As World Depression Worsens Social Unrest Threatens the Stability of Governments

 

 

Here’s a story from Reuters UK about some of the problems going on in Russia.  Many governments are in the same boat, including the UK, and that’s why the CIA is including an economic section in the Presidents Daily Briefing because it considers the Depression a National Security Threat.  Friendly governments can be destabilized and unfriendly governments can be driven to rash actions while the world founders in deep economic distress.

Russia’s Putin warns against economic protests

By Oleg Shchedrov

NOVO-OGARYOVA, Russia, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned opposition critics on Friday not to use the economic crisis as an excuse to challenge his government and told them to abide by the law.

Unrest across Russia over economic upheaval has been muted, with the biggest protests so far taking place in the Far East port of Vladivostok where hundreds were arrested in January demonstrations over car tax.

Speaking at a meeting with leaders of Russia’s dominant political party, United Russia, ahead of regional elections this weekend, Putin said that criticism of the Russian government during a crisis was allowed, but only within the laws.

“If opposition actions go outside the law, it means they are not pursuing the goals of improving people’s lives, but their own selfish goals and the state has the right to defend itself properly,” Putin said at his residence outside Moscow.

Russia has tight controls that restrict opposition groups from holding rallies or marches without official sanction. Applications from groups like chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov’s ‘Other Russia’ movement are frequently rejected.

Putin and other senior Russian officials have criticized “people’s revolutions” in ex-Soviet Georgia and Ukraine which propelled pro-Western leaders to power through street protests.

“We won’t allow events to happen like in some other countries, to which I will not point a finger now. At the same time, we won’t limit lawful forms of protest,” Putin said.

ELECTORAL TEST

The ballot will mark the first electoral test for Putin since the global slowdown hit Russia last summer.

Opposition groups this month started a series of protests across Russia and are hoping to expand their limited base of support to those affected by the dramatic slowdown in the Russian economy that has sent unemployment soaring.

After a decade of steady growth, the economy is set to shrink by at least two per cent this year, which economists say will push up the jobless rate, now standing at over 8 percent.

Putin’s comments were dismissed by opposition figure Ilya Yashin of the newly-formed Solidarity group who said authorities define any criticism as a threat to national interests.

“This is an indicator of the nervousness of the authorities which understand how huge is the probability of public unrest,” said Yashin. (Reporting by Oleg Shchedrov and Aydar Buribayev, writing by Conor Sweeney)

 

Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:28pm GMT

Economic Unrest around the Globe: Earths Economy under Severe Stress as Global Depression Deepens

Here’s a chilling survey of some of the global protests of recent days.  This type of thing is destined to continue and deepen as the economies of the world continue to dive.  Look for these to get worse and more violent over time as people and governments look for a way to survive. Remember also that Obama is getting daily briefings from the CIA on the effects the financial crisis is having on the stability of world government.  The economic crisis is now considered a national security threat by the United States Government as it emboldens our foes and destabilizes our friends.  The following is from Reuters at the following URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLQ87702?sp=true

 

FACTBOX-Financial crisis sparks unrest in Europe

Feb 26 (Reuters) – Thousands of Opel workers from around Germany took part in a mass rally on Thursday demanding parent General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) scrap plans for plant closures in Europe.

The global financial and economic crisis has sparked many protests in parts of Europe. Here are some details:

* BOSNIA — Workers of Bosnia’s only alumina producer Birac protested on Feb. 9 in Banja Luka, demanding salary payments and government support to offset falling metal prices.

* BRITAIN — British workers held a series of protests at power plants, demonstrating against the employment of foreign contractors to work on critical energy sites.

– The protests follow a week-long dispute at the Total-owned Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire, which resulted in Total agreeing to hire more British workers on the project. Workers voted to end the unofficial strike on Feb. 5.

* BULGARIA — Police officers, banned by law from striking, have held three “silent” protests since December to demand a 50 percent pay hike and better working conditions. Bulgaria, the poorest EU nation, has been hit by protests demanding the government take measures to shore up the economy.

– Farmers blocked the only Danube bridge link with Romania and rallied across Bulgaria on Feb. 4 demanding the government set a minimum protective price for milk and stop imports of cheap substitutes.

* FRANCE — President Nicolas Sarkozy faced criticism from both unions and bosses on Feb. 19 over new measures to tackle the economic crisis. Sarkozy offered an additional 2.65 billion euros ($3.4 billion) of social spending in an effort to quell labor unrest over a previous stimulus package that targeted investment rather than consumers. France’s eight union federations called for a day of action on March 19.

– Up to 2.5 million protesters took to the streets of France on Jan. 29 in a day of strikes and rallies to denounce the economic crisis but the strike failed to paralyze the country and support from private sector workers was limited.

– A union representative was killed last week and several policemen wounded by protesters on the French Caribbean island in violence over the cost of living. Guadeloupe, a region of France and part of the EU, has been brought to a standstill in February by a general strike over high prices for food.

