A rider on a White Horse appears to crowds demonstrating for the removal of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt

It is really quite difficult to say one way or another as the authenticity (or otherwise) of the actual footage presented above. However, there is still something about the actual rider of the horse that does not quite right? It almost seems like he is a mannequin, or a dummy type of figurine, not quite real? But then again that may be nothing more than my imagination at work, and nothing else more than that? Even though I really would have no idea just how this type of effect could be achieved, there is still also the very distinct possibility that images such as a rider on a White Horse, could, more than likely, be superimposed over existing footage to create the effect (if it has) of a rider seeming to appear over the actual footage riding a White Horse.

Nevertheless, fake or not, we still need to be aware of the reality that this is something that seems to have appeared right out of the pages of the Bible with the first horsemen of the apocalypse being the Antichrist riding the White Horse as the signatory of a seven year Middle East peace treaty by confirming "the covenant" between the Jews of Israel and the Arabs of Palestine. N.B. Long thought of as being the severest of enemies they are actually brothers as both were descended from Abraham. Accordingly, they are not really enemies at all but have been made to be so by God, so that the the prophecies of the Bible can be fullfilled.

Right at the end of the book of the Revelation Christ also appears as the rider on the White Horse. If this is not a fake then to see a rider on a White Horse could be a sign of either one of those two events mentioned above?

This may, or may not, be a coincidence, but there is now news that is beginning to filter through there is a very strong likelihood the whole world is going to recognize a separate Palestinian by as early as September of this year? That's what the Palestinians wanted so that they could reach a peaceful settlement with Israel over their decades long conflict over illegally occupied land. That fact alone smells of the rider on the White Horse, but whether that rider is the current head of the EU, Herman Van Rompuy, or someone else, is still open to a great deal of debate.

It seems that there is a very strong possibility that the current tenure of Van Rompuy is to finish in April of next year, so a peace treaty at this time could see the introduction of the Antichrist? However, there is yet another school of thought that needs to be looked at, and tends to be the one that I have a tendency to go along with, and that is the newly appointed EU president is to be the one who is going to confirm the covenant of Daniel.
In other words, for the signatory of the peace treaty to have any real clout he must be someone who already holds a great deal of power, and not just someone who has the potential to hold power into the future.

Therefore, if that is the case and there is to be a peace treaty by the end of this year then the only one who has the authority according to the prophecies would be the current president of the EU, and not someone who is going to be appointed next year. Those are my thoughts on the subject matter, but what are yours? God bless and thanks for listening. Come Jesus come!

NEWS FLASH - THE WHOLE WORLD WILL RECOGNIZE AN INDEPENDANT PALESTINIAN STATE BY SEPTEMBER

“The majority of the international community will recognise an independent Palestinian state” by September, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Malki told a group of Palestinian journalists in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Malki said the European Union had already expressed its intention to recognise a Palestinian state by September, which would mark one year since the restart of direct peace talks that have stalled over continued Israeli settlement construction.

“The Spanish foreign minister (Trinidad Jimenez) told me that the European Union will recognise a Palestinian state at the beginning of September,” Malki said, without specifying when the conversation occurred.“And if the European Union doesn’t take this decision then Spain will be the first European country to announce its recognition of the Palestinian state, and we’re optimistic,” he added. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians began September 2 in Washington, ending nearly two years without direct negotiations. But the talks ground to a halt just weeks later, with the expiry of an Israeli ban on settlement building in the West Bank.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas demanded a new ban, saying he would not negotiate while Israel builds on land the Palestinians want for their future state. But US efforts to secure a new freeze failed, with Israel declining to impose any new restrictions on Jewish construction in the West Bank or east Jerusalem. Washington has called on both sides to engage in indirect, US-mediated talks, and Palestinian and Israeli negotiators were expected in the United States this week.

But Abbas has insisted there will be no real negotiations. In recent weeks, a string of Latin American nations have announced their recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war.The Palestinian leadership has touted the new recognitions from countries including Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

Other nations, including Paraguay and Uruguay are reportedly planning to recognise the state soon. Malki said the Palestinian leadership was working to convince Mexico and several Latin and Central American nations to recognise the Palestinian state.“Until September, we will work to secure as much recognition as we can,” he said, adding increased international recognition would strengthen the Palestinian position in new talks or if it sought UN recognition for statehood.

Malki also addressed plans by the Palestinian Authority to seek a United Nations Security Council resolution on Israeli settlement construction, saying Palestinian diplomats were seeking US support for a final text.“We want a unanimous decision to be issued and we don’t want a US veto to be used against this resolution,” he said.“The Palestinian delegation has the support of all the members except the American delegation,” he added.

Beware, world, once the treaty of Daniel is confirmed it is beginning to get near the end of it all. All of us who are Christian know the outcome. It’s right at the end of the Book of Revelation. Make sure that you are saved before it is too late.

Egypt is mentioned in Bible prophecy.

With that headline statement I have attached the verses that seem to give us the clearest indicator yet that what we may be seeing unfolding in our daily news broadcasts, now taking place in Egypt, may have be taught in the Bible ever since it was written?

It is also with a great deal of interest that I have also noted there is also serious consideration given in the attached verses to Assyria and the Assyrians in general.
Remembering there have some that have been saying for a considerable period of time that they had thought the Antichrist may come out of the Middle East and maybe an Assyrian?

The below mentioned verses do say there is a very distinguishing tie in between the Egyptians and the Assyrians. So whether this is a glue that the Bible is telling us that the Antichrist is an Assyrian or not remains to be seen?

Nevertheless, these verses are the word of God. This is real and not just the figment of my imagination; it's there for one and all to see by just reading the Bible for oneself.

Having said that, when I saw what was unfolding in the media on a day to day basis in Egypt for the removal of Hosni Mubarak I did get the distinct feeling that what I was seeing was going to be of real significance relative to the fulfilment of the Bible prophecies.

However as I do not have a crystal ball it is very hard to foretell the future so all that I am able to do for the time being is to wait and see just how all of this eventually pans out.

Isaiah 19 (King James Version)1The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
7The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
8The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
10And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
11Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
12Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
13The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
14The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
15Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
16In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
17And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
18In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.
19In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.
20And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.
21And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.
22And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
23In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
24In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
25Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

NASA Sees Large Tropical Cyclone Yasi Headed Toward Queensland, Australia

NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of Yasi on Jan. 30 at 23:20 UTC (6:20 p.m. EST/09:20 a.m., Monday, January 31 in Australia/Brisbane local time). Although the image did not reveal a visible eye, the storm appears to be well-formed and also appears to be strengthening.

Tropical Storm Anthony made landfall in Queensland, Australia this past weekend, and now the residents are watching a larger, more powerful cyclone headed their way. NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of the large Tropical Cyclone Yasi late yesterday as it makes its way west through the Coral Sea toward Queensland.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of Cyclone Yasi on Jan. 30 at 23:20 UTC (6:20 p.m. EST/09:20 a.m., Monday, January 31 in Australia/Brisbane local time). Although the image did not reveal a visible eye, the storm appears to be well-formed and also appears to be strengthening.

