Thursday, April 02, 2009

Seventh-day Adventist Church starts on expansion

The Seventh-day Adventist Church just broke ground on extending its headquarters at 12501 Old Columbia Pike, which will be added on the far left side of the building.


Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Dayton Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb DBJ Contributor


The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists broke ground on a major expansion of its world headquarters in Silver Spring Tuesday.
The three-story extension of the main building at 12501 Old Columbia Pike will mostly house the Hope Channel, the protestant denomination’s global TV network.

Hanover, Penn.-based Conewago Enterprises Inc. is the general contractor for the $5 million project, which will be built on the far left side of the building.

“The expansion is needed because we’re bursting at the seams in the main building,” said Scott Steward, marketing director of the Hope Channel.

The new building will have 24,000 square feet of space and the Hope Channel studio will be about 3,000 square feet with room for multiple sets. It currently occupies just 600 square feet in the basement of the main building.

“This will allow Hope Channel to improve efficiency, quality, and quantity of production for live and recorded programs,” said Steward.

The project is slated to be completed within 300 days.

More than 850 people work in the world headquarters building and no additional staff is expected to be hired at this time, he said.

Hope Channel is an international network of 10 channels using 11 different satellites that air family-friendly Christian lifestyle TV in multiple languages.

Hope Channel, launched in 2003, works with the church’s media centers around the world and will be added to DirecTV on channel 368 beginning April 29.

Seventh-day Adventists have nearly 16 million members worldwide and are known for their healthcare, education, media, and disaster relief work. In the Dayton area, the Kettering Health Network follows in the spirit of Seventh-day Adventist healthcare ministry, saying on its Web site, "We strive to be innovative and to convey God's love in a caring environment."

E-mail dayton@bizjournals.com. Call (937) 528-4400.


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Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2009/03/23/daily42.html
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Baptists, Adventists meet to underscore common values

Dulcie Callam stands next to her husband, Neville Callam, general secretary for the Baptist World Alliance, John Graz, director of the public affairs and religious liberty department for the Adventist church, and Fausto Vasconcelos, director of evangelism and education for the Baptist World Alliance. The group attended a meeting held March at the Seventh-day Adventist world church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. [photo: Rajmund Dabrowski]

Both denominations share 'passion for religious freedom,' Adventist official says


12 Mar 2009, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

Rajmund Dabrowski/ANN


Delegates from the Baptist World Alliance met with Seventh-day Adventist world church President Jan Paulsen yesterday to affirm their denominations' common values and recommit to their shared goals of religious freedom.

The meeting, which included other church leaders, took place at Adventist world church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

"[Adventists and Baptists] share a Christ-centric faith and many of the same values," said John Graz, director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Adventist church. "We also share a passion for religious freedom, and in many countries around the world we cooperate closely to promote and defend this freedom."

Neville Callam, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance since 2007, echoed the common need to work for religious liberty.

"Part of the genetic makeup of the Baptist community is [the affirmation] of human dignity," Callam said. He also expressed interest in pursuing "mutual sharing and collaboration in common causes" in the future.

Adventist world church President Jan Paulsen also commended the group on past collaborations in the area of religious liberty.

"The strength of affirming and protecting religious freedom depends on participation of many. [Let us] explore opportunities to work together in the name of Christ and to strengthen our witness for him," Paulsen said.

Paulsen added that the partnership has provided "a fertile spiritual soil to our faith family."

The Baptist World Alliance was founded in 1905 and currently represents 105 million members in 119 countries.

news.adventist.org

ANN World News Bulletin is a review of news and information issued by the Communication department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters and released as part of the service of Adventist News Network. It is made available primarily to religious news editors. Our news includes dispatches from the church's international offices and the world headquarters.


Source: Adventist News Network


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Red Alert: Redefining the Global System (Open Access)

Stratfor Today » April 2, 2009 0203 GMT


From Europe to Turkey, world leaders are coming together this week for a slew of global summits. There is much for these world leaders to discuss: the global financial infrastructure is now up for debate, the jihadist war continues to rage in South Asia, the Russians are locked into intractable negotiations with the Americans over the boundaries of the former Soviet sphere of influence, and the Turks are returning to their great power past.

These summits are not just about photo-ops and handshakes. Taken together, this array of diplomatic meetings constitute the greatest density of decision points in the modern world since the summits that brought about the end of the Cold War. This is a time when the true colors of nation-states come out, as each fights for their political, economic and security interests behind a thin veneer of global cooperation.

With geopolitical boundaries being redrawn across the world, STRATFOR has a responsibility to penetrate the media glitz and read through the lines of diluted joint statements and press conferences to explain to our readers the core issues at stake for each player involved. Through our extensive coverage in this week’s Global Summit series, our intent has been to do just that.

Midway through the bilateral summits, we have yet to see any major surprises deviating from our assessments. In the lead-up to the G-20 summit in London, the Americans and the Germans will be at the core of the debate over how to restructure the global financial system. The Americans, the British and the Japanese believe stimulus is the way to go to put the global economy back on track, while Germany, the economic heavyweight of Europe, prefers instead to export its way out of the recession. This is not a debate that will be resolved by the end of this summit (if at all), leaving G-20 members and the struggling economies watching from the outside with the impression that they have little choice but to fend for themselves in this severe economic environment.

The Americans do not just disagree with the Europeans on economics — in spite of Europe’s enthusiasm for U.S. President Barack Obama, the EU members at the summit made clear their unwillingness to make any meaningful contributions to the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan beyond a few aid packages. With the Western coalition in Afghanistan looking more and more like a one-man show, the Americans are branching out of their post-World War II system of alliance in search of new strategic partners. The United States has found one such partner in Turkey, where Obama will be wrapping up his visit on April 6-7. This will demonstrate to allies and adversaries alike that Washington embraces a greater Turkish role in global affairs that stretch from the Islamic World to the Russian periphery.

The summits thus far have given the Russians plenty to chew on. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev came to the G-20 ready to negotiate with Obama on a slew of issues that revolve around a core Russian imperative of consolidating power in the former Soviet periphery. A look at the joint statement and press conferences from the Obama-Medvedev meetings might leave one with the impression that the Americans and the Russians are ready to cooperate, but in reality, all they could really boast about was a commitment to restart talks on nuclear disarmament, leaving a host of outstanding critical issues in limbo. It is quite apparent that the United States has its hands full, but Obama still let the Russians know that he does not intend sit back and allow Moscow to have its way with Eurasia. The Russians now have a better idea of Obama’s boundaries in these negotiations, but their priorities have not changed; Moscow still has ways of grabbing Washington’s attention.

It has been a roller coaster ride thus far, with still more to come. Before Obama makes his way to Turkey, he still has to touch base with his NATO allies in Prague. With the Russians ready to play hardball and the balance of the Eurasian landmass still in flux, these meetings will be anything but bland. Meanwhile, STRATFOR’s team of expert analysts will be working to provide their members with the analytical context to find significant meaning from these summits. A redefinition of global systems is taking place that will carry well into the future, and STRATFOR is here to provide the historical and analytical record.


Source: http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20090401_red_alert/?utm_source=RedAlert&utm_campaign=none&utm_medium=email

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Ex-Illinois Governor Is Indicted on Corruption Charges

M. Spencer Green/Associated Press

Former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich at a news conference in Chicago in December.
By MONICA DAVEY
Published: April 2, 2009
CHICAGO — Rod R. Blagojevich, this state’s ousted governor, was charged on Thursday with 16 felony counts, among them racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud and extortion conspiracy in a wide-ranging scheme to deprive residents of “honest government,” prosecutors said, including trying to leverage his authority to pick someone to fill President Obama’s former Senate seat.