* GERMANY — Thousands of Opel workers from around Germany took part in a mass rally at the company’s headquarters, demanding on Thursday that parent General Motors scrap plans for plant closures in Europe. Vice Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the rally, added, “This is about more than just Opel. It’s about the future of the car industry in Germany.” * GREECE — Greek farmers protesting low product prices ended a two week blockade of a border crossing with Bulgaria on Feb. 7 when their demands for compensation were met. Greece had endured days of travel chaos with thousands of angry farmers setting roadblocks across the country, but most have ended after the government pledged 500 million euros ($640 million) in subsidies on products such as olive oil and wheat. — High youth unemployment was a main driver for rioting in Greece in December, initially sparked by the police shooting of a youth in an Athens neighborhood. The protests forced a government reshuffle.

* ICELAND — Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned on Jan. 26 after protests. The first leader in the world to fall as a direct result of the financial crisis, he was replaced by Johanna Sigurdardottir, who heads a new centre-left coalition.

* IRELAND — Nearly 100,000 people marched through Dublin on Feb. 21 to protest at government cutbacks in the face of a deepening recession and bailouts for the banks.

* LATVIA — A new Latvian prime minister was appointed on Thursday after the four-party ruling coalition collapsed on Feb. 20 and the president called for talks to forge a new government to tackle a deepening economic crisis. The government was the second to succumb to the financial crisis.

– Latvia’s agriculture minister had already gone on Feb. 3 amid protests by farmers over falling incomes. A 10,000-strong protest on Jan. 13 descended into a riot. Government steps to cut wages, as part of an austerity plan to win international aid, have angered people.

* LITHUANIA — Police fired teargas lon Jan. 16 to disperse demonstrators who pelted parliament with stones in protest at cuts in social spending. Police said 80 people were detained and 20 injured. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said the violence would not stop an austerity plan.

* MONTENEGRO — In Podgorica, aluminum workers demanded on Feb. 9 to be paid their salaries and an immediate restart of suspended production at the Kombinat Aluminijuma Podgorica (KAP), a Russian-owned plant.

* RUSSIA — Hundreds of angry communists rallied in Moscow on Feb. 23 in protest at the Kremlin’s handling of the crisis that has rocked the Russian economy, the latest in a series of demonstrations held across Russia as the economic crisis bites.

– The opposition rallied about 350 people in central Moscow two days earlier to demand early presidential elections.

– On Jan. 31, thousands of opposition supporters rallied in Moscow and the port of Vladivostok over hardships caused by the financial crisis. The next day hundreds of Moscow demonstrators called for Russia’s leaders to resign.

* UKRAINE – Hundreds of Ukrainians protested at separate demonstrations on Feb. 23, with some urging President Viktor Yushchenko to quit while others demanded their money back from banks hit by the financial crisis.

Thu Feb 26, 2009 8:02am EST

 

Neo-Socialist Democrats Mount Attack on Parental Rights: Democrats want to ratify a Contemptible UN Treaty on Children.

 

 

Neo Socialist Democrats have long since colonized the education system, (Education is a mess in this country) the media, (We have the most corrupt journalists in history) but the holy grail of state control remains indoctrination of the kids.  Give Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barney Frank the kids; and they can wipe out all resistance to socialism and state supremacy in a generation.  To this end they’ve made great strides in setting educators with a leftist, socialist political agenda at loggerheads with the conservative parents of this nation for many years.  They believe in “age appropriate” sex education for kids as early as kindergarten and have them practicing putting condoms on cucumbers by third grade.  There are homosexual High Schools in New York City but in the early grades they just read things like Sally has Two Moms. 

 

It’s an embarrassment to the Neo Socialist Democrats that private religious education, as practiced by Catholics for example, and especially those who “Home School” have kids that consistently outperform public schools.  Take a typical public school in Washington DC and compare the test results and educational outcomes to a Catholic School, in the same community, drawing from the same population, and you get the picture. 

 

The reason the Democrats want the schools isn’t to increase test scores or provide a terrific education its because of the uniformity in social conditioning they can impose on kids keeps them in political power. The gloves are coming off in the “culture wars” and the Democrats are about to win due to the shear “audacity” of their current leaders. We’ve already seen the damage done by crazed liberal baby boomers in many areas including legalized infanticide, mainstreaming homosexuality, politically correct control of higher education and the media, and dangerous disregard of the nations security requirements. Now the state, for the public good, will take control of your Childs mind and supplant Christianity with Political Correctness. 

Imagine a population inculcated to believe, from kindergarten through PhD, the craziest and zaniest of democrat political correctness and ask yourself if such kids would have any hope of survival against the Mexican Narco-State, Islamic Terrorism, Vladimir Putin and so on.

 

Take a good close look at this story from Fox News and don’t forget to read the whole story at the following URL:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/25/boxer-seeks-ratify-treaty-erode-rights/

 

EOPLE WHO

 

Sen. Barbara Boxer is urging the U.S. to ratify a United Nations measure meant to expand the rights of children, a move critics are calling a gross assault on parental rights that could rob the U.S. of sovereignty.