Warnings and watches are already in effect throughout the Coral Sea. The Solomon Islands currently have a Tropical Cyclone warning for the provinces of Temotu, Rennell& Bellona, Makira and Guadalcanal. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has already posted a Tropical Cyclone Watch from Cooktown to Yeppoon and inland to between Georgetown and Moranbah in Queensland, Australia. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology expects damaging winds to develop in coastal and island communities between Cooktown and Yeppoon Wednesday morning, and inland areas on Wednesday afternoon. Updates from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology can be monitored at the Bureau's website at www.bom.gov.au.

On January 31 at 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EST/ 1:00 a.m. Tuesday February 1, 2011 in Australia/Brisbane local time), Tropical Cyclone Yasi had maximum sustained winds near 90 knots (103 mph/166 kmh). Yasi is a Category Two Cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

It was centred about 875 miles E of Cairns, Australia, near 13.4 South latitude and 160.4 East longitude. It was moving west near 19 knots (22 mph/35 kmh). Cyclone-force winds extend out to 30 miles (48 km) from the centre.

Animated infrared satellite imagery, such as that from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) that flies on NASA's Aqua satellite, showed deep convective (thunderstorm) bands wrapping tighter into the low level circulation centre. Wrapping bands of thunderstorms indicate strengthening.

Yasi is forecast to move west then south-westward into an area of low vertical wind shear (strong wind shear can weaken a storm). Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) expect Yasi to continue strengthening over the next 36 hours. JTWC forecasts a landfall just south of Cairns as a large 100-plus knot (115 mph/185 kmh)n system by Wednesday. Residents along the Queensland coast should now be making preparations now for the storm's arrival.

What in the world is going on with the weather conditions in Australia over the past few weeks?

For starters, we have had the worst natural disasters in our entire history with the flooding of almost the entire East Coast. More particularly though, the greatest damage occurred in Queensland, one of the largest of the seven states of Australia. Now there is news emerging that Queensland is about to be hit with another natural disaster of gargantuan proportions that is possibly going to equate to the largest cyclone to ever hit the mainland of Australia.

Praise be to God for his imminent protection and for the keeping those who reside in the other states safe and sound. Even though I am not going to be personally effected, there are doubtless countless others of my fellow Australians who are right in the firing line of what could possibly be the double whammy of the flooding, and now this cyclone aptly named YASI.

There has been news appearing in the local media of other natural disasters taking place in other parts of the world, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding, mudslides, and bushfires, but there is never ever been the instance of one huge natural disaster (the flooding) that is further compounded by yet another natural disaster before those who were affected by the first disaster have had the time to recover and clean up from the initial shock of the first disaster. Not that I am aware of at least?

As the premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh had said; what have we done that is so wrong over here that God is so mad at us over?

With all due respect to those going through these trials and tribulations, there is nothing those affected have necessarily done wrong at all; except possibly to turn away from God with the result now being they are suffering from the wrath of God as he pours his anger out on not only those who are directly affected, but the nation as a whole. We are all going to have to pay for this one way or another, not only in the short term, but in the long term as well.

There is still a very valuable lesson to be learnt out of all of this, and I hope and pray that not only those who are affected, but the nation as a whole wakes up to themselves and returns back to God by the repentance of their sins before it is too late.

There has been some talk of HAARP digitized weather control technology being the cause of the current crisis. However, those suggestions are nothing more than pure speculation at this stage, as there is nothing whatsoever to offer up as proof that this is the real cause of the current problems. Accordingly, it is best not to indulge in wild and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories at this stage.

Please pray for all of those who have been affected by the flooding and for those who have the potential to be affected by the cyclone in a couple of days. Those prayers would certainly be appreciated by those involved in these current and future natural disasters.

The insidious plan of the Australian supermarkets to control the nation's food supplies.

There is something I have noticed ot late that may be of some assistance in helping those who are interested in finding out the truth relative to these end times we are living in.

Firstly, the accuracy of the Bible prophecies never ceases to amaze me in so many ways. Just about every day I seeing and hearing things in the media, (whether it is on the radio airwaves or on the television) that ties in with what has been written in the Bible thousands of years ago which testifies to the fact of the absolute accuracy of the Bible as being the infallible word of God.

In this instance, I am referring to the obvious plan that the supermarkets over here in Australia have to take control of the food supplies of this nation, so that the end result will be that all of our food is going to be imported. As a result of this insidious plan to control the nation's food, the individuals of this nation are going to be charged exorbitant rates for the privilege of going out and buying the basic necessities of life, such as bread and milk. [That is not to say there are still no doubts at all that Australia is one of the most prosperous nations on the earth, without comparison, apart from places such as Canada, and a few others.]

The supermarkets are now saying there is a price war going on between them; even though they really have no competition at all, with the reality being there are only three major players amongst the whole lot of them.

What they are doing is forcing down the prices of the essentials, such as milk and bread to begin with, and then later on they will begin to target other items on an alleged list they have drawn up.

These are items that are imported from overseas, more than likely Europe? These are essential items that are being sold over here at very cheap rates, at the moment, and may I stress, at the moment... Even though this strategy may be good for the consumer in the short term, the effect that it is going to have is to drive the local producers out of business because they will not be able to compete with the cost of the imported, cheaper items.

Now here is the clincher.

Once the local producers have been put out of business, the supermarkets will then be able to charge whatever they like for these imported items as the local producers will have been wiped out by these current cheaper prices.

Effectively what this more than likely means is that because the food will be imported from the EU in the future and will be under the control of the Antichrist.

Therefore, it is going to be him who is going to decide who will be feed and kept alive, and who will not be fed and will be allowed to die. This analogy relates in so many ways to the third horsemen of the apocalypse, the black horse, of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

REVELATION CHAPTER 6, VERSES 5 AND 65 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Is the Middle East on the verge of exploding into flames as a result of the Egyptian crisis?

Melodramatic as the headline may sound that suggestion may soon become a reality as Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Yemen are in flames. Out of this volcano in the Middle East will come nothing good. Civil unrest has reached the Kingdom of Jordan. A revolution might be under way. Israeli security experts are casting an uneasy eye at the civil unrest spreading through the region as Yemen joined the list of Arab states experiencing unprecedented demonstrations, and Egypt braced for more civil unrest.

“We need to understand that we are living on a volcano,” said Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ya’acov Amidror, former head of the IDF’s Research and Assessment Directorate. “We are on thick ice, but even that melts eventually.”The violence in Tunisia is not over.

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser, and a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), said, “There’s a reasonable chance that if a revolution takes place in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood would rise to power. That would be bad not just for Israel but for all democracies.” The true struggle in Egypt was not between “Mubarak and pro-democracy elements, but between Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherhood,” Eiland said.

Shlomo Brom, director of the program on Israel-Palestinian relations at the INSS, said, “We can’t forget that in Iran, at the end of the 1970s, the uprising against the Shah was led by [pro-democracy] youths who took to the streets – but this was taken over by Islamists in the end.”

Is the world being psychologically prepared for the Antichrist?

