Islam: "It's Our Time" because of...Obama

A certain headline is making the rounds today.

Christians have strongly suspected the President-Elect is not a real Christian but a Muslim. There are good reasons for thinking this. He "converted" to Christianity at the same time he decided to enter American politics. He totes a bible but refutes what's in it. Again. And again. He was adopted by a Muslim man and attended Muslim school, enrolled as a Muslim. He even referred to himself as a Muslim. By accident of course. (By the way, a true follower of Jesus NEVER confuses who or what he worships).

Anyway, is it bad, or good, to talk with Hamas?

It's bad!
One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.

It's good!
Huffington Post: January 9, 2009: Obama camp prepared to talk to Hamas...

It's bad!
Jerusalem Post, January 10, 2009: Obama won't deal with Hamas, 'Post' told
Obama Draws Line On Negotiations, Won't Talk To Hamas

It's good!
"Strong countries and strong presidents meet and talk with our adversaries," Obama said at an Aug. 19 debate. "We shouldn't be afraid to do so. We've tried the other way. It didn't work."

The Muslims know...it's VERY VERY good that Obama will be US President. They are so happy. Here is the headline making the rounds:

On Obama's inauguration, Muslims say, 'It's our time'.

Why do they know it's their time?

Muslims know: Obama funded foreign thug who promised Islamic state.

Muslims know: Malik Obama confirms his half-brother Barack grew up a Muslim

Muslims know: Islamica Magazine says "Obama's Muslim supporters continue to work for a candidate who cannot afford to wink back at them. Given his perceived "closeness" to Islam, and the fact that he shares a name with a former Iraqi dictator, it could be strategic suicide for the Obama campaign to vocally acknowledge organized Muslim support. At a time when endorsements are worn like badges of honor, no major candidate is looking for the Muslim vote."

Well...
Christians know: Christianity of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the true religion and Ishmael is the usurper. It is ordained: “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers." (Gen. 16:12)

Christians know: Abraham pleaded Ishmael’s case before God, but was told that the everlasting covenant would be with Isaac and his descendants (Gen. 17:19).

Christians know: Ishmael would beget 12 princes and would be made into a great nation (Gen. 17:20) – the Arab nation.

Christians know: “They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!’ "(Psalm 83:4-8)

Christians know: Though many Muslims try to live holy lives, at its root, Islam is evil. (Left, Muslims bury a woman to her waist in preparation for her stoning death)

Christians know that Christianity is love: "But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more." (John 8:7-11)

It may or may not be "the Muslims' time." Christians know that this is a concern, but ultimately, and someday forever, it will be our time.

After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants." 3And again they shouted: "Hallelujah!The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever." 6" The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
"Amen, Hallelujah!"
Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
"Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both small and great!"

6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!

Language is a truth concealer

Shifty language for a shifty politician? Today we have this-

"David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political adviser, along with campaign media adviser Jim Margolis, are encouraging lawmakers to use the word “recovery” instead of recession, and “investment” instead of “infrastructure.” Those recommendations came from focus-group research indicating that such framing would make the package more appealing to voters."

George Ure at Urbansurvival has noticed a change in the use of the term bailout since it first appeared in October. The term 'rescue' popped up almost immediately and by now, has overtaken it, according to Google search cache. He writes:

"When the word ‘rescue’ started (absurdly) appearing around the word ‘bailout’, you might remember that in a www.news.google.com search, ‘rescue’ was being used only 18% of the time.

"Since we haven’t update this metric for a while, the current Google cache is 135,041 returns for bailout while rescue pops in with 164,129. Which is to say ‘rescue’ is now being used 54.86% of the time - a HUGE increase from first use tracking..."

Of course, I am not the first to note the purposeful change in speech for persuasive, suppressive, or propaganda purposes. George Orwell wrote a whole book about it, "1984" and called this tendency "newspeak." From the book's appendix

"Newspeak was the official language of Oceania, and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc, or English Socialism. In the year 1984 there was not as yet anyone who used Newspeak as his sole means of communication, either in speech or writing. The leading articles of the Times were written in it, but this was a tour de force which could only be carried out by a specialist, It was expected that Newspeak would have finally superseded Oldspeak (or standard English, as we should call it) by about the year 2050. Meanwhile, it gained ground steadily, all party members tending to use Newspeak words and grammatical constructions more and more in their everyday speech.

"To give a single example - The word free still existed in Newspeak, but could only be used in such statements as "The dog is free from lice" or "This field is free from weeds." It could not be used in its old sense of "politically free" or "intellectually free," since political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts, and were therefore of necessity nameless. Quite apart from the suppression of definitely heretical words, reduction of vocabulary was regarded as an end in itself"

crimethink - To even consider any thought not in line with the principles of Ingsoc. Doubting any of the principles of Ingsoc. All crimes begin with a thought. So, if you control thought, you can control crime...."