Five of his closest advisers, including his brother, Robert, a top fundraiser, and two former chiefs of staff, were also charged in the 19-count indictment.

Prosecutors said Mr. Blagojevich used numerous elements of his state work — including appointing people to state boards, investing state money and signing legislation — as a way to seek money, campaign contributions and jobs for himself and others.

On Thursday, Mr. Blagojevich and his family were believed to be in Florida at a resort near Walt Disney World. (A tourist spotted the governor there and sent cellphone snapshots to a local television station here.) His publicist said only that the former governor was out of town on spring break with his children.

The long-anticipated indictment in essence replaced charges made against Mr. Blagojevich when he was arrested last December in what turned out to be the start of the rapid coming apart of his political career. The indictment comes at an awkward time for a city that is desperately trying to shed its reputation for political corruption, and that on Thursday was receiving international officials weighing Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 summer Olympics.

Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat then in his second term as governor, was arrested on Dec. 9 on two counts — conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery — in a criminal complaint.

Among the accusations against him, prosecutors said Mr. Blagojevich tried to benefit financially from his role in selecting a replacement to fill President Obama’s former United States Senate seat. The prosecutors described salty, jarringly brazen telephone conversations they had secretly intercepted between Mr. Blagojevich and close advisers in which, the prosecutors said, Mr. Blagojevich spoke of collecting cash contributions, a high-paying job, a cabinet-level post or even an ambassadorship in exchange for the Senate seat Mr. Obama had held since 2005, and only weeks earlier, resigned.

“I’ve got this thing,” Mr. Blagojevich said on one recording, according to an affidavit, “and it’s [expletive] golden. And I’m not just giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not going to do it. And I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

Since then, Mr. Blagojevich has denied all wrongdoing and said he would fight his case to whatever legal lengths he could.
In the criminal complaint, prosecutors portrayed Mr. Blagojevich as taking part in a broad scheme to raise money for himself in exchange for his official decisions as governor.

They accused Mr. Blagojevich of trying to force the firing of an editorial writer from The Chicago Tribune by threatening to withhold state assistance in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field, owned by the Tribune Company. They said he threatened to withhold $8 million in state money from a children’s hospital if its top executive did not give him a $50,000 contribution. They said he tied state money for a highway project to whether a contractor provided him $500,000 in contributions.
In December, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said he had gone forward with a criminal complaint — not a formal indictment after review of the case by a grand jury — because the intercepted telephone calls had forced the authorities to move quickly to stop what he described as a crime spree in progress.
But at the time, some legal experts suggested that choice might signal that Mr. Fitzgerald did not yet have a prosecutable case in hand, and some raised broader questions about the strength of his case and the difficult legal distinction between illegal acts and simply unseemly political talk. In the nearly four months since, the federal authorities continued their investigation.

Long before his arrest, Mr. Blagojevich, 52 and a former state legislator and member of the United States House, was a widely unpopular governor whose political start had come thanks in large part to the political operation of a powerful Chicago alderman, Dick Mell, who also happened to be Mr. Blagojevich’s father-in-law.

Much has changed for Mr. Blagojevich of late. In January, he was impeached and ousted over his very vocal objections — to nearly any national media outlet that would listen — that he was being railroaded by legislators who had never liked him in the first place. Indeed, Mr. Blagojevich had long ago alienated himself from leaders in Springfield, even though both chambers of the Legislature there were dominated by fellow Democrats who, with Mr. Blagojevich’s election in 2002, controlled the governorship for the first time in 30 years.

Before his impeachment but after his arrest, Mr. Blagojevich ignored the advice of nearly every political leader here and appointed a replacement to fill Mr. Obama’s Senate seat — the very seat for which he had already been accused of seeking payment.

Mr. Blagojevich chose Roland W. Burris, a former attorney general and the state’s first black elected to statewide office. That selection created controversy weeks later, when Mr. Burris, by then an official member of the Senate, acknowledged that he had tried, and failed, to raise money for Mr. Blagojevich at the same time that he had conveyed his interest in the Senate seat. That matter is under investigation by a state prosecutor in downstate Illinois and by the Senate Ethics Committee, which is conducting a preliminary inquiry.

Lately, Mr. Blagojevich has taken on an odd, ubiquitous but peripheral, reality-TV-style celebrity here. His former political life has become the topic of a musical (“Rod Blagojevich Superstar!”) at The Second City, Chicago’s long-standing improvisational comedy theater. He has been offered a minor league baseball contract in Joliet. He was host of a local radio talk show. He announced a six-figure deal for a book, in which he promises to tell all.

Mr. Blagojevich’s indictment — and his return to center stage — came as gloomy news to some Democrats here, who, with elections for governor and the United States Senate approaching in 2010, do not wish to have the public reminded, once more, of his tenure. Here, many Democrats who clashed with Mr. Blagojevich are chafing as Republicans have already begun issuing news releases denouncing the latest acts of the “Blagojevich Democrats.”

The indictment comes just as this state’s government insists that it is now intent in overhauling itself after years of political corruption, deal-making and indictments. Only earlier this week, a “reform commission” created by Patrick J. Quinn, the former lieutenant governor who became governor when Mr. Blagojevich was ousted, announced proposals to cap campaign contributions, bar lobbyists from giving to campaigns and make more information available to the public.
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Wednesday, April 01, 2009

When Our Only True Hope Is Rejected!


Volume XXVIII Issue IV April 2009
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Fax: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/



When Our Only True Hope Is Rejected!

"Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers."

Isaiah 1:4, 7
"Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."

Haggai 1:5-6

"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If any man hear my voice,and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Revelation 3:17-20

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will look upon our nation and the world in the light of the Holy Scriptures. As we do this, we will behold a situation that is beyond sadness, especially when we realize that conditions do not have to be as they are. We are not a nation and world without hope, but the only hope is being continually rejected. We must always remember that apathy toward truth is just as bad and destructive as rebellion against truth. When people do not care or when they turn their heads and pretend they do not see what is happening, hope fades and disappears into obscurity.

As I sought the Almighty Saviour before writing this issue of the newsletter, it was revealed to me that a great evil is about to break forth in the United States. It will be allowed to come forth because people neither believe it will happen, nor do they believe it could ever happen here in America. Chaos will erupt and there will be blood in the streets of our cities. Desolation and burning have been determined upon this people who have rejected their only true hope. Our nation has already been seized upon, and it is being pillaged by internationalist elitists who care only about their antichrist agenda. Our nation is in a deplorable condition, and even the greatest optimists find that their words have a hollowness and emptiness in them. Our leaders know full well what would happen if the masses of people would ever come fully awake to the reality of what is going on.

The Scripture verses above are so precise regarding our present time. America is a corrupt and evil nation that has "raised hell" for so long that hell is now remaining on the surface. The second portion of Scripture above tells of a people who continue to do business, but they never have enough and cannot gain or reap earnings. It also tells us of a people that are putting whatever wealth they do have into bags with holes in them. Everything they put in continually falls out into a pit of debt, and the dumbfounded people sit in bewilderment, wondering how it happened.

Our erstwhile great nation, once the wealthiest nation in the world, has been reduced to a bankrupted debtor nation that has been going to Red China with hat in hand, begging for more credit. I truly wish I did not have to say that this United States of America, as it now exists, is not the nation I was born into. Oh how it has changed!

I do know that we are not without hope, even if the masses of people reject that hope. You, as an individual, can come unto the Lord Jesus Christ right now and find peace in the time of trouble and shelter in the time of storm. Even though the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things, you can have a heart full of hope as the Saviour enters your life and remains with you. Do it now, as eternity is in view and is nigh at hand!