Are the movie moguls who run Hollywood Jewish, or are they Jewish, that is the burning question? Whenever I go to see a movie of late there is a constant theme right throughout the majority of them that seems to be preparing the audience for their Antichrist? Is this just my imagination running rampart or is there a general plot to brainwash the general public in preparation for the time when the New Age Messiah will appear? Sometimes the imaginary in these movies is so like it was especially designed for that specific purpose that it is uncanny.

The remake of the old John Wayne classic, True Grit, is the latest offering from Hollywoods (Jewish) Steven Spielberg which shows the main character Rooster Cockburn with his right eye covered as if to represent the one eyed Antichrist. One of the final scenes shows him cowering on his knees with the alleged child supporting actress clutched in his arms seemingly representative of the opposite to what we have seen represented in ancient works of art of typically showing the crucified Christ clutched in the arms of his earthly mother, Mary. NB: There is a lot more than that though, and if interested then go and take a look at the movie for yourself.

The opposite to this would be to would typically portray a small child in the arms of the one eyed man and could be a good way of representing the Antichrist as being the complete opposite to Christ, while still having him shown as being considered to be the saviour of the situation at that time.

This is not the first time that I have seen this type of representation of the one eyed Antichrist appearing in some of these Hollywood blockbusters. The first one that I can think of going back a number or years now with the one eyed Christ appearing in The Passion of the Christ, produced by Australia's own Mel Gibson.

The only difference that I can see in the instance of the two movies mentioned above is that this latest offering was produced by a Jew while the second movie mentioned was produced by a Roman Catholic who was anything other than pro Jewish, as Mel later went on an intoxicated triad against the Jews much to their bewilderment. The result being for Mel was that he feel out of favour with the heads of the studios and later on his career suffered as a result. There seems to be a common fate for those who choose to denigrate the Jews; the result always seems to be their downfall in one shape or another. We have seen this right throughout history in one shape or form, and in so many instances.

The late and great Barry R Smith spoke quite constantly relative to Albert Pike who had received a demonic vision to start three world wars. On January 22, 1870, Pike and one of his international co-conspirators, Guiseppe Mazzini, published the Plan which would establish the New World Order. This Plan was kept very secret, only within Freemasonry circles since the time of its inception, known only to fellow occult Illuminist conspirators. The secret Pike plan to control the world foresaw the need for three world wars.

Stop here for a moment to remember the date of this prediction: January 22, 1870. This date is 44 years before the beginning of World War I. Once you understand the facts we are about to share with you and realize the length of time between this prediction and the beginning of its fulfilment, you can understand how supernatural forces were truly in command. Further, January 22, 1870, is occulticly significant also. The number 22 is one of the three important occultic primary numbers (11, 22, and 33). The Pike Plan to overthrow the Judeo-Christian Old World Order, and establish the Satanic New World Order foresaw the need for war. However, this war was not the type of warfare the world had seen historically. This war was to be on a much larger scale than history had ever recorded. This war was to be global, or world-wide.

Accordingly, there is a very strong possibility that what we are seeing unfolding in Egypt at the moment may be the beginning of that plan to start the Third World War from out of whose ashes the Man of Sin will come striding to take control of whatever is left over as a result of that war. There are certainly no doubts at all that the world is being psychologically prepared for that event, as I have testified to that reality above.

Is Australia ready for the Universal Internet ID that Barack Obama wants to impose on all Americans?

The Obama administration is developing a "universal Internet ID" program that would watch, track, monitor and potentially control your activity on the Internet.

These "trusted identities" are being touted as a way to increase safety and security on the Internet and as a way to eliminate the need for dozens of different usernames and passwords.

But is a universal Internet ID that is issued and controlled by the U.S. government really a good idea? Right now, Obama administration officials are trying to make it seem as non-threatening as possible.

They are insisting that it will not be mandatory. They are insisting that it would be impossible for hackers to steal the universal Internet identities. They are insisting that none of our personal information will be gathered or used by federal agencies.
But in light of how regularly the government has abused our liberties and freedoms in recent years in the name of "security", should we really believe what they are saying about this new universal Internet ID?
Perhaps to assuage concerns about "Big Brother", the Obama administration is proposing that the U.S. Commerce Department be the one to oversee these new universal Internet identities.
But how long do you think it would take for the Department of Homeland Security (along with several dozen other government agencies) to get involved in "administering" these "trusted identities"?
The potential for government abuse of such a system is absolutely staggering. As we have seen so many times over the past few years, when you give government bureaucrats an inch, often they end up taking several miles.
So what are some of the other potential problems of such a system? Well, by creating a "master key" to the Internet for each and every individual, if it is lost or stolen you could literally lose everything you have worked so hard for in a single day.
Imagine what could happen if a very evil hacker gained instant access to your bank account, your credit cards, your Paypal account, your email, your Facebook account, your Twitter account, your Ebay account, your Amazon account, your blogs, your websites and everything else of importance on the Internet that belongs to you.
Just imagine the damage that could be done.
In addition, it would only be a matter of time before this universal Internet ID becomes "a de facto national ID".
In fact, it is not hard to imagine that "in the name of security" Americans would soon be required to link the universal Internet ID to biometric information or even link it to a microchip implant of some sort.

Revelation Chapter 13, Verses 16 to 18 16And 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:
17And 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.
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Of course this new program is going to "start out as voluntary", but how many times before has the government introduced "voluntary" programs that later became mandatory?

Once this universal Internet ID is implemented, it is only going to be a matter of time until many different federal agencies and a significant percentage of large corporations begin demanding that people start using it.

Eventually it would become extremely difficult to function on the Internet without one. Once that point arrives, it would only be a very small step to make it mandatory for everyone.

Of course right now the Obama administration insists that it is "doing us a favor" by creating a system that would enable us to be able to get rid of the dozens of usernames and passwords that we all use now.

But what all of this really sounds like is the kind of Internet controls that are being imposed in places like China.

The truth is that a universal Internet ID would give the U.S. government more power to license, monitor and police the Internet than they have ever had before.

In fact, some talking heads on the major news networks are already touting this new identification system as a way to "tone down" the "vicious" rhetoric on the Internet.

Of course what that really means is that they want to shut up a lot of the dissenting voices out there because they are not "politically correct" and they don't agree with the version of the "truth" that the establishment media is constantly pushing.

Hopefully the American people will realize that a universal Internet ID controlled by the government would be another gigantic step in the direction of becoming a Big Brother police state. Unfortunately, the American people have not been doing a great job of standing up for liberty and freedom at this point.

There was an initial uproar when the new "naked body scanners" were installed at U.S. airports and when airport officials started feeling up our private areas as part of the new "enhanced pat-downs", but most Americans seem to have accepted these "new security procedures" at this point.

So now the Obama administration is ready to push even further. They want to put a chokehold on the last great bastion of free speech in America - the Internet.

Someday if you have to get a license from the U.S. government to read articles like this or to write articles like this, don't say that you weren't warned. End of Quote

With the introduction of the national broadband network over here in Australia there are none of us who are convinced what this really is all about is faster download speeds.