The California Democrat is pushing the Obama administration to review the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, a nearly 20-year-old international agreement that has been foundering on American shores since it was signed by the Clinton administration in 1995 but never ratified.

Critics say the treaty, which creates “the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion” and outlaws the “arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy,” intrudes on the family and strips parents of the power to raise their children without government interference.

“Children deserve basic human rights … and the convention protects children’s rights by setting some standards here so that the most vulnerable people of society will be protected,” Boxer said.

Because of the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the Constitution, all treaties are rendered “the supreme law of the land,” superseding preexisting state and federal statutes. Any rights or laws established by the U.N. convention could then be argued to hold sway in the United States.

“Whether you ground your kids for smoking marijuana, whether you take them to church, whether you let them go to junior prom, all of those things . . . will be the government’s decision,” said Michael Farris, president of ParentalRights.org. “It will affect every parent who’s told their children to do the dishes.”

During the Oct. 22, 2008, presidential youth debate, Obama promised to “review this and other treaties to ensure the United States resumes its global leadership in human rights.”

During U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice’s January confirmation hearing, Rice called the convention “a very important treaty and a noble cause,” and said it was “a shame” for the U.S. to be in company with Somalia, which has no real government.

Rice told Boxer that “there can be no doubt that [President Obama] and Secretary Clinton and I share a commitment to the objectives of this treaty and will take it up as an early question,” promising to review the treaty “to ensure that the United States is playing and resumes its global leadership role in human rights.”

The Audacity of Socialism: Illegal Aliens Can Get Home Mortgage Relief

 

You won’t believe this but read the following Clips from an Article by Jerome Corsi on World Net Daily:

Illegal aliens can apply for mortgage relief under the Obama administration’s $275 billion plan, according to immigration experts and a group the government will use to help homeowners modify loans.

Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., told WND approximately 1 million households headed by illegal immigrants acquired mortgages through the beginning of 2007, before the housing bubble burst.

“There is no legal prohibition against illegal immigrants owning homes,” he said, “and in most cases mortgage lenders

will accept a taxpayer ID or a Matricula Consular card issued by a Mexican Consulate office as identification to illegal immigrants from Mexico.”

Chad Buchanan, a manager at SaveMyHomeUSA – a group cooperating with the Obama administration that assists homeowners facing foreclosure – told WND illegal immigrants who own a home “could certainly apply under our program.”

“We don’t target or go after illegal immigrant customers,” he said. “But if an illegal immigrant owns a home legally, we could try to help them under our program.

“A lot of mortgage modifiers out there never ask about the legal immigration status of the homeowner, and we do not ask either,” Buchanan said. “This is the first time I’ve had that question asked. All we are looking to do is to modify the current note, regardless what the legal immigration status of the client is.”

ALIPAC’s president, William Gheen, told WND the e-mail from SaveMyHomeUSA “not only looks like illegal immigrants could refinance their own homes under the Obama mortgage modification program, they could also apply to become loan modification brokers, so they could help other illegal immigrants refinance their mortgages.”

The New York Post reported that in seven of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates in the U.S., Hispanics were at least one-third of the population. In two of these areas – Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. – Hispanics constituted half

The Post also reported that the La Raza Development Fund has received millions in federal funds to counsel their constituents on obtaining “no money down” home mortgage loans

This is nothing short of the rape of the American Tax Payer because the United States is flat busted broke so the money to bail out illegal’s with mortgages must be borrowed, at interest, from China so that your Great Grandchildren can be enslaved by debt.  This was just another Trojan horse in the Obama Spending Bill and if his speech to congress is to be believed he’s not even begun to spend.  President Obama wants to go after Socialized Medicine this year as well as free education for all.  K-PhD instead of K-12.  President Obama wants to tackle immigration reform as well so illegal immigrants can be made citizens after we rescue them in homes they never should have been able to buy.  Political Correctness trumps American law for the Neo-Socialist Progressive Democrats currently bankrupting the country.  The rule of law is different if your one of the democrats pet constituencies and at the end of the day when there is no law there is only anarchy.  That’s where we’re headed.

Don’t forget to read the whole article at World Net Daily at the following URL: http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89967

(By the way, La Raza is a Hispanic Fascist Group whose slogan is: “For those inside the race, everything; for those outside the race, nothing.  They are a Hispanic first society that believes the USA stole most of the American West from them and they’re determined to get it back.)

