INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL PULSE Period: July 2006 6666666 End-Time Church / Pluralism Global Politics Israel

END-TIME CHURCH / PLURALISM GREETINGS ----- QUICK VIEW OF UPDATED INDEXES http://cephas-updates.cephasministry.com -----   "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light." (Zechariah 14:1-7 ( kjv) ) ----- : MORE GREETINGS to all and the newcomers to this list. We'd like to introduce ourselves. George and Rita Williams founded this ministry. We were Mormons (Temple Mormons) for 20 years. We prayed to God in 1992 to allow us to do a ministry speaking out against Scientology. Six months later God led us to the truth: out of the cult of Mormonism. We did not know at the time we were in a cult. No-one had witnessed to us in 20 years. [George passed away to heaven in March 2003 and Nicholas Stivers joined the ministry as Vice President.] The Holy Spirit brought us to information about all the cults and the present development of the New World Order. We began bringing our research to you. Because all the research was already done, we decided to build a library within Cephas Ministry. Our newsletters are not designed to provoke anger or resistance to evil which is strictly prohibited in Scripture. It is to shed light on activities by those who would deceive the elect by devious methods and systematic plans. We appreciate and thank researchers for submitting findings relative to our library: Deborah Dromboski, Dave Hunt, Kathy Camatara, Mike, Anton Hein, Dean Taffel, Simantov Allalouf, and others. We try to get as much published as we can. It is becoming more and more difficult to deal with all the information we receive since there is a lack of manpower. We are Bible students and have left all worldly organizations. The focus of these newsletters is to prove why we had to leave the world system. We are called 'Watchmen on the Wall' which God always had during the Old / New Testament Times. To understand what is happening, one has to know the Bible to compare notes. The first section is about the church. The news about churches is unedited unless indicated by Ednotes. The church as we knew it, is undergoing disintegration. This began on a fast track in the early nineteen sixties when the Catholic Church produced liberal Vatican II to replace Vatican I. The trend since then has been ecumenical which is truly what the word 'Catholicism' means: a universal religion all inclusive and multicultural. The Bible calls for a final church which doesn't resemble what Jesus taught. The Word of God has undergone many changes to fit the present mode. The Bible calls for a falling away from the truth before Jesus comes back for His Bride, the true believers are called 'Ekklesia.' Our newsletters prove this fact and prove that the Bible is true from beginning to end. The second section is about globalism where we bring your attention to the social, political and global trend, so called democratizing what is left. One third of the world still remains to be taken over. It again proves that we are moving to closure of the times of the Gentiles prophesied in the Bible. The third section compliments End Time teachings with what is happening in Israel. We describe and watch for signs of the coming Tribulation to confirm that we are moving into that space of time. Watchmen on the wall do not solicit memberships. We have an email group that gets information when we upload new information and a newsletter whenever it is possible time wise. We love the Lord with all our hearts and minds and we love all people God has created but especially those who love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Statement of Faith is at http://www.cephasministry.com/statement_of_faith.html ::We believe every word in the KJV Bible and believe it is the Word of God and that Jesus is the Christ, God Himself, who spilled His blood on the cross for our sins and rose again to prepare a place for those who repent and accept 'His' righteousness as their righteousness. They are those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, Jews first and then Gentiles. We expect to be raptured in a pretribulation Rapture to live with God the Father, God His Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit, who are ONE GOD in three persons, forever. Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." We invite you to take this opportunity to say 'yes' to Jesus and commit your life to Him only by clicking on this link: Salvation Luke 12:20,21 "But God said unto him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." We pray the Lord will bless you with a thirst for truth and a desire to serve Him exclusively, in Christ Jesus, Nicholas A. Stivers, NicholasScrolls and Rita Williams, Cephas Ministry / Cephas Library. For the updated (red sparkles) main index go to http://www.cephasministry.com/index2.html ----- We at Cephas Ministry cordially invite you to subscribe to any of the following newsletters (free) for safe fellowship (Nicholas Stivers, VP), News Updates (Rita Williams, P) and Rapture Watch (Jamma Mokhriby) at http://www.cephasministry.com/mail/ If you have questions you might check out related websites: http://www.nicholas-scrolls.com http://rapturewatch.cephasministry.com http://rock-to-salt.cephasministry.com http://www.cephasministry.com/index_news.html ----- To email go to: http://www.email-cephas.com To subscribe or unsubscribe go to: http://www.cephasministry.com/mail/ TODAY'S Scripture Study: LORD HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER! MERCY: That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or to inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. All these are attributes of God, and mercy is a distinguishing attribute of God. In the Old Testament it is most often the translation of , "kindness," "loving-kindness", "bowels" (the sympathetic region of the body), and "to be inclined to," "to be gracious," are also frequently translated "mercy"; "kindness," "beneficence," "to show kindness," are the chief words rendering "mercy" In the New Testament, synonyms used formercy include "pity," "compassion," "kind," "compassionate," "forgiving" Mercy is (a) an essential quality of God ;it is His delight ; He is "the Father of mercies" "rich in mercy" "full of pity, and merciful" (b) it is associated with forgiveness (c) with His forbearance ("Yahweh is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great lovingkindness)"; (d) it shows itself in pitying help, supremely in Christ and His salvation, (e) it is abundant, practically infinite ; (f) it is everlasting . http://www.cephas-library.com/bible_lord_have_mercy_on_me_a_sinner.html ------ FRANCIS BACON AND THE KING JAMES BIBLE PART 1 & 2 April 19, 2006 Transcripts of radio programs by Barbara Aho Watch Unto Prayer We've all been puns in this conspiracy at one time or another it is so complex and so sophisticated and the men who have put this together are directed by that super intelligent Lucifer. .. The Lord says whoever has shall receive more, once we accept the truth about something the Lord gives us more truth. What I want to do today is to deal with this issue because I believe it's going to be huge in the future of whether or not Rosicrucians were involved in the translation of the King James Bible. I'm going to start with a number of quotes from people who pretend to be Christians from whom we know are occultists all putting Sir Francis Bacon and another Rosicrucian, Robert Fludd on the translation committee of the King James Version. I want to start with Dennis Cuddy, the author of, "Now is the Dawning of the New Age New World Order" and here is what Dennis Cuddy says, these disciples Robert Fludd was the chief proponent of Rosicrucian?s in England. He's talking about John Dee, a major occultist. Fludd along with Sir Francis Bacon were commissioned by King James 1st to produce an English translation of the Holy Bible. Dennis Cuddy has claimed he got his information for this statement from Manly P. Hall. For full transcripts http://www.cephas-library.com/bible_controversy_francis_bacon_and_the_kj_bible_1.html http://www.cephas-library.com/bible_controversy_francis_bacon_and_the_kj_bible.html ----- HASN'T THE KJV BEEN UPDATED IN THOUSANDS OF PLACES? April 27, 2006 