northern Ireland, according to a report issued Wednesday by an independent monitoring group.

The IRA "has completely relinquished the leadership and other structures appropriate to a time of armed conflict," said the report from the Independent Monitoring Commission, which the British and Irish governments established in 2004 to assess outlawed paramilitary activity in the province.

The report was widely interpreted as an important step toward the easing of political tensions between Protestant and Catholic political parties sharing power in the province's fledgling local government.

Protestant politicians have demanded to see proof that the IRA has fully dismantled its military structures before they will agree to allow the British government to hand over responsibility for police and the judiciary to the provincial government.

That development is considered key to creating a lasting peace in Northern Ireland, where more than 3,600 people died in sectarian fighting during three decades of strife known as "the Troubles."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed Wednesday's report from the Independent Monitoring Commission, whose four members include Richard Kerr, a former deputy director of the CIA.

"I believe that this will provide reassurance and hope for everybody who wants to see this chapter of Northern Ireland's history closed," Brown said in London. "It is now time for all the political parties to work together to complete the final stages of the peace process -- to complete the devolution of policing and justice."

The report had been requested by the British and Irish governments to clarify the commission's statement in its previous report, issued in May, that the IRA's abandonment of its military structures was "all but complete."

Peter Robinson, the co-head of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government and head of the Democratic Unionist Party, the province's largest Protestant political party, had said publicly that the commission's earlier finding did not offer proof that "the IRA is out of business for good."

On Wednesday, Robinson issued a statement that was largely positive about the commission's latest findings, saying, "Confirmation that the organization is 'being allowed to wither away' will be something that people across the Province will regard as a welcome advancement."

He added, however, "While it is marked progress that the IRA is no longer 'doing business,' the Unionist community needs to be convinced by the republican leadership that the IRA is out of business for good."

In Dublin, Irish government officials said the commission's report was unambiguous.

"This report demonstrates not only that PIRA has gone away, but that it won't be coming back," said Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, using the acronym for the IRA's widely used name, the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090301082.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Man Charged With Killing Six in Washington State

Published: September 3, 2008

The police in Washington State on Wednesday were cobbling together details of a shooting rampage on Tuesday in which an emotionally disturbed man killed a sheriff’s deputy and five other people and wounded four more along an 18-mile swath of woodland before surrendering.

The authorities said the gunman was Isaac L. Zamora, 28, a resident of the tiny town of Alger. Mr. Zamora had been released from jail on Aug. 6 after serving a six-month sentence for cocaine possession and was still under supervision by a corrections officer at the time of the shootings.

Although the police were still trying to unearth a motive for the killings, a close friend of Mr. Zamora’s, Eric Wolf, said Mr. Zamora had a history of drug problems and depression and had grown increasingly despondent after a bitter breakup with a girlfriend two years ago.

But Mr. Wolf said: “It’s hard to believe he would do something like this. I didn’t think he was capable.”

Mr. Zamora’s mother, Dennise, tearfully told the local news media that the very officer that the authorities say he killed, Anne Jackson, a deputy with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, had in the past tried to help her son deal with his psychiatric problems.

Although the chronology of events remains murky, the police said the killing spree began sometime Tuesday afternoon.

Deputies responding to reports of gunfire found the body of an unidentified man and Deputy Jackson, 40, who was answering a trespassing call at a residence in Alger when she was shot and killed.

After searching the Alger area, about 75 miles north of Seattle, more victims were discovered at two homes: a 48-year-old woman and two male construction workers.

At some point during the ensuing chaos in the Alger area, a 56-year-old man was also shot and a 61-year-old man was stabbed. Neither injury was said to be life threatening.

From Alger, Mr. Zamora led the police on a wild chase on a southbound stretch of freeway. According to Trooper Keith Leary, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol, Mr. Zamora shot and killed a passing driver during the chase. The driver was identified Wednesday as Leroy Lange, 64.

Mr. Zamora also wounded a pursuing state trooper, Troy Giddings, 42, and a motorcyclist at a Shell gas station, the police said. Both were treated at hospitals for gunshot wounds and released, Mr. Leary said.

About two hours after the rampage started, Mr. Zamora led the police into the parking lot of the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office and surrendered. He was booked at the Snohomish County Jail on six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and held in $6 million bail.

Mr. Zamora’s friend, Mr. Wolf, described him as quiet and keeping to himself, somebody, “whom everybody had written off.” Mr. Zamora and an older brother had been home-schooled, Mr. Wolf said.

After suffering an injury working as a house painter and breaking up with his girlfriend, Mr. Zamora drifted into depression, becoming addicted to painkillers, Mr. Wolf said.

Eventually, Mr. Zamora moved into a trailer on his parents’ property in Alger, a town of about a 100 people. Mr. Wolf said he had last spoken with his friend about a week and a half ago.

“It sounded like he was in better spirits, like his head was clearer,” said Mr. Wolf, for whom Mr. Zamora served as best man. “It’s hard to believe what could have pushed him this far.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Ms. Jackson and Mr. Lange were the only victims identified by the authorities, and the police could not say whether there was a connection between Mr. Zamora and any of those killed or wounded.

According to Chad Lewis, a spokesman with the Washington Department of Corrections, Mr. Zamora has a lengthy criminal history, mostly for drug charges. Upon his release from jail last month, he had twice reported to his corrections supervisor as instructed and passed a urinalysis test, Mr. Lewis said.

As part of his sentence, Mr. Zamora was required to undergo a mental health evaluation upon his release, Mr. Lewis said. But Mr. Zamora was not able to afford the evaluation, and his corrections supervisors were working to help him receive financial assistance, he said.

“So far we have not found any red flags that went unnoticed,” Mr. Lewis said.

Late Tuesday night, Gov. Christine Gregoire called for an independent review of Mr. Zamora’s criminal history and supervision. The local police, meanwhile, continued to comb seven crime scenes for clues and mourned the death of one of their own.

“What is important for all of us to understand, this is not a typical day anywhere,” said Sgt. Robert Goetz of the Everett Police Department, one of the investigating agencies on the case. “Not a typical day for law enforcement, not for neighbors, not for us in the Northwest.”

