Iran May Attack U.S.

This is an interesting article from NewsMax. Clearly this is alarming and we must assume that it is true until we can prove (we, meaning our national security teams) that it is not true.

http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/iran_nuclear_plan/2008/07/29/117217.html


U.S. Intel: Iran Plans Nuclear Strike on U.S.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 9:00 AMBy: Kenneth R. Timmerman

Iran has carried out missile tests for what could be a plan for a nuclear strike on the United States, the head of a national security panel has warned.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee and in remarks to a private conference on missile defense over the weekend hosted by the Claremont Institute, Dr. William Graham warned that the U.S. intelligence community “doesn’t have a story” to explain the recent Iranian tests.
One group of tests that troubled Graham, the former White House science adviser under President Ronald Reagan, were successful efforts to launch a Scud missile from a platform in the Caspian Sea.
“They’ve got [test] ranges in Iran which are more than long enough to handle Scud launches and even Shahab-3 launches,” Dr. Graham said. “Why would they be launching from the surface of the Caspian Sea? They obviously have not explained that to us.”
Another troubling group of tests involved Shahab-3 launches where the Iranians "detonated the warhead near apogee, not over the target area where the thing would eventually land, but at altitude,” Graham said. “Why would they do that?”
Graham chairs the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, a blue-ribbon panel established by Congress in 2001.
The commission examined the Iranian tests “and without too much effort connected the dots,” even though the U.S. intelligence community previously had failed to do so, Graham said.
“The only plausible explanation we can find is that the Iranians are figuring out how to launch a missile from a ship and get it up to altitude and then detonate it,” he said. “And that’s exactly what you would do if you had a nuclear weapon on a Scud or a Shahab-3 or other missile, and you wanted to explode it over the United States.”
The commission warned in a report issued in April that the United States was at risk of a sneak nuclear attack by a rogue nation or a terrorist group designed to take out our nation’s critical infrastructure.
"If even a crude nuclear weapon were detonated anywhere between 40 kilometers to 400 kilometers above the earth, in a split-second it would generate an electro-magnetic pulse [EMP] that would cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure," the report warned.
While not causing immediate civilian casualties, the near-term impact on U.S. society would dwarf the damage of a direct nuclear strike on a U.S. city.
“The first indication [of such an attack] would be that the power would go out, and some, but not all, the telecommunications would go out. We would not physically feel anything in our bodies,” Graham said.
As electric power, water and gas delivery systems failed, there would be “truly massive traffic jams,” Graham added, since modern automobiles and signaling systems all depend on sophisticated electronics that would be disabled by the EMP wave.
“So you would be walking. You wouldn’t be driving at that point,” Graham said. “And it wouldn’t do any good to call the maintenance or repair people because they wouldn’t be able to get there, even if you could get through to them.”
The food distribution system also would grind to a halt as cold-storage warehouses stockpiling perishables went offline. Even warehouses equipped with backup diesel generators would fail, because “we wouldn’t be able to pump the fuel into the trucks and get the trucks to the warehouses,” Graham said.
The United States “would quickly revert to an early 19th century type of country.” except that we would have 10 times as many people with ten times fewer resources, he said.
“Most of the things we depend upon would be gone, and we would literally be depending on our own assets and those we could reach by walking to them,” Graham said.
America would begin to resemble the 2002 TV series, “Jeremiah,” which depicts a world bereft of law, infrastructure, and memory.
In the TV series, an unspecified virus wipes out the entire adult population of the planet. In an EMP attack, the casualties would be caused by our almost total dependence on technology for everything from food and water, to hospital care.
Within a week or two of the attack, people would start dying, Graham says.
“People in hospitals would be dying faster than that, because they depend on power to stay alive. But then it would go to water, food, civil authority, emergency services. And we would end up with a country with many, many people not surviving the event.”
Asked just how many Americans would die if Iran were to launch the EMP attack it appears to be preparing, Graham gave a chilling reply.
“You have to go back into the 1800s to look at the size of population” that could survive in a nation deprived of mechanized agriculture, transportation, power, water, and communication.
“I’d have to say that 70 to 90 percent of the population would not be sustainable after this kind of attack,” he said.
America would be reduced to a core of around 30 million people — about the number that existed in the decades after America’s independence from Great Britain.
The modern electronic economy would shut down, and America would most likely revert to “an earlier economy based on barter,” the EMP commission’s report on Critical National Infrastructure concluded earlier this year.
In his recent congressional testimony, Graham revealed that Iranian military journals, translated by the CIA at his commission’s request, “explicitly discuss a nuclear EMP attack that would gravely harm the United States.”
