Be Alert! - August 10, 2006

Isaiah 24:16  
From the ends of the earth we hear songs, "Glory to the Righteous One,"
But I say, "Woe to me! Woe to me! Alas for me!
The treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously."

Matthew 24:10-12  
"At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.

The following transcript might initially strike you as yet another attempt by a pop culture icon" at Jesus/Christian bashing. But take a closer look and you will find a reality that was bred in the born again, charismatic renewal that started in the early 1970's.

The very error that we are battling against each day is the evil tonic that saturated this young man's life.

He was raised by a born-again Christian single mother and spent his youth in church.

You can tell he know's the "real deal" in the sense that he saw a lot of the fake, con-artists ripping off people etc... but in his statement, "Actually, brother, to be honest with you, that's not Jesus" you get the strong sense that maybe he also believes Jesus is very real, but what he has never seen is a real Christian, outside of his mother.

That is something that we will have to contend with more and more as the children raised durring the SuperChristian 1990's ä hit the the real world and see their VeggieTales-SuperMega BibleMan world hit the skids faster than any wolves can come up with the next church decieving gimick.

BE/\LERT!

Everclear Frontman on Controversial New Music Video
FOX NEWS - THE O'REILLY FACTOR - August 9, 2006 - This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," August 8, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Personal Story" segment tonight, Jesus portrayed by two music figures. Madonna has been criticized by the Vatican for her mock crucifixion on stage during her concerts. The papacy believes it is insulting to Jesus and a desecration. Madonna apparently doesn't care what the Vatican thinks.

Also, the American rock band Everclear has released a video on the Net that is designed to offend at least some followers of Jesus. Here's a brief sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): I don't like the way you talk to me when you tell me how it's going to be and I don't like the way that you smile at me when you tell me what is wrong with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: All right. Joining us now from Portland, Oregon, is the front man for Everclear, Art Alexakis.

In this video, Jesus is portrayed as having an orgy, meeting strippers, knocking out an old lady, stealing her necklace, stealing from a homeless man, drinking, driving at the same time. What's the point?

ART ALEXAKIS, LEAD SINGER, EVERCLEAR: He was drinking holy water.

O'REILLY: Whatever. What's the point?

ALEXAKIS: Actually, brother, to be honest with you, that's not Jesus.

O'REILLY: OK. So the horns on and — yes.

ALEXAKIS: Your assumption that it's — Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill, it's not Jesus. That's a representation of my idea — first of all, this is a breakup song, right? This is a song, went through a divorce a couple of years ago. The whole work is dealing with that breakup.

So this is a breakup song that I wanted to show a different face of hate. Everybody who goes through breakup goes through a place where you're sad, where you're feeling lonesome, when you're feeling hate. Well, this is the part when you're feeling hate.

But what we wanted to show in this video is a different face of hate. We could have went political or we could have went religious.

O'REILLY : OK. So why are you wearing the crown of thorns here?

ALEXAKIS: Well, I'm not wearing the crown of thorns.

O'REILLY: Well, whoever the lead guy is that we're watching right now. I thought it was you.

ALEXAKIS: Who, Chris, the actor?

O'REILLY: Yes, you guys look alike. You ought to stop hanging around together. Why is he wearing a crown of thorns?

ALEXAKIS: I wish I looked that good. Listen, he's wearing a crown of thorns because he's a representation of what Jesus could be if he had made the wrong choice.

O'REILLY: I see. Is that clear someplace in the video that you're making it clear to the people watching that that this is a Jesus who made the wrong choices?

ALEXAKIS: Well, if you have to spell it out for people it's not really artwork, is it? It becomes a textbook.

O'REILLY: I know. I spell it out, and I think I'm an artist out here every night. I don't want anybody misinterpreting or saying that gee, I'm a blasphemer, as many people have done on this. What is...

ALEXAKIS: Hold on a second.

O'REILLY: Look, I'm not in your world. So I just got to ask you these dumb questions.

ALEXAKIS: You aren't in my world but if you say it back it up.

O'REILLY: I will.

ALEXAKIS: Wait a minute. Hold on. Look at the people who are saying they like it and don't like it. Eighty-five percent like it. Look at any Web site. OK? That's the numbers...

O'REILLY: But that's your crew. They like what you do.

ALEXAKIS: That's not my numbers.

O'REILLY: But that's your crew watching this thing. The video features the heathen version of Jesus, dubbed Hater Jesus?

ALEXAKIS: Where did you get heathen?

O'REILLY: Well, this is just a description of it. And the video is dedicated to Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.

ALEXAKIS : That is true. You finally said something honest and true.

O'REILLY: I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this. A little confused.

ALEXAKIS: Let's get to the bottom of it.

O'REILLY: So know you're incorporating Falwell and Robertson into a video that features a guy dressed up, or at least with a crown of thorns, that's making the wrong decisions in life. Can you link that? Can you explain that for me?

ALEXAKIS: Sure, I'd love to. Let me make an assumption here. You grew up Roman Catholic?

O'REILLY: Yes.

ALEXAKIS: OK. I grew up with a single mom who was a born again Christian, hard core, 1970's. All right. So I got sent to these churches. I had this stuff indoctrinated into me.

My mother, God rest her soul, she died in February from cancer. Her whole life after her youngest son became successful and started taking care of her and supporting her, would take the money that I gave her and send it to these people. These people who claim to be men of God, who claim to be empowered by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ wouldn't have anything to do with these people.

O'REILLY: But you're judging them, and you don't know them. You never met them.

ALEXAKIS: No, that is my judge. I'm going by what they say. You're judging me by what...

O'REILLY: I'm not judging you at all. I'm asking you questions about this thing. You don't know Robertson. And you don't know Falwell. And by the way, I've been critical of both men on this broadcast, but I would never judge them.

ALEXAKIS: No. I'm judging what they say and what they do. I'm not judging them as people. I'm sure they're very nice people.

O'REILLY: Well, I don't know about that. You seem to be putting them in a position...

ALEXAKIS: You don't know if Pat Robertson is a nice person?

O'REILLY: No, I don't know of whether you're not judging them. You seem to be judging them and putting a pejorative on what they do. And that's what you just said, that they misuse the money that your mother sent them. And that they're not...

ALEXAKIS: Not just my mom but millions of moms.

O'REILLY: All right, your opinion and you're entitled to it. Now, so you believe that this song has no relation to Jesus, the deity that millions of Americans believe in, it has no relationship to him at all, this video?

ALEXAKIS: I'm not saying it has no relationship. I'm using icons. We're using icons.