US confirms raid inside Pakistan

Map locates Wednesday??s attack in Pakistan;

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - American forces launched a raid inside Pakistan Wednesday, a senior U.S. military official said, in the first known foreign ground assault in Pakistan against a suspected Taliban haven. The government condemned an incursion that it said killed at least 15 people.

The American official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of cross border operations, told The Associated Press that the raid occurred on Pakistani soil about one mile from the Afghan border. The official didn't provide any other details.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry launched a protest, saying U.S.-led troops flew in from Afghanistan for the attack on a village. An army spokesman warned that the apparent escalation from recent missile strikes on militant targets along the Afghan border would further anger Pakistanis and undercut cooperation in the war against terrorist groups.

The boldness of the thrust fed speculation about the intended target. But it was unclear whether any extremist leader was killed or captured in the operation, which occurred in one of the militant strongholds dotting a frontier region considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri.

U.S. military and civilian officials declined to respond to Pakistan's complaints. But one official, a South Asia expert who agreed to discuss the situation only if not quoted by name, suggested the target of any raid like that reported Wednesday would have to be extremely important to risk an almost assured "big backlash" from Pakistan.

"You have to consider that something like this will be a more-or-less once-off opportunity for which we will have to pay a price in terms of Pakistani cooperation," the official said.

Suspected U.S. missile attacks killed at least two al-Qaida commanders this year in the same region, drawing protests from Pakistan's government that its sovereignty was under attack. U.S. officials did not acknowledge any involvement in those attacks.

But American commanders have been complaining publicly that Pakistan puts too little pressure on militant groups that are blamed for mounting violence in Afghanistan, stirring speculation that U.S. forces might lash out across the frontier.

Circumstances surrounding Wednesday's raid weren't clear, but U.S. rules of engagement allow American troops to chase militants across the border into Pakistan's lawless tribal region when they are attacked. They may only go about six miles on the ground, under normal circumstances. U.S. rules allow aircraft to go 10 miles into Pakistan air space.

In other signs of Pakistan's precarious stability three days before legislators elect a successor to Pervez Musharraf as president, snipers shot at the prime minister's limousine near Islamabad and government troops killed two dozen militants in another area of the restive northwest.

Pakistani officials said they were lodging strong protests with the U.S. government and its military representative in Islamabad about Wednesday's raid in the South Waziristan area, a notorious hot bed of militant activity.

The Foreign Ministry called the strike "a gross violation of Pakistan's territory," saying it could "undermine the very basis of cooperation and may fuel the fire of hatred and violence that we are trying to extinguish."

Prior to the U.S. military confirming the U.S. raid, Pakistan government and military officials had insisted that either the NATO force or the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan - both commanded by American generals - were responsible.

The army's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said the attack was the first incursion onto Pakistani soil by troops from the foreign forces that ousted Afghanistan's hard-line Taliban regime after the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S.

He said the attack would undermine Pakistan's efforts to isolate Islamic extremists and could threaten NATO's major supply lines, which snake from Pakistan's Indian Ocean port of Karachi through the tribal region into Afghanistan.

"We cannot afford a huge uprising at the level of tribe," Abbas said. "That would be completely counterproductive and doesn't help the cause of fighting terrorism in the area."

A spokesman for NATO troops in Afghanistan denied any involvement in the raid.

The Pakistani anger threatens to upset efforts by American commanders to draw Pakistan's military into the U.S. strategy of dealing harshly with the militants.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met last week with Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistani army chief. Mullen said he came away encouraged that Pakistanis were becoming more focused on the problem of militants using the country as a safe haven.

However, Abbas, the army spokesman, said Wednesday that cross-border commando operations were not discussed and he reiterated Pakistan's position that its forces should be exclusively responsible for operations on its territory.

Pakistani officials say the U.S. and NATO should share intelligence and allow Pakistani troops to execute any raids needed inside Pakistan. However, Washington has accused rogue elements in Pakistan's main intelligence service of leaking sensitive information to militants.

American officials say destroying militant sanctuaries in Pakistani tribal regions is key to defeating Taliban-led militants in Afghanistan whose insurgency has strengthened every year since the fundamentalist militia was ousted for harboring bin Laden.

But there has been debate in Washington over how far the U.S. can go on its own.

Citing witness and intelligence reports, Abbas said troops flew in on at least one big CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, blasted their way into several houses and gunned down men they found there.

He said there was no evidence that any of those killed were insurgents or that the raiders abducted any militant leader, but he acknowledged Pakistan's military had no firsthand account.

There were differing reports on how many people were killed. The provincial governor claimed 20 civilians, including women and children, died. Army and intelligence officials, as well as residents, said 15 people were killed.

Habib Khan Wazir, an area resident, said he heard helicopters, then an exchange of gunfire.

"Later, I saw 15 bodies inside and outside two homes. They had been shot in the head," Wazir said by phone. He claimed all the dead were civilians.

Near Islamabad, meanwhile, snipers fired at a motorcade near the capital as it headed to the airport to pick up the prime minister, hitting the window of his car at least twice, officials said. Neither Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani nor his staff were in the vehicles.

Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the banned militant organization Tahrik-e-Taliban, claimed responsibility and pledged more attacks in retaliation for army operations in tribal areas and the Swat Valley along the border with Afghanistan.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declined to comment on the claimed cross-border raid, but she said the U.S. would continue to work with Gilani's government.

"I am relieved, of course, that the incident aimed at the Pakistani prime minister did not succeed," Rice said.

"We're going to be in continued contact with the Pakistanis as we both try to help them to build a strong economic foundation, to build a strong democratic foundation and to fight the terrorists who are a threat not just to the United States and to Afghanistan but to Pakistan as well."

---

Associated Press writers Pamela Hess, Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee in Washington, Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Munir Ahmad and Stephen Graham in Islamabad and Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul contributed to this report.

.