That fact seems to be edified by the enormous amount of secrecy, security and cost involved relative to the introduction of this new system of optic fibre cable.

When I initially heard of the plan to spend a massive 45 billion dollars on something, which, at the end of the day did not really appear to be warranted at all, there were immediate suspicions being raised in my own mind relative to not only the cost, but the real rational behind the plan.

At first glance this seemed to be something to do with the forthcoming electronic cashless society leading onto the mark of the beast system of buying and selling involving a microchip implant under the skin.

Even though I really do not like to say I told you so, there are now real indicators beginning to emerge that my initial analogy may have been correct?

With the plan now being set into place for a Universal Internet ID system that could easily be linked to the microchip, there are no real doubts at all that there may have been something in my initial suspicions that has gone way beyond being nothing more than just another one of those conspiracy theories. Then of course once that system has been tried and adapted over in the U.S. there is nothing surer than the reality of it coming over here to Australia.

The video posted below is an excerpt from a CBS News report about these proposed universal Internet identities....

Does the recent tragic flooding event across the entire East Coast of Australia herald the restarting of Gods prophetic clock?

The news has now come to light that the recent and ongoing flooding disaster that has swept right across the entire East coast of Australia is not only the worst event of its kind that has ever hit Australia, but is also the worst natural disaster to have ever hit the general mainland of Australia, ever.

Even though the majority of those affected may have insurance cover, more than 80% of those who have been affected have no insurance whatsoever against the possibility of an event such as the one that has just happened, and in fact is still continuing on.

What that now means is that even though there are likely to be a large percentage of those affected will have mortgages over their properties and owe money to the banks, even though they have been inundated with water and have lost all of their worldly possessions they are still completely uncovered and will effectively lose everything they have ever worked for.

Accordingly, I decided to refer to the Holy Scriptures to see if there is any mention in the word relative to this massive flooding event to see if I may gain an insight into just where the world stands relative to the continuance of the current system.

I thought that Gods prophetic clock of Daniel Chapter 9, Verse 26 was a good place to start. Even though the 69th week ended in that chapter, there are still some real indicators with the recent flooding in not only Australia, (but of the other nations effected as well) that the prophetic clock may have started again.

Accordingly, if we are not in the end times after the signing off of the Climate Change/World Government treaty in Cancun Mexico then there does not seem to be a great deal of doubt we are right near the end of it all.

The treaty of Daniel Chapter 9, Verse 27 that heralds in the Daniels 70th week, (if not already signed) looks nigh on will at hand. After all, Palestine has already been recognized by Mexico and many other nations as being a separate state after the confirmation of the recent aforementioned treaty. Already the aforementioned treaty has been confirmed by the newly appointed EU President, Herman Van Rompuy.

The King James version of the Bible gives the world the clearest indicator yet of what may well be the veracity of the above statement particularly when we refer to this particular portion of the verse, and the end thereof shall be with a flood: the rest of that Chapter I have explained below.

Daniel Chapter 9 Verse 26
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Apart from the tragedy of the flooding event mentioned above, Daniel 9:26 gives us THREE MORE specific events that have been decreed to occur between the end of the 69th ‘seven’ (483 years) and the start of the final ‘seven’. That there is a time period gap between these is quite evident in the text. Three events are said to occur AFTER the 69th ‘seven’ but they are not included in the 70th ‘seven’ which is the subject of the next verse. Let’s have a look at these three events.

The Messiah will be cut off.
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:
This is what we have briefly looked at above but note a couple of extra things – Firstly, the word for ‘cut off’ is ‘karath’. It means to cut down or kill and is the same word used in Lev 7:27 for the death penalty. There is no doubt that this prophecy tells us that the Messiah would be executed. Secondly, the Bible says that He ‘will have nothing’. The Hebrew can also mean ‘but not for Himself’ and that is how it is translated in many Bibles. The Messiah would die… but He wouldn’t die for Himself. He would die for others. Amazing prophecy!

The Destruction of Jerusalem
the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
The second event decreed is the destruction of Jerusalem. Remember, this occurs after the end of the 69th week yet before the start of the 70th week. And yet this event occurred 40 years after Jesus was crucified. Again this shows that God ‘stopped the prophetic time clock’ with Israel’s rejection of their Messiah. The text says that the people of the coming ruler will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Note that it is the people not the ruler who do this. The ruler’s coming is said to be still future. We know from history that it was the Roman army that destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD after a 4 year long siege on the city. This ruler or ‘prince’ will be discussed later, but for now it is important to see that this coming ruler will be from the area held by the Roman Empire.

Continued War
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
The third and final decree for after the 69th ‘seven’ and before the start of the 70th ‘seven’ is ongoing war and desolations for Jerusalem. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The most fought over city. From the time that Babylonians destroyed it in 586 BC it has been held by Greeks, the Romans, the Moslems, the Crusaders… and the conflict goes on today. The decree given by Gabriel is that war would continue right to the time of the end and history has verified that to be true.

World inches closer to recognizing 'Palestine'

By Ryan Jones

Israel was shocked to learn on Monday that Britain is seriously considering upgrading the status of the Palestinian Authority delegation in London to that of an official diplomatic mission, putting it basically on par with the delegations of sovereign states.

The news, which was first reported by Israel’s Ynet news portal, was especially surprising considering that Britain’s current conservative government is viewed as generally pro-Israel.
Britain is not the first European country to recognize Palestinian delegations as diplomatic missions. France, Spain and Portugal have all already done so.

Israel fears that the next step for the Europeans is to officially recognize “Palestine” as an independent state outside the framework of an Israeli-Palestinian final status peace agreement. Most of South America has already gone so far as to officially recognize “Palestine.”

The Palestinian Authority is playing off this worrying trend and is threatening seek official UN recognition for a unilateral declaration of independence if Israel does not meet all its demands.

If European Union powerhouses like Britain and France recognize a Palestinian state, the Palestinians are likely to have all the backing they need in the UN, forcing the hands of both Israel and the US, which is currently still opposed to the unilateral establishment of a Palestinian state.

The situation has reached this point because the Palestinians have managed to successfully reverse reality and paint Israel as a non-compliant peace partner.

With the international community so anxious to conclude a final status peace deal (even if it doesn’t lead to genuine peace), it is ready to give the Palestinians what they want, with or without Israel. End of Quote

There are no real doubts at all that the world now is right on the verge of a precipice relative to the remainder of the Bible prophecies comparative to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back onto the earth.

If the facts spoken of above in the aforementioned article are to be taken into account with any real seriousness at all, then those who are not saved really are in for the times of their lives, (figuratively speaking) -- of that reality there are no real doubts at all.

The crux/or the base, of the end times lays with the signing of a seven year covenant between Israel and the Palestinians relative the troubling times that have been stirring around in those two tiny nations in the Middle East for the past hundred years or so.

Daniel 9:27 (King James Version)
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
If there was ever a separate state that was ever to be agreed upon for Palestine then there would be no doubts at all that the current difficulties relative to the current decades long crisis in the Middle East would be over and done with, finished, once and for all time. Consequently, that would herald the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back onto the earth.