Furthermore, if Iran launched its attack from a cargo ship plying the commercial sea lanes off the East coast — a scenario that appears to have been tested during the Caspian Sea tests — U.S. investigators might never determine who was behind the attack. Because of the limits of nuclear forensic technology, it could take months. And to disguise their traces, the Iranians could simply decide to sink the ship that had been used to launch it, Graham said.
Several participants in last weekend’s conference in Dearborn, Mich., hosted by the conservative Claremont Institute argued that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was thinking about an EMP attack when he opined that “a world without America is conceivable.”
In May 2007, then Undersecretary of State John Rood told Congress that the U.S. intelligence community estimates that Iran could develop an ICBM capable of hitting the continental United States by 2015.
But Iran could put a Scud missile on board a cargo ship and launch from the commercial sea lanes off America’s coasts well before then.
The only thing Iran is lacking for an effective EMP attack is a nuclear warhead, and no one knows with any certainty when that will occur. The latest U.S. intelligence estimate states that Iran could acquire the fissile material for a nuclear weapon as early as 2009, or as late as 2015, or possibly later.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld first detailed the “Scud-in-a-bucket” threat during a briefing in Huntsville, Ala., on Aug. 18, 2004.
While not explicitly naming Iran, Rumsfeld revealed that “one of the nations in the Middle East had launched a ballistic missile from a cargo vessel. They had taken a short-range, probably Scud missile, put it on a transporter-erector launcher, lowered it in, taken the vessel out into the water, peeled back the top, erected it, fired it, lowered it, and covered it up. And the ship that they used was using a radar and electronic equipment that was no different than 50, 60, 100 other ships operating in the immediate area.”
Iran’s first test of a ship-launched Scud missile occurred in spring 1998, and was mentioned several months later in veiled terms by the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, a blue-ribbon panel also known as the Rumsfeld Commission.
I was the first reporter to mention the Iran sea-launched missile test in an article appearing in the Washington Times in May 1999.
Intelligence reports on the launch were “well known to the White House but have not been disseminated to the appropriate congressional committees,” I wrote. Such a missile “could be used in a devastating stealth attack against the United States or Israel for which the United States has no known or planned defense.”
Few experts believe that Iran can be deterred from launching such an attack by the threat of massive retaliation against Iran. They point to a December 2001 statement by former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who mulled the possibility of Israeli retaliation after an Iranian nuclear strike.
“The use of an atomic bomb against Israel would destroy Israel completely, while [the same] against the Islamic only would cause damages. Such a scenario is not inconceivable,” Rafsanjani said at the time.
Rep. Trent Franks, R, Ariz., plans to introduce legislation next week that would require the Pentagon to lay the groundwork for an eventual military strike against Iran, to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and EMP capability.
“An EMP attack on America would send us back to the horse and buggy era — without the horse and buggy,” he told the Claremont Institute conference on Saturday. “If you’re a terrorist, this is your ultimate goal, your ultimate asymmetric weapon.”
Noting Iran’s recent sea-launched and mid-flight warhead detonation tests, Rep. Franks concluded, “They could do it — either directly or anonymously by putting some freighter out there on the ocean.”
The only possible deterrent against Iran is the prospect of failure, Dr. Graham and other experts agreed. And the only way the United States could credibly threaten an Iranian missile strike would be to deploy effective national missile defenses.
“It’s well known that people don’t go on a diet until they’ve had a heart attack,” said Claremont Institute president Brian T. Kennedy. “And we as a nation are having a heart attack” when it comes to the threat of an EMP attack from Iran.
“As of today, we have no defense against such an attack. We need space-based missile defenses to protect against an EMP attack,” he told Newsmax.
Rep. Franks said he remains surprised at how partisan the subject of space-based missile defenses remain. “Nuclear missiles don’t discriminate on party lines when they land,” he said.
Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, a long-standing champion of missile defense, told the Claremont conference on Friday that Sen. Obama has opposed missile defense tooth and nail and as president would cut funding for these programs dramatically.
“Senator Obama has been quoted as saying, ‘I don’t agree with a missile defense system,’ and that we can cut $10 billion of the research out — never mind, as I say, that the entire budget is $9.6 billion, or $9.3 billion,” Kyl said.
Like Franks, Kyl believes that the only way to eventually deter Iran from launching an EMP attack on the United States is to deploy robust missile defense systems, including space-based interceptors.
The United States “needs a missile defense that is so strong, in all the different phases we need to defend against . . . that countries will decide it’s not worth coming up against us,” Kyl said.
“That’s one of the things that defeated the Soviet Union. That’s one of the ways we can deal with these rogue states . . . and also the way that we can keep countries that are not enemies today, but are potential enemies, from developing capabilities to challenge us. “
© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Iran's President