A Brave New World in the Middle East Starts Today: Iranian Nuclear Plant to Start Up

The world dithered and now, tomorrow, Iran’s new nuclear plant will commence operations and be switched on amid a ceremony to mark the event.  I have no doubt that the American Media will be filled with fawning reviews of the Rock Star President, Barak Obama’s, performance at tonight’s address to a joint session of Congress. I doubt that the Islamic State of Iran’s celebration will escape the notice of the Prime Minister designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Israel.  Even Fox News calls him a “hard line” politician of the Israeli “rightwing” but he’s very intelligent, personable, and above all a steely eyed realist who will act to defend the Jewish State without hesitation.  As America took a hard political left in the last election the state of Israel took a hard right; because every politician, in every Israeli party, knows that the Iranians must attacked and their nuclear program destroyed.

Last week the United Nations estimated that Iran has enough nuclear material to construct an atomic bomb.  If the UN thinks they can build a bomb, one may well conclude that they can probably build 20 bombs!  The problem with even a single bomb is that Israel is so small that one decent sized nuclear detonation could effectively end the viability of the Jewish State.  W Nuclear Bomb for Iran is a death warrant for Israel and the Iranian Celebration tomorrow will surely herald a war with Israel this year. The fact that the Iranian program has enough material for a bomb, and the means to deliver it, will not serve as a deterrent to war: but will rather guarantee war.  Once the hapless and scandal plagued Ehud Olmert is out of office and Netanyahu is installed once again as Prime Minister the planning must begin for a very bloody air attack that may well use weapons of mass destruction to arrest Iran’s nuclear progress.

The Iranians have spread out their program to many cities and have gone to great lengths to harden certain facilities believing that a civilian population would shield key nuclear facilities from an Israeli attack.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Its one thing for Israel to avoid bombing a village firing inaccurate rockets into Israel and it’s another for Israel to avoid taking out an existential threat because they would have to use a WMD to destroy it and because it’s located in a civilian area. 

As the United States and the World sink deeper into a global depression and as the price of oil plummets, and the banks totter, the certainty of a regional war in the Middle East this year goes ignored in the media.  Iran is a dangerous enemy and I doubt the Obama Administration would provide Israel any material or economic support for such an attack and Israel would be well advised to exclude America from its war planning.  The necessity of the war taking the American Administration by surprise is a necessary evil to maintain the advantage of surprise and the naiveté of the young, inexperienced President.  It would be far better to let events propel American Policy rather than the appeasing liberals of the American Far Left who now make up the cabinet and indeed the congress and the presidency.  What is the old adage:  It’s often easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission?  That would be good advice for Israel right now.

Given the risks involved for Israel in such an attack it’s vital that the attack be a decisive victory that utterly smashes the Iranian nuclear program because Israel is likely to face serious international repercussions.  This is not a time for halfway measures or for timidity in asserting their national right to exist!   It’s likely that Obama and his administration will be furious but will end up supporting Israel in the end once congressional supporters and political tacticians explain the facts of life to Obama.  The fact is that Obama has enough on his plate so he would be unable and unwilling to reverse American Policy toward Israel even if he wanted to.

The effects of such a war could mean massive disruption in oil supplies that would, for all intents and purposes, destroy the faltering economies of the world.  Iran has long been thought to have about half of its missiles aimed at the oil production infrastructure of the entire Persian Gulf region.  It’s entirely possible that if Israel is forced to use a WMD to destroy an underground target that this may fuel the idea that limited nuclear wars become thinkable, rather than unthinkable, across the globe as every nation vies for nuclear capability.  No one can really predict what would happen.  It was known that Saddam Husain had explosives on his own oil wells but no one knew if he would detonate them in the event of an American attack.  He did.  The world didn’t end. Does anyone doubt that Ahmadinejad is at least as crazy as Saddam Husain?

Consider the following clips from an article on The Debka File and be sure to read the whole article at this URL:  http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5925

Iran’s first nuclear reactor starts “pilot stage” at Bushehr Wednesday

DEBKAfile Special Report

February 22, 2009, 8:57 PM (GMT+02:00)

 

The preliminary phase of Iran’s first reactor, built with Russian help at the southern town of Bushehr, will be marked by a ceremony Wednesday, Feb. 25. Our sources report that Iranian nuclear teams will first activate the 1,000-MW reactor’s sections in sequence with the help of advanced Russian computers flown in to monitor their progress. The head of Iran’s nuclear commission, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, and the head of Russia’s state Rosatom Atomic Corporation, Sergey Kiriyenko will be on hand.

Iranian and Western nuclear experts say this stage is a vital step forward to making the Bushehr reactor operational. Barring hitches, it will be ready for full operation by August 2009.

The announcement by the Iranian News Agency took Washington and Jerusalem off-balance. Moscow has continually delayed meeting the deadlines in its $1 billion contract for completing the project. It was hoped that the reactor would never be finished – at least until the US and Russian presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev met for the first time on April 2, at the G-20 summit.

Where is America in end times prophesy?

Where is America in end times prophesy?