I didn't write this video. Charles Jensen did — a really intelligent writer and director. But I loved where he went with it, so I stand by it 100 percent.

O'REILLY: All right.

ALEXAKIS: We made this for a tenth of what we make videos on the streets of Portland. If this was some big, as I've seen some people on the right call it, some big publicity stunt, I think we would have spent more money than most of you people spend on your suits.

O'REILLY: I don't know exactly what that means, but I appreciate you coming on.

ALEXAKIS: Oh, yes, you do.

O'REILLY: All right.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,207593,00.html

Crouch Answers Oakland the Coward's Way
APOSTASY ALERT - By Jackie Alnor - August 9, 2006 - TBN president Paul Crouch would not respond to the recent letter written to him by Roger Oakland [See http://www.understandthetimes.org/paulcrouch.shtml ] regarding TBN's blatant support of the false gospel of Catholicism.  However, I think they are responding to him indirectly tonight.  Roger, if you're  looking for Paul's answer, watch TBN tonight (Wed., Aug. 9th) during their regular Praise the Lord time [see the lineup on TBN's site: http://www.tbn.org/index.php/2/5.html (sadly you'll notice that evangelist Kirk Cameron hosts PTL tomorrow night -- someone needs to get through to him and his mentor Ray Comfort)].  TBN is airing an old film, "The Shoes of the Fisherman" that glorifies the Roman papacy.  Here's the plot summary:
The Shoes of the Fisherman ( 1968/I)
After twenty years in a Siberian labor camp, Kiril Lakota, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lvov, is set free. The Catholic Archbishop is released and sent to Rome, where the ailing Pope makes him a Cardinal. The world is in a state of crisis - a famine in China is exacerbated by United States restrictions on Chinese trade and the ongoing Chinese-Soviet feud. When the Pontiff dies, Lakota finds himself elected Pope. But the new Pope Kiril I is plagued by self-doubt, by his years in prison, and by the strange world he knows so little about. This movie contains extensive information about Catholic faith & practice, as a television news reporter steps in from time-to-time to explain the procedures involved in selecting a new Pope

http://www.apostasyalert.org/

1 Timothy 4:1  
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,...

More and more Germans become Muslims
WORLDNETDAILY - By Wolfgang Polzer - August 5, 2006 - SOEST, Germany – More and more Germans are converting to Islam. Last year approximately 4,000 persons became Muslims.

According to the Central Islam-Institute in Soest, the numbers have been rising since the turn of the century. Up to the year 2000 the annual number of conversions stagnated at 300, but it has been rising ever since.

The institute’s director, Salim Abdullah, has no plausible explanation for this trend, as he told the evangelical news agency "idea." In the past, converts were chiefly women, who married Muslims, or academics with an "affection for the Orient."

Today people from all walks of life are among the converts, according to Abdullah, who is a German born Muslim himself.

The Islamic Fellowship of Germany attracts especially high numbers of converts – about 500 per year. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Wuerttemberg (one of the 16 federal states) the fellowship is associated with the radical Muslim Brotherhoods.

According to Abdullah there are 3.2 million Muslims in Germany. Most of them are Turkish immigrants. Their religious life is flourishing. Abdullah expects the number of mosques to double within the coming years.

Currently there are 143 full-fledged mosques, with 128 more in the planning or building stages. In addition Muslims gather in 2,600 prayer and meeting places.

Approximately two-thirds of the 82 million inhabitants are church members. The Protestant Churches have 25.6 million members and the Roman Catholic Church 25.8 million. Approximately 500,000 Germans belong to smaller, often evangelical churches such as Baptists or Pentecostals.

It has been noted by the churches that interest in religion is rising in Germany, but it is not focused on Christianity. Today, the citizens in Martin Luther’ home country are equally fascinated by esoteric practices, Buddhism and Islam.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51396

The prince of the kingdom of Persia

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Zechariah 12:9
"And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

August 22: Does Iran have something in store?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - BY BERNARD LEWIS - August 8, 2006 - During the Cold War, both sides possessed weapons of mass destruction, but neither side used them, deterred by what was known as MAD, mutual assured destruction. Similar constraints have no doubt prevented their use in the confrontation between India and Pakistan. In our own day a new such confrontation seems to be looming between a nuclear-armed Iran and its favorite enemies, named by the late Ayatollah Khomeini as the Great Satan and the Little Satan, i.e., the United States and Israel. Against the U.S. the bombs might be delivered by terrorists, a method having the advantage of bearing no return address. Against Israel, the target is small enough to attempt obliteration by direct bombardment.

It seems increasingly likely that the Iranians either have or very soon will have nuclear weapons at their disposal, thanks to their own researches (which began some 15 years ago), to some of their obliging neighbors, and to the ever-helpful rulers of North Korea. The language used by Iranian President Ahmadinejad would seem to indicate the reality and indeed the imminence of this threat.

Would the same constraints, the same fear of mutual assured destruction, restrain a nuclear-armed Iran from using such weapons against the U.S. or against Israel?

There is a radical difference between the Islamic Republic of Iran and other governments with nuclear weapons. This difference is expressed in what can only be described as the apocalyptic worldview of Iran's present rulers. This worldview and expectation, vividly expressed in speeches, articles and even schoolbooks, clearly shape the perception and therefore the policies of Ahmadinejad and his disciples.

Even in the past it was clear that terrorists claiming to act in the name of Islam had no compunction in slaughtering large numbers of fellow Muslims. A notable example was the blowing up of the American embassies in East Africa in 1998, killing a few American diplomats and a much larger number of uninvolved local passersby, many of them Muslims. There were numerous other Muslim victims in the various terrorist attacks of the last 15 years.

The phrase "Allah will know his own" is usually used to explain such apparently callous unconcern; it means that while infidel, i.e., non-Muslim, victims will go to a well-deserved punishment in hell, Muslims will be sent straight to heaven. According to this view, the bombers are in fact doing their Muslim victims a favor by giving them a quick pass to heaven and its delights--the rewards without the struggles of martyrdom. School textbooks tell young Iranians to be ready for a final global struggle against an evil enemy, named as the U.S., and to prepare themselves for the privileges of martyrdom.

A direct attack on the U.S., though possible, is less likely in the immediate future. Israel is a nearer and easier target, and Mr. Ahmadinejad has given indication of thinking along these lines. The Western observer would immediately think of two possible deterrents. The first is that an attack that wipes out Israel would almost certainly wipe out the Palestinians too. The second is that such an attack would evoke a devastating reprisal from Israel against Iran, since one may surely assume that the Israelis have made the necessary arrangements for a counterstrike even after a nuclear holocaust in Israel.