Before you pooh-pooh the idea that thoughcrime could ever come to the fore...and that 1984 is just a fiction book, consider this news item from a few months ago in the US:

"Last year, NewScientist revealed that the US Department of Homeland Security is developing a system designed to detect "hostile thoughts" in people walking through border posts, airports and public places. The DHS says recent tests prove it works."

It's a bailout, not a rescue. It's a handout, not a stimulus package.

"By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth." Amen, George Carlin.

Expert: Quakes could alter Yellowstone

Quakes could alter Yellowstone

JACKSON, Wyo. -- The recent swarm of small earthquakes in Yellowstone National Park could alter some of the park's thermal features but should not raise any concern about the park's large volcano erupting anytime soon, a researcher said.

More than 500 earthquakes have been recorded in the area around Yellowstone Lake in the past 10 days.

The earthquakes appear to be subsiding and caused no property damage. But they have left scientists and park officials wondering what it means for the world's first national park.

While the park has experienced earthquake swarms before, the recent activity is unusual because of its intensity.

Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah, has studied Yellowstone's seismic activity for the past 40 years.

As director of the Yellowstone seismic and GPS network, Smith is overseeing a team of researchers in the Department of Geology and Geophysics who are reviewing data from each of the tremors. The team has analyzed 300 of the earthquakes so far.

"Earthquakes ... up to magnitude 3.9 are considered small," he said, explaining that the largest earthquakes in the past week or so were felt at Grant Village and Old Faithful. "...The concern that we have is that this is such an energetic swarm."

While Smith doesn't anticipate any volcanic eruptions as a result of the earthquake swarm, he said there is potential for hydrothermal explosions and more earthquakes.

[click headline for rest of article]

My new blog: The End Time

Introducinnnnng...My new blog! http://www.the-end-time.blogspot.com, "The End Time". I seek to be a one-stop shop of news, videos, bible verses, essays, and up to the minute information on all things End Time prophetic.

On the left side menu there are links to other prophecy news sites, most are automatically updated daily. Below that, are videos related to end times themes. On the right are polls, Christian book reviews (not by me), and the little pictures listing the end times signs are clickable, related to a daily news article about that prophetic sign. Also there are the end times signs listed, clickable, that bring you to the bible verse. So if you forget "which bible verse said iniquity will abound?" just click on the alphabetical list and it takes you right to the verse. The list is not compete, but it's as comprehensive as this layman could get it.

In the middle you will see articles I write about end times, with many links to ongoing news. Today's essay is about the rash of violence overspreading the country related to "rage" such as snow rage, waiting rage, parking rage, etc. It's different news that I send in the Daily Doom digest!

So please, please bookmark the site and send the link to your friends. It is a loving work for me and hopefully will be a blessing ministry to those whom visit. Also spread the word about the Daily Doom digest...:)

See if you can read this without laughing

VP. Mr. Cheney might be a decent man, but 'lovable' isn't one of the descriptors that come to mind when I think about him

Cheney: I'm actually 'lovable'
ice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that his image has gotten a bad rap in the press and that he is in fact “a warm, lovable sort.”

Cheney conceded in an interview with CBS radio that he sometimes expresses himself “rather forcefully toward some of my compatriots, like Pat Leahy from Vermont” but dismissed as a caricature the idea that he is a “Darth Vader-type personality.”

“I think all of that’s been pretty dramatically overdone,” the vice president said. “I’m actually a warm, lovable sort.”

Another take on tremors at Yellowstone

From a comment by a person posting at US News & World Report's last article (Jan 5) regarding Yellowstone:

"Geyser" Under Lake

Those of us at Above Top Secret noticed a continuing anomaly on the LKWY Seismograph that would challenge the above statement that there have been no changes to hot springs, etc. If you review these Seismographs from 1/4 - 1/6, you'll see a continuing pattern. On 1/4, this was about every hour and forty minutes. As of today, it's about every half an hour. We surmise that this may be a new hydrothermal vent (underwater geyser) and that the decreasing eruption times are a cause for concern because it suggests the bottom of the lake is heating at an increasing pace.

On these graphs, we're looking at the thin, repeating pattern. This Seismograph is calibrated to 500 microvolts, which means these eruptions would appear bigger on most Seismographs, which are set to 100 microvolts.

1/4/09: helicorder
1/5/09: helicorder
1/6/09: helicorder

Here is a graph of the Seismic eruptions, taking into account both the interval and length of the eruptions, which are between 3-5 minutes each:

This is very troubling. If this is a new vent and the water is heating faster, it would seem that either more vents will eventually appear to disperse the pressure or perhaps there is in fact a magma chamber close to the surface?