 The Bible never directly speaks to the existence of the USA anywhere in its pages.  Since the fall of the Soviet Union the USA has been the undisputed last remaining superpower whose cultural economic and military might led the world.  We were the first nation to land on the Moon and our scientific and technical prowess has driven our economic engine as our products reached every corner of the globe.  The United States Dollar functioned as the reserve currency for the world and our ability to assimilate immigrants from every nation into that unique persona known as an “American” is unmatched in modern history.  America has weapons of mass destruction, a nuclear arsenal that could by itself end life on earth in a fiery blaze and a cloud of nuclear fallout.  We have some 130 military bases spanning the globe and if the world has a policeman than we’re it.  American entertainment sets the cultural trends, the American economy sets the world’s economic trends, the American Military sets the worlds military trends: and yet the United States of America is not mentioned in Biblical Prophecy?  It seems Unthinkable.

 Lots of theories abound to explain our absence from our being taken out by war or a natural disaster to coming apart via internal strife like the Roman Empire.  Speaking of the Roman Empire, the bible has clear predictions concerning it including the idea that the Roman Empire will rise again, in mystery form, and once again rule the earth during the times of the end.  It also talks about other powers like China and Russia as being key in those days but the permeate power on the globe is Rome.  Rome and ancient Grease are the foundations of Western Culture and Western Civilization and have a distinct philosophical outlook.  Europe and the “New World” (the Americas) are the children of this Western Cultural Heritage that Rome began and personified for hundreds of years, dare I say Roman heritage?  Some would contend that two world wars have been fought in Europe to raise again the glory of the Roman Empire.  Recall that Hitler in particular wanted a Third Reich, a third incarnation of an empire like Rome. Rome was never concurred but fell from within as its excesses and corruption destroyed it from within.  Rome was gone but never forgotten and key elements have lived on ever since.  Europe has been fascinated by the tremendous accomplishments such world unity could bring while the USA has adopted key institutions like the “Senate” and the “Republic” upon which to base our nation. Rome was gone but lived on in institutions and architecture to our times in the twenty first century.

Perhaps one of the best interpretations is that America becomes part of the Revived Roman Empire but the true leadership of Western (Roman) civilization has shifted from Washington DC and New York back to Rome as the hub of a new and improved European Union or a United States of Europe if you like.  A new Roman Empire might be another valid way of looking at it.   A couple of years ago this seemed a fanciful notion until recent economic events in the United States have exposed, for the world to see, the rot of corruption and greed that’s taken its toll on the vaunted American Economy and to the moral and spiritual foundations of the American catechism of freedom and liberty. 

In considering the news since the spring of 2007 it’s become abundantly clear that America is failing and its way of life is unsustainable without massive borrowing and a willingness to curse our future generation’s horrific levels of debt.  Equality of Opportunity has been construed as equality of outcome and to that end the baby boomers of the 1960’s have agitated for massive social engineering and entitlement spending and set in motion an inexorable slide into socialism that’s proved to be the undoing of the United States.  Rome had the same problem and it came to be codified as “bread and circuses” meaning that democracy cant work once the people figure out they can demand free services from the corrupt politicians who want to stay in office.  We do the same thing but the slogan “food stamps and universal health care” isn’t as catchy as Bread and Circus’s.

Rome in the last days is depicted as a coalition made up of many nations with great strengths and weaknesses and I suspect that the United States may be a part of that monolithic power known collectively as the West. The Book of Daniel describes this new Roman Empire as part strong and part weak part Iron and part clay. It’s to be composed of many nations and cultures and does not represent just one nationality or ethnicity but a mindset and perhaps a cultural heritage.  Modern Western Culture, The West, is the cultural heritage that Rome began and is destine to finish in the end of days.  There are other possibilities and I’ve prepared a survey of some of them below.

Tall and Fair?  In my Dreams Maybe!

The first example of some biblical passage that might refer to us is in Isaiah 18 and it refers to a people tall and fair that are feared far and wide.  Now it’s possible but very unlikely that’s the United States because although we’re feared far and wide for having the premier military on earth, just as Rome did in her day, and some of us may indeed be tall and fair it’s by no means a definitive description of the modern USA.   It’s true that the United States is divided by the Mississippi River that’s where the similarities end.  Indeed the first verse tells you exactly who is being referenced; the first verse speaks of “Cush”.  Now the picture begins to make sense as Cush refers to North Africa and it has a river, the Nile,  that divides the nation of Egypt that seems a slam dunk for being the nation referred too in this chapter of Isaiah 18.

            This interpretation is rarely used anymore and there’s something of a consensus that it is indeed referring to Egypt and is in no way a reference to the United States.  It’s nice because it has us giving gifts to God in Israel in the last days but it’s very much a stretch to think it’s a reference to America.  I haven’t heard this one used in many years but if someone lays it out for you just refer to the first verse and give them a heads up on who “Cush” is and where it’s to be found. 

Isaiah 18

1 Woe to the land of whirring wings

along the rivers of Cush,

 

 

7 At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty

from a people tall and smooth-skinned,

from a people feared far and wide,

an aggressive nation of strange speech,

whose land is divided by rivers — the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.