Source: http://home.peoplepc.com/psp/newsstory.asp?cat=topstories&id=20080903/48be0bc0_3ca6_15526200809031729832263

Dollar Bears' Mea Culpa Makes Bernanke No Liability (Update1)

By Bo Nielsen and Ye Xie

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has gone from a dollar liability to an asset, sparking a rally that even bears say shows few signs of ending.

While the U.S. Dollar Index fell to a record low in March as the Fed cut interest rates at the fastest pace in two decades, traders now anticipate lower borrowing costs will help America recover from a global economic slowdown before Asia or Europe. Investors bought four times as many dollars in August as the average over the previous 12 months, according to Bank of New York Mellon, a custodian for more than $23 trillion in assets.

Traders who a month ago doubted there was anything Bernanke could do to keep the greenback from depreciating in the face of a widening budget deficit, mounting credit market losses and falling consumer confidence are embracing the currency. The 6.4 percent gain against the euro in August was the best monthly advance since Europe's common currency was introduced in 1999. Futures traders are making the biggest bets on the dollar versus six major trading partners since 2005.

``The dollar is cheap,'' said Roddy MacPherson, an Edinburgh-based fund manager at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Ltd., which manages about $165 billion. ``The U.S. has been quite preemptive in bringing rates down and that bodes better for the U.S. relative to many other countries.''

MacPherson set up trades to profit from the U.S. currency's appreciation against the Group of 10 countries, which include the U.K., Japan and Australia, after it hit a record-low of $1.6038 to the euro on July 15.

Six-Year Plunge

Last month's rally to $1.4672 per euro followed a six-year, 75 percent decline as the U.S. current account deficit swelled to a record $788 billion, the economy posted its slowest growth since 2001 and the subprime mortgage market collapsed, costing the world's biggest financial companies more than $500 billion in losses and writedowns.

The resurgence caught strategists off guard. New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Aug. 14 scrapped its call predicting the dollar would weaken to $1.60 per euro in six months and said the currency had ``bottomed.'' Morgan Stanley, also in New York, flipped its forecast last week, and now expects it to trade at $1.48 by the end of the month and gain to $1.40 by year-end. The firm had estimated $1.60 in September and $1.53 in December.

The dollar advanced against the euro for a fourth straight day today, rising to $1.4495 as of 9:14 a.m. in London, from $1.4617 yesterday and $1.4673 at the start of the week.

Cheaper Goods

``Like many in the market, I was surprised by the magnitude of the dollar move, but it just seems to keep going,'' said Stephen Jen, the London-based head of foreign-exchange research at Morgan Stanley. ``It's not that the U.S. economy is doing better, it's that everyone else is doing worse.''

The dollar's slide made U.S. goods and assets cheaper abroad. The Commerce Department said Aug. 28 that the economy expanded at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter, compared with 0.9 percent in the first three months. The increase was helped by the narrowest trade deficit in eight years.

Growth in the euro region will slow to 1.5 percent this year and 1.1 percent in 2009 from 2.7 percent in 2007, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Japan's expansion will ease to 1.1 percent this year and 1.2 percent in 2009, from 2.08 percent in 2007. The U.S. will grow 1.5 percent in 2008 and maintain that pace in 2009, the survey shows.

Dollar Bears

``All of a sudden, the gamble the Federal Reserve made last year and in the early parts of this year cutting interest rates looks like a very smart move,'' Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon in London, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. ``At 2 percent, it's very well positioned to support growth. The dollar still looks incredibly cheap.''

Bernanke slashed the Fed's target rate for overnight loans between banks seven times from 5.25 percent in September through April as contagion from subprime loans caused credit markets to freeze. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against major currencies including the euro, yen and pound, fell 8.6 percent in that period.

The European Central Bank, meanwhile, left its benchmark rate at a seven-year high of 4.25 percent last month.

The rally stiffened the resolve of bears such as Maxime Tessier, head of foreign exchange at Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, a Montreal-based pension fund that manages about $258 billion.

The U.S. recession ``will be bigger than most people seem to be anticipating,'' Tessier said. ``That will force the Fed to start cutting interest rates again.''

`A Lot of Hope'

Tessier set up trades last month to profit from a decline against the euro, Scandinavian currencies and the Swiss franc. The dollar has already strengthened beyond the $1.48-per-euro consensus estimate of 36 analysts and strategists in a Bloomberg survey.

``There is a lot of hope that the dollar increases in value but there seems to be no U.S. policy that invokes a strong dollar,'' said Tom Sowanick, who helps manage $22 billion as chief investment officer at Clearbrook Financial LLC in Princeton, New Jersey.

While the gains may slow before year-end, the median forecast is for it to finish 2009 at $1.38 per euro.

The rally picked up steam on Aug. 7 after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said growth in the euro-zone will be ``particularly weak'' through the third quarter, a sign policy makers are reluctant to raise rates to curb inflation.

Lehman Call

The dollar appreciated against the 16 most-widely traded currencies last month, ranging from a gain of 1.45 percent versus the yen to 8.47 percent compared with the Australian dollar.

Futures traders boosted the value of contracts profiting from a rise in the dollar to $16.6 billion more than those benefiting from a loss as of Aug. 19, the most since November, 2005, according to Bank of America Corp.

``There's a sense the market is voting with its feet and buying U.S. assets,'' Steven Englander, a strategist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Lehman became bullish on the dollar as early as March this year, according to Jim McCormick, the firm's London-based global head of foreign-exchange strategy. The currency will strengthen to $1.40 per euro by March, Lehman says.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bo Nielsen in Copenhagen at bnielsen4@bloomberg.net; Ye Xie in New York at yxie6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 2, 2008 04:29 EDT
.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ax1Bf7KaoSs0&refer=exclusive

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Crapa, USCIRF director, dies; Land re-appointed to panel

Crapa, USCIRF director, dies; Land re-appointed to panel

By Robert Marus
Thursday, 01 November 2007

WASHINGTON (ABP) – The director of a unique federal panel charged with promoting religious freedom worldwide has died after a struggle with cancer.

Joseph Crapa, executive director of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, died Oct. 25, according to a press release from the commission. He was 63.