Yes, he's at it again. He's called the hardline President of Iran, Ahmandinejad is again spewing forth lies and more lies. He calls the United States and Israel Satan, in a way he is right. No, we are not Satan, as in the fallen angel called the devil, but in the true meaning of satan, which means advesary, we are advesaries with Iran.

This link goes to Fox News, one of my favorite sites.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,393221,00.html

Christian Devotional Site

I came across this site today and thought I would share it with everyone. It has a lot of information in it, opportunities to purchase books, devotionals, etc. But the main reason I liked it was for the chance to sign up for free daily devotionals to be sent to you chosen e mail address. There are several topics, by several men/women of God. Click on the link and browse through it.

http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/

Election Time

As the election is coming closer, I think it is important to know where the candidates stand on certain issues. I hope to be able to put a lot of the differences in this blog over the next couple of months so people can see what the real issues are.

This is just one example, the money issue and the differences between a moderate conservative and a liberal (John McCain is the moderate conservative and Barrack Obama is the liberal).

Go to this link and there are several other links about both candidates in there. Read thoroughly, listen closely and pray about who you think God wants you to vote for this year.

http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html

INTERESTING DATA JUST RECEIVED ON TAXES This is something you should be aware of so you don't get blind sided. This is really going to catch a lot of families off guard. It should make you worry.

Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election:
CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN 0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA 28% on profit from ALL home sales

How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA 39.6%

How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned o n taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.'

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN
(no changes) Single making 30K - tax $4,500 Single making 50K - tax $12,500Single making 75K - tax $18,750Married making 60K- tax $9,000Married making 75K - tax $18,750Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA
(reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts) Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Under Obama, your taxes will more than double!

How does this affect you? No explanation needed. This is pretty straight forward.

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY OBAMA

New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least.... New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

Senator Obama

So, Senator Obama, the supposed Democratic nominee for President goes on a whirlwind tour of the Middle East and Europe. The "Obama Mania World Tour 2008". His obsession with trying to make himself and his campaign look like the second coming of the Beatle Invasion is getting kind of old. At least I didn't see any Germans or Israelites fainting in the audience this weekend.

Another thing that strikes me as odd. He is RUNNING for President, he is not the president, at least not yet. So why is he trying to gain international support? Why is he meeting with international leaders (some, Germany's leadership refused to meet with him)? Is it because there is something larger here that we don't know (see my previous entries on end times events)? Or is it just a simple case of arrogance on the part of Senator Obama? Time will tell, but I believe he is heading us for disaster as a nation. I believe that he wants us to be under the control of the United Nations, or at least under a world wide government, possibly to be one of the 10 leaders that answer to the anti-Christ.

No matter what he has in store for us, it will not be good. For example, a civilian national security force that has the budget and capabilities of our current military (that's another $4.39 billion per year by the way). What is this for and why is it needed? If he is concerned with securing our nation, let's beef up our current military, give the 50 states more latitude and financial help if necessary to increase the number of state police, county police and city police officers. Why have a separate security force? Is he wanting to create a Revolutionary Guard (See Iran) for his administration? Does he want his own Hitler style SS? Who knows, but this man is scary.

Here are two links to articles about his ideas. Note, official transcripts and the "YouTube" video of the speech that contained this talk have disappeared supposedly at the request of his campaign. Which also leads me to this question, how much power does his campaign have?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=69784

http://conservablogs.com/bluecollarmuse/2008/07/16/what-in-the-world-is-obamas-civilian-national-security-force/

Israel Attack?