Satan in the White House!

In a news report dated February 23rd, 2009, an excerpt from the Los Angeles Times revealed an amazing statement by former U.S. Ambassador Alan Keyes. Mr. Keyes emphatically stated the following: "Obama is a radical communist. He will destroy this country, and unless he is stopped, America will cease to exist." (1) Few people realize just how dangerous this man, Barack Hussein Obama, is! He came from the Chicago political underworld and has surrounded himself with others of that ilk. Obama has had a hard time filling cabinet posts and has had many refusals because no honorable person would or could work with him. Those closest to him who did accept cabinet and other positions are of such dishonorable character that their crimes could not be hidden. One such man is Timothy Geithner, who admitted that he did not pay income taxes in recent years. Obama appointed him U.S. Treasury Secretary, and thus, he now oversees the Internal Revenue Service. (2) We must also note that fourteen positions directly under Geithner remain unfilled because no one seems to want to work with him. Geithner is said to be alone and working far into the night. (3)

On March 13th, 2009, Friday the 13th, the FBI raided the Office of the Chief Technology Officer in Washington, D.C., and made arrests on corruption charges. (4) So much corruption has already surfaced in the first seven weeks of Obama's "reign."

Another shocking revelation recently came forth from a noted psychologist and one of the world's foremost experts on "narcissism." Dr. Sam Vaknin explained that a narcissist is one who is so in love with himself that nothing or no one else matters to him. Dr. Vaknin has done an intensive study on Barack Obama and had this to say about him: "Obama's speeches are unlike any political speech we have heard in American history. Never a politician in this land had such quasi-'religious' impact on so many people. The fact that Obama is a total incognito with zero accomplishment, makes this inexplicable infatuation alarming. Obama is not an ordinary man. He is not a genius. In fact, he is quite ignorant on most important subjects." Dr Vaknin believes Obama is either a narcissist or he may have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). The article continues, "Narcissists project a grandiose but false image of themselves. Jim Jones, the charismatic leader of People's Temple, the man who led over 900 of his followers to cheerfully commit mass suicide and even murder their own children, was also a narcissist. David Koresh, Charles Manson, Joseph Koni, Shoko Asahara, Stalin, Saddam, Mao, Kim Jong III, and Adolph Hitler are a few examples of narcissists of our time." (5)

When I read the above material, I immediately realized that the demons that lived within Hitler and other such men are somewhere and dwelling in someone right now! Strangely enough, the German people seem to love Barack Obama. I have in front of me a news photo taken on February 23, 2009, in a parade in Duesseldorf, Germany. It is a picture of a float, featuring a massive image of Obama in the form of a black angel with wings and a halo. The image is flying and dragging all of Europe behind him. (6)

President Obama is beginning to show his true colors, and this is only the beginning of trouble. On March 16th, 2009, American Legion Commander David K. Rehbein met with President Obama. Commander Rehbein said, "I came away deeply disappointed and concerned." Why the disappointment and concern? Obama plans to charge wounded military personnel for their own treatment! (7) This violates the government's commitment to provide medical care for those who defend our country. Obama is basically saying if you are wounded, you are on your own! I have also heard reports of veterans returning from war zones expecting to have their education paid for as promised, only to find the government flatly refusing to give them anything! What good is a Purple Heart medal from a government that has no heart at all? We must remember that we have a President whose name means "lightning," and a White House Chief of Staff whose name means "thunder."

There are various strange events surrounding Obama in these early days of his presidency. At 10:20 P.M. on Thursday, February 12th, 2009, Continental Flight 3407 was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, when the plane suddenly crashed into a home six miles from the airport. When it was over, fifty people were dead. (8) One of the passengers who died was Beverly Eckert, who was a surviving widow of the World Trade Center attack, which killed her husband. Mrs. Eckert was an activist who had gathered evidence that former President Bush knew about the attacks in advance and even helped to plan them. Mrs. Eckert was allowed to meet with President Obama and told him she wanted George Bush investigated for conspiracy and complicity in the attacks of the Twin Towers. We must note that Mrs. Eckert met with Obama on Friday, the sixth day of the week, on February sixth and died in the crash six days later. It was another 666, the very signature of the beast. As the smoke cleared and the sun came up over the wreckage, it was Friday the 13th!

On February 3rd, 2009, Barack Obama had an interview with Katie Couric on CBS News. During the interview, Couric asked the President about Senator Tom Daschle withdrawing his nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary. It was discovered that Daschle admitted to not paying his taxes. Obama still said Daschle was the best man for the job, but the President then spoke some words that were very out-of-character for him. Obama said, "I messed up." In fact, he said it three times. (9) If we add the number equivalent for the letters in that phrase, "I messed up," we find they total 666. This is no coincidence! The system used to determine this is the English system of A=6, B=12, C=18, and so on.

If President Obama is concerned about saving money, why did he take the stimulus bill from Washington to Denver, Colorado, to sign it? To most people that would make no sense. In the occult it would mean an invocation of the spirits of east and west. Denver is the city known to witches as the gathering place where east meets west. Thus, in the mile-high city where east and west meet, Obama signed the stimulus bill that will ultimately destroy the economy of the United States and eventually will put to death free enterprise. We must also note that Obama's recent trip to Canada became very expensive when he insisted that his car, named "the Beast," be flown to Canada so he could ride in it.

President Obama can handle absolutely no criticism. On February 19th, 2009, Chip Harrison, a private citizen from Oklahoma City, was pulled over while driving because he had a sign in the window of his car which said "Abort Obama not the unborn." The sign was confiscated, and Mr. Harrison was given a paper saying he was under investigation as a potential threat to the President. The police later returned his sign, but when he later returned to his house, he was met by the U.S. Secret Service. The agents insisted on walking through his house with him and found nothing as evidence that he was a threat. Mr. Harrison stated that he disagrees with the President's policy on terminating the unborn. (10)

We must remember that the occult societies and the government work together. We must also remember that the government has numerous people that have been mentally programmed to carry out certain assignments. These Manchurian Candidate-like people have lost their own will and operate on the will of their masters. In February 2009, there was a Friday the 13th just after the full moon. In March 2009, there was a second Friday the 13th just after the full moon again and with the Ides of March approaching. This would be a time of heavy occult activity. During this time, numerous shootings began to take place. In Maryville, Illinois, a pastor was shot and killed in the pulpit from which he was ministering. (11) Also during this time on March 11th, a gunman mass-murdered ten people in Samson, Alabama, and then killed himself. The U.S. Army immediately put soldiers on the streets in this small town. (12) It was quite an exercise for them. We also know that during this same time a teen-age gunman in Germany killed fifteen teachers and students while smiling at them. The response of the European Union was that all private citizens and subjects must be disarmed!

We know from history that tyrannical governments always disarm citizens before a takeover. In the European Union, a shocking fact was recently revealed by a news source in Ireland. According to Professor Schachtschneider of the University of Nuremberg, "When the European Union ratifies the Lisbon Treaty, the death penalty will be reintroduced to Europe, and will be applicable for the crimes of rioting, civil upheaval, and during war." (13) We also know that in the United States, plans are being made to control mass civil unrest. Recently, Representative Alcee L. Hastings, a Democrat from Florida, introduced a bill known as H.R. 645, which calls for the Secretary of Homeland Security to "establish no fewer than six national emergency centers for corralling civilians on military installations." (14) This is serious, and Satan is moving quickly. Almighty God is still on his throne, however. It is time for all of us to get serious about prayer! We have only one hope!

Foreclosure of an Entire Nation!