What the aforementioned article infers is that even though there has never ever been the covenant mentioned in the prophecies that has ever been signed relative to Middle East peace, with the many nations of the earth recognizing the existence of a separate Palestinian state; effectively, what that now means is that even though there has never been a Middle East treaty agreed to on paper with a signature, because the world now sees Palestine as having their independence from Israel with a separate state, there is in actual fact a Middle East treaty now in place even though it is unofficial and is in name only.

Therefore, all that really needs to be put into place now is a signature on a piece of paper to make what is now unofficial, official.

Therefore, the pre tribulation theory of the rapture can now also be debunked for what it is as being nothing more than wild imaginings of someone's fertile imagination. There can be no further proof of this than the terrible reality of the wild and inclement weather conditions that have struck a major portion of the globe ever since there was a Climate Change/World Government treaty was agreed upon in Cancun Mexico recently.

As examples of those terrible weather conditions we need to look no further than the very recent conditions that have been hitting the United States, the UK, and now over the past few days the continent of Australia, my homeland.

As a result of this there are also no doubts at all that the world will be seeing more and more of similar treaties in times to come soon. Therefore, all that really needs to happen in the immediate future is for the newly appointed EU president to confirm the treaty mentioned above.

The list of false explanations and prophecies relative to certain unexplained events continues on unabated.

The following statement is an analogy of the way that I see the state of the modern day church and those within those churches relative to the Bible prophecies. Thus, it should be taken the general theme of the way that it was intended. It speaks in terms of the broad-spectrum of those who say they are Christians and has not been intended to target or attack any explicit individual or group of individuals specifically. Now read on!!!!

There are events that are taking place in the world right now, just as there are events that have been prophesied to come to pass in the future, that men are claiming have been written in the word of God for centuries, when there is nothing at all that has ever been written in the word of God relative to those said same events.

There are blackbirds falling out of the sky in the U.S. There are dead fishes that are being washed up onto shores in New Zealand. There has been wild fires running out of control in the land where the Lord walked when he was here on the earth amongst men, (Israel) There is speculation that those who have their names written down in the Lambs Book of Life are going to be suddenly whisked off the face of the earth and into Heaven, without having to pass from the life to the death experience first. (this is known as the rapture of the church) There is even wild and fanciful assumption the world must be divided up into ten sections before the Antichrist can be revealed, to thus take over those said same sections.

The list of false explanations and prophecies could go on and on as men try to make excuses for their own failed misunderstanding of the word of God, and then try and fill in the gaps with their own flimsy excuses and list of rationalizations relative to those events; and then say that those same events are mentioned in the word of God, when there is nothing that is mentioned in the word of God relative to those current and future events at all.

Those who are engaging in this form of mass trickery are doing nothing more than to engage in a game of deception relative to the Bible prophecies relative to the end of the age, (usually for their own financial benefit) as they make up things as they go along that are not there to begin with.

Therefore, no matter how much searching one is able to do there are never anything, anywhere, in the scriptures comparative to any of the events I have made mention of above or the numerous others that I possibly have never even thought of.

Brazil, Sweden and New Zealand hit with strange phenomena as speculation rages about the end times

The mass bird and fish die-offs that have affected parts of the U.S. over the last week have now gone global, with Sweden, Brazil and New Zealand becoming the latest countries to experience a phenomena that has sparked both scientific intrigue and apocalyptic panic in equal measure.

Following the sudden deaths of thousands of birds that fell over Beebe Arkansas on New Year’s Eve, in addition to 100,000 dead fish found along a 20-mile stretch between the Ozark Dam and Highway 109 Bridge in Franklin County, 500 dead blackbirds and starlings were subsequently discovered in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.

Large numbers of dead birds were also found in Kentucky around Christmas and more were found in the following days. Earlier this week, tens of thousands of small fish were found washed up in the Chesapeake Bay area. Despite their deaths being blamed on a cold snap, experts are bewildered that the fish didn’t swim to warmer waters as would be their normal response.
In a separate report emailed to us by an Alex Jones Show listener, more dead birds were seen near St. Louis, Missouri.

“I just wanted to let Alex now that I encountered over a hundred blackbirds killed on Christmas Day. This was about 30 miles south of St. Louis, MO near highway 55. The intersection was covered with them,” states the email.

The phenomenon has now gone global, with dead jackdaw birds falling to their deaths across central Sweden shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

In New Zealand, hundreds of dead snapper have washed up on Coromandel beaches. The fish looked fat and healthy, ruling out the weather or starvation as a cause of death.

“People at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay, on the north-east of the peninsula, were stunned when children came out of the sea with armfuls of the fish and within minutes the shore was littered with them,” reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, 100 tons of fish (sardine, croaker and catfish) have turned up dead off the coast of Parana over the course of the last week.

“Apart from Paranaque, (Edmir Manoel) Ferreira said the dead fish are starting to appear in other coastal towns,” reports Parana Online. “The dead fish are going to Antonia, and Guaraqueçaba. We need an urgent solution to this,” he warned.

The number of different cases of dead birds and fish around the U.S. and globally has been matched by the myriad of different explanations as to the cause of their demise.

The more mundane causes are cited as fireworks, localized hail, power lines, or other temporary phenomena that caused the birds to panic and fly into one another. However, this doesn’t explain why similar events are occurring in different areas of the country or indeed the world and it doesn’t address the issue of mass fish deaths.

As we have documented, the primary suspects should always be governments given the fact that they have routinely engaged in secret testing of biological and electromagnetic weapons that have detrimentally impacted both humans and animals many times in the past.

Others point to the New Madrid fault zone coming to life again as a result of being disturbed by the BP oil spill and threatening the onset of a series of mega-earthquakes which will hit Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. Why this would be preceded by mass bird deaths is not properly explained.

An example of one of the more esoteric theories behind the die-offs was explained by controversial Pastor James David Manning, who labeled the phenomena a “Global Katrina 2,” and an act of “biological warfare,” voicing his belief that the strange sequence of die-offs was a harbinger of tribulation and the biblical end times.

Web searches for bible prophecies and end time scenarios have exploded as some Christians fear that the mass die-offs mark the beginning of a series of catastrophes.

“Internet keyword searches continue to register off the charts. Queries like “dead fish Bible,” dead birds and fish Revelation,” dead birds and fish die End Times.” were being entered by the million Tuesday,” writes Jim Hagerty, with forum moderators kept busy answering questions about the opening of the Seventh Seal and whether or not a great pestilence will follow soon.

It seems unavoidable that the closer we get to 2012 and the onset of the widely prophesied end times theory, where a series of cataclysmic or transformative events will coincide with the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar, which will subsequently herald the end of the world or the beginning of a new spiritual age, that every bizarre event will be cited as evidence of this coming transformation.

The mass deaths of birds in particular strike a resonant chord within the human psyche for a number of sociological and cultural reasons, not least of which is the fact that they are often seen as an early warning system for harm that could later come to human beings, which of course is where the term “canary in the coal mine” originates.