by David Cloud - A question that comes up frequently in the Bible Version debate is this: "If you believe that the KJV is the preserved Word of God in English, which edition do you use, seeing that it has been revised many times and in thousands of places?" ANSWER: I will answer this question under the following five headings: 1. There were corrections of printing errors, typographical changes, and spelling updates. These were done by the British publishers of the KJV and can be grouped into two time periods. There were updates made between 1613 and 1639 for the purpose of correcting printing errors. The revisers included Samuel Ward and John Bois, two of the original translators. "Some errors of the press having crept into the first edition, and others into later reprints, King Charles the First, in 1638, had another edition printed at Cambridge, which was revised by Dr. Ward and Mr. Bois, two of the original Translators who still survived, assisted by Dr. Thomas Goad, Mr. Mede, and other learned men" (Alexander McClure, The Translators Revived, 1855). An update was made between 1762-69 to correct any lingering printing errors and to update the spelling, enlarge and standardize the italics, and increase the number of cross references and marginal notes. The revision was begun in 1762 by Dr. F.S. Paris of Cambridge University and completed in 1769 by Dr. Benjamin Blayney of Hertford College, Oxford University. "The edition in folio and quarto, revised and corrected with very great care by Benjamin Blayney, D.D., under the direction of the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, and the Delegates of The Clarendon Press, in 1769" (McClure, The Revision Revised). The revision was made by collating the then current editions of Oxford and Cambridge with those of 1611 and 1701. http://www.wayoflife.org http://www.cephas-library.com/bible_versions_kjv_updated.html ----- TRANSFORMATION II, POLITICAL CHRISTIANITY AND FALSE REVIVALS Romans 12:2 - 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 8:29 - 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 1 John 2:15-17 - 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Introduction… Reports have been circulating Christendom especially in the West about a “Revival” that is going on in Uganda and Africa by the Sentinel Group and their ‘Transformations II’ DVD/Video Series. A careful examination of what Sentinel Group calls ‘Revival ‘ and ‘Transformation’ is nothing short of an advancement of ‘Western Global Civilization, Democracy, and Christianity’. A ‘Transformation’ is going on for real in Africa and yes, I will not dispute the fact as reported by George Otis, Peter Wagner and the ‘Transformations II’ Video/DVD Series. However, one has to carefully look at the “Transformations” going on in Africa and ask a simple question, who is ‘transforming’ Christianity in Africa today? Is this the working of Christ Jesus or a joint effort of Man and Satan? The fruits tell as we see the Church in Africa being conformed to this world and not transformed to the Image of Christ Jesus… I have endeavored to spend more time on the Dominionism – Political Christianity point in this article so as to clearly show the readers what the goals of Peter Wagner, George Otis, Rick Warren and many other ‘Christian Globalists’ have in mind to achieve – a Global Christian Utopia in which what they call the ‘Kingdom of God’ is ushered in by the power, efforts, and workings of Man. The truth is that these men are working for a One World Religious System and Government. I endeavor to show how successful the ‘Ugandan Case’ has been in achieving very subtly the goals of a One World Religious System and Government – Basically the Anti-Christ System through fronts like ‘Transformations’. This article also should give one a clear picture of what is happening in African Christendom, Uganda being a case here. The ‘Transformations II’ Video/DVD series gives a clear picture of what is transpiring in African Christendom. It shows the ‘Falling Away’ happening in Africa being reported as “Revival” yet it is pure Political Christianity – ‘Constantine’ Christianity Repackaged. Full story: http://www.cephas-library.com/social_gospel_transformation_2_political_christianity_false_african_revivals.html ----- CHRIS-LAM - IN A MOSQUE IN AFRICA HANGS A LIFE-SIZE PORTRAIT OF JESUS CHRIST Leo Kai 01-29-2006 At first, it seems a surprising sight: inside a two-story mosque in sub-Saharan Africa's largest metropolis hangs a life-size portrait of Jesus Christ. Yet worshipers at "The True Message of God Mission" say it's entirely natural for Christianity and Islam to cexist, even overlap. They begin their worship by praying at the Jesus alcove and then "running their deliverance" - sprinting laps around the mosque's mosaic-tiled courtyard, praying to the one God for forgiveness and help. They say it's akin to Israelites circling the walls of Jericho - and Muslims swirling around the Ka'ba shrine in Mecca. This group - originally called "Chris-lam-herb" for its mix-and-match approach to Christianity, Islam, and traditional medicine - is a window on an ongoing religious ferment in Africa. It's still up for debate whether this group, and others like it, could become models for Muslim-Christian unity worldwide or whether they're uniquely African. But either way, they are "part of a trend," says Dana Robert, a Boston University religion professor. Amid intense sectarian violence in this half- Muslim, half-Christian country, these groups serve as tolerant peacemakers. Also, with widespread poverty and health concerns here, people are seeking practical, profitable religion more than rigid doctrine. "You in the West are satisfied with one hour of church on Sunday," says Mr. Balogun. But for people in Africa, who he says need so many solutions, "This is about a practical way of life," about a willingness to combine Christianity or Islam with their own traditions to "see if they can make something new" - something that will help. Worshipers at the "True Message" mission say unifying the two theologies has made a major difference in their lives. Meanwhile, it's not just Saka who's exploring the common ground between Christianity and Islam. Sitting in a wrought-iron throne, swathed in silky white fabric, the founder of "Chrislam" has these words for followers of the two great faiths: "The same sun that dries the clothes of Muslims also dries the clothes of Christians." Stroking his beard, the man named Tela Tella says, "I don't believe God loves Christians any more than Muslims." His followers calls him His Royal Holiness, The Messenger, Ifeoluwa or "The Will of God." Since the religion's founding two decades ago, this small band has been gathering almost daily to hear his message of inclusiveness - that Christians and Muslims, "who are sons of Abraham, can be one." Dead page: http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20060126/ts_csm/ochrislam http://www.wedg.millenniumweekend.org/forum/archive/index.php?t-5821.html ----- MUSLIMS WHO WANT TO LIVE UNDER ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW WERE TOLD ON WEDNESDAY TO GET OUT OF AUSTRALIA Jul 19, 2006 - rhipmc@bellsouth.net - Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to Australia at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, he and his ministers made it clear that extremists would face a crackdown. Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state and its laws were made by parliament. "If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," he said on national television. "I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that is false. If you can't agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country, which practices it, perhaps, then, that's a better option," Costello said. Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked to move to the other country. Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told reporters that Muslims who did not want to accept local values should "clear off". "Basically, people who don't want to be Australians, and they don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off," he said. Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. AMERICA and Canada ..... ARE YOU LISTENING? Quote: "IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Full story: http://www.cephas-library.com/muslims_pushing_sharia_law_in_australia_were_told_to_get_out.html ----- EMERGENT CHURCH: ANGLICAN ALAN JONES MOVES FURTHER IN RC FOLD August 29, 2006 - Dear Partner in the Gospel, As we continue to expose the Emergent Church movement, it is very clear that the ecumenical battle plan announced in Vatican Council II and post-Vatican Council II documents is being successfully implemented, as the men and women who lead the Emergent Church movement demonstrate. The Emergent Church continues to grow and infiltrate church in the USA and across the world. Such indeed such is their policy. The Emergent Village website has just announced that "Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Nanette Sawyer, and Troy Bronsink will team with Columbia Seminary and the Atlanta Emergent Cohort to provide three days of stimulating conversation and dreaming about the nexus of emerging church life and the mainline Protestant church in America." In the last three newsletters we have critiqued two prominent leaders of the Emergent Church Movement, Brian McLaren and Tony Jones. Another leader, Anglican Alan Jones takes the movement further into the Roman Catholic fold. His audience is large. It is important study his stratagem. He also has endorsed the United Religions Initiative, which includes an acceptance of Islam that has become a terrorist menace in recent times. Please study this article and make known to others, even posting it on the Internet. This is the first of two articles on the method and goal of his ecumenism. It is posted on our website at: http://www.bereanbeacon.org/AlanJones.pdf Our latest book, Catholicism: East of Eden Insights into Catholicism for the 21st Century is a unique intertwining of sound doctrine and experience with a soft cover, 337 pages and with photographs. The book is easily available one line at 'Cutting Edge' ministry: http://www.cuttingedge.org/detail.cfm?ID=1291 Evangelical Press is the sole distributor of this book in the UK and Europe, so if you are located in that region, you can contact them at: http://www.evangelicalpress.org/esales/product_info.php?products_id=1150 Other good news, there have been 17,482 viewings of our videos on Internet for the year until the month of August 06. For anyone who has broadband, cable or DSL these videos are easily seen and even downloaded from: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=berean+beacon http://groups.google.com/group/bereanbeacon Yours in Christ Jesus and for His Gospel, Richard Bennett ----- EXECUTIVE ORDER BY PRESIDENT BUSH PLACES U.S. CHURCH FAITH-BASED FUNDING UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Ednote: Wouldn't you do the same to get all the volunteerism and donations of billions to mega churches, etc. to work out all the social problems from terror attacks from within and without, nonpaying insurance companies, a government that is running the world instead of its own country, rampant drug problems destroying families and immorality, etc.which should be addressed with our tax dollars? There was little faithbased funding available when this office was arranged under the Clinton administration. In fact the newly appointed department head did not stick around very long because of it. This new law is not about distribution of funds but using the church for social purposes. That is what Rick Warren's movement is about as well. The name tells it all it's: "Purpose Driven Church.", purpose being "social work". Romans 16:17-18 "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.] Christian greetings in these last days of life on earth. On March 7th 2006 the Bush administration put into law a brand new executive order (# 13397) that REMOVES the separation of church and state .. Strangely enough, this came almost exactly one year after Pope John Paul II said the following. [Ednote: In regard to the article 501 c3 organization are corporations which have always been considered to be government regulated. That is nothing new. The funding coming under Homeland Security is what is new. Homeland Security will have the responsibility of deciding who gets what. Church affiliated hospitals for example have been funded for years by government grants. Catholic Retirement Communities, hospitals and many other social institutions as well. It was not public knowledge until President Clinton installed a department for faithbased funding to expand the services. In Europe traditional churches Catholic and Lutheran, are funded by a church tax paid by citizens which then supports the church. They do not donate otherwise. Church and State Can Cooperate, Says Pope VATICAN CITY, MARCH 17, 2005 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II believes that the Church and state can and must collaborate in their service to the person and the common good with relations of "autonomy and difference." http://www.cephas-library.com/church_and_state_us_churches_become_part_of_homeland_security.html ----- SASKATCHEWAN APPEALS COURT REVERSES RULING AGAINST BIBLE VERSES Friday Church News Notes - On April 13 the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals overturned a ruling that had classified references to Bible verses on homosexuality as a hate crime ("Court Reverses Ruling," WorldNetDaily, April 14). The ruling overturns a 2001 decision by the provincial Human Rights Board of Inquiry, which found Hugh Owens of Regina guilty of inciting hatred after he published an ad in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix in 1997 that cited Romans 1, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. The ad also featured a stick drawing of two males holding hands overlaid with a red circle with a diagonal bar, the universal symbol for no. The Human Rights commission ruled that Owens and the newspaper must pay damages of $1,500 to each of three homosexuals who filed the complaint. The Court of Queen's Bench upheld the ruling in 2002, but it has now been overturned by the province's highest court. http://www.wayoflife.org ----- TELEVANGELIST COUPLE AT CENTER OF DEBT CONTROVERSY By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA-TV - May 3, 2006 - Kenneth Copeland Two of the most prominent faces in American televangelism, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Fort Worth, preach the gospel of financial prosperity. But News Eight learned some former business associates are wondering why that gospel didn't apply to everyone in the flock. The people who ran Affordable Homes Limited said it was just about to take off when the Copelands suddenly backed out and left tens of thousands of dollars of debt. While limited partners like the Copelands have no financial obligation to pay the company's debts, the question being asked by creditors is how do the Copelands later pay $20 million in cash for a jet? Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have garnered an international following by using their television programs to preach the bible and teach the gospel of prosperity. But three years ago, the Copeland family became 49 percent limited partners in a different kind of ministry, Affordable Homes Limited based in Irving. It was billed as a home-building project for low income families that would quickly go nationwide. Dennis Brewer, an attorney who represents numerous televangelists, was the Copeland's other partner. Lloyd Taylor, an electrical contractor from Irving, said he had the business up and running just weeks after the Copelands put up one and half million in cash. "And I was happy to be a part of something so big and so wonderful," he said. Taylor said the money helped fund a warehouse full of materials where home assembly had begun. Frankie Porter was in charge of purchasing the land, which included 40 lots in all. "We were on top of the hill fixing to head down the backside," Porter said. Six months after the business began, Affordable Homes was closed. Taylor and most of his employees were fired. He said none of the limited partners, Brewer or the Copelands, ever explained why. "And the Copelands are ignoring it," he said. "I mean, what else do I have to think? They won't answer their calls. They won't answer their calls. I know they are busy people, but I was busy too