On March 5th, 2009, Bloomberg News Service reported that 8.3 million mortgages are in default in the United States. Homes are being foreclosed upon at a rate of 250,000 per month as large numbers of people continue to lose their jobs. (15) It is even now just as Isaiah 5:9 warned us it would be, as follows: "In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant." The stark reality is that countless thousands of beautiful homes stand empty, and someone should be living in them. Jobs are so scarce that one school janitor job opening in Ohio had seven hundred applicants. (16) Renowned investor George Soros recently stated that he "sees no bottom for world financial collapse." (17) In other words, the economy has become a bottomless pit.

The U.S. Government is being very secretive about what is really happening, as if the obvious isn't bad enough. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has flatly refused to release bank data and insists on secrecy. (18) In addition to that, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman, Sheila Bair, clearly stated that the FDIC insurance could become insolvent this year, which would leave depositors everywhere without insurance. (19) Now a bill is being introduced to allow the FDIC to borrow another one-half trillion dollars from the U.S. Treasury. (20) Everything the government is doing involves borrowing, and there is no reasonable expectation of repayment. Truly, our government is living on borrowed time. Even the New York Stock Exchange is planning to bend its rules. One of the requirements for a company to list its stock on the exchange is that the stock be worth at least one dollar per share. Large corporations are no longer worth even that much and would otherwise need to be delisted! (21) On March 7th, 2009, the Freedom Bank of Georgia was seized by the government and became the 17th major bank failure in the first nine weeks of this year. (22) American Express Company, famous for its renowned credit cards, is now being battered by losses so severe that the company is paying some of its card holders three hundred dollars if they will please close their accounts. (23)

There is now a global call for help as the nations of the world are looking for a man to lead them into a new age and a new world order. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an appeal to the U.S. Congress on March 4th, 2009, to "help save the world." (24) Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced on February 9th, 2009, that the nations of the world are in "depression." (25) At least one of them finally admitted it! This is, of course, a worldwide planned sabotage to force the issue of a new universal economy as predicted at the end of Revelation, chapter 13, verses 16-17, as follows: "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

Here let it be noted that the mark of the beast will not be forced upon people. They are caused to receive it and therefore receive it for a cause. What would make people love the antichrist, and why would they be so willing to accept him? As Christians we love the Lord Jesus Christ because he forgave us and pardoned our massive spiritual debt of sin. Since the Antichrist is an imposter and false Christ, he could mimic our Saviour in a very clever and diabolical way. The system of antichrist has put almost every one of all nations into deep financial debt. Debt has been generated and multiplied purposely, and few have escaped the tentacles of its vice-grip hold. Under the new world economy, will the Antichrist forgive all the debt of the people of the world; both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond? If all debts were instantly erased, the people everywhere would love him to the point of worship! The cry from billions of deceived lips would be, "Behold the man that taketh away the debt of the world."

Truly, the debt of the United States is massive. Not only do we have a national debt of eleven trillion dollars and growing, but we also have obligations that exceed the entire gross domestic product of the entire world. The numbers, such as one billion or one trillion, don't mean much until you put them in perspective. Here let it be noted that the entire Marshall Plan, which provided money to completely rebuild seventeen nations after World War II, was thirteen billion dollars. (26) We now spend that much in less than five days consistently. In fact, we spend a billion dollars every eight hours and twenty minutes. How much is a billion? A clock has to tick for fifty years to have ticked one billion times, and we spend about three billion dollars in one day. One billion seconds ago, it was the year 1959. About one billion minutes ago, the Lord Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, also called Calvary. One trillion seconds is fifty thousand years, and if every dollar in our current national debt was a second of time, it would equal approximately five hundred thousand years. There is no way out of this one but to start over.

As Americans, we are receiving one sad shock after another. In a recent report that I received from Switzerland, it was revealed that a written agreement was brought to Beijing, Red China, by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which puts every American in jeopardy. The information came from sources within the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. If the report is true, our Federal Government has granted Eminent Domain as collateral to Red China for U.S. debts. This includes the house you live in! (27) Our U.S. State Department is denying everything, but has our government ever given us a reason to trust them? I am reminded of the words of Arthur Sylvester, who was the Pentagon press agent during the Kennedy Administration. Sylvester said, "The government has the right to lie to the people." I don't think they have reformed since then! In fact, the evidence that this deal was made with Red China is mounting. We know that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did go to Red China, and with hat-in-hand begged the Red Chinese government to keep buying U.S. debt! Clinton was heard to plead with the Red Chinese leaders and said, "By continuing to support American Treasury instruments, the Chinese are recognizing our interconnection. We are truly going to rise or fall together." (28) It should also be noted that currently Red China is the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bills. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao forcefully stated on March 13th, 2009, the following words: "We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S., so of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. Frankly speaking, I do have some worries. I call upon the U.S. Government to maintain its credibility, honor its commitments, and guarantee the security of Chinese assets." (29) It is this demand for a guarantee that caused Hillary Clinton to no doubt surrender your homes and properties as collateral. After all, the only collateral the U.S. Government has is the taxing power over its people!

The Nations are Angry!

The eighteenth verse of Revelation, chapter 11, starts out with the following words: "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come…." We are now seeing great wrath among many nations, and it is rising to a fever pitch. Iran has announced its close ties with Russia and that Russia is considering providing Iran with long-range S-300 air defense missile systems. (30) On February 19th, 2009, the Financial Times reported that Iran now holds enough weapons-grade uranium for an atomic bomb. (31) It is no secret that Iran intends to destroy the State of Israel from the face of the earth, and in response, on March 5th, 2009, the Jerusalem Post reported that Israel is seriously considering military action against Iran. (32) It is just a matter of time before the entire Middle East explodes into a horrifying war.

In the South China Sea on Friday the 13th of March, 2009 five Red Chinese ships began to harass a U.S. surveillance ship, which was reportedly unarmed. Obama responded by sending heavily armed U.S. destroyers, which resulted in a naval standoff. (33) Meanwhile, the North Koreans are planning a long-range missile launch, which they are masking as a satellite launch. The United States, Japan, and South Korea have declared they will destroy any such attempt. North Korea has promised all-out war if that happens. (34)

In our western hemisphere, both Cuba and Venezuela have offered to host Russian military bases. Venezuela offered Russia an entire island for use as a bomber base. (35) It seems that the whole world is festering with wars and rumors of war. This is one of the signs for which we were told to watch.

A Sin-Sick Creation!

The very creation itself is revolting against sinful man as our earth continually shows signs of deterioration. As the day of final judgment draws closer, this will continue. On March 9th, 2009, Prince Charles, the British Prince of Wales, issued a stark warning to all the nations of the earth. He declared that we have one hundred months to save the earth! (36) Prince Charles is blaming global warming as earth's great problem. In reality, it is global sinning that is causing the creation to react as it does. Only true repentance unto the Lord can change things.

Vast portions of the United States are literally drying up, and it is not just the economy. On February 27th, 2009, Governor Schwartzenegger declared the state of California to be in a drought emergency. All urban water agencies were ordered to cut water usage by twenty percent. Projected agricultural losses from the drought for this year are $2.8 billion and job losses at 95,000. (37) Las Vegas, Nevada, also known as "sin city," is in deep trouble. Not only is the money drying up as conventions and trips are cancelled, but the city is also running out of water. Lake Meade has fallen to such low levels that the water line will soon be below the pipes that draw the water. (38) Las Vegas seems to be under a curse, and no doubt it is!