I am not sure if this article is legitimate or if they are telling the truth. It is very possible that Israel is getting ready to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Let me make myself clear, they are not going to attack Iran or their people, but their nuclear facilities. I do believe in my heart that Iran is developing weapons grade plutonium.

Either way, God's perfect plan is in action.

Here's the link:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4322508.ece

Is This Mystery Babylon?

The book of Revelations talks about "Mystery Babylon". I firmly believe that mystery Babylon will be something similar to the old Roman Empire, it won't be built in the Iraq area again. Either way, we are heading to a one world government. This could possibly be one of the 10 nations spoken of in Revelations.

This article is about the EU expanding, by the name of Mediterranean Union.

http://prophecytoday.com/news/

Tablets Found

This article was an amazing article. Just think, more proof that the prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus is true. I know it's true, it's written in the bible and any true Christ follower knows this, but millions across the world do not realize the importance of believing that the resurrection did happen. Many people and religions think that Jesus was just a prophet, but the truth is, Jesus is who He said He was. He is my Lord, Savior and Master and one third of the Holy Trinity, God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Thank you God for giving us Jesus to bear our sins!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,378523,00.html

Iran and Russia

Iran and Russia are up to games again. Russia is threatening the U.S. if we pursue a weapons defense system in the Czech Republic. Iran is up to it's usual rhetoric about how Iran will attack and stop the U.S. and Israel. Ezekiel 38 and 39 warn of a war coming, coming from the north and possibly will include Russia and Iran. Again, it is written in Matthew 24 that there will be wars and rumors of wars.

Follow the links below for articles:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,377626,00.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,378065,00.html

Mysterious Picture

I saw this online and found it to be either really strange, a coincidence or God planned it this way. The Jewish people are getting ready to start their temple worship again, getting their priests ready. Included will be sacrifices as well. Look closely at the 9th picture, specifically at what is on the wall behind the priest. By the way, this is another prophecy being fulfilled.

All the praise and glory go to God!

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126721

Earthquakes

No matter how you look at it, God's word will be fulfilled. Matthew 24 and many other scriptures are coming to pass right before our eyes. Yes, we will witness some of the most unique times ever in this generation. The only generation that would be more interesting to have witnessed is when Jesus walked the earth.



http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/neic/



Go to the link above and there is a ton of information about earthquakes, current data and historic. You can see that earthquakes have quadrupled since 1980 and have increased seven times since 1970.

Here is another link that takes you to more data.

http://www.shalomjerusalem.com/prophecy/prophecy25c.htm

There is no way to dispute the fact that earthquake activity is rising. Same thing with hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and extreme weather patterns.

Look up, He's coming soon.

Differences between Iowa and New Orleans

How come there are no celebrities holding telethons raising money for Iowa?

How come the media is not asking tough questions to the government, President Bush, and FEMA. Questions like;

Why hasn't the government solved the problem yet?

Where's FEMA?

Why did President Bush cause the flooding?

Why isn't the federal government relocating people to other cities, like Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis?

When will Spike Lee hold a press conference and accuse the federal government of blowing up the levees in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and other towns?

How come Sean Penn and the Dixie Chicks have not yet arrived to help? Is it because Sean is smoking a Cuban cigar and celebrating with his new best friend Hugo Chavez?

Where are all the looters carrying off televisions, stereos, beer, food?

When will Iowa's governor announce that we will rebuild a new "Vanilla Iowa"?

Will Vanilla Ice be the MC at the opening ceremonies of re-dedicating Iowa?

Where are the reports of cannibalism, gang rapes, murders and intimidation of helpless people?

Where are the reports that President Bush hates Iowa?

None of these things will happen. People in the midwest don't declare that certain cities are black, white or any other race. They are midwestern cities in the USA. We stand together, white, black, Indian, oriental, hispanic, etc.

No, it's not the federal governments fault this happened. No President Bush did not cause this. No Spike Lee won't waste his time here, neither will Sean Penn or the Dixie Chicks. We did get football star Dallas Clark to come here to help. Rock bands like REO Speedwagon and The Little River Band volunteered time to help raise funds to help.

For the most part, midwesterners pull themselves up by their own boot straps, help each other, dig in and get the task done, not matter how tough the task is.