when I left my business and came over to start this." Taylor said he was left with at least $40,000 of unpaid salary and debts. One month ago, a new age rendition of Amazing Grace heralded the arrival of the Copelands newest evangelical tool. A $20 million Cessna Citation was bought with cash donated by followers of the Copeland Ministry. "That's the reason that airplane's sitting out front," Copeland said while introducing the plane. "That's the reason it's paid for. Amen." E-mail bshipp@wfaa.com http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/bshipp/stories/wfaa060502_mo_copelands.3436519.html ----- SCIENTOLOGY NEARLY READY TO UNVEIL SUPER POWER St. Petersburg Times, USA - May 6, 2006 - Robert Farley, Times Staff Writer In the works for decades, the closely guarded spiritual training program will be revealed in Clearwater. CLEARWATER — Matt Feshbach believes he has super powers. He senses danger faster than most people. He appreciates beauty more deeply than he used to. He says he outperforms his peers in the money management industry. He heightened his powers of perception in 1995 when he went to Los Angeles and became the first and so far only “public” Scientologist to take a highly classified Scientology program called Super Power. Where in L.A. did he do this? “Just in Los Angeles,” is all Feshbach will say. Super Power is that secret. Under wraps for decades, Super Power now is being prepped for its eventual rollout in Scientology’s massive building in downtown Clearwater. That will be the only place worldwide where the program, much anticipated by Scientologists, will be offered. A key aim of Super Power is to enhance one’s perceptions — and not just the five senses we all know — hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard taught that people have 57 “perceptics.” They include an ability to discern relative sizes, blood circulation, balance, compass direction, temperature, gravity and an “awareness of importance, unimportance.” Church officials won’t discuss specifics of Super Power. But Feshbach and another prominent Clearwater Scientologist who, like Feshbach, is a major donor to Super Power’s building fund, provided some details in interviews with the St. Petersburg Times. A group of former Scientologists who worked for the church on a campus in California where the program was in development also described elements of it. Super Power uses machines, apparatus and specially designed rooms to exercise and enhance a person’s so-called perceptics. Those machines include an anti-gravity simulator and a gyroscope-like apparatus that spins a person around while blindfolded to improve perception of compass direction, said the former Scientologists. A video screen that moves forward and backward while flashing images is used to hone a viewer’s ability to identify subliminal messages, they said. Hubbard promised Super Power would improve perceptions and “put the person into a new realm of ability.” He believed it would unlock abilities needed to spread Scientology across the planet. For Feshbach it’s like nothing he has ever done in Scientology. http://www.cephas-library.com/scientology_nearly_ready_to_unveil.html ----- PAT ROBERTSON SAYS GOD TOLD HIM THAT STORMS WILL LASH U.S. COASTLINE THIS YEAR AP, via USATODAY, USA - May 18, 2006 - VIRGINIA BEACH (AP) — In another in a series of notable pronouncements, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says God told him storms and possibly a tsunami will hit America's coastline this year. Robertson has made the predictions at least four times in the past two weeks on his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network, which he founded. Robertson said the revelations about this year's weather came to him during his annual personal prayer retreat in January. "If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms," Robertson said May 8. On Wednesday, he added, "There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest." Biblical advice for Pat Robertson "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue." - Proverbs 17:28 - Robertson has come under intense criticism in recent months for suggesting that American agents should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip. http://www.usatoday.com ----- 130 YEAR OLD AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCH UNDER ATTACK BY TORONTO BLESSING Our minister has become involved deeply with the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. We are formerly an American Baptist Church and are steadly being drawn away from our teachings. Our church has a 130 year Baptist history. Our minister has been attending conferences at this fellowship for about two years and has been slowly and steadily infiltrating their doctrine into our church life. We now have "soaking prayer" where several lie on the floor, but what else is done, no one knows because the windows and doors are all blocked. We've had the "falling" down in church with the laying of hands and now our pastor has decided to take over our teen room on the pretense of a prayer room after services. However, after being questioned, has admitted that the room is to be a "healing" room. I have been researching the above "church" for a year now and have been increasingly dismayed over what I see on line and from the videos, poor grade that they are, of the animal noises, the hysterical laughter, the contorted bodies on the floor, and the loss of control these people have while in the presence of these leaders. There are many others in our church who feel as I do and need to find the Christian way to inform the others, who see what the pastor is doing as nothing wrong, that this is indeed very unGodly and cultish. I have read many of the articles on your website and felt the need to contact you for some answers. We really want to save our church and the rest of our church family. My name is C.P. of Charlevoix, Michigan. Go to our library for supplies videos, DVDs and audio tapes. http://www.cephas-library.com/library/ ----- MUSLIMS UPSET OVER NORTH SIDE FBI RAID. July 07, 2006 - By Torsten Ove and Moustafa Ayad, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - The FBI caused a stir on the North Side last week when heavily armed agents sealed off streets and raided the Light of the Age mosque at Boyle and Hemlock streets. Although the case appears to be no more than a routine federal gun prosecution out of Utah, local Muslims say the raid caused a major disruption at a house of worship. Agents arrested Larry M. Williams of Lincoln-Lemington, whose criminal history includes a felony conviction in the state of Washington. He also was wanted on several outstanding warrants, including one for failure to register as a sex offender. The agents took Mr. Williams into custody on the street outside the three-story house based on a federal arrest warrant issued in Utah, then searched one room inside, said U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan. She and the FBI both said Mr. Williams was the only person arrested. "The warrant was issued for a location where a previously convicted felon was known to be residing," said Ms. Buchanan. She said she could not comment further, nor could FBI spokesman Jeff Killeen. Federal search warrants are always sealed by magistrates and officials are only allowed to comment on information that is part of the public record. Although Mr. Williams' public defender described the building as a mosque, Ms. Buchanan said the government is "not willing" to concede that it is one. She said men, women and children stay in the building but that the government has no independent evidence that it is a house of worship. Either way, she said, the FBI was acting on a federal criminal complaint from the U.S. attorney's office in Salt Lake City and tracked Mr. Williams to the house on Friday. Luqman abdus-Salaam, the director of the mosque, disputed Ms. Buchanan's characterization of the building.... The case against Mr. Williams is being prosecuted as part of the Justice Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods program to crack down on illegal guns across the country. Hundreds of such cases have been prosecuted locally in recent years. A Utah state trooper pulled Mr. Williams over on June 27 because his car had tinted