In a recent Associated Press report, it was revealed that many of our great rivers are in trouble. The report warns us with the following words: "Degradation has been observed in waterways across the country, but many scientists are focused on the Missouri River, which is used for shipping many agricultural products, and for providing drinking water to many cities." It was also stated that the erstwhile mighty Missouri River is literally sinking, and water intake pipes are sticking up well above the surface of the water level. (39)

In Orange County, California, the ground in certain areas has been mysteriously shaking, and not from an earthquake. Scientists are completely baffled as certain small areas shake so violently that windows rattle. (40)

On the other side of our nation, three earthquakes rattled Morris County, New Jersey, within a three-week period. The quakes were only between magnitude 2 and 3, but they did rattle things significantly. (41) The earth is trembling under the heavy weight of sin, and the U.S. Geological Survey reported 297 earthquakes worldwide within the past thirty days of this writing. These quakes were all of a magnitude above 4, making them significant quakes. This is clearly another sign that the Lord Jesus told us to watch for: "earthquakes in divers places."

So many things are going wrong on a continual basis. On February 24th, 2009, a satellite was launched from California that was designed to study global warming. It was a 273 million dollar mission, but it failed to achieve orbit and crashed to the earth somewhere in the ocean near Antarctica. (42) I believe God is not pleased with what man is doing, and we can expect more manifestations of the consternation of the Almighty in days soon to come. The Lord said in Obadiah, verse 4, "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord."

In another incident, the large amounts of space junk from the two satellites that collided caused the astronauts to evacuate the International Space Station for a short time. If the space station had been hit by the debris, the astronauts would have had only minutes worth of oxygen. It was a near hit. (43)

Astronomers know that more and more asteroids are threatening the earth, and on March 2nd, 2009, one came very close to hitting the earth. The asteroid was number 2009 DD45 and came so close to the earth that it was only one-fifth the distance that the moon is from the earth. If it would have hit the earth, it would have had the effect of 1,000 atomic bombs! (44) How long will it be until the inevitable and unthinkable happens. Revelation 6:12-14 warns us as follows: "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." Are you safe in the hands of the Saviour? It is later than you think!

In closing, I want to sincerely thank all of you who pray for and support this end time prophetic ministry. God bless you exceedingly. Your prayer requests always receive individual attention by our prayer teams, and we wait to hear from you with great joy that we may be of service at the throne of Almighty God on your behalf. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our soon coming King. I look forward to seeing you at the Lord's right hand and dwelling in eternity with you in that place where the roses never fade. Keep looking up for our redemption draweth nigh.

David J. Meyer

Acknowledgements
01. Newsmax.com, Feb.23, 2009, http://www.newsmax.com.
02. AFP News Service, Mar. 8, 2009, Washington, D.C.
03. Ibid.
04. Associated Press, Mar. 13, 2009, by Mark Seagraves, WTOP radio, Washington, D.C.
05. The Global Politician, Mar. 13, 2009, by Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.
06. Associated Press, Feb. 23, 2009, by Frank Augstein, Duesseldorf, Germany.
07. Yahoo News, Mar. 16, 2009, Washington, D.C.
08. Lieff Cabraser-Attorney at Law, Mar. 17, 2009, legal brief.
09. CBS News, Feb. 3, 2009, Interview with Katie Couric.
10. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, Feb. 19, 2009, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
11. ABC News, Mar. 9, 2009, Maryville, IL.
12. Reuters News Service, Mar. 10, 2009, Samson, AL.
13. Indymedia Ireland, Mar. 8, 2008, by Caroline Mulqueen.
14. WorldNetDaily, Feb. 3, 2009, by Jerome R. Corsi.
15. Bloomberg News Service, Mar. 4, 2009, by Dan Levy, New York, NY.
16. CantonRep.com, Mar. 6, 2009, by Benjamin Duer, Canton, OH.
17. Reuters News Service, Feb. 21, 2009, New York, NY.
18. Bloomberg News Service, Mar. 5, 2009, by Mark Pittman, Washington, D.C.
19. Bloomberg News Service, Mar. 4, 2009, by Alison Vekshin, Washington, D.C.
20. The Wall Street Journal, Mar. 6, 2009, by Damian Paletta, Washington, D.C.
21. Bloomberg News Service, Feb. 24, 2009, by Edgar Ortega, New York, NY.
22. Bloomberg News Service, Mar. 7, 2009, by Margaret Chadbourn, Commerce, GA.
23. Reuters News Service, Feb. 23, 2009, New York, NY.
24. London Daily Telegraph, Mar. 4, 2009, by Andrew Porter & Toby Harnden, Washington, D.C.
25. The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 9, 2009, by Bob Davis & Elffie Chew, New York, NY.
26. West's Encyclopedia of American Law, Marshall Plan.
27. Liveleak.com, Feb. 26, 2009, http://www.liveleak.com.
28. AFP News Service, Feb. 22, 2009, Beijing, China.
29. The Wall Street Journal, Mar. 13, 2009, by Andrew Batson & Andrew Browne, New York, NY.
30. Associated Press, Feb. 20, 2009, by Mansur Mirovalev, Moscow, Russia.
31. Financial Times, Feb. 19, 2009, by Daniel Dombey, Washington, D.C.
32. The Jerusalem Post, Mar. 5, 2009, by Hilary Leila Krieger, Jerusalem, Israel.
33. The London Times, Mar. 14, 2009, by Tim Reid, Washington, D.C.
34. Associated Press, Mar. 9, 2009, Pyongyang/Beijing, China.
35. Associated Press, Mar. 14, 2009, by David Nowak, Moscow, Russia.
36. The London Daily Telegraph, Mar. 8, 2009, by Andrew Alderson, London, England, U.K.
37. Associated Press, Feb. 27, 2009, by Samantha Young, Sacramento, CA.
38. Bloomberg News Service, Feb. 26, 2009, by John Lippert & Jim Efstathiou Jr., Las Vegas, NV.
39. The Traverse City Record Eagle, Feb. 6, 2009, AP, Kansas City, MO.
40. CBS News, Mar. 4, 2009, Santa Ana, CA.
41. CBS News, Feb. 18, 2009, Morristown, NJ.
42. Bloomberg News Service, Feb. 24, 2009, by Alex Morales.
43. Reuters News Service, Mar. 12, 2009, by Irene Klotz, Cape Canaveral, FL.
44. AFP News Service, Mar. 3, 2009.

http://lasttrumpetministries.org
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"The Keys"




Turning British (programme)


First they started using it in the news; Calling airplane runways Tarmac.

This term seems to have been popularised when it became part of the news lexicon following live coverage of the Entebbe hijacking in 1976, where "Tarmac" was frequently used by the on-scene BBC reporter in describing the hijack scene. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarmac

Then, they began to call stretchers, gurneys.

gurney - a metal stretcher with wheels
stretcher - a litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between two poles


Now, were off to see the Queen in The United Kingdom; Not Britain (GREAT) or England? No, it's the United Kingdom or UK.

United Kingdom? What England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are a united kingdom? What a politically in-correct title for an anachronistic form of government in the 21 st. Century!
While we're on the subject of pomp and ceremony;
Greetings your highness!
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To preach the acceptable year of the Lord


1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Isaiah 61:1&2.



16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Luke 4: 16-21.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sarkozy walkout threats at G-20, reports say

updated 1 hour, 13 minutes ago



French President Nicolas Sarkozy seeks "stronger rules" for international commerce, a spokesman says.


PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants a "real transformation" of international financial regulations out of this week's G-20 summit in London, a spokesman said Tuesday amid reports that Sarkozy will walk out of the gathering if he's not satisfied.

"President Sarkozy thinks that this summit is of the utmost importance for the whole world," Sarkozy spokesman Jean-David Levitte said Tuesday. "We cannot fail."