Although mass die-offs of birds and fish are by no means unprecedented, any increase in their regularity will combine easily with 2012 fever to whip up more frenzy and wide-eyed speculation.

This in turn will distract millions of Americans from both real environmental crises that could be connected to the bird deaths, as well as very real political conspiracies and financial plots that continue to spell doomsday for the very existence of the American republic, with no reliance on idle speculation about Mayan calendars or 2012 end times prophecies.

While some theories are rooted in scientific verbiage, others have taken on an altogether more spiritual and apocalyptic context.

Gerry Rafferty, the Baker Street genius, bows out at 63

GERRY RAFFERTY - BAKER STREET - A TIMELESS CLASSIC

I was saddened to hear the news today of the passing of one of the greats of the music industry, Gerry Rafferty.

Even though his music has very little to do with the subject matter of this blog, the Bible prophecies, because I enjoyed his music so much I still felt the need to leave this tribute here as another testimony to the timeless and lasting legacy of the musical genius that was the man himself.

We'll walk down Baker Street together one day. R.I.P. Gerry.

By TRISTAN STEWART-ROBERTSON
GERRY Rafferty, one of Scotland's greatest singer- songwriters, has died, aged 63.
Rafferty, whose most famous work was the 1978 hit Baker Street, died following a long battle with alcoholism.

According to his daughter Martha, Rafferty died peacefully at home surrounded by family. He had been admitted to hospital in Bournemouth in November with liver failure.

The Scot was a member of Stealers Wheel, whose huge 1972 hit Stuck in the Middle With You underwent a renaissance after featuring in Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs in the 1990s.

Baker Street, with its distinctive saxophone solo, reached number 3 in the UK charts and No 2 in the US. Despite his success, however, Rafferty suffered from well documented problems with alcohol.

Fans paid tribute to the star last night as news of his death spread quickly. On website twitter one fan wrote: "Gerry Rafferty. Rest in Peace." Another fan said: "RIP Gerry Rafferty. Baker Street means so much to me."

Born in Paisley, Rafferty often recalled that, when he was a child, his mother would drag him round the streets of Glasgow, rather than risk his suffering violence at the hands of his Irish-born father, who would often come home drunk.

He cut his musical teeth as a busker on the streets of Glasgow, and first found modest success with Billy Connolly's folk group the Humblebums.

Rafferty started his career in a school band called the Mavericks, before working with Connolly. The comedian and Rafferty went their separate ways after two years, Connelly becoming a world-famous figure on TV and film, while the singer became one of Scotland's most notable musical talents.

He released a solo album in 1971 before founding Stealer's Wheel the following year. While Stealers Wheel enjoyed huge success with tracks such as Stuck In The Middle With You and Star, the group disbanded in 1975, leaving Rafferty free to pursue his solo career.

He had endured several professional disputes during his career, most notably a long- running contract disagreement with his former band members from Stealers Wheel.

It was in 1978 that Rafferty wrote Baker Street, the track that was recognised last October for having been played a staggering five million times worldwide. His most successful albums were 1978's City To City and Night Owl', released in 1979.

But despite his professional life going from strength to strength, Rafferty suffered from alcoholism, leading to the breakdown of his 20-year marriage to wife Carla in 1990.

Referring to their split, Carla said at the time: "There was no hope. I would never have left him if there had been a glimmer of a chance of him recovering."

EU has officially overcome recession - Herman Van Rompuy - so what does the future now hold?

The European Union is out of recession and that’s official: for that speaks positive dynamics of economic growth in the community for the last 11 months, says the European Council’s president Herman Van Rompuy. He also says there is now low level of inflation while trade budget is in balance.

At the same time, there are still too many disagreements in the eurozone on the economic growth, budget and balance, and it appears that the crisis is located in separate countries which commenced economic reforms. In that respect, it is necessary to ensure more convergence and coordination between member states because it will be up to them to assist their neighbours in overcoming financial troubles.

The EU president thinks that everything will be done to protect euro. Introduction of euro in Estonia from 1 January 2011 is quite encouraging. End of Quote

There really does not seem to be any doubts at all that the newly appointed president of the EU, Herman Van Rompuy, has succeeded way beyond the wildest expectations of those who had placed him into power at the beginning of 2010 as the first ever unelected full time president of the EU.

That took place after the victorious achievement by the EU of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in late 2009.

If the initial suggestion I had made is correct that the EU presidency was the power base of the Antichrist then that would also make the Bible correct when it said that whatever the Antichrist did he would be successful in?

The aforesaid news relating to Van Rompuy lifting the EU out of recession also plays well into the other prophecy of Daniel which says that in coming to power the Antichrist subdues three nations with those three nations of course being Ireland, Greece and Portugal.

The first two nations mentioned above were given bailout packages, while the measures that were taken relative to Portugal was not as severe, as she was only given minor assistance. But I still need to emphasise all of the three nations mentioned above were still subdued.

So that was year one for Van Rompuy, so then what is next?Remember the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the White Horse, the Red Horse, the Black Horse and the Pale Horse?

Even though there was a Climate Change treaty that was agreed upon in Cancun Mexico where there were so many who had suggested was really had taken place was the pretext for a World Government treaty (I agree) -- there is still really nothing at all to suggest that the Antichrist has began his ride on any of the horses mentioned above.

But that is not to suggest that the time he will begin to ride the first horse is extremely close at hand, as there seems to be very strong evidence to suggest that the time for the Antichrist to ride the White Horse is just so close it is almost within touching distance? Remember those who have been saying for so long the newly appointed EU president would confirm, or rubber stamp, a seven year treaty between Israel and Palestine?

That simply means that there would be others who would work out the treaty and the Antichrist would simply agree to what others had already worked out by signing a seven year peace treaty document. There are already several nations who are desirous of bringing Israel and Palestine into a the World Government treaty mentioned above by agreeing to give Palestine a separate state.

Effectively, what that now means is that there has been an unofficial treaty reached between Israel and Palestine and all that really needs to happen is for the Antichrist to rubber stamp the peace document mentioned above. Therefore, if that were to happen in the new year and if happened to be signed by Van Rompuy then there would be no doubts at all that what the world would be witnessing would be the covenant of the Antichrist mentioned in Daniel Chapter 9, Verse 27.

Stay tuned now and watch the Russian Middle East peace summit that is to take place in February 2011 to see if there are any developments in that direction! I think there maybe?

Unfortunately, there are alleged men of God who deliberately set out on a pathway to frighten people just so that they can make money.

Even though he has been gone a number of years now, there may be some out there who are going to remember the late and great Barry R Smith.

Even though I was never ever privileged to have known him personally, I had the occasion to go to one or two of his meetings when he came to the area.

I have read the whole of the series of his books and have watched a fair portion of his DVDs. That being the substance of the matter, therefore, one could say I had quite a good understanding of just where he was coming from relative to the end times as he revealed the keys to eternal salvation at the same time?

There was a time when he had mentioned in one of his DVDs when he had been offered the opportunity to sell end times food with the prospect being that if were able to do that there would be a very strong possibility that he would come out of doing so a self made millionaire.