The first of these possible deterrents might well be of concern to the Palestinians--but not apparently to their fanatical champions in the Iranian government. The second deterrent--the threat of direct retaliation on Iran--is, as noted, already weakened by the suicide or martyrdom complex that plagues parts of the Islamic world today, without parallel in other religions, or for that matter in the Islamic past. This complex has become even more important at the present day, because of this new apocalyptic vision. In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time--Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as "by the end of August," but Mr. Ahmadinejad's statement was more precise.

What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.

A passage from the Ayatollah Khomeini, quoted in an 11th-grade Iranian schoolbook, is revealing. "I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another's hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours."

In this context, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning. At the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the dead--hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers. For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement.

How then can one confront such an enemy, with such a view of life and death? Some immediate precautions are obviously possible and necessary. In the long term, it would seem that the best, perhaps the only hope is to appeal to those Muslims, Iranians, Arabs and others who do not share these apocalyptic perceptions and aspirations, and feel as much threatened, indeed even more threatened, than we are. There must be many such, probably even a majority in the lands of Islam. Now is the time for them to save their countries, their societies and their religion from the madness of MAD.

Mr. Lewis, professor emeritus at Princeton, is the author, most recently, of "From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East" (Oxford University Press, 2004).

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008768

Soldiers from Iran killed in Lebanon
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - August 9, 2006 - TEL AVIV – Iranian soldiers were found among the bodies of Hezbollah gunmen killed by Israel the past few days of the Jewish state's military campaign in Lebanon, a senior Israeli military official told WorldNetDaily.

The official, who did not release the number of Iranian soldiers bodies found, said Israel has killed dozens of Hezbollah fighters since Monday and about 480 since the fighting began July 12 following a Hezbollah attack against a military patrol unit and the kidnapping of two soldiers. He said Israeli intelligence has so far identified about 200 of the dead Hezbollah gunmen.

The information follows scores of reports the past few weeks that Iranian soldiers have been aiding Hezbollah terrorists from Lebanon in their attacks against Israel, including help with the firing of rockets into Israeli population centers.

It also comes after WND broke the story about the bodies of Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers who were killed by the Israeli army in Lebanon and transported to Syria, then flown to Tehran, according to senior Lebanese political sources.

The Lebanese sources said between six and nine deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers were brought in trucks last month into Syria for flight back to Iran. They said the bodies were transported at the same time tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians were fleeing the country into Syria.

WND previously reported Israeli security officials said they have "concrete information" hundreds of Iranian soldiers stationed at Hezbollah positions in Lebanon have helped to fire missiles into the Jewish state.

The Israeli officials said Iranian guards directed the firing last month of a radar-guided C–802 missile that hit an Israeli navy vessel off the coast of Lebanon, killing four soldiers. Israel says Iran acquired the missile from China.

The officials said the Iranian soldiers' duties include keeping custody of long-range missiles within Hezbollah's arsenal, including Zalzal rockets which are said to have a range of 125 miles, placing Tel Aviv within firing range.

Jordanian officials told WND they are "100 percent sure" Iranian Revolutionary Guard unit soldiers have fired rockets into Israel. They also said the Syrian army has provided Hezbollah with intelligence information on the locations of strategic Israeli targets to aid in Hezbollah rocket fire.

A Ba'ath party official operating out of the Golan Heights told WND he has information Iranian soldiers have been firing rockets into Israel.

Israel has long maintained Iranian Revolutionary Guard units have traveled regularly to south Lebanon to help train local Hezbollah fighters in terrorist tactics and to fortify Hezbollah positions along Israel's northern border.

At times, Revolutionary Guard soldiers could be seen operating openly at Hezbollah outposts in plain view from the Israeli side, military officials say.

Iran and Syria are the largest financial sponsors of Hezbollah. Israel says many Hezbollah rockets were made in or upgraded by Iran.

Earlier, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel has information Hezbollah was trying to transfer the two soldiers it kidnapped to Iran.

Hezbollah has fired over 1,000 rockets into northern Israeli towns the past two weeks. Dozens of rockets have slammed into Haifa, Israel's third largest city. Fifteen Israelis have been killed in the attacks, which have prompted over two million citizens – about one-third of the Jewish state – to live under the threat of rockets.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51470

Egyptian Students Vanish In Big Apple
NEW YORK POST - By DAN MANGAN - August 8, 2006 -- Eleven Egyptian students who were supposed to travel to a Montana university after flying to JFK airport late last month disappeared in New York, spurring federal authorities to issue a nationwide alert, officials said yesterday.

The students - who were traveling with six classmates from Mansoura University in Egypt - had their student visas revoked for failing to show up at Montana State University in Bozeman, the officials said.

The other six students made it to the college.

"The FBI and ICE [Immigration and Custom Enforcement] would like to locate these 11 students in order to speak with them," said FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko after the "be-on-the-lookout" alert was issued to all police in the United States.

Kolko said there is no reason to believe the missing students, all men around 20 years old, represent a threat.

"At this point, all they have done is not show up for a scheduled academic program, and their visas have been revoked," Kolko said.

"We do not know of any association with any terrorist or criminal groups. There is no threat associated with these men. We have simply asked law enforcement's assistance in locating them so that the FBI and ICE may interview them."

Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said the situation "has to be taken very seriously."

"Having a number of students from an Arab country arriving on student visas and disappearing is cause for concern," he said.

Montana State University Provost David Dooley said 17 Mansoura University students signed up for a 32-day cultural-exchange program to intensively study English, learn about Montana history and go on several field trips.

They arrived at JFK on a flight from Egypt on July 29, but only one managed to clear immigration in time to make a connecting flight, Dooley said.

By July 31, five others had arrived in Bozeman, but the rest were unaccounted for.

Dooley said the ones who showed up "were not certain about the status of their fellow students and why they haven't made it."

MSU alerted federal Homeland Security and Mansoura officials and notified the students via e-mail they had 24 hours to show up in Bozeman. None of them did, Dooley said.

He added, "We're very disappointed by this. It would be regrettable if the misadventures or irresponsibility of a number of students damaged these kinds of programs."

Officials at the Egyptian Consulate in New York and the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., said they were unfamiliar with the situation.