The G-20 -- financial leaders from 19 nations and the European Union -- begins meeting Thursday in London. The global monetary crisis is expected to be the central issue.

News outlets throughout Europe on Tuesday were reporting that Sarkozy would leave the summit or otherwise disrupt it if he doesn't feel members are seriously addressing business regulation, a crackdown on tax havens and other matters related to the world market. iReport.com: Do you live in a G-20 nation? Share your story

Top aides to the president would not directly confirm his plans, but suggested in several reports that Sarkozy is considering some sort of action.

"A basic rule with nuclear deterrence is that you do not say at what point you will use the weapon," Xavier Musca, Sarkozy's deputy chief of staff, told the London Times.

Levitte said Sarkozy wants to see "better rules, stronger rules" governing international commerce. That would include monitoring bonuses and salaries of financiers, overseeing accounting of major institutions and better monitoring of countries where corporations are able to establish home offices to avoid paying taxes in G-20 nations. Watch faces of the economic crisis in France »

"All this is very technical in nature, but if we act decisively it means a real transformation of the way capitalism is functioning," Levitte said. "And hopefully, we will make sure through these decisions that what happened will not happen again."

Simon Johnson, the former chief economist with the International Monetary Fund, dismissed the potential for a walkout by France, saying the threat likely was leaked as an act of showmanship as the summit approaches.

"It would be a disaster. It would be taken very badly by financial markets," said Johnson, now an economics professor at MIT. "I'm sure it's done for a domestic audience -- a little bit of chest-beating."

Johnson said that it's folly to expect many sweeping changes out of the summit. On his blog, The Baseline Scenario, he writes that an outline of the meeting's goals shows that "the G-20 punts on most of the big issues."

But he pointed to a handful of possibilities -- including the chance that the group will go along with a U.S. plan that would dramatically increase funding for the IMF. The IMF works to stabilize the economies in poor and developing countries by providing loans and through other means.

"It's better than nothing -- it's better than a kick in the teeth," he said. "That's the spirit with which you should approach these things.

"You don't usually get summits with drastic results."

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said G-20 leaders need to reshape the global economy to reflect world values.

"Instead of a globalization that threatens to become values-free and rules-free, we need a world of shared global rules founded on shared global values," Brown said.

U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in London for the summit on Tuesday, making his first visit to Europe since taking office. View the Obama itinerary of his trip to Europe »

There, he'll pitch on the world stage the economic-recovery package he recently pushed through Congress.

"I think it's likely that we will come out of the G-20 with very broad agreement on measures that have to be taken to address the global recession," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One.

Afterward Obama will visit France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey to wrap up an eight-day trip.




'Jesuits have made Church's option for the poor in India


'Jesuits have made Church's option for the poor in India'

Published : March 23 2009




By Fr.Giuseppe Bellucci
Following is an interview with Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, who visited India recently.

Father Nicolás went to Goa where he experienced a most moving celebration of Mass at the altar of St. Francis Xavier. In his homily, Father General said how deeply touched he was to "celebrate the Eucharist at the altar of Saint Francis Xavier, with his body behind me and today's Jesuits in front of me." The homily focused on the heart, "in Asia, people want to see, and if our preaching does not touch the heart and does not show itself in actions and in behaviors, words have no efficacy." After a short stop in Mumbai visiting the Jesuits, Father General returned to Rome. When he was back, I asked him two short questions. We present his responses and offer our wholehearted thanks for his availability.

What are your impressions about the Society after this first trip to India?
India continues to challenge any simplistic effort at easy classification. The variety of peoples, cultures, traditions, styles, etc. is so great that one cannot but admire the ease and naturalness with which people live side by side. It is the kind of naturalness that one would expect from very mature and experienced communities.

The Jesuits share in this multi-cultural life, with the advantage that the underlying social or caste distinctions are practically invisible, even if realism encourages us to think that they are not totally and definitely absent. Christian or human maturity is never the fruit of good will alone.

My visit has not covered the whole territory of India. But the little I have seen makes me think that the Society of Jesus in India has made its own the Church's option for the poor. I have been in touch with more Dalit and Adivasi people and communities in my visits than with any other groups. The Jesuits are quite committed to these communities with a very simple and deeply inserted presence; and working on creative and life-giving projects that contribute to education, access to energy and water, community building or human dignity and rights.

Another encouraging factor is the ease with which our men refer to deeper spiritual realities in the midst of life, apostolic work or social concerns. The Indian spiritual traditions have left in its people such a sense of the divine that it does not take much effort to detect it in conversations as well as in many other social expressions of their life.

Which are at the moment the most important problems and the challenges the Society has to face in India?

The challenges are many and complex. To name a few, I note:

- Leadership at a time of deep and drastic social and cultural change within India itself and in relationship to the rest of the world.

- The demographic change within our ranks, and the implications this has for the spiritual as well as academic training of our men, who come to us with different cultural tools and even differently trained brains and/or sensibilities.

- The development of a deeply Indian and Christian Philosophy and Theology, without weakening the ongoing communion and conversation with the rest of the Church.

- As the communication and cooperation among the different Regions and Provinces develops and grows, greater coordination will be needed to ensure that truly qualified and creative men are assigned to the training of Jesuits and the most influential apostolates of the Assistancy.

- The preparation of Jesuits in different areas of Spirituality, Theology and Other Sciences, who could become resource persons for the whole Society of Jesus and could be invited to other parts of the world to assist.

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'Away From the Politics of Fear'


03/16/2009

INTERVIEW WITH HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY JANET NAPOLITANO


Janet Napolitano, 51, is President Obama's new Homeland Security Secretary. She spoke with SPIEGEL about immigration, the continued threat of terrorism and the changing tone in Washington.

SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word "terrorism." Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?

Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word "terrorism," I referred to "man-caused" disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.



Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.


SPIEGEL: This sounds quite different from what we heard from the Bush administration. How will the new anti-terror policy differ from the previous one?

Napolitano: Our policies will be guided by authoritative information. We also have assets at our disposal now that we did not have prior to 9/11. For example, we are much better able to keep track of travellers coming into the US than we were before. The third thing is to work with our international partners and allies to make sure that we are getting information and sharing information in an appropriate and real-time fashion.

SPIEGEL: This weekend you met in Berlin with six European Union interior ministers. What should Europeans expect of you and the Obama administration?


FROM THE MAGAZINE
Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication. Napolitano: Well, vis-à-vis working with me, what they can look forward to is a spirit of cooperation and coordination. Our approach will be not so much focused on protocol but on what steps each of us needs to accomplish to make our countries more secure.

SPIEGEL: What would you like to hear from your German counterpart, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble?

Napolitano: The Bundestag (eds note: German parliament) soon has before it a vote to increase information-sharing, on criminal information, with us. This exchange is vital.

SPIEGEL: You would like the German authorities to share personal data of terrorism suspects, such as fingerprinting and DNA?

Napolitano: That is exactly right. We will also want to share some experiences with counter-radicalization, how the radicalization of young Muslims in our countries can be prevented.

SPIEGEL: Europe has a problem with just such people, young Muslims who grew up in the West and are still susceptible to radical messages. The terrorists responsible for the July 2005 attacks in London are an example.

Napolitano: In some ways, the problem in Europe is greater than in the United States. But the questions are the same. How do you identify a youth who is susceptible to becoming radicalized? How do you work with that youth, his family and community to give them alternatives to radicalization?

SPIEGEL: Would you characterize such social measures as a task of your agency?

Napolitano: Yes. In fact, we have group within my agency, the civil liberties group, and they have a focus right now on that issue.