NIV

 

Where in the World is Tarshish?

            One of the most fascinating chapters in all of prophesy is found in Isaiah 38  in which the war of Armageddon is outlined in addition to containing an obscure reference to the “merchants of Tarshish and all the young lions thereof.  The idea, as advanced by some, is that Tarshish is a reference to Great Britton, whose symbol is a lion, and all the young lions become all the colonies that the British founded like the USA.  It seems that when the Russian led coalition of Islamic states attacks a peaceful Israel the Merchants of Tarshish protest the move and make a show of inquiring about Russia’s intentions.  They want to know if this is just about looting Israel or what exactly the Russian led coalition plans to do with Israel. 

            The Problem is that no one is sure where Tarshish is as its ruins have never been found.  Several sources indicate that the best probable location is in Spain and there is near universal belief that Tarshish can not be in the British Isles.  If you apply the same logic then it would refer to Spain and her former colonies of the new world which included parts of the USA at one time.  Either way you look at it; it seems a bit of a stretch and you can’t make a conclusive argument that the United States is being referenced by Scripture. 

Here is a translation from the New King James Version and then the New Living Translation of the Bible:

Ezek 38:13

13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”‘

NKJV

Ezek 38:13

13 But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Who are you to rob them of silver and gold? Who are you to drive away their cattle and seize their goods and make them poor?’

NLT

So is the only reference to the United States to be a stiff diplomatic note saying to Russia that it has no right to rob and plunder Israel?  It doesn’t seem a satisfying explanation does it? I doubt that we’re Tarshish so we have to keep looking.

 

What About Babylon?

There are some chapters in the Book of Revelation that seem like they describe the USA and our financial empire in great detail but the problem is that once again it fails to ascribe the chapters to the USA but rather speaks of Babylon.  Ancient Babylon does exist in Iraq and Saddam Husain made some attempts to rebuild the city and was said to fancy himself a sort of modern day Nebachanezer.  The place is a heap of ruins at the moment but if we consider that the literal Babylon is technically under Iraqi sovereignty and then consider that the United States essentially concurred Iraq, including Babylon, under President George W. Bush, than perhaps some possible connections can be made.

Who controls Babylon today?  The real control is the United States Military and no matter how many troops come out of Iraq the Status of Forces Agreement negotiated between the US and Iraq ensures continued American Presence for some time to come. Given the presence and belligerence of the Iranian government and the absolute dependence of America on foreign oil it seems likely that America will not surrender its position in Iraq until the region cools down.  That seems unlikely at the moment.

Is it possible that Babylon is a sort of metaphor indicating the type or characteristics of Babylon as the determining factor?  What country looks and sounds like Babylon as described in chapters 17 and 18 of the Book of Revelations?  Is it possible that our name is the United States of America but our nature is one similar to ancient Babylon?  Consider the following verses and see if you can detect a possibility that America is the nation being discussed. My comments are in Parenthesis in light blue.

Revelation 17

17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute,(USA) who sits on many waters. (Exploits many nations?) 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” (American Capitalist Economic and Cultural Systems Dominate the Earth)

3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman(The Prostitute USA?) sitting(dominating) on a scarlet ( Socialist) beast that was covered with blasphemous (Anti God) names and had seven heads(Rome) and ten horns.(European Union) 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet,(Ruling Class) and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. (Great wealth) She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.(American cultural, economic and social corruption) 5 This title was written on her forehead:

MYSTERY

BABYLON THE GREAT

THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.(America was always Christian until recently when we rejected Christianity and entered the post Christian era. We knew better but rejected the faith like a prostitute.) When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads (Rome) and ten horns. (European Union) 8 The beast,(Antichrist) which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss (Hell) and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come. 9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills (Rome) on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. 11 The beast (Antichrist) who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.(Europe rises as a new Roman Empire from European Union) 14 They will make war against the Lamb,(Jesus Christ) but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings — and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”(With Socialism Europe has largely rejected all things Christian.  The Churches in Europe are empty) 15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. (Western Civilization and her Allies)16 The beast (Antichrist) and the ten horns (European Union)you saw will hate the prostitute. (the United States? Anti-Americanism?) They will bring her to ruin (bankrupt her) and leave her naked;(pennyless) they will eat her flesh(incorporate her) and burn her with fire. (despise her)17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast  (Antichrist) their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw (The Post Christian Western Civilization)is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (Rome again)

Revelation 18

18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted:

“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! (Imagrent Nation of many languages/cultures) (Think tower of Babel)

She has become a home for demons

and a haunt for every evil spirit,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.

3 For all the nations have drunk

the maddening wine of her adulteries.  (Corrupt American Capitalism)

The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,

and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” (USA most wealthy nation on earth)

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:

“Come out of her, my people,

so that you will not share in her sins,

so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

5 for her sins are piled up to heaven,

and God has remembered her crimes. (Once Chrisitan God rejecting nation corrupted by life style)

6 Give back to her as she has given;

pay her back double for what she has done.