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/egyptian_students_vanish_in_big_ apple_regionalnews_dan_mangan.htm

AP Beirut photo faces questions

Woman appears 'mourning destruction of her home' in two photographs allegedly taken two weeks apart in different locations; foreign media remains largely hostile to Israel

YEDIOTH AHRONOTH (YnetNews) - By Yaakov Lappin - August 8, 2006 - A woman has made two appearances in photographs used by the Associated Press and Reuters, allegedly wailing over the destruction of her Beirut home. US bloggers have however noticed that photographs were taken two weeks apart from each other, according to times stamps on the images, and that the photographs were taken in different locations.
"Either this woman is the unluckiest multiple home owner in Beirut, or something isn't quite right," noted the author of the Drinking From Home blog.
In the first photograph , taken by Reuters, a woman is seen in front of a bombed out building in Beirut. "A Lebanese woman wails after looking at the wreckage of her apartment, in a building, that was demolished by the Israeli attacks in southern Beirut," Reuters said in its caption. The photo was dated July 22 2006.
A second photograph of a woman who looks exactly like the woman in the first Reuters image, even bearing the same scar on her left cheek, is then supplied by the Associated Press.
"A Lebanese woman reacts at the destruction after she came to inspect her house in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon," the Associated Press caption claimed. The date accompanying the photograph is August 5 2006, and the scenes behind the woman are different to those of the July 22 photo.
After receiving "some emails" about the photos, the BBC removed the Associated Press image from its own website.
The Associated Press has so far not responded to requests by Ynetnews for an explanation of the mysterious time gap.
Meanwhile, sections of the foreign media are continuing to display uneven coverage of Israeli and Lebanese casualties of war and scenes of destruction.
A BBC photo display entitled "In pictures: Conflict impact," made up of eight images, uses six out of eight pictures to illustrate damages in Lebanon , but pays scant attention to the human toll and large-scale damage sustained in northern Israel.
The photographs show images of Lebanese civilians and bombed out buildings and Beirut, and carry captions such as: "A woman in Beirut cries amid the destruction."
After the BBC says fighting is hampering aid deliveries in southern Lebanon, an image of an Israeli soldier praying is shown, covering his ears while an IDF canon goes off in the background. "But ground clashes in the area continue unabated," the BBC wrote, suggesting through the image that the Israel bore most of the responsible for clashes. There are no photographs of Hizbullah rockets, or Hizbullah members firing rockets at Israel in the series.
Only the seventh photograph in the succession shows an image of an Israeli woman mourning at a funeral, with the caption "Israelis are also counting their losses."
The last picture in the series is of an Israeli in an air raid shelter, but the person in the photo is made black by shadows, and appears to be a silhouette of a human figure. The person's age, sex, or any human features are impossible to make out – an odd choice by the BBC considering the large number of available photographs of Israeli children and families in bomb shelters.
The BBC's website photo editor, Phil Commes, has also taken a neutral line on the faked photographs from Beirut supplied by Reuters , saying: "One man's color balancing is another man's grounds for dismissal."
Washington Post journalist: Israel wants rocket attacks on itself
Meanwhile, Washington Post journalist Thomas Ricks told CNN that Israel was deliberately allowing Hizbullah to fire rockets at its civilians.
"One of the things that is going on, according to some military analysts, is that Israel purposely has left pockets of Hezbollah rockets in Lebanon, because as long as they're being rocketed, they can continue to have a sort of moral equivalency in their operations in Lebanon," Ricks said.
Ricks added that "that's what military analysts have told me."
In addition, a caption provided by the AFP under a photo of rockets in Lebanon read: "Rockets fired from Israel are seen falling in the outskirts of the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre."
However, the USS Neverdock blog has spotted a contradiction, with Reuters writing under a photograph which appears to be identical: "Hizbullah missiles streak the sky as they are launched towards Israel from south Lebanon."
After analyzing the contradiction, the blog says: "Notice also the credit for the two pictures goes to two different photographers but they look like the exact same photo to me. One just has the buildings in the foreground cropped out. Was that done to disguise the fact that they are the same photo?"
Several blogs have been busy finding many more clues to forged and staged photographs, many of them taken by disgraced photographer Adnan Hajj. In particular, reports and images claiming that the IDF struck an ambulance are being challenged as false .
And in yet another suspicious case , two Reuters photographs of a Lebanese man holding a picture of Hassan Nasrallah has been challenged by the Jawa Report blog.
The same man is seen holding Nasrallah 's picture and saluting with glee, but the background for each photo of the man is dramatically different. While in one image a clear, blue sky can be seen, a second image of the man flashing a victory sign shows a dusty background, suggesting a bomb had recently been dropped in the area. Two buildings also mysteriously disappear the second photo, although both photographs seem to have been taken from the same location.
"Does this represent a dramatic change in the local architecture and air quality between the two shots, or was this yet another Lebanese stringer Photoshop project?" asks the blog's author, before concluding: "Only the photographer knows for sure."

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3288406,00.html

'Black spinster' label pinned on Condi Rice

WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - July 31, 2006 - JERUSALEM – While U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been in the Middle East meeting regional alongside Israel's military campaign in Lebanon, media outlets controlled by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party the past few days have been using racist rhetoric in their reports, referring to the American representative as the "black woman," "raven," "colored dark skinned black lady" and "black spinster." ...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51298

Joel 2:31
"The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Revelation 6:9-11
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.

China police crush Christian church

Dozens imprisoned as nearly-finished meeting place destroyed

WORLDNETDAILY - August 5, 2006 - A nearly completed Christian church building in Xiaoshan district has been demolished by government contractors and about 60 Christian leaders imprisoned as China continues to battle unregulated Christianity.

China Aid Association, a Texas-based organization set up to develop and preserve religious freedom in China, said yesterday the demolition of the Dangshan city church building happened July 29.

On that day, about five dozen Christian leaders, some of whom now have disappeared, were taken into custody. And yesterday, China Aid said three more leaders were jailed.

The three latest Christian community leaders jailed were identified as Ni Huiming, 45; Shen Zhuke, 52; and Shen Jian, 48. China Aid officials say they, like the people arrested earlier, largely are held incommunicado, and their locations and conditions are unknown.

One other woman, Wang Aizhen, of Kanshan town, remained hospitalized with broken chest bones after being beaten by riot police during the July 29 church demolition, China Aid said.

The action is out of the ordinary, even for a government that maintains a constant crackdown on house churches like this one, or those that are not formally acknowledged by the government, officials said. "It was very unusual to use excessive force to destroy an almost-finished church building," Bob Fu, a spokesman for China Aid, told WorldNetDaily yesterday.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government agency, noted in its 2006 report that "every religious community in China is subject to serious restrictions, state control, and repression."

"We were informed that some brothers and sisters were seriously injured when they were caught, and some have lost contact with their family members who do not know where to send money or clothing to help them," China Aid said. "The lives of some Christians might be in danger."