Crapa had directed the panel's staff since 2002, leading it from an oddly situated and fledgling federal agency to one widely respected – and in some cases feared – by foreign-policy experts at home and abroad.

“Joe had sharp political instincts but a soft personal touch,” said Michael Cromartie, the panel's current chairman. “He had an unwavering, principled commitment to advancing the work of this bipartisan commission in protecting religious freedom worldwide. Everyone who knew and worked with Joe found him to be a remarkably committed public servant.”

Crapa, a Catholic, served as a high-level staffer to congressional Democrats prior to joining the commission. The panel was established by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, approved by Congress and then-President Bill Clinton, but it was bipartisan and was not formally part of any branch of the federal government. Under Crapa's leadership, the panel gained prominence with regular fact-finding missions and reports on abuses of religious freedom and other human rights among U.S. enemies and allies alike.

The commission is made up of nine voting commissioners, three of whom are appointed by the president, two by the congressional leaders of the president's party, and four by congressional leaders of the opposite party. The panel makes policy recommendations to the White House and State Department for pressuring regimes – including friendly ones – to end their abuses of religious freedom.

Despite his partisan background, Republican appointees to the commission praised Crapa's work. “It was an honor to serve on the search committee that recommended Joe Crapa to be the executive director of the commission,” said Richard land, the panel's current vice chairman and head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. “As a Republican appointee, I was most happy to enthusiastically endorse and commend this faithful Democrat who loved America and loved the freedom for which it stands. He was a tireless proponent of religious freedom around the world and was instrumental in making the commission an extremely effective voice for religious freedom.”

In other USCIRF news, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky. recently re-appointed Land to the body for a fourth term. “Dr. Land has consistently brought both his formidable commitment and down-to-earth powers of persuasion to bear positively on our work as a commission,” Cromartie said, in a statement announcing the re-appointment.

Source: http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2945&Itemid=120

Note: Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis.........Arsenio.

New executive director for federal panel on religious freedom



New executive director for federal panel on religious freedom


WASHINGTON (AP) — James Standish, a former legislative affairs official with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has been named executive director of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.


Standish, whose appointment was announced Aug. 20, succeeds Joseph R. Crapa, who died last fall. The commission is an independent, bipartisan federal agency that advises the president and Congress on religious freedom issues worldwide.


Standish worked for seven years as director of legislative affairs at the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters, representing the denomination on Capitol Hill and on country visits around the world.


Standish received his bachelor's degree from Newbold College in England, his master's degree in business administration from the University of Virginia and his law degree from Georgetown University.


___


http://www.uscirf.gov/


Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iRiEfTrANJniD2CWpkC3hNQnnBgQD92R8NF80

Note: Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis. ....Arsenio.

Letter to President Bush on Material Support




Letter to President Bush on Material Support

August 24, 2006

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President,

As leaders of faith-based communities and individuals concerned with protecting victims of persecution, we ask to meet with you and urge you to directly intervene in a situation that is barring thousands of refugees and asylum seekers, some of the world’s most vulnerable and oppressed people, from gaining the protection offered by the U.S. refugee resettlement and asylum programs.

All refugees endure extreme hardship and suffering and for some, their only hope for rebuilding their lives is to resettle in the United States. However, the U.S. has mistakenly characterized many of these refugees as having aided terrorists when they in fact were often the victims of terrorism. For example, a Christian Burmese Chin refugee who was interrogated and beaten by the Burmese military, a Sierra Leonean woman refugee who was raped repeatedly by rebels and saw her daughter attacked in front of her, a Montagnard refugee who fought alongside our troops in Vietnam, and a Colombian father who paid a ransom to obtain the release of his son are all refugees who have been refused resettlement to the U.S. due to a grossly misconstrued interpretation by the Department of Homeland Security of what constitutes “material support to a terrorist organization.”

There is a process by which a waiver can be applied to allow certain groups of refugees to come to the U.S. who would otherwise be denied under this overbroad definition of “material support.” However, this waiver has only been exercised once, and for only one group of Burmese refugees in one of eight refugee camps in Thailand. Furthermore, it took nine months of interagency deliberations to reach this limited result which is so narrow that it excludes hundreds of refugees inside the camp who are deserving of resettlement and thousands more who face extremely precarious situations in some of the world’s most troubled regions. Just recently, twenty five Burmese refugees including two women in advanced stages of pregnancy were detained and sent into the hands of human traffickers after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees suspended referrals from Malaysia to the U.S. resettlement program due to the material support bar.

The current situation in which refugees are being denied the protection offered by the U.S. resettlement program runs contrary to your long-standing agenda of freedom and democracy for oppressed people all over the world and undermines the efforts of the Department of State to provide resettlement as a durable solution to refugees in need of protection. The Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security have not placed due urgency on resolving this issue, sending a message to the world that we no longer stand with those who have been oppressed by the very regimes we oppose. Thus we ask for your direct intervention so that current implementation of the law can correspond with the intent of the law and the foreign and domestic policy objectives of the White House.

The present interpretation of the material support bar has effectively altered U.S. policy so that refugees and asylum seekers who have suffered at the hands of terrorists and despotic regimes are now no longer welcome to the U.S. as our friends. Your leadership is needed at this critical juncture so our country can be a place of freedom for those who are persecuted all over the world. Refugees cannot become the unintended victims of the war against terrorism.

We ask to meet with you concerning this grave situation and look forward to your response.