windows. After a drug dog alerted to the inside of the car, the trooper said he found plastic bags containing parts of a pistol and two magazines for it, plus ammunition and a magazine for an assault rifle. The trooper confiscated the weapon and ammo, but apparently didn't know until he talked to a supervisor that Mr. Williams could be prosecuted in federal court on weapons charges. Under federal law, he's not allowed to have a gun because he's a convicted felon. "Basically, they let him go," said Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Salt Lake City. "[The trooper] didn't realize it's definitely something we will prosecute." ... http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06188/704028-53.stm ----- ACCORDING TO MUSLIM TRADITIONS, THE QUR'AN WAS WRITTEN IN PURE ARABIC IN HEAVEN BY ALLAH ON A LARGE STONE TABLE The angel Gabriel took the table of the Qur'an and made Muhammad recite it. His recitations were memorized or written down by others on whatever objects were on hand such as sticks, stones, bones, palm leaves, etc.. After Muhammad died, various conflicting Qur'ans were produced. It was the Caliph Uthman who made his own version of the Qur'an the official one (See Bukhari's Hadith vol. 1, pg. 56, no. 63). He later burned all the other conflicting Qur'ans. The Qur'an sold today is the Uthman version. The Hadith is the record of the teachings and example of Muhammad not found in the Qur'an and are thus authoritative for all Muslims. To deny the Hadith is to be guilty of apostasy under Islamic Law. The greatest of all Hadith scholars was Bukhari. Betty, since most people do not have access to the Qur'an or the Hadith, I recommend that you go to read and research the Hadith and Koran at: MSA-USC Hadith Database http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/searchhadith.html GLOBAL / LOCAL POLITICS ----- BRITISH OFFICIAL CALLS FOR GUANTANAMO TO BE CLOSED [GLEN BECK STATED TODAY ON HIS TV PROGRAM 9.12.06 THAT GUANTANAMO HAS BEEN GIVEN TO IRAQ. WHO IS RUNNING THE SHOW? HOW COULD IRAQ BE IN CHARGE OF A PRISON IN CUBA?] - New York Times, USA - May 10, 2006 - Alan Cowell - www.nytimes.com LONDON, May 10 — In the most explicit British condemnation of Guantánamo Bay, Lord Peter Goldsmith, the attorney general, said today that the camp's existence was "unacceptable" and ran counter to the United States' tradition as a "beacon of freedom, liberty and of justice." He called for its closure. The remarks by Lord Goldsmith, the government's most senior advisor, went far beyond the set response offered by Prime Minister Tony Blair who, when asked for his views on Guantánamo Bay, calls it an "anomaly" that must at some stage close down.Mr. Blair, Americás closest ally in the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, offered no direct comment on his aide's views. But his official spokesman, who is not publicly identified under standing civil service rules, said Guantánamo presented a dilemma because American officials saw many of its detainees as dangerous persons who could not be released. The camp's existence is a contentious issue in Britain and a prominent factor among Mr. Blair's critics in their widespread opposition to his close relationship with President Bush. America's Double Standards US tackled on al-Qaeda suspects Full story: http://www.cephas-library.com/nwo_british_official_calls_for_guantanamo_to_be_closed.html ----- GLOBAL WARMING OR GLOBAL BRAINWASHING? Friday Church News Notes, April 21, 2006 - David Cloud - The following is an excerpt from an article in the Opinion page of The London Telegraph, April 9, by Professor Bob Carter, a geologist at James Cook University, Queensland: "For many years now, human-caused climate change has been viewed as a large and urgent problem. In truth, however, the biggest part of the problem is neither environmental nor scientific, but a self-created political fiasco. Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase ... In response to these facts, a global warming devotee will chuckle and say 'how silly to judge climate change over such a short period'. Yet in the next breath, the same person will assure you that the 28-year-long period of warming which occurred between 1970 and 1998 constitutes a dangerous (and man-made) warming. Tosh. Our devotee will also pass by the curious additional facts that a period of similar warming occurred between 1918 and 1940, well prior to the greatest phase of world industrialisation, and that cooling occurred between 1940 and 1965, at precisely the time that human emissions were increasing at their greatest rate. Does something not strike you as odd here? That industrial carbon dioxide is not the primary cause of earth's recent decadal-scale temperature changes doesn't seem at all odd to many thousands of independent scientists. They have long appreciated--ever since the early 1990s, when the global warming bandwagon first started to roll behind the gravy train of the UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)--that such short-term climate fluctuations are chiefly of natural origin. Yet the public appears to be largely convinced otherwise. How is this possible? Since the early 1990s, the columns of many leading newspapers and magazines, worldwide, have carried an increasing stream of alarmist letters and articles on hypothetical, human-caused climate change. .... many involve such deep dreaming, or ignorance of scientific facts and principles, that they are akin to nonsense. THE PROBLEM HERE IS NOT THAT OF CLIMATE CHANGE PER SE, BUT RATHER THAT OF THE SOPHISTICATED SCIENTIFIC BRAINWASHING that has been inflicted on the public, bureaucrats and politicians alike. ... The essence of the issue is this. Climate changes naturally all the time, partly in predictable cycles, and partly in unpredictable shorter rhythms and rapid episodic shifts, some of the causes of which remain unknown." http://www.wayoflife.org ----- NATIONAL FORECLOSURES INCREASE IN EVERY QUARTER OF 2005 ACCORDING TO REALTYTRAC™ U.S. FORECLOSURE MARKET REPORT Nearly 847,000 Properties Enter Foreclosure During The Year; Florida, Colorado and Utah Post Nation’s Highest Foreclosure Rates. - Press Release - Irvine, Calif. – January 23, 2006 – RealtyTrac™ (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released year-end data from its 2005 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which showed that 846,982 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in 2005, and a 25 percent increase in the number of new foreclosures from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. RealtyTrac publishes the largest national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with more than 550,000 properties in nearly 2,000 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN House & Home, Yahoo! Real Estate, AOL Real Estate and HomeGain.com. “Overall U.S. foreclosure numbers climbed steadily over the course of the year, with more new foreclosures reported in every quarter,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This trend appears to be moving the real estate foreclosure market back to its historic levels.” Saccacio noted that the number of 2005 foreclosures needed to be kept in context. “Even with almost 850,000 properties entering some stage of foreclosure across the country over the course of the year, this represents less than 1 percent of all U.S. households. And the increase in U.S. http://www.realtytrac.com/news/press/pressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=86 ----- TELL YOUR SENATOR TO PASS EMINENT DOMAIN REFORM September 6, 2006 - Project Frontline: Friday, July 21, 2006 - GOVERNMENT TAKES HALPER HOME AND FARM - The Government of Piscataway, New Jersey didn't want anyone to see it stealing the Halper home and 75 acre farm. However, several local newspaper photographers and three Freestar cameramen were on the property every day and often at night as well. Their solution, fine the Halpers $4,000 a day for each day they remain on the property in defiance of the court order to leave. This fine would eventually increase to $10,000 a day. So Larry and Clara Halper had no choice but to leave. Thursday night they spent the night in a hotel and everyone else went home as well. It seems the government won again, just as they