SPIEGEL: Because the US fears that homegrown European terrorists with European passports could enter the country without a visa, for some weeks all travellers have had to via the internet at least 72 hours before departure. Is that not going too far?

Napolitano: Thousands have registered with the ESTA program, and the rate of acceptance is around 98 percent. This new technology enables us to more thoroughly check who wants to visit our country.

SPIEGEL: Should European visitors be prepared to submit even more personal data in the future?

Napolitano: Right now, our focus is on ESTA, as it is.

SPIEGEL: As one of his first official acts in office, President Obama took steps toward closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. The German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier signaled that Germany would be prepared to accept some detainees. In your view, how many should Germany take?

Napolitano: Right now, we are participating in a group that is reviewing detainees' files case by case. Once that review is completed, the experts will make recommendations to me and ultimately to the president on what should be done with the detainees. It is of course a very great help if other countries have the willingness to take some of the detainees.


NEWSLETTER
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SPIEGEL: As governor of Arizona, you counted on new surveillance technologies to secure the border with Mexico. What sort of technology could you use in the fight against terrorism?

Napolitano: The violence perpetrated by drug cartels along the Mexican border has truly reached a different quality. This is partly fueled by guns that are purchased in the US and then transported south across the border. We scan license plates to help us determine which vehicles we must stop and search.

SPIEGEL: Is the drug war in Mexico truly a danger for the national security of the United States?

Napolitano: What is happening in Mexico now is a huge battle for the control of large geographic parts of the country between the federal government and these cartels. Yes, what happens in Mexico has huge impacts for every American.

SPIEGEL: When you were Arizona's governor, illegal immigration was an important issue for you. Your comment on the idea of a border fence was, "Show me a 50-foot fence, and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder." Europe hasn't found an answer to illegal immigration. What can Americans and Europeans learn from each other?

Napolitano: That you have to be pragmatic. You have to avoid over-simplification from the far right and from the far left. Ultimately, you need to deal with the underlying immigration law and a reasonable immigration policy. At some point, when the time is appropriate, our president and congress will re-engage on the underlying immigration law. Right now, my task is to make smart enforcement decisions on the law that we have.

Interview conducted by Cordula Meyer



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Medvedev Talks Up Super Currency

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 23:08 Moscow Time.

The Moscow Times » Issue 4116 » Frontpage Top


Herbert Knosowski / AP
Medvedev and Merkel meeting German business leaders Tuesday in Berlin.



Medvedev Talks Up Super Currency
01 April 2009
By Ira Iosebashvili / The Moscow Times

President Dmitry Medvedev called for a new world economic order, including the introduction of a new "super currency," on Tuesday as he prepared for a G20 summit in London, where Russia has been jockeying for a more prominent role.

Speaking at a summit of CIS finance ministers in Moscow and later at a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Medvedev reiterated the key points in Moscow's proposed revision of the world's financial system, including the creation of a new global currency to supplant the U.S. dollar.

"Many of our partners maintain the point of view that everything is fine in this area, that all that is needed is a slight strengthening of major worldwide currencies, including the dollar," he said in Moscow, Interfax reported. "We hold another point of view."

He called for the creation of a "new international currency system" and said the idea of the super currency that Russia had suggested was finding an audience among other countries.

"Many are now discussing a so-called super currency, a supranational currency," Medvedev said.

He repeated the proposal once again in Berlin, saying the global economy "cannot develop in the next 10 years if we do not create a new infrastructure, including new [currency] systems," Interfax reported.

Merkel agreed that a new world economic order was needed. "It is clear that decisions on the new financial architecture must be made," she said at a joint news conference with Medvedev late Tuesday, where they also discussed NATO and a gas dispute with Ukraine.

The Kremlin has persistently criticized the dollar's status as the dominant global reserve currency and has lowered its own dollar holdings in the last few years.

In a document released two weeks ago that contained suggestions for global economic reform that the Kremlin said it would pitch at the G20 summit, it called for the creation of a new reserve currency or using Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, as a "superreserve currency accepted by the whole of the international community."

Although most political leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, dismissed the idea, it sparked international debate and found a powerful backer in China, which last week echoed the call for a global currency and less reliance on the dollar.

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Tuesday that the Chinese yuan could become a global reserve currency in 15 years. (Story, page 7.)

Medvedev said at the CIS meeting that the notion of a superreserve currency probably would be discussed during the G20 summit but "could become relevant in the very near future."

Russia -- with nearly $400 billion in reserves, no toxic U.S. assets in its banking system and very little state debt -- is looking to elbow its way into a prominent role on the world stage through the G20 talks on Thursday.

In recent weeks, Moscow has suggested a reshuffle of the voting power balance in the IMF to give Russia greater representation, joined Britain and France in rejecting U.S. calls to pour more money into the global economy through another wave of stimulus and backed more stringent financial regulation to avoid future financial crises.

It has sought to be a standard bearer for other emerging economies, releasing a series of joint statements with the other BRIC countries -- Brazil, India and China.

The Kremlin's ambitions were dealt a humiliating blow, however, when The Financial Times published a leaked government document from G20 summit host Britain that put Russia on a low priority "B list" with countries like Mexico, Turkey and Indonesia rather than on the higher priority "A list" of Japan, Germany and the United States.

British officials did not deny the existence of the document but sought to play down its importance.

"This list in no way represents a hierarchy of our political relations with those states," a Foreign Office spokeswoman told Reuters.

In Berlin, Medvedev said Russia and Germany shared similar viewpoints on how to combat the global crisis and suggested that the two countries might offer similar proposals to the G20.

"We definitely don't have any major differences in our positions," he said.

"I won't say who we do have differences with, in order to sustain the intrigue," he said. "Let the sherpas do their work, and maybe they will come to some kind of compromise."

Turning to the gas dispute with Ukraine, Medvedev warned Kiev that it would lose access to Russian loans until the issue of gas transportation was resolved. "Our Ukrainian colleagues ask us to give money. How can we give money if we cannot agree on such a crucial issue?" he said. "You cannot divide a product that does not belong to you."

The European Union signed a cooperation agreement with Ukraine on modernizing its gas transit system last week, but the Russian government was angry that it was excluded from the talks.

Medvedev said Moscow was willing to negotiate a gas transit deal that involved Russia and said proposals would be sent soon to Ukraine and the EU.

On the eve of the G20 summit, Medvedev and Obama will meet Wednesday in London for their first talks, which are expected to include NATO expansion, U.S. plans for a missile defense shield in Europe and a new arms reduction treaty.

In Berlin, Medvedev said Russia would soon resume a "full-scale dialogue" with NATO. "At one point, our relations sagged but, thankfully, reason prevailed," he said.


Source: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/375819.htm
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Global clergy seminar for ministers of all faiths

Continuing education opportunity set for April 21

31 Mar 2009, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States ANN Staff

Former United States Senate Chaplain Lloyd John Ogilvie at last year's Ministerial seminar in Walla Walla, Washington. This year's speakers include Fred Craddock, Michael Quicke, Israel Bamidele Olaore and Chris Oberg. [photo: Mark Kellner]



Clergy around the world will have the opportunity for continuing education and panel discussions during the Seventh-day Adventist Ministry Professional Growth Seminar April 21.

The global continuing education program will be available on the Hope Church Channel television network in North America, on the Hope Channel internationally and on the Web at MinisterialAssociation.com.

"Participants will get from-the-trenches experiences that will sharpen and inform their ministry whether they be a pastor, chaplain, lay preacher, administrator, or seminarian," says Pastor Anthony Kent, event coordinator and associate ministerial secretary for the Adventist Church. "This event brings together experts who have preached around the world and taught thousands of others."