The original church building, built in 1921 on a 10,000-square-foot parcel, was occupied starting with the 1949 "liberation" by the communist government. The local Christians then worshipped in a 200-year-old building for a time, and in recent years had been reconstructing a worship center on the original site. Then government officials, four excavators and hundreds of military policemen arrived and destroyed the structure.

Of the 60 Christians arrested, about 50 remain in custody, without any formal charges being filed, China Aid said.

"What has worried us most is that some Christians disappeared after the conflict," China Aid said. "Some are young students that can not be found in either the detention or custody centers. According to reliable sources, some may have been beaten to death."

In China, only churches that have registered with the state and meet the government's requirements are allowed to meet, have property or buildings. The government also decides who can register.

While China Aid monitors the China situation on its Monitor China site, the USCIRF lists China as a country of "particular concern" because of the government's behavior towards religious groups.

In its 260-page report on international religious persecution, agency members noted that during their first-ever visit to China to discuss those issues, when a Catholic bishop with the state-affiliated Catholic church began discussing the arrest of a bishop from the unregistered Catholic church, the interview was immediately ended.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51393

50 Chinese Christians Arrested: Family members "greatly concerned" as government denies their existence
VOM-USA News & Prayer Update - August 9, 2006 - Fifty house-church leaders and Christians are still being detained after their church building was destroyed by the Chinese government on July 29, 2006. Meanwhile, the Chinese House Church Alliance issued an urgent statement calling for an independent international investigation regarding the forced destruction of the church and arbitrary arrests of these Christians. Among the 50 detained, four are still missing. On July 29, 2006, the local government sent several hundred trucks, four excavators, and thousands of military policemen to the building site to destroy the church. There were several thousand Christians there. When the police violently dispersed them, some Christians were injured, and over 50 were arrested. Since the Chinese central government official still denies the existence of those arrested, their church family members are greatly concerned. The church has not received any information about the conditions of their brothers and sisters in prison.
On the morning of July 27th, a Sunday school teacher's training class in Wangxi Production Group, Gengwang Zhuang, Tong Xu Village; Huainan City, Anhui Province was attacked by the local national security guard squad. Based on eyewitness information, some Christians, including 90 children (age 9-16), and 40 adults, were attending a summer Bible teacher's training class in the home of Li Lizhong, a villager in Anhui Province, when the local police suddenly attacked them. The party branch secretary of the village, went to Li Lizhong's house with another village cadre member. They scouted the training class on the pretext of examining "family planning," and left. A half hour later, more than 40 village cadre members and a squad of the National Security Guarder stormed into the village and surrounded Li's house. Under the pretext that the training class was disturbing the peace, the police swarmed the house. Some church equipment was carried away. In the whole process, the police did not show a search warrant or any legal certificate. All the children were released after registering their names and other personal information. More than 40 adults were taken to the police station and all were released at 3:00 a.m. the next morning, except for two, Pastor Li Lizhong and Sister Cai Yili, who were sentenced to 15 days administrative custody.
Three more Christian leaders from Xiaoshan district were arrested on August 3rd, 47 are still in jail. The three leaders are Brother Ni Huiming (45), Sister Shen Zhuke (52), and Brother Shen Jian (48).The local authority is threatening to force all Christian companies to pay a heavy fine for their support of the church building which was destroyed on July 29th. One Christian lady, Sister Wang Aizhen from Kanshan town, Xiaoshgan district, was severely beaten by the anti-riot police on July 29th, and one of her chest bones was broken. She is still being hospitalized.
Pray the Christians will remain faithful to Jesus, loving in their attitude toward their enemies, and bold in their witness. Pray those in prison will be comforted by the Word they have hidden in their hearts. Pray many Chinese officials will realize they are working for a cause that does not satisfy their deepest longings.
http://www.persecution.com/

Bangladesh: Militant Muslim group targets VOM preacher
VOM-USA News & Prayer Update - August 9, 2006 - On the morning of April 14th, four drivers of four different buses were hired by a militant Muslim group to crash into the SUV of our VOM contact, Andrew. On his way to visit 17 Muslim convert families, Andrew was rammed by a bus while in the front passenger seat of his moving vehicle. Immediately after the collision, the bus driver ran from the scene and reported to the leader of the hiring Islamic group that he killed the targeted Christian preacher in the red SUV. Andrew's left elbow was broken from the impact, and his right forearm was embedded with glass and severely lacerated in five places. Wasting no time, two men from the Islamic group went to the accident site to confirm the bus driver's account, but they were too late. Andrew's driver had already driven the smashed SUV away from the scene to the nearest city, where Andrew, unconscious, was later admitted to a government hospital. The Voice of the Martyrs is providing continuing medical treatment for Andrew, who was attacked for his Christian witness.
Pray the Lord will heal Andrew quickly and completely. Pray Andrew will continue bold and courageous in his faith. Pray our omnipotent Father will astound the bus driver with the reality of His presence and the loving forgiveness of Jesus.
http://www.persecution.com/

Iranian Christian imprisoned on account of his faith - gave newborn son a Biblical, Christian name
Sources explain that this is interpreted as a sign of irrevocable rupture with Islam
VOM-USA News & Prayer Update -  From ASSIST News Service August 9, 2006 - July 24th, an Iranian Christian, named Issa Motamadi, was imprisoned on account of his faith. French internet news site VoxDei reports that Issa Motamadi, a resident of the North-western town of Resht, the capital of Gilan Province, will soon stand trial before a Revolutionary Tribunal. While Issa Motamadi has been accused of apostasy, it is likely that a non-religious charge will eventually be leveled against him in order to prevent accusations of religious persecution. Article 23 of Iran's Constitution states: "The investigation of individuals' beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief." Allegedly, Issa and his wife Parvah came to the attention of the authorities around seven months ago when they decided to give their newborn son a Biblical, Christian name. Sources explain that this is interpreted as a sign of irrevocable rupture with Islam as it demonstrates that the child is born to Christian parents. Identified as Christian from birth, he cannot be accused of apostasy. There causes great concern that President Ahmadinejad may escalate persecution of Christians.
Pray Issa and Parvah will be strong as they stand up for Jesus. Pray that human rights and religious liberty organizations will intercede for Issa with appeals to their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pray our loving and merciful Savior will make Himself known to the authorities in Iran who are in bondage to the tenets of Islam.
http://www.persecution.com/