People in this part of the country depend on God, not government. Why? Because government is made up of people, mostly politicians that tell us what we want to hear, but usually don't deliver. People in the midwest know that God always will deliver you. You may go through trials and tribulations, but when you put your Faith, Hope and Trust in God.

HE GETS ER DONE!

Why won't Hollywood show up in a place like Iowa? Because they would be told something like this:

If you want to help, grab a shovel, fill a sand bag, bag a dyke, help clean up or get out of the way. We have work to get done!

God bless all of the people that have helped the midwest get through this. Most of all, All Praise and Glory goes to God. Even though this happened, it pulled us together to get through this. God gets all of the glory for making a success out of tragedy.

Governor Huckabee/HUCKPAC Vote

HUCKPAC is having a grassroots vote on which item should be first to go after.

1. Same sex marriage

or

2. Support of Life

Tough choice, but as a Christian, my first choice would have to be Life. We need to protect our children and unborn babies. Psalm 94, 20-21 lay it all out on what we should be doing as a nation.

NIV version

"Can a corrupt throne be allied with you - one that brings on misery by its decrees?"
"They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death."

Just because this nation made abortion legal (decree) doesn't make it right. It is time to stop the shed of innocent blood. America, stop killing your children! Please click on the link below and cast your vote!

HUCKPAC

This month we plan on launching our first petition drive to raise awareness on issues that matter to our community. I want you to help us choose which issue to start with: Protecting Life or Protecting Traditional Marriage. Obviously, both issues are extremely important, but with a limited amount of resources we want to focus our efforts on one issue at a time. So which issue do you want us to start with? You can take our poll here. We posted the poll last evening and so far we have received over 200 votes. I won't tell you which issue is winning our poll, but I will tell you that we want at least 3,000 votes to be cast before we accept the final vote. So please participate today. With gratitude, Mike Huckabee


Huck PAC, Inc. P.O. Box 2008 Little Rock, Arkansas 72203
Contributions are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Corporations, foreign nationals without green cards, federal contractors, and minors (under 18 years of age) are prohibited from contributing. Individuals may contribute a maximum of $5,000 per year to Huck PAC. Contributions are not deductible
as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Federal Election Law requires us to report the
name, address, occupation, and employer for contributions that aggregate in excess of $200 in an election cycle.

More Matthew 24

Again, to back up Matthew 24 even more, here's news on potential earthquakes in Indonesia.

An international team of earthquake specialists say that Indonesia faces a giant quake
June 30, 2008

Socially Bookmark this Story BlinkList Blogmarks del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink Furl Linkroll ma.gnolia Netvouz Newsvine RawSugar reddit Shadows Simpy Spurl TalkDigger Yahoo MyWeb
A team of international scientists including a group from the California Institute of Technology says that the three major earthquakes in Indonesia recently have increased the likelihood of a major disaster with the potential for a giant quake in the near future.With Indonesia's sumatra right on the equator, this island holds the deadliest stretch of ocean anyplace in the world, which was the location, by the way, that produced the tsunami several years ago that caused the deaths of over three hundred thousand people.The team of earthquake specialists who traveled to the area say the potential giant quake could well be a rare magnitude nine quake and with the plates in the earth so tightly sprung, the quake will happen sooner rather than later.

Matthew 24

Matthew 24 is where Jesus gives the disciples the signs of the end times. One of the signs is that there will be earthquakes in various places. Just like my pastor says, the bible said these things would happen. Yes, everything in the bible will come to fruition, in God's perfect time.

Hospitals in north instructed to prepare for earthquake
Health Ministry director-general sends letter to medical facilities in northern Israel, warning them Geophysical Institute believes large quake may hit area soon. Hospitals urged to ready for possible mass casualty event
Meital Yasur-Beit Or
Published:
06.30.08, 12:02 / Israel News

An inter-office governmental committee reviewing seismographic assessments by the Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) concluded recently that a large earthquake might hit northern Israel in the near future.

Following the report, Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Avi Yisraeli ordered hospitals in the north to implement the necessary procedures in order to be able to handle a mass casualty event.

Day After Tomorrow?