did in New London. This morning Mark Halper showed up early to remove some of his equipment from the farm. According to Mark, a police officer guarding the Halper property said that the Piscataway SWAT team was sent in to storm the property in the middle of the night. Freestar is trying to verify this. So far, the Piscataway government is refusing to comment but is likewise not denying it. You might also want to call the Mayor and every town council member and let them know your thoughts on this. Below are their phone numbers and home addresses. Mayor Brian C. Wahler - 916 East Lincoln Avenue - Piscataway, NJ 08854-5007 - ph 732-699-9225 http://www.freestarmedia.com/index.html ----- THE IRAN PLANS Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb? By SEYMOUR M. HERSH Issue of 2006-04-17 - The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium. American and European intelligence agencies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.), agree that Iran is intent on developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons. But there are widely differing estimates of how long that will take, and whether diplomacy, sanctions, or military action is the best way to prevent it. Iran insists that its research is for peaceful use only, in keeping with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and that it will not be delayed or deterred. There is a growing conviction among members of the United States military, and in the international community, that President Bush’s ultimate goal in the nuclear confrontation with Iran is regime change. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has challenged the reality of the Holocaust and said that Israel must be “wiped off the map.” Bush and others in the White House view him as a potential Adolf Hitler, a former senior intelligence official said. “That’s the name they’re using. They say, ‘Will Iran get a strategic weapon and threaten another world war?’ ” http://www.survivalring.org/wordpress/index.php?cat=70 ----- US BEGINS BUILDING TREATY-BREACHING GERM WAR DEFENSE CENTRE Guardian / UK July 31, 2006 by the Guardian / UK - by Julian Borger - Construction work has begun near Washington on a vast germ warfare laboratory intended to help protect the US against an attack with biological weapon, but critics say the laboratory's work will violate international law and its extreme secrecy will exacerbate a biological arms race. The National Biodefence Analysis and Countermeasures Centre (NBACC), due to be completed in 2008, will house heavily guarded and hermetically sealed chambers in which scientists simulate potential terrorist attacks. To do so, the centre will have to produce and stockpile the world's most lethal bacteria and viruses, which is forbidden by the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. Three years before that treaty was agreed, President Richard Nixon halted the production of US biological weapons at Fort Detrick in Maryland. The same military base is the site for the new $128m (£70m), 160,000 sq ft laboratory. The green light for its construction was given after the September 11 attacks, which coincided with a series of still-unsolved anthrax incidents that killed five people. The department of homeland security, which will run the centre, says its work is necessary to protect the country. "All the programmes we do are defensive in nature," Maureen McCarthy, director of homeland security research and development, told the Washington Post. "Our job is to ensure that the civilian population of the country is protected, and that we know what the threats are." The biological weapons convention stipulates that the signatories must not "develop, produce, stockpile, or otherwise acquire or retain" biological weapons, and does not distinguish between offensive and defensive intentions. A presentation given by Lieutenant Colonel George Korch said the NBACC would be used to apply "red team operational scenarios and capabilities" - military jargon for simulating enemy attacks. Some analysts say the extraordinary secrecy surrounding the project will heighten suspicions of US intentions and accelerate work on similar facilities around the world. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0731-06.htm ----- GOVERNMENT DISTRIBUTES PETRODOLLARS THROUGH BOOMING COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT July 27, 2006 by Inter Press News by Humberto Márquez - CARACAS, Jul 26 (IPS) - Cooperatives in Venezuela, which are mushrooming at a rate of over 100 a day, have become a mechanism through which the government is distributing windfall oil profits to the people. "But it's true that these aren't really cooperatives in the traditional sense," the national superintendent of cooperatives, Carlos Molina, told IPS. "Actually, they are one of the tools employed by the state as part of its policy of inclusion (of marginalised sectors) and its aim to achieve a more just distribution of wealth." The new cooperativism in Venezuela differs from the modern cooperative movement that traces its history back to the small town of Rochdale, England, where 28 flannel weavers saved a few pennies a week for a year until they had enough to open a co-op store in December 1844. In Venezuela, under a law on cooperatives decreed in 2001 by the government of left-leaning President Hugo Chávez, any group of at least five people can easily register a new cooperative through a quick process that involves few bureaucratic hurdles. Venezuela's cooperative movement emerged in 1959. Forty years later, when Chávez was elected, there were 870 cooperatives in the areas of credit, transport and other services, although only half were successful to any degree, according to the movement's spokespersons. More than 1,000 new cooperatives were established in 2001, and more than 2,000 the following year. But since the government approved an enormous increase in funding for cooperatives in 2003, the number has skyrocketed, with 18,000 founded in 2003, 36,000 in 2004, 41,000 in 2005 and more than 20,000 so far this year. In this country of 26 million, which has an economically active population of 12 million, "we have 132,000 cooperatives, with approximately 1.3 million associates," said Molina... The official did note, however, that by 2004, five percent of all jobs in the country were in cooperatives, and the 6,500 cooperatives in the ‘Misión Vuelvan Caras' -- a government programme that provides financing for the activities undertaken by participants in its educational programmes -- alone received 500 million dollars last year. At the current record-high oil prices, 500 million dollars is just three days of oil revenues. Full story: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0727-10.htm ----- BRITAIN TO PROTEST US USE OF AIRPORT TO SEND MISSILES TO ISRAEL July 27, 2006 by Agence France Presse - British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett is planning to make a formal complaint to the United States over the alleged use of a Scottish airport as a staging post for the transport of missiles to Israel. Beckett said she had raised the issue with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, telling British media the government was "not happy" about reports two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes that were filled with GBU28 laser-guided bombs landed at Glasgow's Prestwick airport over the weekend for refuelling and for the crew to rest on the way to Israel. Responding to a question asking whether it was acceptable for a British airport to be used as a staging post for the transport of weapons, Beckett told Channel 4 News: "No I am not happy about it. "Not least because it appears that in so far as there are procedures for handling of that kind of cargo -- hazardous cargoes irrespective of what they are -- it does appear that they were not followed. "I have already let the United States know that this is an issue that appears to be seriously at fault ... that we will be making a formal protest if it appears that that is what has happened. "We are still looking into the facts but I have already notified the United States that we are not happy about it." Prestwick Airport has in recent months also been the subject of claims that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used it for so-called "extraordinary rendition" flights to transport security suspects to third countries where torture may be used. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0727-12.htm ----- TEL AVIV: THOUSANDS RALLY AGAINST WAR July 24, 2006 by Yedioth News / Israel by Attila Somfalvi - Thousands march in Tel Aviv to protest Lebanon fighting, call on soldiers to refuse taking part in war. Clashes with passersby erupt during event, activists called 'traitors' . Thousands of left-wing activists, including many Arab citizens, marched Saturday evening from the Rabin Square to the Cinematheque plaza in Tel Aviv in protest of the fighting in Lebanon. The protestors held up signs with slogans against the war and called for an immediate ceasefire. According to the demonstrators, a prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah must be struck, as well as a similar deal with Hamas. Marchers also urged IDF soldiers not to take part in the Lebanon operation, chanting: "Listen up, soldier – it's your duty to refuse." Other slogans recited by the participants were: "The occupation is a disaster, leave Lebanon now," "Olmert and Bush have struck a deal – to carry on with the occupation," and "Children in Beirut and Haifa want to go on living." The activists, among them Knesset Member Mohammad Barakeh (Hadash) and other Arab MKs, waved a Palestinian flag as well as red flags adorned with the communist hammer and sickle symbol. Signs with the motto "Peace Now" were also raised in the rally, but the organization stressed it did not take part in the event. 'Army of destruction' Former Education Minister Shulamit Aloni, who spoke in the demonstration, said that "the government has allowed the destructive powers of the army to drag us into the killing. The Defense Forces cannot be tuned into the army of occupation and killing. We must call in international forces, negotiate and make peace." During the event, a counter-demonstration has formed across from the rally, and rightist protesters held up "Traitors, we are fed up with you" signs. Protesters also waved Israel flags and flags of the Golani Brigade. Large police and SWAT units secured the event and kept opponents away from where the rally was held. Despite the clashes, the organizers of the march said they were pleased with the surprisingly large number of participants, and encouraged by the public's reaction against the Lebanon operation. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0724-05.htm ----- U.S. SPEEDS UP BOMB DELIVERY FOR THE ISRAELIS July 22, 2006 by the New York Times by David S. Cloud and Helene Cooper - WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday. GBU-28 Penetrator Type: 5,000-pound precision bomb Guidance: GBU-28 is laser-guided; Launch: GBU-28, shown above, is launched from fighter aircraft like F-15E Strike Eagle; Use: Bomb has a hardened warhead designed to penetrate concrete objects like underground bunkers; developed during the Persian Gulf war as a "bunker-buster" The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran’s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah. The munitions that the United States is sending to Israel are part of a multimillion-dollar arms sale package approved last year that Israel is able to draw on as needed, the officials said. But Israel’s request for expedited delivery of the satellite and laser-guided bombs was described as unusual by some military officers, and as an indication that Israel still had a long list of targets in Lebanon to strike. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that she would head to Israel on Sunday at the beginning of a round of Middle Eastern diplomacy. The original plan was to include a stop to Cairo in her travels, but she did not announce any stops in Arab capitals. Full story: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0722-02.htm ----- US TO SCALE BACK MAD COW SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM July 20, 2006 by Reuters - The United States Agriculture Department will announce on Thursday plans to scale back its mad cow surveillance program, a source briefed by the department told Reuters.The USDA is "lowering it to reflect the low level of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in the United States," the source said. "It is lower, but keep in mind it will still be testing at a level 10 times higher than" international recommended standards. The first case of mad cow disease in the United States was found in Washington state in 2003. USDA launched an enhanced cattle-testing program in June 2004 to gauge the prevalence of mad cow disease in the United States. The enhanced program, which was to run for 12 to 18 months, has tested more than 759,000 animals -- far more than initially planned -- and was responsible for finding two of the three cases of the brain-wasting cattle ailment in the United States. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in April that mad cow disease hits fewer than one in 1 million U.S. adult cattle, giving the United States a low occurrence of the disease which is likely to decline. But U.S. consumer groups have urged the government to continue its enhanced testing program for mad cow disease, saying any move to end or dramatically curb the program would send the wrong message to Americans and U.S. beef importers. Many countries shut their markets to U.S. beef in 2003 after America's first case of mad cow disease was discovered. Despite intense lobbying by the Bush administration, top export markets like Japan and South Korea remain closed. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0720-06.htm ----- WHERE ARE ALL THE BIRDS? July 4, 2006 by the San Francisco Chronicle - Startling New Figures on Rate of Extinctions Say 12% of Species to be in Peril by 2100 - by Jane Kay - The world's birds are disappearing in greater numbers than previously calculated, and the number of extinctions will grow even more dramatically by the end of the century, according to a grim study published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, the most thorough analysis of global bird species, says 12 percent of existing species -- about 1,250 -- are threatened with extinction by 2100. Up until now, scientists had documented the extinction of about 130 bird species since the year 1500. But the study's authors -- from Stanford University, Duke University and the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis -- say the more accurate estimate is about 500 extinctions out of more than 10,000 known bird species. That would be about one extinction per year over the last 500 years. And that rate is 100 times higher than what was considered natural before human influence, the study said. Over time, humans have cleared land for agriculture and other uses. They've hunted birds for food and sport. And they introduced other dangers, such as non-native birds, rats, snakes and diseases. Predictions of increased extinctions over the next century are based on these continuing threats as well as anticipated habitat loss linked to global warming. Scientists say the decline of both the diversity and abundance of birds portends problems for the planet. Birds play a part in seed dispersal, plant pollination and insect control. Critically endangered birds -- including the California condor and about 12 Hawaiian species -- are seen as most at risk of extinction. Full story: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0704-07.htm ----- AGENT WHO LED BIN LADEN HUNT CRITICISES CIA July 8, 2006 by the Guardian/UK - Closure of unit 'wasted 10 years' experience' · Al-Qaida reasserting its influence, says ex-chief - by Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington - The man who led America's hunt for Osama bin Laden has said the CIA was wrong to disband the only unit devoted entirely to the terrorist leader's pursuit - just at a time when al-Qaida is reasserting its influence over global jihad. Shutting down the Bin Laden unit squandered 10 years of expertise in the war on terror, said Michael Scheuer, who founded the unit in 1995 and arguably knows more about Bin Laden than any other western intelligence official. He believes the unit was dismantled because of bureaucratic jealousies within the CIA, and