Homosexuals Seek to Shut Down Canadian Pro-Family Websites
LIFESITENEWS.COM - By Peter J. Smith and John Jalsevac - July 31, 2006 - “This is becoming the biggest battle in Canada’s history for freedom of speech and freedom of religion”
CALGARY, Alberta – Homosexual activists have denounced three Calgary based websites to the Alberta and Federal Human Rights Commissions, demanding that the sites which post information critical of homosexual behaviour be shut down.
Homosexual activists in Alberta have targeted these websites run by Craig Chandler, a Canadian conservative and talk-radio host. The sites contain postings of letters, calls for action, and archived copies of a radio show called Freedom Radio Network. The radio program hosted by Chandler with co-host Erik Gregson describes itself as  “conservative without apology” and “a breath of fresh air in a world inundated by left wing liberal media”.
LifeSiteNews.com spoke with Chandler, who explained that his long and expensive battle with the human rights commissions began over two years ago. At that time the Executive Director of Concerned Christians Canada, Rev. Stephen Boissoin wrote a letter to the editor denouncing the homosexual agenda. Dr. Darren Lund of the University of Calgary then filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission about the letter, which Boissoin and Chandler have been forced to fight to the tune of close to $100,000, with no end to the case in sight.
Not only was Boissoin brought before the Commission, but Lund and other homosexual activists attempted to have three affiliated websites, all of which are following and publicizing the case, shut down. The three websites are concernedchristians.ca, freetospeak.ca, and freedomradionetwork.ca.  The Alberta Human Rights Commission, however, dismissed the complaint, says Chandler, allowing the sites to continue running.  The homosexual activists, however, not lightly to be brushed aside, then filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
“Now we’re on another front that’s going to cost us thousands and thousands more,” complained Chandler, estimating that by the time the two cases are finished they will have spent some $250,000 on legal fees, simply to defend themselves against a complaint. “The thing about a Human Rights Commission complaint is that it doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong, you still have to foot the bill. If I want to get our money back, I have to take them to civil court,” which, Chandler pointed out, will only incur further expense without the assurance of winning.
Chandler vociferously denies any accusations of hatred against homosexuals on the part of him or any of the websites. “They’re saying the websites are anti-gay,” he said to LifeSiteNews.com. “We’re not. We’re not anti-gay. Hate’s not a family value.”
However, he adds that "Sometimes the truth hurts…That’s exactly our perspective on it. The gay and lesbian community, homosexual activists, they don't want anything but complete silence to any disagreement to their views on the issue."
“This is becoming the biggest battle in Canada’s history for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Freedom of the press is gone.”

“Our freedoms are being taken away very quickly. This may end up with one or another of us in jail, because I won’t pay the fine. If that’s what it takes, I’m willing to go behind bars.”
Chandler also warned pro-life and pro-family forces throughout the rest of Canada, that if his case is lost in the Alberta Human Rights Comission, then there is little hope for freedom of speech for the rest of Canada, since Alberta is considered Canada's most conservative province. "If we get defeated out here, no one’s going to survive out East. If you’ve lost in Alberta you’ve lost everywhere. It’s done. We need to unite behind this fight. We need to start realizing in the social conservative movement in this country we’re being relegated to the sidelines because we don’t stand together."
Chandler requested the support of pro-life and pro-family advocates across Canada. Please pray for us," he added. "If you can’t give us money, then surely you can get on your hands and knees. "
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06073106.html

Seattle Shooting Gets Inadequate Attention
KOINONIA HOUSE - from the August 8, 2006 eNews issue - Two weeks ago Naveed Afzal Haq entered the Jewish Federation office in Seattle and opened fire, killing one woman and wounding five others. Upon forcing his way into the building Haq identified himself as a Muslim and expressed his anger at Israel. Haq has since been charged with first-degree murder as well as five counts of attempted murder.

The Seattle shooting was a blatant example of religious and ethnic hatred. It is therefore ironic that the media, which usually gives hate crimes prolonged attention, has treated the Seattle shootings as though it were hardly newsworthy. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post buried the story. However they weren't the only members of the media to deny these horrendous events the attention and scrutiny they deserve.

Furthermore, most of the news articles concerning the shootings have focused on the attacker's history of mental illness rather than his Islamic identity. Naveed Afzal Haq has bipolar disorder, however experts say that is no excuse for his actions. Wayne Katon, a psychiatry professor at the University of Washington, commented on the attack by saying, "rarely is bipolar disorder associated with this type of crime. It's very, very unusual for bipolars to be killing anybody, let alone five or six people. Data would suggest that in terms of violence, the homicide rate of bipolars is lower than the general population."

The popular media has repeatedly shied away from any discussion concerning the true nature and agenda of Islam. The disparity between the press coverage of the Seattle shootings and Mel Gibson's drunken rant is astonishing - and completely unacceptable.

In January, the US Department of State released its Report on Global Anti-Semitism. The report stated that, "Anti-Semitism has plagued the world for centuries. Taken to its most far-reaching and violent extreme, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism resulted in the deaths of millions of Jews and the suffering of countless others. Subtler, less vile forms of anti-Semitism have disrupted lives, decimated religious communities, created social and political cleavages, and complicated relations between countries as well as the work of international organizations." According to the report, Anti-Semitic violence has increased dramatically in recent years.

Many people today do not take the Word of God seriously. Some ignore it, many disbelieve or deny it, and others dilute its meaning with conjectures, allegories, and redefinitions. But God says what He means, and means what He says. God delights in making and keeping His promises. A disturbing aspect of many modern churches is their failure to appreciate the seriousness of God's covenant with Israel. Some believe that Israel "forfeited her promises" by rejecting her Messiah, and that these promises now devolve somehow symbolically, or allegorically, upon the Church. This false doctrine has been taught for centuries.

Anti-Semitic violence has become a serious problem throughout the world. Some may blame the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Arab media, or Islamic leadership for fostering anti-Semitism. Others may say that such racially motivated hatred is limited to neo-Nazi groups and radical Islamic sects. Yet hatred of the Jews goes back long before even the existence of the Islamic faith, before the Nazi party took power in Germany, and before the advent of television and modern media. The real root of anti-Semitism is Satan's desire to thwart God's plan for the redemption of mankind. Anti-Semitism exists in many places and many forms. It may be displayed in blatant aggression or in more subtle and subversive ways, but all are aimed at the destruction of God's chosen people.

http://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2006/1100/print/

Matthew 24:6a
"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.

Violence threatens Darfur relief
BBC NEWS - August 8, 2006 - More aid workers have been killed in Sudan's Darfur region in the last two weeks than in the past two years, the United Nations and aid agencies say.

The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs says access to people in need in Darfur is at its lowest level since the conflict began.

Aid agencies say the situation has got worse since the May peace accord.