Mix her a double portion from her own cup.

7 Give her as much torture and grief

as the glory and luxury she gave herself. (sounds like might America)

In her heart she boasts,

‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow,

and I will never mourn.’  (America cant imagine being broken)

8 Therefore in one day(astonishing speed) her plagues will overtake her:

death, mourning and famine.

She will be consumed by fire, (decapitation nuclear strike?)

for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: (Sounds like the United Nations)

“‘Woe! Woe, O great city,

O Babylon, city of power!

In one hour your doom has come!’

11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more—( Economic Disaster) 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.

14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor (economic Power) have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe, O great city,

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,

and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!

17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. (Babylon lies beyond the seas?  Like a continent or New World?)18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?‘ (New York City?)19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe, O great city,

where all who had ships on the sea

became rich through her wealth! (Import export world power or Super power)

In one hour she has been brought to ruin! (Corupt Power destroyed with astonishing speed)

20 Rejoice over her, O heaven!

Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!

God has judged her for the way she treated you.’”

21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:

“With such violence

the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,

never to be found again.

22 The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters,

will never be heard in you again.

No workman of any trade

will ever be found in you again.

The sound of a millstone

will never be heard in you again.

23 The light of a lamp

will never shine in you again.

The voice of bridegroom and bride

will never be heard in you again.

Your merchants were the world’s great men. (Wall Street, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, Rockafeller, Jp Morgan, Howard Huges, etc.)

By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. (Corrupt economics and culture?)

24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints,

and of all who have been killed on the earth.”

NIV

Conclusions

            So are we Babylon?  Are we a Prostitute?  Are we the great evil city that gets thrown down never to rise again?  Most Bible Scholars would say no and that the city of Babylon will be rebuilt with the oil revenue that Iraq will amass being finally free of the dictator Saddam Husain.  If you’ve read theLeft Bbehind series they speak of Babylon being rebuilt, literally, and being a source of power in the end times.  I would never take issue with all those scholars who have advanced this idea but I must tell you that the possibility that the United States is being referenced above haunts me. 

We were founded a Christian nation.  We were maintained a Christian nation.  We were indeed a source of hope and strength and freedom in a dark world until the last 30 or 40 years.  In the space of a generation we’ve been taken over by social and economic corruption and have arguably chosen to be enslaved by the government we created long ago to keep us free.   We’ve presided over an explosion of knowledge and invention unprecedented in world history.  The world seems to gag on our culture and capitalism yet it yearns for it nevertheless.  Is it possible that a nation like ours the last superpower is absent from scripture? 

            The idea above that we’ll be surpassed by Europe and suffer some kind of nuclear attack that wipes out our economy is bad enough but have we really become such a corrupt power to justify the hatred and contempt the rest of the world has for us?  Is our management of the world’s reserve currency, the dollar, much different from Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme of recent days?  Is not the whole world being ripped off by our economic policies because the thought of a deep depression and the loss of our luxuries has prompted us to become the slaves of our government just to keep our standard of living?  Isn’t that why were trying to solve a problem created by massive debt by adding more massive debt in an attempt to cure the fruits of massive debt?  Can we see what our stewardship and greed have done to the economy of the entire planet? 

            Once again the interpretation above is not main stream, by any means, by the theologians of today but I wonder if it strikes a chord with your heart as you read Revelation and the daily paper?  I’m haunted by the above scenario but the fact remains that the role of the United States is not directly or clearly referenced in end time’s passages in the Bible.  Some of the theories are suggestive but perhaps it falls to the people living in the last days to figure it out for sure.  We’ve fallen far from the faith of our founding fathers and every day the courts expunge Christian expression and iconology from the public landscape and have come within inches of labeling the Bible hate speech.  We have killed millions by legal abortions while we have seen the institution of marriage become virtually meaningless.  We allow Christian symbols to be placed in urine and exhibited as “art”.  We’re not the America we were and as we adopt socialism the church is sure to decline even further.

            Where is America in Bible Prophesy?  America is literally missing in action. 

Is America figuratively present?  You will have to decide that one on your own.

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gog Rattles His Saber from North Pole: Russia wants Arctic Resources

 

While Russia sends submarines to plant Russian flags in the Arctic seaweed; President Obama is said to be preparing to propose an 80% cut to American and Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles.  In the backdrop the NATO alliance Secretary General wants NATO and Russia to practice joint search and rescue missions in an effort to build trust among the Arctic community. And the Russians?  The Russians are assuring everyone that they will “respond” to anyone that tries to “militarize” the Arctic.  The implication is that they will match any military units tit for tat, and perhaps a wee bit more, that find their way into the Arctic which the Russians have largely claimed as their own.