** note, the forum the contributor mentioned is a conspiracy forum

UPDATED: Unemployment hotlines crash in many states

This isn't good:

NY's unemployment hotline crashes
The state Department of Labor, which oversees unemployment insurance claims, received more than 10,000 phone calls an hour on a toll-free hotline Tuesday, leading to the crash. The department's online claim filing system also shut down under the volume of traffic it received.

Ohio unemployment hotline crashes
The unemployment claims systems in Ohio and other states buckled this week under an onslaught of telephone calls and Web site hits, officials said Tuesday. The telephone hot line generally receives about 7,500 calls a day, but has been getting about 80,000 each of the past two days.

Michigan unemployment hotline crashes
Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. The phone lines are clogged and some say the internet isn't much help either. At the Michigan Works office in Muskegon Heights, workers have been told the wait can take hours or even days to register for benefits. The biggest complaint seems to be the toll-free number that people have to call to register. The number is constantly busy.

Alabama hotline redirects to California
There used to be a time when people who called Linda Jahraus' home in Laguna Beach, Ca., were actually wanting to speak to her or her husband. But for the past several months, the majority of callers have been trying to reach an Alabama unemployment hot line. The call confusion has added to the frustrations of the state's unemployed and has left at least two California households hoping for a little less ringing in the new year.

Missouri Limits Jobless Benefits Hotline
Missourians seeking to extend jobless benefits will have to start doing that on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. An unemployment benefits hot line run by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations will no longer be available on Tuesday and Thursday except for first-time applicants. Department spokeswoman Wanda Seeney said the shutdown will allow staff to process the increasing number of unemployment claims. Through November 2008, more than 65,000 Missourians were receiving jobless benefits.

North Carolina unemployment hotline crashes
Systems in North Carolina were shut down completely by technical glitches and heavy volume, and labor officials in several other states are reporting higher-than-normal use.

Moral of the story: HANG ON TO YOUR JOB!

UPDATE: It is too late for these folks:
--Alcoa sent out a press release right after the close announcing an 18% production cut and a 13% people cut.

--LAUSD Could Lay Off 3,000 Non-Permanent Teachers

--Locally, Chicken processor laying off 100

Israel news the US media doesn't tell you

Israelis here traumatized as Hamas rockets are still coming in at 40 to 50 a day.
By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Southern Israel, January 7, 2009) --

"When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. He shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." (Deuteronomy 20:1-4)

Please forgive me for not writing for the past few days. I flew to Israel on Sunday and arrived Monday morning, joining several colleagues in southern Israel to assess the situation and help direct The Joshua Fund's relief efforts. It's been an intense 48 hours, and it's currently 5:54am Wednesday morning Israel time. Allow me, therefore, to make a few brief observations, and I will write more later.

* First and foremost, the situation is very intense here. Hamas has fired more than 500 rockets at innocent Israeli civilians over the past ten days or so. They are coming in at 40 to 50 rockets a day. More than 500,000 Israelis live within range of these instruments of terror, and many are traumatized by the fear of injury and death, not only for them but for their children as well.

* Six Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting so far. Israelis throughout the country are mourning their loss, name by name, family by family. That said, Israelis are also overwhelmingly relieved that their government is finally taking strong action against Hamas after some 2 1/2 years of doing virtually nothing.

* Some 1.5 million Palestinians who live on the Gaza Strip are being held hostage by Hamas. Hundreds are dead and thousands have been injured because of Hamas' evil reign of terror that finally provoked an Israeli response. The latest example came Tuesday when Hamas fighters fired mortars at Israeli forces from a U.N. school. This forced Israel to bomb the school to suppress the attacks. In the end, some 42 Palestinians - including the terrorists - died, and more than 50 were injured.

* Where is the world outrage against Hamas? The Palestinian people desperately want and need to be liberated from Hamas, and would privately welcome Israeli success against the terror leaders.

* Rather than mounting pressure on Hamas to stop the rockets, international pressure is steadily and aggressively mounting on the Israeli government to agree to a temporary ceasefire before the Hamas leadership and terror infrastructure in Gaza are crushed. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday, teaming up to push for a ceasefire resolution they hope will end the fighting immediately. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice immediately said the U.S. supports the Mubarak-Sarkozy plan.