Respectfully,

Gary Bauer
President
American Values

Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes
Bishop of San Bernardino
Chairman, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration

Ann Buwalda
Director
Jubilee Campaign USA

Richard Cizik
Vice President for Governmental Affairs
National Association of Evangelicals

Charles W. Colson
Chairman of the Board
Prison Fellowship

Michael Cromartie
Vice President
Ethics and Public Policy Center

Mark L. Earley
President and CEO
Prison Fellowship

Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar
General Secretary
National Council of Churches of Christ

Deborah Fikes
Human Rights Advocacy Advisor
Ministerial Alliance of Midland, Texas

Joseph Grieboski
President
Institute on Religion and Public Policy

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Michael Horowitz
Senior Fellow
Hudson Institute

Jim Jacobson
President
Christian Freedom International

Jeff King
President
International Christian Concern

Dr. Richard Land
President
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Rev. John L. McCullough
Executive Director
Church World Service

William Murray
Chairman
Peggy Birchfield
Executive Director
Religious Freedom Coalition

Kathryn Cameron Porter
President
Leadership Council for Human Rights

Pamela D. Pryor
Director of Government Relations & Public Policy
We Care America

Rabbi David Saperstein
Director
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Nina Shea
Director
Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House

Very Reverend Thomas H. Smolich, S.J.
President
Jesuit Conference, USA

James D. Standish, JD, MBA
Executive Director
North American Religious Liberty Association

James Tonkowich
President
Institute on Religion and Democracy

Geoff Tunnicliffe
International Director/CEO
World Evangelical Alliance

Jim Winkler
General Secretary
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

Wendy Wright
President
Concerned Women for America

Angela C. Wu
Director of International Advocacy
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty


.


Source: http://www.wr.org/joinin/advocacy/view.asp?id=80024025

Note: Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis...........Arsenio

Live Video From the Republican Convention (2)



News Alert 3:13 p.m. ET Tuesday, September 2, 2008

News Alert: Live Video From the Republican Convention


Join The Washington Post and Newsweek in St. Paul, Minn., for live coverage from 4-6 and 7-11 p.m. ET. The Post's Chris Cillizza and Newsweek's Jon Meacham bring you the latest news, live floor action and interviews with delegates and other guests. For more information, visit washingtonpost.com


For more information, visit washingtonpost.com

Monday, September 01, 2008

Live Video From the Republican Convention

Minneapolis Xcel Energy Center Republican National Convention 2008

News Alert 1:27 p.m. ET Monday, September 1, 2008News Alert: Live Video From the Republican Convention
Join The Washington Post and Newsweek in St. Paul, Minn., for live coverage from 3-7 p.m. ET. Former senior Bush adviser Karl Rove and other guests join Post's Chris Cillizza and Newsweek's Jon Meacham. For more information, visit washingtonpost.com


For more information, visit washingtonpost.com

Hurricane Gustav hits land southwest of New Orleans

A person looks at the waves caused by Hurricane Gustav in Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, Monday, Sept. 1.
AP

Hurricane Gustav hits land southwest of New Orleans

AP - 8 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Gustav has crashed into the all-but-deserted Louisiana coast. The eye has landed southwest of New Orleans.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/

America – A Place Where Demons Gather!




Volume XXVII Issue IX September 2008
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Fax: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/

America – A Place Where Demons Gather!


“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”


Revelation 18:2

“Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”


Isaiah 13:6-11

“The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”


Matthew 13:41-43

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will look with spiritual eyes of discernment at a world in rapid transition as it moves at breakneck speed toward the day of final judgment. As that day approaches, we see instability and chaos everywhere. It seems that there is no soundness in anything. Outrageous things are happening repeatedly as the spiritual sickness of depravity prevails in a global society that ignores the one true Almighty Saviour. We are now in a time when it seems that the whole world is about to break out in a final global war. America is approaching its darkest days, even though brief manufactured upturns feed the optimists with false hope. These are the strangest of times, and it is because evil is gathering and uniting together in a realm that humanity does not fully understand.


There is an infernal gathering of evil spirits as the end approaches. As governments, societies, economies, and religions continue to rapidly change, we see Satan handcrafting his new antichrist society and one-world government. There is a strange force at work and a power that continues to contort everything that is decent and moral into a grotesque aberration. There is a weird ambiance, especially in America, and it is so intense that you can almost smell the brimstone in the air. This is caused by the gathering of countless demons for a designated purpose.


We know that countless evil spirits gathered at the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus in an attempt to destroy him when he came to this world the first time. Now, in these final days before the Saviour’s return, we see a massive gathering of demons once again, and all hell is breaking loose. Here let it be noted that witches and occultists refer to their meeting together as The Gathering. This is in reference to the spirits that gather with them. If you have ever wondered why things are the way they are, you have your answer. There are always evil spirits behind the evil activities of man.


Truly, we are at the very doors of eternity. You will dwell somewhere forever. Have you surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? He will hear you and accept you. Do it now, before the sun rises for the last time.


Are We on the Eve of World War III?


Those who believe the Bible know that a third world war is inevitable. In Matthew 24:6 we read of numerous wars leading up to the final world war as follows: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” In Revelation 16:13-14, we read of the final world war as follows: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirit of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”


Thus, we see that there are a series of wars leading up to the final great war at the end of the world. We also see that there are three unclean spirits, which are a triumvirate power from hell, that foment this last of wars. Can any thinking and discerning person doubt that the intrigue we are now seeing in the Middle East, Russia, and numerous other areas of the world is due to the activity of the three unclean spirits? These demonic wars are leading to ultimate utter destruction!


The current ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were fomented by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and others of that ilk, are no doubt under the direct governance of the three unclean spirits mentioned above. There is something very wrong going on, because the cause is fictitious and ambiguous. Perhaps that is why twenty-two thousand of our American veterans called the suicide hotline during the year of 2007. (1) We also know that 28,283 veterans have had their medical claims denied by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, because there is such a backlog of claims. (2) Our U.S. Government has found the solution to a growing backlog list: Deny and ignore the claims!