Top official: Police unprepared for mass disaster / Zvi Lavi

In face of grim earthquake casualty estimations, police warns forensic teams incapable of dealing with large-scale national disaster; officials ask for $9.8 million to set up national biometric database to simplify identification process, equip labs

Full story

In a letter sent to the northern medical facilities on Monday, Prof. Yisraeli wrote, "Since mid February 2008, abnormal seismic activity has been noted in southern Lebanon, which had suffered some 500 minor earthquakes measuring a little over magnitude-2 on the Richter Scale, in a three-month period.

"Over the month of May, the tremors have become more intense and were felt in northern Israel as well. Data revealed by the Geophysical Institute of Israel have shown the probability of a massive earthquake - to the magnitude of up to 6 on the Richter Scale - originating in Lebanon and being felt in Israel, has become higher.

"The inter-office governmental committee believes that should an earthquake of such magnitude hit northern Israel it may cause substantial infrastructural damage in the area."

In view of the assessments, added Prof. Yisraeli, "All medical facilities and organizations must do everything they can to enhance the level of readiness; in order to minimize the damages caused by such an event and provide those in need with the best medical care possible."

The letter concluded with Prof. Yisraeli ordering all medical facilities in northern Israel to complete all the logistical updates they deem necessary, as soon as they can.

A series of mild tremors, ranging between 3.3 and 3.9 in magnitude, were felt in northern Israel in mid June, causing no injuries or damage. The quake was traced back to Lebanon

GII Director Rami Hofstetter told Ynet that "although such earthquakes are considered low-to-medium in intensity, they are still powerful enough to be felt throughout the northern communities adjacent to the Lebanese border."

Oil Update

Currently oil is hovering above the $140/barrel mark. OPEC has recently said that they expect it to hit $170 later this year. My belief is this, OPEC and the Islamic nations that control the oil are performing a terror attack on the US and world by doing this. Yes, I believe that this is an economic terror attack on us. They want to destroy America and Israel, and will do anything to achieve this goal.

Oil prices end down after topping $143 a barrelMonday June 30, 3:56 pm ET By J.W. Elphinstone, AP Business Writer

Crude oil prices settle lower after passing $143 a barrel in early trading, gas hits new high

NEW YORK (AP) -- The price of crude oil hit yet another record on the last day of a tumultuous first half, spurting past $143 a barrel before ending lower on demand fears and a resilient dollar. Crude has shot up nearly 50 percent since the start of the year, in large part on the dollar's troubles, and analysts expect that trend to remain intact as the second half of 2008 begins.

A government report lowering oil and gasoline demand estimates and a dollar hanging tough nullified investor concerns over supply, a fragile global economy and continued tensions in the Middle East.

"What this shows is that demand destruction in the U.S. is a lot larger than previously thought," said Phil Flynn, an energy analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "There are more signs that demand is deteriorating."

Light, sweet crude for August delivery lost 21 cents to settle at $140.00 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In early electronic trading, the contract hit a record $143.67.
The Energy Information Administration reported that oil usage in April was lower than previously estimated, falling to 4.2 percent to 19.768 million barrels per day from 20.631 million. That was 3.9 percent lower than in April 2007 and the lowest level for the month in six years.
The price of oil, which began 2008 at $96 a barrel, has risen in part on expectations of higher demand in China and other developing nations. But its almost relentless advance has also forced consumers and businesses to cut back the amount of gas and oil they use; it is also posing a threat to U.S. economic growth that could further slice into demand.

A hardier dollar also sent oil prices lower on Monday. Often, oil futures are used as a hedge against a weaker dollar.

"A lot of the momentum from late last week was the expectation we would continue to see a weaker U.S. dollar. When that didn't materialize, we had some profit-taking," said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla.-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.

The dollar rose against the 15-nation euro after the Chicago Purchasing Managers' index came in better than expected. The index for June rose to 49.6 from 49.1 in May, topping estimates of 49.1. The report is seen as a precursor for the national Institute for Supply Management report, to be released Tuesday.

But there was little expectation in the market that Monday's trading was the start of a turnaround in the dollar that would send oil falling much further. The dollar has weakened on expectations the Federal Reserve Board won't soon raise interest rates as the U.S. economy struggles with low growth. The Fed left its benchmark rate unchanged last week.
European Central Bank "President Jean-Claude Trichet's hawkish stance (on) inflation" could mean the dollar may be headed for further weakness against the euro "and that's not bearish for oil," said The Schork Report edited by U.S. analyst and trader Stephen Schork. When other countries raise their interest rates, they are more competitive with U.S. rates, and that weakens the dollar.