More than 2m Sudanese have fled their homes and tens of thousands have been killed in the three-year conflict. ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5256314.stm

Ex-agent says U.S. ignored WMD sites
WORLDNETDAILY - August 5, 2006 - A former U.S. federal agent and counter-terrorism specialist deployed to Iraq before the war says he waged a three-year, unsuccessful battle to get officials to search four sites where he believes the former Saddam regime buried weapons of mass destruction....

Gaubatz said the suspected sites have never been searched by the Iraq Survey Group, the fact-finding mission dispatched by the U.S.-led multinational force. Two sites are within the city limits of Nasariyah, another about 20 miles south and the fourth in Umm Qasr, near Basra....

The former federal agent said the WMD were buried under riverbeds, and one site has a sewage pipe system. Before the war, he said, he had been briefed to search oil, gas, water and sewage pipes.

"Saddam was very good about hiding and moving WMD," Gaubatz told Mauro. "People need to research how easy it is to do using a gas-oil pipeline." ...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51394

Jeremiah 1:12  
Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it."

Luke 21:33  
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

John 17:17b

... Your word is truth.

New film to prove accuracy of Bible?
Recent films from "The Passion of the Christ" to the fictional "Da Vinci Code" may have reignited the public's interest in matters of faith, but a newly completed movie could go far beyond the impact of both blockbusters, potentially verifying the historical accuracy of much of the Bible.

The two-hour feature documentary titled "Exodus" has been in the making for five years, and is expected to be released in the spring of 2007.

It covers events recorded in the books of Genesis and Exodus, beginning with the exploits of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was betrayed by his brothers into slavery but eventually became the second most powerful man in the known world, predicting seven years of famine in Egypt. It then moves on to biblical accounts involving Moses, the plagues on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and eventually Mount Sinai, where God is said to have given the Ten Commandments to the ancient Israelites.

"'The Da Vinci Code' is about fiction. We talk about reality," said Dr. Lennart Moller, a Swedish DNA researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who stars in the film.

The film not only recounts what's written in Scripture, but goes on a multinational mission to document the evidence for the events recorded in Scripture.

"We have been at places no one else has ever been. We have found things no one else has ever found," Moller told WND.

Moller, who authored " The Exodus Case," has been on a 10-year study, even looking into claims of ancient Egyptian chariot wheels found at the bottom of the Red Sea, but notes the claims of chariot wheels are just the beginning.

"There are much more sensational finds on land," he said.

Appearing in the film with Moller is producer Tim Mahoney of the Mahoney Media Group in Minneapolis. He acts as sort of an "everyman" as he calls it, asking questions of Moller that the typical person on the street might have about the physical evidence discovered.

Mahoney says even though the film is a documentary, it has a lot more entertainment than typical TV documentaries, including 3-D animation and a symphony and choir recorded in Surround Sound in Budapest, Hungary.

They've even secured rights from the family of late director Cecil B. DeMille to show some footage from the original black-and-white version of "The Ten Commandments."

Already the new film is being screened to select audiences, many of whom have no previous knowledge of the Bible.

"I've shown it to rabbis and pagans, and I've gotten excellent reviews from both," said Mahoney.

Mahoney calls it the "most involved investigation" ever taken into the story of the Exodus, noting many other researchers seem to have little interest in determining the veracity of the biblical text.

"What we found out is that this subject is off-limits in academia. There's not really an honest investigation into it," he said. "They tend to be biased that it didn't happen. This [film] is an unbiased look at the history and geography."

Among the items featured in the film include finding the actual route the Israelites took when they were freed from slavery in Egypt and crossed the Red Sea.

While some scholars have alleged the Israelites crossed a "sea of reeds" and not the Red Sea, recent evidence suggests there was an actual crossing of the sea, beginning at a beachhead in Nuweiba, Egypt, and moving across the Gulf of Aqaba into Saudi Arabia on the other side.

It is there Mahoney and Moller believe is the real location of Mount Sinai.

"It is a military-protected area with machine-gun guards," said Mahoney.

When asked the Saudi government's rationale in closely guarding a mountain in the middle of nowhere, Mahoney replied, "Because it's an archaelogical site that they don't want people to get to."

Moller believes the big movie companies have been "too scared" to take on this project because they consider the risks too high in the turbulent Middle East.

Producers are now in the courting stage with different companies interested in distributing and marketing the film.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50476

Volcanic eruption 'triggered biblical parting of Red Sea'
THE SUNDAY TIMES of LONDON - By Tony Allen-Mills, New York -  August 6, 2006 - THE greatest story ever told has acquired a Hollywood twist. James Cameron, the director of Titanic, is the executive producer of a new documentary that claims to have uncovered fresh evidence confirming one of the most dramatic episodes in the Old Testament — the parting of the Red Sea and the Jewish exodus from Egypt.

In The Exodus Decoded, a 90-minute documentary that will be shown in America this month, Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici, the Canadian film producer, claim a volcanic eruption on the Greek archipelago of Santorini triggered a chain of natural catastrophes recorded in the Bible as the 10 plagues that God visited upon Egypt as punishment for enslaving the Jews.

Cameron believes the parting of the Red Sea may have been a tsunami that destroyed the pharaoh’s army as it pursued the escaping Jews. The documentary claims the episode occurred not at the Red Sea but at the smaller Sea of Reeds, a marshy area at the northern end of the Gulf of Suez. An underwater earthquake may have released poisonous gases that turned the waters red.

Jacobovici said “the common wisdom is there isn’t a single piece of archeological evidence backing up the biblical story of the exodus”. Jewish scholars have reluctantly concurred that an episode central to their faith — commemorated each year at Passover — may never have taken place.

Yet Cameron and Jacobovici claim to have unearthed more than a dozen archeological relics that suggest the exodus took place three centuries earlier than biblical scholars estimate. By reinterpreting artwork at museums in Luxor, Cairo, Athens and elsewhere, Jacobovici dates the exodus to around 1500BC.

That was about the time when some geologists believe the Santorini volcano, 400 miles north of Egypt, erupted in the eastern Mediterranean. Scientists and historians have long speculated that the 10 “plagues” suffered by Egypt might have been linked in a “domino theory” of natural causes.

The documentary’s website argues that a series of earthquakes may have “destabilised the entire Nile Delta system and resulted in part of the delta sliding off the African continental shelf”. This would have raised the level of land around the Sea of Reeds, believed to have been saltwater swamps around El Balah, the now extinct lake.