The armed forces of the United States are already stretched out thin, and now a horrifying war with Iran seems to be looming on the horizon. Only a short time ago, Iran was operating 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges. On July 27th, 2008, it was reported that Iran now has 6,000 such centrifuges, and thus they have doubled their capacity to produce the ingredients to manufacture horrifying atomic bombs. (3) Meanwhile, on July 21st, 2008, the United States, Britain, and France launched a blockade exercise against Iran. This exercise was called Operation Brimstone! (4) It was an operation carried out by a triumviral power, these three nations, with their massive ships occupying the Persian Gulf. In the light of all this activity, why does the United States continue to export countless millions of dollars worth of goods to Iran? These exports include rifles, rifle parts, aircraft launching gear, and deck arrestors! This was reported by the Associated Press on July 8th, 2008. (5)


As wars and rumours of wars progress, there are strange happenings in the Grand Palais in Paris, France. In July 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosted the formation of a new and secretive organization called the Union for the Mediterranean. The organization is also called Club Med. This union of forty-two nations is being called a “peace organization” for countries located around the Mediterranean Sea but extended to EU members after protests from Germany. In a Bloomberg News photo of the event, three men have their hands locked together in a power-of-three, or triumviral salute. (6) These three men are Palestine’s Mahmoud Abbas, Israel’s Ehud Olmert, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. We must remember that Daniel, chapter seven, tells us of the four beasts that rose up from the Great Sea (Mediterranean) as world empires. They were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The third, the Grecian Empire, was launched by Alexander the Great of Macedonia in Northern Greece. We also know that French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently visited Greece and that his grandfather was a Greek Jew born in the same area in Macedonia where Alexander the Great was born. Now Sarkozy is unifying the Mediterranean nations. We must remember that in the very last days before our Saviour returns, there will arise a new composite beast out of the Mediterranean Sea. We are told of this in Revelation 13:1-2 as follows: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Truly, we are living in the days of this prophetic fulfillment!


Now another kind of bear has risen up, the Russian Bear! Under the direction of three Russian billionaires, Viktor Vekselberg, Mikhail Fridman, and Leonid Blavatnik, Russians have been buying large portions of London, England! There are now 300,000 Russians living in London. The three Russian billionaires, a triumviral power of three, own a consortium called AAR, which owns fifty percent of TNK-BP, the giant oil company also known as BP. (7) While all of this is going on, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced on August 4th, 2008, that it is time for Russia to go back to Cuba! Putin said, “We need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in other countries.” (8) American Air Force General Norton Schwartz issued a stern response to Russia when he said, “Russia would cross a red line for the United States of America if it were to base nuclear-capable bombers in Cuba.” (9) This scenario is all too reminiscent of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which held the world in a state of horrifying suspense for thirteen days during the month of October in that year. The Russians had placed missiles with nuclear warheads in Cuba, but eventually they backed down. Will they back down again? It is not likely this time!


On August 7th, 2008, the night before the Olympics began, President Saakashvili of the nation of Georgia ordered an all-out, full scale attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossentia, Russia. Without provocation, the Georgians attacked this Russian city with aerial bombardments and ground attacks against civilian targets, such as residential areas, hospitals, and the university. Initially, 1,500 civilians were killed in this vicious attack. Artillery and aerial bombardments continued until Tskhinvali, the provincial capital, was without water, food, electricity, and gas. Russia anticipated the attack and retaliated fiercely by attacking Georgia with a large-scale invasion of that country. Georgia is an outpost of U.S. and NATO forces and is located on the border of the Russian Federation. South Ossetia also contains strategic oil and gas pipeline routes. (10) The London Daily Mail is calling this the “pipeline war”, because it is through this region that much of Europe’s oil is piped. (11) There is much propaganda regarding this series of events, and the American news media is majoring on the evil of the Russian response and not blaming Georgia for starting this bloody war. There is much circumstantial evidence that President Bush and leaders in Israel encouraged the attack on Russia.


Now that the United States and Poland signed a missile shield deal, Russia is threatening a military response against the United States. (12) Will President Bush succeed in getting us into a war with the Russians before he leaves office? God help us during these perilous times!


Strange Spirits in Washington!


Every witch and occultist understands full-well that the United States of America is operating on occult power. The stories about the White House being haunted are true according to Hillary Clinton, who once lived there and would like to live there again. It has been reported that at night a long-dead usher is still turning off the lights and that ghosts of doormen often appear. In a 1996 interview, Hillary Clinton had this to say, “There is something about the White House at night that makes you just feel like you are summoning up the spirits of all the people who have lived there, and worked there, and walked through the halls there. It’s neat. It can be a little creepy.” (13) Would Barack Hussein Obama likewise enjoy this atmosphere of hell that pervades the executive mansion?


Barack Hussein Obama is a man of many titles. He is being called World ‘Citizen’ Obama, the Transnational Man, and a man of change. (14) I find it interesting that Obama is left-handed, yet he always uses his right hand when doing his infamous Nazi salute. In fact, both candidates, Obama and McCain, are left-handed. (15) There is nothing wrong with being left-handed; many people are, but perhaps there is something spiritual here. The Latin word for left is sinister. Ancient Romans believed that left-handed people had an evil spirit, and mothers would force left-handed children to use their right hands by tying their left hand behind their backs. From this, we have the saying “I could do that with one hand tied behind my back.” The Latin word for right is dexter. When ancient Romans saw someone that could use both right and left hands equally well, they still would not acknowledge the left hand. They described that person as one who is ambidextrous, which literally means both rights. At any rate, we have two presidential candidates who are doing a sinister work and are sinister-handed!


Who is Barack Obama, and who does he think he is? On his recent tour of Europe, he drew a crowd of 200,000 people near the Victory Column in Berlin, Germany. From the signs and placards that were being held up, it was obvious that a large percentage of the massive audience were homosexuals and lesbians. Obama held his right arm up at a forty-five degree angle, and thousands began to cheer and reach out to him with their arms extended as if they were praising some sort of god. (16)


Barack Obama also thinks of himself as the lord of the seas, as was revealed in his victory speech after he became the front runner in the Democratic Party. Obama declared, “It is a great turning point in history – generations from now we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when, among other wonders, the rise of the oceans began to slow.” (17)


Obama’s wife recently made some amazing comments regarding her husband. She said, “President Obama will be a stern taskmaster. He will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism… that you come out of your isolation… Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.” (18) When I heard that word taskmaster, I remembered Exodus 3:7, which reads as follows: “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.” I also thought of Daniel 8:23-25, which says, “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.”