that the closure delivers a further setback to a pursuit that has been squeezed for resources for the past two years. "What it robs you of is a critical mass of officers who have been working on this together for a decade," he told the Guardian. "We had a breed of specialists rare in an intelligence community that prides itself on generalists. It provided a base from which to build a cadre of people specialising in attacking Sunni extremist operations, who sacrificed promotions and other emoluments in their employment in the clandestine service, where specialists were looked on as nerds." A 22-year CIA veteran, Mr Scheuer became aware of Bin Laden in the 1980s when the Saudi-born militant was on the fringes of the US-backed mujahideen fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. In 1995, when western intelligence agencies knew little about Bin Laden, Mr Scheuer was charged with setting up a unit that would track what support he was giving to Islamist groups, and determine whether he was a threat. Mr Scheuer left the agency in 2004 after writing a scathing book about its counter-terrorism efforts, called Imperial Hubris. He is now a consultant on terrorism. CIA officials disclosed this week that the Alec unit - named after Mr Scheuer's now teenage son - had been disbanded, and its agents reassigned. The agency described the shakeup as a necessary adaptation to the changing nature of the US war on terror. "The reorganisation just reflects the understanding that the Islamic jihadist movement continues to diversify," a US intelligence official said. Mr Scheuer said he disagreed with the argument it was making that Bin Laden was isolated, the organisation was broken and that he was now just a symbol. "How do you explain the fact that he is able to dominate international media whenever he wants to?" Full story: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0708-02.htm ----- FBI PLANS NEW NET-TAPPING PUSH July 10, 2006 by CNET News.com - FBI Plans New Net-Tapping Push - by Declan McCullagh - The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would require Internet service providers to create wiretapping hubs for police surveillance and force makers of networking gear to build in backdoors for eavesdropping, CNET News.com has learned. FBI Agent Barry Smith distributed the proposal at a private meeting last Friday with industry representatives and indicated it would be introduced by Sen. Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. The draft bill would place the FBI's Net-surveillance push on solid legal footing. At the moment, it's ensnared in a legal challenge from universities and some technology companies that claim the Federal Communications Commission's broadband surveillance directives exceed what Congress has authorized. The FBI claims that expanding the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act is necessary to thwart criminals and terrorists who have turned to technologies like voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. "The complexity and variety of communications technologies have dramatically increased in recent years, and the lawful intercept capabilities of the federal, state and local law enforcement community have been under continual stress, and in many cases have decreased or become impossible," according to a summary accompanying the draft bill. Complicating the political outlook for the legislation is an ongoing debate over allegedly illegal surveillance by the National Security Administration--punctuated by several lawsuits challenging it on constitutional grounds and an unrelated proposal to force Internet service providers to record what Americans are doing online. One source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of last Friday's meeting, said the FBI viewed its CALEA expansion as a top congressional priority for 2007. Breaking the legislation down - The 27-page proposed CALEA amendments seen by CNET News.com would: • Require any manufacturer of "routing" and "addressing" hardware to offer upgrades or other "modifications" that are needed to support Internet wiretapping. Current law does require that of telephone switch manufacturers--but not makers of routers and network address translation hardware like Cisco Systems and 2Wire. • Authorize the expansion of wiretapping requirements to "commercial" Internet services including instant messaging if the FCC deems it to be in the "public interest." That would likely sweep in services such as in-game chats offered by Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming system as well. • Force Internet service providers to sift through their customers' communications to identify, for instance, only VoIP calls. (The language requires companies to adhere to "processing or filtering methods or procedures applied by a law enforcement agency.") That means police could simply ask broadband providers like AT&T, Comcast or Verizon for wiretap info--instead of having to figure out what VoIP service was being used. • Eliminate the current legal requirement saying the Justice Department must publish a public "notice of the actual number of communications interceptions" every year. That notice currently also must disclose the "maximum capacity" required to accommodate all of the legally authorized taps that government agencies will "conduct and use simultaneously." Jim Harper, a policy analyst at the free-market Cato Institute and member of a Homeland Security advisory board, said the proposal would "have a negative impact on Internet users' privacy." "People expect their information to be private unless the government meets certain legal standards," Harper said. "Right now the Department of Justice is pushing the wrong way on all this." Neither the FBI nor DeWine's office responded to a request for comment Friday afternoon. DeWine has relatively low approval ratings--47 percent, according to SurveyUSA.com--and is enmeshed in a fierce battle with a Democratic challenger to retain his Senate seat in the November elections. DeWine is a member of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee charged with overseeing electronic privacy and antiterrorism enforcement and is a former prosecutor in Ohio. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0710-10.htm ----- TOBACCO WILL KILL 1 BILLION THIS CENTURY, OFFICIALS SAY June 11, 2006 by the Associated Press - Cutting use would have single largest effect on cancer rates, experts say by Andrew Bridges - Curbing tobacco use and taking other steps to eliminate some of the most common risk factors for cancer could save millions of lives in the next few decades, health officials said Monday. Tobacco alone is predicted to kill a billion people this century, 10 times the toll it took in the 20th century, if current trends hold. "In all of world history, this is the largest train wreck not waiting to happen," said John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. A porter smokes a cigarette on No Tobacco Day during a work break in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 31, 2006. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar Reducing tobacco use would have the single largest effect on global cancer rates, Seffrin and other health officials said Monday in unveiling two reference guides that chart global tobacco use and cancer. Changing diets to contain fewer saturated fats and more fruits and vegetables, as well as reducing infection by cancer-causing viruses and bacteria, also could cut rates dramatically, the officials said. "We know with cancer, if we take action now, we can save 2 million lives a year by 2020 and 6.5 million by 2040," said Dr. Judith Mackay, a World Health Organization senior policy adviser. Today, tobacco accounts for one in five cancer deaths, or 1.4 million deaths worldwide each year, according to the new Cancer Atlas.http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0711-06.htm ISRAEL   If you wish to send a donation by mail send it to Cephas Ministry 38439 5th Ave #1420 Zephyrhills, Florida 33542    If you wish to make a donation with On-Line Credit card & a secure server, click icon    (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)  Tell your friends about us and thank you for visiting Cephas Ministry Inc. (www.cephasministry.com)