“In other words, the sea parted,” the website says. “Water would have cascaded from higher ground to lower ground . . . creating dry land on which the Israelites could cross. This event would also have caused an enormous ‘backsplash’ of water, a veritable tsunami. If the waves went a mere seven miles inland they would have engulfed the Egyptian army.”

The Exodus producers believe the waters were turned red by chemicals released by underwater tremors. Something similar happened to the lakes in Cameroon in 1986. If the waters were poisoned, amphibians would hop ashore, producing the biblical plague of frogs. When the frogs died, insects would have bred on their bodies leading to plagues of locusts, fleas and lice.

They in turn would have spread disease to humans, the plague of boils, and animals, the plague of dying livestock. They would also have threatened crops, forcing the Egyptians to store grain which might have then turned mouldy. Contaminated food might account for the plague of deaths among first-born Egyptian males. Weather conditions spawned by the eruption might also have caused the plagues of hailstorms and darkness.

“It’s individual pieces that start to form a compelling pattern,” said Cameron.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2089-2300569%2C00.html

Isaiah 30:1-3

"Woe to the rebellious children," declares the LORD, "Who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin; who proceed down to Egypt without consulting Me, to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! "Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.

World Evangelical Alliance opens Geneva office to influence UN
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL – August 3, 2006 - Geneva - The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) says it has opened a new office in Geneva, Switzerland, in partnership with the Swiss Evangelical Alliance in order to help influence the newly established United Nations Human Rights Council. "In a day of growing global complexities it is critical that WEA increases its impact on the global stage," Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the world alliance, said in a statement of the grouping representing more than 400 million Evangelical Christians.
http://www.eni.ch/highlights/news.shtml?2006/08

Relations with Rome improving says Russian Orthodox leader
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL – August 3, 2006 - Moscow - The Russian Orthodox Church leader in charge of inter-denominational contacts has said relations with the Roman Catholic Church have steadily improved since the ascent of Pope Benedict XVI. "After the election of Pope Benedict XVI our dialogue became more intensive," Metropolitan Kirill, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department of External Church Relations, told the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily newspaper.
http://www.eni.ch/highlights/news.shtml?2006/08

Pedophile Says Sex with Kids is a Sacred Civil Right
Claims he's the pastor of the church called Arcadian Fields Ministries - role of ministry is to "get these cases out of the courtrooms"
AXCESS NEWS - By Jim Kouri - August 3, 2006 - New York – An admitted pedophile accused of having sex with young boys told the judge during a pre-trial hearing that having sex with children is a "sacred ritual protected by civil rights laws." The predator allegedly chose victims who suffered from physical or mental disabilities.
Phillip Distasio, an avowed pedophile, claims he's the pastor of the church called Arcadian Fields Ministries.  Distasio is charged with over 70 counts including rape and giving drugs to minors.
"I'm a pedophile. I've been a pedophile for 20 years," he announced in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Wednesday. "The only reason I'm charged with rape is that no one believes a child can consent to sex. The role of my ministry is to get these cases out of the courtrooms."
The pedophile and pederast (someone who has sex with post-pubescent children) said some of his church attendees are among the victims in this case. Distacio, of Rocky River, Ohio, is faciing charges for allegedly molesting two disabled boys he tutored at his home, and also raping seven autistic boys at a Cleveland school for special-needs students where he was a teacher's assistant. Except for one, all of his victims were under 12-years old.
A conviction on rape charges involving any of the eight younger boys would mean an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole eligibility, according to the prosecutor in the case.
In June, Distasio fired his court-appointed attorney because the lawyer refused to argue a "religious freedom defense." Judge Kathleen Sutala ruled that Distasio could represent himself if the attorney remained as an adviser.
The police investigation revealed that while smoking marijuana the suspect engaged in sex with boys in his apartment and even gave the drug to the children. When the police searched the pedophile's apartment they found journals describing his activities, child pornography and videotapes showing Distasio, a self-proclaimed paganist friar, engaging in sex with boys.
http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=10715

Luke 21:25-26
"There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Indian floods worsen, 4.5 million people homeless
REUTERS - August 9, 2006 - AHMEDABAD, India - Swollen rivers swamped thousands of villages and towns across India's south and west on Wednesday, forcing 4.5 million from their homes as rescuers struggled to bring them food and drinking water, officials said.

India's annual monsoon rains -- vital for the country's agriculture-driven economy -- have triggered floods across at least five states since the weekend, killing at least 311 people, submerging villages and causing widespread damage to crops.

Most deaths were reported from the western state of Maharashtra, where 163 people have been killed in four days of incessant rains, 86 of them in the past 48 hours, officials said.

Floods had forced more than 200,000 people out of their homes in nearly 3,500 villages of Maharashtra, a relief official said.

In Maharashtra and also neighboring Gujarat, military boats and helicopters continued to reach out to thousands who remained marooned on trees and rooftops, many without food and water, after rivers burst their banks and flooded homes.

In Gujarat, about 200 villages were cut off and the industrial town of Surat, known for its diamond-cutting and textile trades, went without power as floodwaters inundated the region, leaving around three million people homeless....

Indian television channels said 90 percent of the town was submerged and showed pictures of people wading through waist-high water and vehicles almost totally submerged.

Officials said phone lines were down, train services to Surat suspended and there was an acute shortage of drinking water. Full-scale relief operations would begin once water levels receded, the officials added.

In the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where 112 people have perished in four days of rain, some 6,000 villages have been flooded, leaving around 1.5 million homeless and forcing thousands into trees and onto rooftops.

"We haven't eaten for three days and the children are crying because of hunger and thirst," one resident of a flood-affected village told Reuters by telephone. 
Other stranded villagers said they were suffering from fever, diarrhoea and vomiting....

Officials in the central state of Madhya Pradesh said 15 people, including three children were swept away in flash floods over the last three days. Floods have also killed at least 21 people in the neighboring states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa.

(Reporting by S. Radha Kumar in HYDERABAD, Rupam Jain Nair in AHMEDABAD, Sujeet Kumar in CHHATTISGARH and Krittivas Mukherjee in MUMBAI)

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-08-09T144831Z_01_B699064_RTRUKOC_0_US-WEATHER-INDIA.xml&src=rss&rpc=22 

Indonesia sets bird flu record
BBC NEWS - August 9, 2006 - Two Indonesian teenagers have died of the bird flu virus, bringing the country's number of human fatalities to 44, Indonesian health officials say.

The test results mean Indonesia now has the world's highest human death toll from the H5N1 virus.

Tests at two local laboratories showed a 16-year-old boy died of the disease on Monday a 17-year-old girl died on Tuesday, officials said.

Indonesia has registered more bird flu deaths this year than any other nation