Barack Obama travels the world in his Boeing 757, which is equipped like a flying palace. It is much more spacious than Air Force One. Obama’s plane is called O-Force One. (19) When Obama was in Jordan, he had King Abdullah II personally drive him to the Temple of Hercules in a gleaming Mercedes 600 automobile. Obama wanted to walk among the ruins of the ancient temple, amphitheatre, Odeon, and Nymphaeum. Obama then made a speech among the ancient ruins, dating back from 161 to 180 AD. (20)


The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for August 24th through August 31st in Denver, Colorado. In the world of witchcraft and the occult, Denver is considered to be a sacred city, and it is known as the place where east meets west. The authorities in Denver are expecting many protesters during the convention, and they have converted a city-owned warehouse into a detention center. This large warehouse contains many chain-link cages to hold those who protest against Obama and company. (21)


Barack Obama has also launched a program designed to convince anti-abortionists that he is the man for them. Obama officially stated that while he staunchly defends abortion rights, he also said, “I strongly back a woman’s decision to carry a pregnancy to term.” (22) In other words, Obama is saying that if you want to kill your baby, he supports that; and if you want to bring your baby to birth, he doesn’t care!


Obama has claimed to be a “Christian”, but he is a Moslem, who came from a family of Moslems and has siblings who are Moslems. Here let it be noted that the Bible tells us in Revelation 20:4 about those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus. What religion is preoccupied with beheading? Obviously Islam, known as the Moslem religion, is. The Obama family is a strange one. Barack’s father was married four times, and there are numerous half-brothers and half-sisters. Mark Ndesandjo is the son of Barack’s father and his third wife. Mark lives in Red China, and he has the important job of coordinating all Chinese exports to the United States. (23) In other words, Barack Obama’s brother is the one who arranges for American buyers to fill America with Chinese junk, defective merchandise, and tainted food.


One more thing that should be remembered about Barack Obama is that he is a dyed-in-the-wool socialist. I remember the words of the erstwhile Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, who said, “We can’t expect people to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving doses of socialism until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism.”


A World-Wide Witches’ Spell


Late on the witches’ sabat of Lammas, also Lughnasaid, which is the sabat of soul harvest, a total eclipse of the sun occurred. (24) Countless millions of people watched this ominous event of August 1st, 2008, and reported an eerie presence about it. Many people were gasping and awe-stricken by this event. We know that Luke 21:25 tells us of signs in the heavens, and it reads as follows: “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.” As Christians we believe these are signs from God, but the Illuminists, witches and astrologers believe they are omens; and they act accordingly. The occultists advise the leaders of nations today just as they advised the kings and emperors of old. To this day, astrologers tell leaders of nations and conspiracies when to start wars and political projects. The ancient gods and goddesses are actually demonic spirits that play the game with their superstitious human stooges. With that in mind, and with Mars, Venus, and Mercury beginning to form a triangle in the western sky near sunset; it is no wonder that war broke out between Russia and Georgia on the night of August 7th, 2008.


In addition to the above, occultists and witches have believed from time immemorial that an eclipse indicates that someone of world-importance has died. Strangely enough, during this same time frame, the former Soviet writer and dissident Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn died.


On the date of 08-08-08 at 8:08 P.M., the Olympic Cauldron of Zeus was ignited from the torch that was ignited by rays of the so-called sun-god. This is witchcraft of the first magnitude. Here let it be noted that the original Olympic Games in Greece, which took place centuries ago, were done in the nude. According to National Geographic Magazine, it was a time of “naked sports and pagan partying.” Prostitution was extremely widespread, and pederasty took place. (25) The 2008 Olympics Committee had a new kind of problem, as numerous athletes had to be gender-tested to determine if they were truly men or women. (26) These games are satanic from start to finish!


Another Sign in the Heavens!


If we look westward, just as the sun is setting, we can see three bright objects in the sky. These will be visible through the first half of September 2008. The objects, as previously mentioned, are Mercury, Venus, and Mars. These objects will form a perfect isosceles triangle on September 1st. Then, something very peculiar begins to happen. Mars and Venus begin to move closer and closer to each other. In the occult world, Mars means war, and Venus means erotic love or false peace. Then on September 11th, 2008, exactly seven years to the date after the World Trade Center was attacked, Mars will appear to slam into Venus. The two objects do not actually collide, but they appear to as a sign in the heavens. As I seek the Lord in watching unto prayer, I sense a great and deep foreboding that seems to come from everywhere. Those who have binoculars can watch this event at sunset in the western sky. What great event is the Lord warning us about? Soon we will know!


Spirits of Metamorphosis!


The word metamorphosis means “change or transformation by a spiritual force”. Our nation and the world has been slowly changing for a long time and now is changing rapidly, and it is not for the better. Religion is one of the most noticeable and dynamic areas of change, and as people have gone farther and farther from God, we now find that masses of people are completely void of discernment. One example of this was mentioned briefly in the August 2008 Last Trumpet when I exposed Todd Bentley as a demon-possessed fraud. I have been condemned by some people for denouncing Bentley and have received hate mail in his defense. I have a sound byte from one of Todd Bentley’s meetings, in which he says the following: “God told me to grab that lady’s crippled legs and bang them up and down on the platform like a baseball bat. I walked up and grabbed her legs and started to go bam, and then I banged her legs up and down on the platform. I asked God, ‘Why is the power not moving?’ And God said, ‘That’s because you haven’t kicked that woman in the face.’”


Another account regarding Bentley comes to us from Canada, where Bentley was invited to speak in a large Pentecostal church. This church had a large air conditioning system with ceiling vents. Bentley was told that he could not turn on the air conditioner, because a large number of pigeons had nested in the air conditioner unit, so the system was down until the problem could be corrected. Todd Bentley went over and turned the A/C unit on anyway, and pigeon feathers began to pour out of the ceiling vents and float downward upon the congregation. Bentley tried to tell the congregation that it was a miracle of angel feathers floating down upon them. He was kicked out of the church as a liar and deceiver and told to never come back! Thank God for people who have enough sense to see through this human devil! Sadly, multitudes of ministers, especially from Europe, are flocking to Bentley’s meetings. We are that far gone!