It makes sense that Russia would go after the Arctic because they have clearly been following a strategy of extending their influence over every oil producing region on earth.  They’re building new bases in the Middle East, supplying Iran with nuclear fuel, and reactors, (arguably fomenting a regional war in the Middle East)  having joint exercises with oil rich Venezuela and now have claimed the oil rich Arctic.  Russia is trying to gain a lock on world oil supplies as a matter of national policy and perhaps as a club to hold over the head of the west at some future time.

Consider the following article from Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/gc07/idUKTRE51M3ES20090223?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Russia “will respond” to military moves in Arctic

“When there is a proposal, there will be a discussion,” Interfax quoted Makarov as saying. “It is much too early to speak about that now.”

Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:43am GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will respond to any attempts to militarize the Arctic, the head of the country’s armed forces was quoted as saying on Monday during a visit to Abu Dhabi.

“Overall, we are looking at how far the region will be militarized. Depending on that, we’ll then decide what to do,” Interfax news agency quoted General Nikolai Makarov, the head of the General Staff, as saying.

Makarov was in the United Arab Emirates for an international arms fair.

Last month NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer suggested the alliance and its strategic rival Russia could mount joint search-and-rescue exercises in the oil and gas-rich Arctic region.

He also raised the question as to whether NATO should consider increasing its focus on the region, saying that it was necessary to build confidence and trust among the five Arctic states — four of which are NATO members and the other Russia.

Moscow has claimed jurisdiction over most of the Arctic and last year a Russian mini-submarine dived to the seabed and symbolically planted a Russian flag to claim it.

NATO members with Arctic Sea coastlines are Canada, the United States, Norway and Denmark via Greeland.

Makarov also said Russia had not yet received any official proposals from Washington on significant cuts in strategic nuclear forces.

The Times of London reported earlier this month that President Barack Obama would convene ambitious arms reduction talks with Moscow, aiming to slash the number of intercontinental nuclear missiles on both sides by 80 percent.

Europe Braces for Civil Unrest: Economic Riots Feared in London

European affairs are underreported in the United States but this summer may change all that as England and other European Country’s contend with the ever deepening global economic crisis.  Already there have been signs across Europe of increased unrest but now we have an article from the Guardian.co.uk that confirms the extent of the fear and planning in government circles as conditions worsen.  

The Bible seems to indicate that the anti Christ will emerge in the middle of great and insolvable world economic and political unrest.  I don’t see any antichrists out there yet but this economic mess and the world political situation seem tailor made for someone on a white horse to come in and play the savior if they can figure out the solution. 

Here are some clips from the article and be sure to read the whole think at this URL:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/23/police-civil-unrest-recession

Police are preparing for a “summer of rage” as victims of the economic downturn take to the streets to demonstrate against financial institutions, the Guardian has learned.

Britain’s most senior police officer with responsibility for public order raised the spectre of a return of the riots of the 1980s, with people who have lost their jobs, homes or savings becoming “footsoldiers” in a wave of potentially violent mass protests.

Superintendent David Hartshorn, who heads the Metropolitan police’s public order branch, told the Guardian that middle-class individuals who would never have considered joining demonstrations may now seek to vent their anger through protests this year.

The warning comes in the wake of often violent protests against the handling of the economy across Europe. In recent weeks Greek farmers have blocked roads over falling agricultural prices, a million workers in France joined demonstrations to demand greater protection for jobs and wages and Icelandic demonstrators have clashed with police in Reykjavik.

In the UK hundreds of oil refinery workers mounted wildcat strikes last month over the use of foreign workers.

Intelligence reports suggest that “known activists” are also returning to the streets, and police claim they will foment unrest. “Those people would be good at motivating people, but they haven’t had the ‘footsoldiers’ to actually carry out [protests],” Hartshorn said. “Obviously the downturn in the economy, unemployment, repossessions, changes that. Suddenly there is the opportunity for people to mass protest.

North Korea Preparing a Possible Missile Launch: The Testing of Barak Husain Obama Begins

 

Jane’s Defense Weekly said in a report last Friday that North Korea may launch an intermediate or range ballistic missile or a space launch vehicle within days based on the preparations now underway at their missile site. The test comes amid North Korea’s intention to test a ballistic missile that could reach the United States of America.  Japan has warned the North Koreans that such a test would be met with increased international sanctions but such a warning is likely to be disregarded in favor of testing the new Obama Administration.

Consider the following article on Fox News for more information:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,497946,00.html

George Soros says the World Financial System Has “Disintegrated”: No End in Sight to Financial Crisis

 

Below are some clips from an excellent article by Reuters about the famed financier George Soros.  He’s not exactly comforting about the prospects for a world economic recovery any time soon.

 

 

Soros sees no bottom for world financial “collapse”

Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:26pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.

Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

His comments echoed those made earlier at the same conference by Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman who is now a top adviser to President Barack Obama.

Volcker said industrial production around the world was declining even more rapidly than in the United States, which is itself under severe strain.

“I don’t remember any time, maybe even in the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast, quite so uniformly around the world,” Volcker said.

 

Read the full story at this URL

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE51K0A920090221?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&rpc=23&sp=true