The idea was that he was simply to carry on as he was preaching about the end times and there at the end of his meetings there would be someone at the door ready to sell those who came out of BS meetings the aforementioned end times emergency food.

The idea was that as there always was a message of doom and gloom, or the end of the current system as we know it on this day, the idea was that there would be those who were sufficiently frightened they would then buy his end times food.

He later on went to reject this idea, but there are still those out there who did not and are using their own messages of doom and gloom to frighten people so that may profiteer out of the process by selling those they sufficiently frighten enough products they claim are going to assist the purchasers when the crunch time really comes and the final seven years here on the earth begins.

Even though I still believe it is not really being a Christian to go and talk about someone behind their backs, there are still a couple of very well names that are coming to mind who are doing this type of thing. TM of the power of prophecy website and author of several books and DVDs readily comes to mind, just as AJ of the info wars website name also does.

Both of these men are becoming extremely wealthy by fleecing the unsuspecting of their hard earned cash.

AF of the free press online is just another one that readily comes to mind. Even though he is not directly selling end times food what he is doing is frightening those who come to his website with visions of a Greater Depression in 2011. At the same time he has an advertisement on his website for GOLD which seems to suggesting that if what he had predicated in 2011 were ever to come to pass then gold would be the safest investment to give the greatest return for those who had chosen to invest in it as a hedge fund against further financial collapse if that were ever to come to pass in the forthcoming year?

However the facts of the matter are completely different, as there could be nothing which is further from the truth.

Even though there are very clear indicators within the Holy Scriptures that says there will be an economic collapse sooner or later, there is still nothing whatsoever within the Bible that says it is going to be in 2011.

Also, within the scriptures there are several verses that says that that GOLD is not an infallible investment at all. In fact, the Bible says that Gold is going to be cankered and that it is going to be worth absolutely nothing at all.

I would assume there are more around the place than those two men mentioned above who are frightening those who will listen, and then as a consequence trying to make money out of doing so. These are only a couple that I am able to think of, but there are still more than likely numerous others of whom I do not even know about.

So even though it may be alright to set out on a deliberate pathway to alarm and frighten in the vain hope that by doing so it is going to lead some to eternal life, there is a direct difference between doing so to try and lead others to eternal life -- and deliberately setting out on a pathway to try and frighten people just to profiteer out of doing so.

Religious leaders urge end to persecution

The Pope delivers his annual Christmas Day blessing from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (see the insert)
THE Pope led pleas by religious leaders for peace in the Middle East and an end to persecution in Iraq.

But as the Pope addressed huge crowds at the Vatican, violence against Christians marred the Christmas holiday.

Record crowds flocked to Bethlehem, and hundreds defied al-Qa'ida threats to pack Our Lady of Salvation cathedral in Baghdad for Christmas mass.

But seven explosions hit Jos in central Nigeria, killing 32 people and injured 74 late on Christmas Eve. In Maiduguri, in northern Nigeria, suspected members of an Islamist sect attacked three churches, burning one down and killing six people.

A bomb rocked a church on Jolo Island in The Philippines during Christmas mass, wounding six. The island is a bastion of Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to al-Qa'ida.

"May the love of God with us grant perseverance to all those Christian communities enduring discrimination and persecution, and inspire political and religious leaders to be committed to full respect for the religious freedom of all," the Pope said in his Christmas Day message at the Vatican
.
"May the comforting message of the coming of Emmanuel ease the pain and bring consolation amid their trials to the beloved Christian communities in Iraq and throughout the Middle East."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams also urged people to remember those facing persecution because of their Christian faith. "We may feel powerless to help; yet we should also know that people in such circumstances are strengthened simply by knowing they have not been forgotten," he said.

Christmas cheer was sorely tested in parts of Europe, where thousands of travellers were forced to spend the night in trains, barracks, ferries and airports as transport froze to a halt.

Weather also made life difficult for travellers in the US as airlines cancelled hundreds of flights. Parts of the south enjoyed a rare white Christmas, with snow in Nashville, Tennessee, and northern Alabama. Snow blanketed whole sections of the midwest, and a storm was predicted to bring more than 12.5cm of snow to the Washington DC region today.

US President Barack Obama made a surprise Christmas visit to a marine base to thank US troops for the sacrifices they had made.

He and his wife, Michelle, shook hands and hugged service members who had arrived for Christmas dinner at the mess hall at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

"Let's all remind (troops) this holiday season that we're thinking of them, and that America will forever be here for them, just as they've been there for us," t Mr Obama said in his holiday message. After dining with his family on steak, roasted potatoes, green beans and pie, the sport-obsessed President watched some NBA basketball.

Sport was also the unexpected focus of the Queen's Christmas Day message. Nineteen months before the London Olympics, the Queen pointed to October's Commonwealth Games as an example of how sport unites people.

The Queen celebrated Christmas with her family at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, and about 1000 people turned up on a frosty Christmas morning to see the royals as they went to church.

But they were denied a glimpse of Prince William and his fiancee, Kate Middleton.

William, who is a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot, was on call in Wales, while Ms Middleton was with her family.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon admits the Climate Change Treaty recently agreed upon in Mexico will be enforced by Global Government

United Nations General Secretary is publicly admitting that the worldwide climate change treaty recently agreed upon in Cancun Mexico will be enforced by global government.

Up until now, many have dismissed reports that the treaty recently agreed upon in Cancun would represent a giant step towards world government.

However, when the head of the United Nations tells an interviewer for the Los Angeles Times that "we will establish a global governance structure to monitor and manage the implementation of this", what are we all supposed to think?

In fact, a former official in the Thatcher administration, Lord Christopher Monckton, has seen a draft of the treaty being discussed and he says that it creates 700 new bureaucracies which will implement and enforce the provisions of the climate change treaty.

These bureaucracies will have power to enforce the new world environmental laws that supersedes the authority of national governments around the world.

However, as history tells us a formal treaty was not signed in Copenhagen. Nevertheless, Ban Ki-Moon now tells us that a "binding political deal" was signed in Mexico.

So what is the difference between a "treaty" and a "binding political deal"?
That is a good question! Ban Ki-Moon put it this way during his interview with the Los Angeles Times; we need to have a very strong, robust, binding political deal that will have an immediate operational effect.

This is not going to be a political declaration, just for the sake of declaration. It is going to be a binding political deal, which will lead to a legally binding treaty already agreed upon this year.

What most people do not realize is that the treaty being discussed in Cancun and already agreed upon recently will institute new world taxes which would transfer wealth from "rich nations" as payment for the "carbon debt" that we have accumulated.

Ban Ki-Moon also commented on this during his interview with the L.A. Times....Developed countries have political and moral responsibilities, therefore they have to do more, first of all by coming out with ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and they should be prepared to provide financial support.

We have pretty good agreement on short-term, fast-track financial support in the order of $10 billion for the coming three years. When we now have agreement on a politically binding agreement, that will have immediate operational effect, including financial support from next year.

This financial support will reportedly be ongoing for the life of the treaty.

So when will the treaty end and can the United States ever get out of it?
Well, reports from those who have seen the draft treaty indicate that the only way a nation can leave the treaty is if every single other nation agrees.