* Hamas is increasingly desperate for a ceasefire. Its top leaders are being killed. Scores of its best trained fighters are being killed. Its arms depots and government buildings are being bombed to smithereens. So are its vital smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border. Reports the Jerusalem Post: "Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip said on Monday that the general feeling was that Hamas does not exist any longer as a governing body. 'All their government institutions have been destroyed,' said a Gaza City reporter. 'The Hamas leaders are now behaving like al-Qaida's Osama bin Laden and [his deputy] Ayman Zawahiri. Their only public appearances are through recorded messages aired on Arab TV stations.'"

* Preciously for this reason, now is no time to let up on Hamas. Israel should absolutely refuse to agree to the Mubarak-Sarkozy plan. As currently drafted, the agreement does not even suggest -- much less mandate -- the creation of an international force to prevent Hamas from re-arming. Even if it did, why should Israelis believe such an international force would be effective? The U.N. force in southern Lebanon is doing absolutely nothing to prevent Hezbollah from re-arming. To the contrary, it is now believed that Hezbollah has more than 30,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel, far more than ever before.

* The Israeli public has been duped by such international nonsense before, and thankfully they want no part of it. A new poll here by Channel 2 news finds that 81% of Israelis believe their government has done the right thing by sending ground forces into Gaza to stop the rockets and crush Hamas, and a stunning 60% of Israelis oppose talking to Hamas to obtain a cease-fire.

* That's certainly the sense I have after talking to Israelis here -- they want victory and they define victory as the destruction of the Hamas military and political leadership and the liberation of southern Israel from the constant threat of Hamas rocket, missile and mortar fire. Anything less than the accomplishment of these goals, they tell me, would make the situation worse because it would effectively be a victory for Hamas a defeat for Israel. Israelis don't want to see a single soldier of theirs die, but they believe now is the time to intensify the attack on Hamas, not let up.

* Regardless of how the public feels, however, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his government may very well accept a temporary and premature ceasefire. They accepted a premature ceasefire in Lebanon in 2006, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak signalled from the earliest hours of this conflict he wanted a quick ceasefire. The next few days will be critical to see what kind of resolve the Olmert government has this time around.

There's seeing...and there's seeing

When I was undergoing a spiritually difficult time, I used to make art journal pages. Somehow my brain unlocked from its death grip on words, and went into neutral as soon as I dragged out the glue and paint. I'd coast along, and the spiritual center of me could impress itself on the action and I'd emerge from my creative haze with a visual piece that made sense. If you didn't try to describe it with words, that is.

As time went on after I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I began studying the bible and getting closer to Jesus. More and more it became apparent that many of the original collages I made were inspired by the Holy Spirit. They were scenes from the bible, or related to scriptures. Some of these were the visions I've already posted. Upon awakening I'd create a picture of what I had been shown and there they were, years later, for me to see again with new, spiritually opened eyes.

Last night I was reading John 9. I had read it a few days ago and so when I prayed for discernment and the word came back, "John 9" I was perplexed. But far be it for me to argue.

I read along and got toward the end. John is always great to read anyway. Jesus healed a blind man, and the Pharisees were bent out of shape, denying Jesus had done it, threatening to excommunicate the man, grilling him over the fact that it was Sabbath and Jesus thereby must be a law-breaker...

Jesus came on the scene and told the Pharisees: " 39Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

I stopped short. Suddenly one of the collages I had made 4 years ago came to mind clear as day. I was always quite fond of it. It depicted a man looking out through powerful binoculars, but the birds he is looking for are sitting right on top of the binoculars. He doesn't see them. Caption is "Sometimes we look but we can't see." The second scene shows Angel Gabriel appearing before Mary. "Sometimes we see but we can't look."

The third part shows God in His universe, the looking and the seeing finally united in the comfort of His glory.

This is John 9:39. Mary is blind but then sees and the Pharisees are seeing but are blind to the Messiah standing in front of them.

Which are you? So you see so well you see right past the Messiah who came to save you? I'm glad I am seeing. And seeing is believing.

Sad News: Inventor of the Hawaiian shirt dies

You'd be forgiven for never hearing of designer Alfred Shaheen.

Yet he inspired one of the most colourful, amusing and unforgettable styles of fashion ever known - the Hawaiian shirt. Sadly the pioneering textile manufacturer has died at age 86, his family have confirmed.

As tourists from the US to Hawaii after World War II, many began to bring home colorful but cheesy looking shirts and sundresses that would be cause for much amusement among friends.

Shaheen began to change that in 1948 when he opened Shaheen's of Honolulu and began designing, printing and producing "aloha" shirts, dresses and other ready-to-wear clothing of better quality.

Among those seen in Shaheen-designed shirts of that era was Elvis Presley, who wore one for the cover of his 1961 soundtrack album "Blue Hawaii."

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Living in Maine most of my adult life, we did not have frequent occasion to don a Hawaiian shirt. But I like them just the same.