This year's theme, "Beyond Pulpits and Pews," will focus on taking Christianity beyond the walls of church, organizers say.

Scheduled speakers include Fred Craddock, selected by Newsweek magazine as on of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world; Michael Quicke, professor of preaching at Northern Seminary in Illinois; Israel Bamidele Olaore, senior university pastor and head of the Division of Spiritual Life at Babcock University, Nigeria; Chris Oberg, senior pastor of La Sierra University Church in California.

"This is the first year to feature a speaker who is currently ministering in Africa," Kent says. "We are particularly pleased that the Ministry Professional Growth Seminar is becoming more international in its focus."

The program will broadcast from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, United States.

Participants are eligible to earn 0.5 unit of continuing education. According to Kent, more than 10,000 clergy registered for last year's seminar.

The Ministry seminar is an initiative of the Ministerial Association of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, which also produces Ministry magazine, a professional journal received by more than 75,000 clergy of various faiths.

For seminar broadcast schedules and other information, see MinisterialAssociation.com or hopetv.org.

Filed in Headlines and tagged education, General Conference, ministry, united states

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Copyright © 2009, Adventist News Network. Adventist News Network is a registered trademark of the General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Source: http://news.adventist.org/2009/03/global-clergy-semina.html
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Prepare To Meet Thy God


Amos 4


1Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

2The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

3And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the LORD.

4Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

5And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

6And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

7And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

8So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

9I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

10I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

11I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

12Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

13For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

Monday, March 30, 2009

How shall we escape?


How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;----------Hebrews 2:3

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Global intelligence


March 28, 2009

Global intelligence

The meeting of the G20 leaders and the demonstrations against them provide an opportunity to restate the arguments for globalisation and capitalism

Dress down so that you are not mistaken for a financial worker. Carry identification so that you are not mistaken for a violent protester. Best still, avoid the entire area of the City of London while the G20 leaders are in town.

The Metropolitan Police are preparing care- fully for demonstrations against capitalism and the financial crisis that they fear may turn ugly. Such preparations are unfortunately necessary. But more important still is that world leaders should be prepared to respond robustly to the arguments that the demonstrators are advancing.

It is easy to be distracted by the menu of colourful exhibitionism and threatening language being served up by the putative protesters. Professor Chris Knight, of the University of East London (a specialist in the revolutionary implications of menstruation rites), has told the BBC that he is planning the public hanging of effigies of bankers (while hinting that real hangings could come next). There will be the usual attempt to make an assault on the US imperialist Starbucks and McDonald's. And all will make as much sense as marching down the North Circular towards Neasden shouting “Down with the Swedish model of social democracy” before putting a brick through the window of Ikea.

Yet what is far more disappointing is the thinness of the case that the protesters are putting. It is not, after all, that protest is unreasonable. Banking regulation has been miserable, bankers' behaviour and misjudgment even more so. Given the failings of individuals and governments that preceded the current economic crisis, demonstrations and anger are an understandable reaction. But one would hope that such protests would be aimed at the right targets. And they are not.

Since the 1999 demonstration in Seattle outside a meeting of the World Trade Organisation, meetings of world leaders have attracted a loose coalition of agitators with an equally loose collection of grievances. But one theme recurs. The demonstrations attack the idea of world trade among capitalist nations. And they do so in the name of the poor and dispossessed.

To this attack, an unflinching response is required. Global free trade is not a tool of oppression. It is the route out of oppression. The rise of globalisation - a word that the critics attempt to demonise - is one of the most hopeful developments in the history of mankind.

Globalisation has helped to alleviate the poverty of hundreds of millions of people; it has allowed an unprecedented choice of goods for consumers at lower prices; it has opened up closed regimes and allowed a little light and a little liberty to shine even in places where governments have been determined to keep the blinds shut.

Global free trade allows the sharing of knowledge across the world, leading to the creation of innovative products. The protesters argue that economic growth is the enemy of the planet - that it endangers the environment. Yet from global trade comes the chance to find technological solutions to the problem of climate change. The protectionism advocated by one part of the demonstrating coalition threatens the environmental goals held dear by another part.

The German politician Joschka Fischer - himself once a left-wing street protester - has observed that if the current economic crisis had happened even just 50 years ago it might have caused much more than some carnival clowning and mindless vandalism. It might have produced war.

Why has it not? Because globlisation has made the world richer, more stable and far more aware of the extent to which we depend upon each other. A gathering of international leaders provides an opportunity to defend the very concept of international exchange against those who would seek to overturn it.
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Saturday, March 28, 2009

U.S. Dollar in the Crosshairs Ahead of G-20 Summit

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor



A bank employee prepares banknotes in southwest China's Sichuan province on March 21, 2009. China is calling for a new global currency to replace the dominant dollar. (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – In the run-up to next week’s G-20 summit in London, developing countries led by China and Russia are stepping up calls for the U.S. dollar to be pushed aside as the main global reserve currency.

China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, suggested this week that reforms to the international monetary system include the long-term goal of an international reserve currency not connected to an individual nation. China is the biggest holder of U.S. dollar assets and is concerned about the currency’s volatility.

A few days earlier, the Russian government put forward among its G-20 summit priorities a proposal for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to explore the possibility of creating a “super reserve currency accepted by the whole of the international community.” Russia said the proposal had broad support among other emerging economic powers, including Brazil, India and South Korea.

The Kremlin said its proposal could be pursued either through the creation of a new global reserve currency or through the use of the IMF’s existing Special Drawing Rights (SDR), a reserve asset set up in the 1960s and used only by governments and some international institutions. The SDR is not itself a currency; its value is based on a basket of four currencies – the dollar, euro, pound sterling and yen.

In his recommendations, which were posted in the form of an essay on the bank’s Web site, Zhou also cited the SDR, saying it had the features and potential to act as a super-sovereign reserve currency. But, he added, “the basket of currencies forming the basis for SDR valuation should be expanded to include currencies of all major economies.”

China has long been pushing for changes to the global financial system, to give a bigger say to China and other leading developing economies at the world’s financial institutions – a line it is expected to hold at the London summit.

According to Xinhua, China’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record 1.95 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of 2008, the largest in the world. As of January, it held U.S. Treasury bonds worth some $740 billion.

Earlier this month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao voiced concern that Washington’s economic stimulus efforts could undercut the currency’s value.

Zhou’s proposal was quickly rejected by President Obama at Tuesday’s prime-time press conference, and by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Capitol Hill earlier in the day.

“I don’t believe that there’s a need for global currency,” Obama said, while Geithner and Bernanke both replied in the affirmative when asked during a congressional hearing whether they would “categorically renounce the United States moving away from the dollar and going to a global currency.”

The global economic crisis has prompted other calls around the world to consider alternatives to a dollar-based system.

A Japanese think tank with government links this month proposed the establishment of a common Asian currency, on a par with the dollar and euro.

At a summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization two weeks ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declaring the capitalist system to be “on the verge of collapse,” suggested the adoption of a common currency for trade among the 10 members of the Eurasian group, which include Turkey, Pakistan and Central Asian republics.

It was not the first time Ahmadinejad had taken a swipe at the U.S. currency. He and his Venezuelan ally, President Hugo Chavez, have pressed within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for oil to be priced against a currency – or a basket of currencies – other than the dollar.

Their proposal has come up against opposition within OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia.

Some Gulf oil states, meanwhile, are grappling with calls to stop pegging their own currencies to the greenback. Kuwait in 2007 became the first to do so.

Leading member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council have long planned a common currency for the oil-exporting region, although officials this week pushed back a 2010 deadline for the launch.
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Source: http://cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=45591
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