"If the Federal Reserve is powerless to raise interest rates because the economy continues to be soft, then we'll see low interest rates push oil higher," Flynn said.

Meanwhile, retail gasoline, which has been tracking oil higher, reached a new national average of $4.086 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. The previous record of $4.08 was reached June 16; since then, oil has moved past $140 and been setting new records of its own.

Gasoline's surge higher has clearly affected consumer spending in the U.S. The concern is that the inflationary effects of higher oil and gas will force consumers to cut back their spending on non-essentials further in the months ahead.

Geopolitical tensions, particularly surrounding Iran, also continue to boost oil prices. Traders were digesting reported comments from the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who warned that if his country is attacked, Tehran would strike back by barraging Israel with missiles. In a report published Saturday in the conservative Jam-e-Jam newspaper, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said that if Iran were provoked, it would also move to control a key oil passageway in the Gulf.

Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter and about 60 percent of the world's oil passes through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Global supply also remains a concern. The Iraqi government opened six oil fields to international bidding Monday as the nation attempts to boost daily production by 60 percent.
The potential participation of big Western companies like BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA in Iraq's oil industry has been criticized in recent weeks following published reports that several were close to signing no-bid contracts with the Iraqi government.

Those contracts were expected to be announced Monday, but Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani instead named 35 companies that would be qualified to bid on service contracts for the oil fields of Rumeila, Zubair, Qurna West, Maysan, Kirkuk and Bay Hassan.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures slipped less than a cent to settle at $3.9029 a gallon while gasoline prices rose less than a penny to $3.5015 a gallon. Natural gas futures increased 15.5 cents to end at $13.353 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude futures lost 48 cents to settle at $139.83 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Earlier Monday, the price for Brent had peaked at $143.91.
AP Business Writer Malcolm Foster in Bangkok, Thailand, and Associated Press Writer Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to this report.

Jimmy DeYoung Site

Jimmy DeYoung has a site dedicated to prophecies, ones that are being fulfilled now. This was an article in his site recently. He pulls news articles in and sometimes comments on them.

Global food safety, UN wanting more power, Barrack Obama wanting more unity, and now this:

Thousands of Islamists have called for a caliphate, a worldwide Islamic kingdom

June 27, 2008

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Some eighty thousand Islamist recently came together from around the world, meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia to press for the re-establishment of a caliphate. a world-wide kingdom across the Moslem world.

The event was organized by the liberation party which was founded in Jerusalem in the 1950's by a Palestinian religious scholar and experts believe the group ideologically is in concert with the Jihadist, Islamic holy war groups, and they are using peaceful means that are purely tactical.Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the NewsThe call by thousands of Islamists for a world-wide Islamic kingdom today is a precursor for confrontation with the Messiah, Jesus Christ, in a soon-coming tomorrow, that is according to Bible prophecy.

In the last two years Iranian President Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said that we are now living in the apocalyptic age, a time near to the coming of the Islamic Mahdi, the Islamic Messiah.Now, the Moslem in the street is joining with this Islamic leader to call for revival of the caliphate, a world-wide Islamic kingdom that would be under Sharia Law, the Islamic Law and answer to Allah, the Islamic deity.In a recent conference held in Jakarta, Indonesia, the largest Moslem gathering in the world of this type, some eighty thousand Moslems and their leaders, called for the caliphate to be re-established.

This scenario that I have just described will bring about a universal confrontation in the future as we draw close to the time when Jesus Christ will come to earth to establish His kingdom, a physical kingdom in our world that will be headquartered in the Middle East from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The ancient Jewish prophets, especially Daniel and Ezekiel, speak about the Lord's kingdom that will be established and will be in existence forever, that's Daniel 7:13-14. Ezekiel wrote of the temple that will be located in Jerusalem that Jesus will build and as Messiah it will be His seat of authority and He will establish His earthly kingdom, His universal kingdom, from that spot, that's Ezekiel 40-46 with special attention on Ezekiel 43:1-7.

We Were Warned

General Eisenhower witnessed this and was right on the money when he demanded that pictures be taken of the Jewish people that endured the torture of the demon-possessed Hitler and his evil Nazi regime. Many people are trying to deny this, but thank God General Eisenhower did the right thing. WE as Christians and Americans must stand beside Israel!