Now, if "developing nations" are receiving large payments from the United States every single year, how likely do you think it is for every single one of them to vote to allow the U.S. to leave the treaty?

The truth is that the treaty is structured so that the United States would be committed to it forever. According to the draft treaty being considered, no future president or Congress would be able to do anything to get the United States out of the treaty.

The only way to get out of it would be a unanimous vote from every single one of the other nations. This is the kind of deal that Barack Obama has locked the United States into.

What a nightmare.

Benjamin Ben-Eliezer warns of fallout over stalled Middle East peace talks

Turks wave a giant Palestinian flag yesterday during the arrival in Istanbul's port of the Mavi Marmara, one of the flotilla of aid ships raided in May. (see insert)THE US may throw its weight behind growing support for a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood if Israel does not resume Middle East peace talks, an Israeli minister has warned.

In the first admission by a senior Israeli official that a rift with its key ally threatened a shift in US policy, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, the Trade and Industry Minister, urged the resumption of talks with the Palestinians - even if it meant bowing to their demands for a renewed freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.

"We must do everything possible to get to dialogue with the Palestinians, even if it costs us a settlement freeze for a few months," Mr Ben-Eliezer, a doyen of the Labour Party, the junior partner in the governing coalition, told a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

"I wouldn't be surprised if within one year the whole world supports a Palestinian state, including the United States. Then we'll ask where we were and what we were doing."

In recent weeks, four Latin American states, led by Brazil, have officially recognised a Palestinian state inside the borders which were in place before the 1967 Six Day war, during which Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Some European nations have upgraded diplomatic relations with the Palestinians.

Later this year, Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Prime Minister, is expected to complete his two-year plan of building a de facto state inside the West Bank, although Gaza remains under Hamas control.

The Palestinian leadership walked out of peace talks revived by the US three months ago in anger at Israel's refusal to extend a halt on building in the communities, which are viewed as illegal by the international community. The Palestinians have said that if there is no renewed negotiation effort they will go to the UN Security Council with a unilateral declaration of statehood.

Since the collapse of the peace talks and Israel's refusal to renew the settlement building moratorium, settlers have laid foundations for hundreds of new homes, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. The Palestinians have responded by preparing a UN draft resolution condemning the settlements, which in the West Bank are home to 300,000 Israelis, with 200,000 living in East Jerusalem.

Israeli diplomats have been rushing to ascertain the possible response of key countries to such a resolution amid fears that President Obama, having been thwarted in his peace efforts, might concentrate on other regions for the remaining two years of his term. So far Washington has said that it would not back the anti-settlement resolution, but other countries which have become increasingly frustrated by the deadlock in talks and the continued rate of settlement expansion - Britain among them - may offer some support.

Mr Ben-Eliezer's warning is also likely to increase tensions in the Israeli coalition as Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, strives to satisfy hardliners and pro-talks factions.

Amid the political tensions there were fresh clashes in and around Gaza on the eve of the second anniversary of the Israeli offensive to smash Hamas and stop militants firing rockets into southern Israel, an operation dubbed Cast Lead by the Israeli Army.

With both sides talking up the chances of another war in the south, Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships opened fire on Islamic Jihad members who were trying to plant bombs close to the Israeli-controlled border fence with Gaza, killing two people. More rockets were fired out of the Gaza Strip into Israel, despite some of the heaviest air strikes since the 2008 month-long war by Israeli forces last week.

The increased rocket fire has ramped up tensions, especially after Israel admitted that one of its tanks had been hit by an advanced, Russian-made anti-tank missile that had been smuggled into the besieged strip by Hamas.

"I hope there is no need for another operation like Cast Lead," the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Silvan Shalom, said. "But if this situation continues then obviously we will have to respond and respond with all our force."

Abu Obeidah, a Hamas military spokesman, said his forces were also ready for another bout of bloodletting. "If there is any Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip we will respond strongly," he said. "We are completely ready to answer any Israeli aggression."

In a possible reference to the Kornet anti-tank missiles deployed recently, he added: "Our weapons are few compared to those of the Israeli occupation, but we have something that will worry the occupation."

European political integration still an elusive dream

by Wang Cong
BRUSSELS, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- One year after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, the prospect of a politically united Europe remains just as dim.

The treaty, which came after eight years of horse-trading, was aimed to streamline the 27-nation bloc's institutions, and to win Europe as a whole a greater role on the world stage.

For one thing, Herman Van Rompuy, who was appointed as president of the European Council, silenced doubts over his capacity to represent the EU's interests in the world with efficient coordination between EU governments.

But by contrast, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and her newly founded European External Action Service (EEAS) have yet to gain more credibility.

The EEAS, officially launched on Dec. 1, exactly one year after the Lisbon Treaty came into force, is aimed at giving the European bloc a single, unified voice in the world.

However, resistance by Euro-skeptic Britain and the reluctance of many nations to share more sovereignty prevented the EU from moving toward further political integration.

The task was also complicated by the debt crisis that many feared was contagious in the euro zone. The crisis promoted national approaches rather than European ones, thus marginalizing Europe's political integration, as national interests prevailed over those of the EU in decision-making despite the one-year-old Lisbon Treaty.

In a typical example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was reported to have held off on important reforms, including measures to help bail out Greece, for two months to avoid endangering elections in North Rhine-Westphalia in May, thus leading to the deepening of the

Greek debt crisis. Ironically, the postponement failed to bring needed help to her government in the North Rhine-Westphalia elections anyway.

Meanwhile, within the British government, the voice of Euro-skeptics is often louder than that of Euro-optimists, and even Prime Minister David Cameron himself has repeatedly criticized Europe. In addition, Euro-scepticism has already become an important trend in the governments of the

Czech Republic, Poland, and other East European countries.
Since the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, political integration in Europe has never come easy.
I
n 1992, Denmark said no to the Maastricht Treaty, and, in 2005, France and the Netherlands rejected the EU constitution.

The current Lisbon Treaty was largely rejected by Ireland in 2008, and was only adopted in the following year when a second referendum was organized.

"Political integration is a complex and sensitive topic, because it involves nations giving up or sharing their valued sovereign powers," said Prof. Wu Xian with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"That is why the EU had decided to take a more indirect approach -- to build economic unity first to pave the way for political integration," Wu said.

The introduction of the single currency euro, the EU's most prized project, in 11 countries in 1999 marked a big step forward in European integration, which is in essence a gradual transfer of national sovereignty to the EU.

However, nations grew more jittery about their reserved and more valued sovereign powers as the integration went deeper.

The integration fatigue resulted in the structural flaw of the euro since European countries at that time simply wanted to exploit the benefits of the single currency, but were not ready to give up their national powers over public finances.

Nevertheless, the debt crisis might also mean opportunities for European integration.

At this year's last European Council summit on Dec. 16-17, European leaders agreed to revise the Lisbon Treaty to make room for a permanent rescue mechanism for countries that got into debt trouble.

The mechanism might strengthen the EU's power and rein in member states' financial policies, paving the way for European integration in the future.