People are so easily deceived in these last days, and our government is well aware of this condition. In fact, many people still think we live in a free country. Here let it be noted that there are now one million American citizens on the terrorist watch list, which is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security. (27) The Department of Homeland Security has now been empowered to seize at will any and all electronic devices from passengers traveling to the United States. (28)


Sadly, we have become a nation that is far too dependent on electronic devices, and there is now strong evidence that the millions of cell phones operating at any given time are inducing severe and sharp lightening strikes. This is happening because cell phones are electromagnetic field carriers, which make them strong conductors. Thunderbolts are attracted to such things, and the outcome can be deadly! (29) There are now three billion people in this world using cell phones, and many of them are in use for long periods of time. Intense research has already indicated that the radiation from these phones induce brain-damaging tumors of the auditory nerve. (30) Cell phones give off microwave radiation, which stresses the endothelial cells and damages the blood-brain barrier, which stops harmful substances in the blood from entering the brain. (31)


This last generation is one that is hooked on electronic devices in every avenue of life. Nearly everyone is cooking with microwave ovens, which produce cancer-causing free radicals in their food. Microwave ovens have a magnetron, which is a device that generates waves at about 2.45 gigahertz. The waves of radiation interact with the food, and the energy changes the polarity from positive to negative with each cycle of the wave. This happens millions of times per second, causing the molecules in the food to rotate and cause friction. It is this friction that produces the heat that cooks the food. The vitamin and nutritional content of the food is completely deformed as molecules are forcefully torn apart. In the laboratory this is called “structural isomerism.” (32)


Satan is having a field day with people and their electronic devices. The new iPhone 3G is being advertised in Australia in a very blasphemous way. The following words are found in the advertisement: “The mobile device dubbed the Jesus Phone is about to have its second coming. The iPhone 3G, the new incarnation of Apple’s first foray into the mobile handset business, will go on sale in 22 countries.” (33) This is clearly a mockery of our Saviour. We should also remember that the symbol for the Apple Computer company is an apple with one bite out of it, representing the fall of mankind into sin. We also know that the first Apple computers to hit the market in the early 1980’s sold for 666 dollars.


On June 29th, 2008, the Associated Press released a story of a bizarre experiment that may now be taking place in Meyrin, Switzerland. The largest atom-smasher ever built was to be switched on in August 2008. It will be ramped up to full capacity over a period of several months. This atomic collider cost 5.8 billion dollars to construct and is being called the largest scientific experiment in the history of the world. It is seven times more powerful than the Fermilab in Chicago, Illinois. The massive device is located 330 feet underground and is 17 miles in circumference. The device is being used to search for “dark energy” and additional dimensions. Some physicists believe that the device could create a black hole that would engulf the earth or change the earth in other ways forever. Dr. Walter L. Wagner, a physicist, said that a safety report regarding the device has several major flaws, and he is frantically trying to stop the project. He filed a lawsuit to halt the activation of the device, but his warnings have been rejected by the U.S. Government. On June 24th, 2008, the U.S. Justice Department lawyers, representing the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, filed a motion to dismiss the case. (34) What kind of reaction will this device bring to the delicate balance that keeps the earth in place? The Bible warns us that something will shake the earth out of orbit some day. In Isaiah 13:13 we read as follows: “Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” That day is rapidly approaching! Where will you spend eternity?


In closing, I want to sincerely thank all of you who support this end time prophetic ministry. I pray you will be blessed exceedingly. Remember to send your prayer requests as they will be individually taken to the throne of God by our prayer teams. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.


David J. Meyer


Acknowledgements
01. Associated Press, Jul. 29, 2008, Washington, D.C.
02. Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, Jul. 16, 2008.
03. Associated Press, Jul. 26, 2008, by Ali Akbar Dareini, Tehran, Iran.
04. PZ Newswatch, Jul. 22, 2008.
05. Associated Press, Jul. 8, 2008, Washington, D.C.
06. London Daily Telegraph, Jul. 14, 2008, by Henry Samuel, London, England, UK.
07. London Daily Telegraph, Aug. 5, 2008, London, England, UK.
08. Reuters News Service, Aug. 4, 2008, Moscow, Russia.
09. AFP News Service, Jul. 22, 2008, Washington, D.C.
10. Global Research, Aug. 10, 2008, by Michel Chossudovsky, http://www.globalresearch.ca.
11. London Daily Mail, Aug. 10, 2008, by Svetlana Skarbo & Jonathan Petre, London, England, UK.
12. Reuters News Service, Aug. 14, 2008, by Gabriela Baczynska, Warsaw, Poland.
13. Modern-Day Mysteries, http://www.history.com.
14. The Oregonian, July 30, 2008, by Rich Lowry.
15. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jul. 12, 2008, by Sam Wang & Sandra Aamodt, Milwaukee, WI.
16. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jul. 25, 2008, AP, Berlin, Germany.
17. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jul. 17, 2008, by Charles Krauthammer, Milwaukee, WI.
18. Ibid.
19. CBS News, Aug. 3, 2008, by Allison O’Keefe.
20. AFP News, Jul. 22, 2008, Amman, Jordan.
21. TheDenverChannel.com, Aug. 15 & 16, 2008, by Russell Haythorn.
22. Bloomberg News Service, Aug. 14, 2008, by Kristin Jensen.
23. London Times, Jul. 27, 2008, by Michael Sheridan Shenzhen, China.
24. The Age Newspaper, Aug. 2, 2008, Australia.
25. National Geographic News, Aug. 13, 2008, by Stefan Lovgren.
26. The Guardian, Jul. 30, 2008, by Emine Saner, London, England, UK.
27. AFP News, Jul. 14, 2008, Washington, D.C.
28. Washington Post, Aug. 1, 2008, Washington, D.C.
29. CNN News, Jul. 18, 2008, by Alina Selyukh, Moscow, Russia.
30. The Douglass Report, Jul. 19, 2008, http://www.douglassreport.com.
31. Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Graphic News.
32. Whole Body Health, Report #3, 2008, by Christopher Gussa.
33. The Age Newspaper, Jul. 10, 2008, advertisement, Melbourne, Australia.
34. Winston-Salem Journal, Jun. 29, 2008, AP, Meyrin, Switzerland.


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