If we don't learn from history, history will be doomed to repeat itself.

General Eisenhower Warned Us

It is a matter of history that when Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead. He did this because he said in words to this effect:

'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses -because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened'

This week, the UK removed The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. This is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial cha in, in memory of the, 6 million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christiansand 1,900 Catholic priests who were 'murdered, raped, burned, starved, beat, experimented on and humiliated' while the German people looked the other way! Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets.

This message is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world. How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center,

NEVER HAPPENED'

because it offends some Muslim in the U.S.??????

Cindy McCain

I received this in an e mail and was blown away. I agree, Mrs. McCain would be a great First Lady, and she is the real thing.

First Class Lady,,,First Class FamilyKathleen Venturi

I figured that you might find this interesting. To bad that all the News Media wants Obama to win so badly that they will not say anything positive about McCain.

Cindy McCain

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal on Cindy McCain, John's wife. All I ever saw was this attractive woman standing beside John. I was surprised how talented and involved with world problems she is. This is a summary of the article.

She graduated from Southern Cal and was a special-needs teacher.After her Dad died she became involved with his beer distributing firm and Is now the chairwoman. Sales have doubled since she has taken over from her father.

They have a marriage prenuptial agreement, her assets remain separate. She is involved around the world clearing land mines - travels to these countries on a detonation team and service on their board.

They have a 19 year old serving in Iraq , another son in the Naval Academy , a daughter recently graduated from Columbia Univ. , an adopted daughter in high school, and a son who is the finance guy at the beer firm.

Raised kids in Phoenix , Az rather than Washington DC.(better atmosphere) He commuted.

In 1991, Mrs. McCain came across a girl in an orphanage in Bangladesh . Mother Teresa implored Mrs. McCain to take the baby with severe cleft palate. She did so without first telling her husband. The couple adopted the girl who has had a dozen operations to repair her cleft palate and other medical problems.

They have a Family Foundation for children's causes.

She's active with 'Halo Trust' - to clear land mines, provide water and food in war ravaged and developing countries.

She will join an overseas mission of 'Operation Smile', a charity for corrective surgery on children's faces.

She has had two back surgeries and became addicted to pain killers. She talks openly about it which she says is part of the recovery process.

I'm surprised the media is so quiet about her attributes. She sounds more capable than Hillary or Obama. We would really get two for the price of one. A person with business and international experience. John did work for the firm for awhile when he left the Navy. She, however, has the real business experience. Very interesting.

John McCain's Sons Talk about putting your most valuable where your mouth is! Apparently this was not "newsworthy"enough for the media to comment about. Can either of the other presidential candidates truthfully come close to this? ... Just a question for each of us to seek an answer, and not a statement. You see...character is what's shown when the public is not looking. There were no cameras or press invited to what you are about to read about, and the story comes from one person in New Hampshire . One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and a heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers - - soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier.Mr. McCain did not bring cameras or press. Instead, he brought his youngest son, James McCain, 19, then a private first class in the Marine Corps about to leave for Iraq . Father and son sat down to hear more about Ms. Flanagan's brother Michael Cleary, a 24-year-old Army First Lieutenant killed by an ambush .. a roadside bomb.No one mentioned the obvious: In just days, Jimmy McCain could face similar perils. 'I can't imagine what it must have been like for them as they were coming to meet with a family that .....' Ms. Flanagan recalled, choking up. 'We lost a dear one,' she finished.Mr McCain, now the Republican nominee, has staked his candidacy on the promise that American troops can bring stability to Iraq . What he almost never says is that one of them is his own son, who spent seven months patrolling Anbar Province and learned of his father's New Hampshire victory in January while he was digging a stuck military vehicle out of the mud.Two of Jimmy's three older brothers went into the military. Doug McCain, 48, was a Navy pilot. Jack McCain, 21, is to graduate from the Naval Academy next year, raising the chances that his father, if elected, could become the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower with a son at war. I chose to share this with those who I believe will pass it on, to others who will pass it on. We hear so much inflated trash out there. How about a simple act of kindness ... and dedication to others placed above oneself?Has anybody heard if Barack Hussein Obama has served in The American Armed Services?From Barack's book, Audacity of Hope: "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."HE DID NOT SAY STAND WITH AMERICANS!!!!!