Birth Pangs of Matthew 24, Jan. 27, 2007

[Shammu]

Anchorage: 74 Inches of Snow and Counting
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
January 26, 2007

CBNNews.com -- ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaskan natives might be accustomed to blanketing snow, yet the record-breakingt snowfall experienced this season has proven to be more of a winter wonderland than most would like.

Locals have had more than enough of the white powder and freezing weather, which most consider to be the most extreme conditions they have ever faced during their northern exposure.

More than 74 inches of snow have fallen on the Anchorage area, and authorities declare this is causing a citywide crisis. Having nowhere to get rid of the snow, many residents have resorted to unlawfully dumping their snow in public areas and roads.

The illegal dumping has resulted in a city-wide crackdown on offenders, as local residents and snow-removal companies have been issued tickets for their disposal.

Hazardous driving conditions are another byproduct of the seemingly incessant snow. Many motorists find it difficult to see around corners because the snow is piled up so high.

Another problem posed by the heavy snowfall has many homeowners worried about whether their roofs can withstand the excessive weight of the snow as it continues to pile on day after day.

Anchorage: 74 Inches of Snow and Counting

[Shammu]

North Korea Denies Cooperating With Iran

By KWANG-TAE KIM
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 27, 2007; 3:39 AM

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea dismissed allegations Saturday that the communist regime is cooperating with Iran in nuclear development, accusing Western media of spreading the rumor to mislead public opinion.

The "assertion is nothing but a sheer lie and fabrication intended to tarnish the image of (North Korea) by charging it with nuclear proliferation," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, this week quoted an unnamed senior European defense official as saying that North Korea is helping Iran to prepare an underground nuclear test _ possibly by the end of this year.

In Davos, Switzerland, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said his organization _ the U.N. nuclear watchdog _ had seen no direct evidence of such cooperation.

Last week, an Iranian Foreign Ministry delegation, led by Vice Minister Mahdi Safari, met senior North Korean officials in Pyongyang and signed a three-year agreement on unspecified scientific exchanges, KCNA said without giving any further details.

North Korea, which quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in early 2003, conducted its first-ever nuclear test in October, raising concerns about possible nuclear proliferation.

North Korea and Iran _ both labeled by President Bush as part of an "axis of evil" along with prewar Iraq _ are under growing international pressure to give up their pursuit of nuclear programs.

North Korea is believed to have sold missiles to Iran. Although North Korea's publicly acknowledged nuclear weapons program uses plutonium, Iran's is based on uranium.

Pyongyang's strong denial came as the United States and its regional partners prepare to hold a new round of the international talks aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons program.

The disarmament talks _ which include the United States, China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia _ are expected to resume as early as Feb. 8, according to officials. The latest talks in December ended with no apparent progress.

The North claims it has the right to nuclear weapons as a deterrence against alleged U.S. attempts to topple the communist country. The U.S. has said it has no intention to attack the North.

Iran insists its nuclear program is intended to produce energy, but the Americans and Europeans suspect its ultimate goal is the production of weapons.

North Korea Denies Cooperating With Iran

[Shammu]

Kerry Blasts U.S. Foreign Policy

Jan 27 5:46 AM US/Eastern

By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER
Associated Press Writer

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry slammed the foreign policy of the Bush administration on Saturday, saying it has caused the United States to become "a sort of international pariah."

The statement came as the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee responded to a question about whether the U.S. government had failed to adequately engage Iran's government before the election of hard- liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005.

Kerry said the Bush administration has failed to adequately address a number of foreign policy issues.

"When we walk away from global warming, Kyoto, when we are irresponsibly slow in moving toward AIDS in Africa, when we don't advance and live up to our own rhetoric and standards, we set a terrible message of duplicity and hypocrisy," Kerry said.

"So we have a crisis of confidence in the Middle East _ in the world, really. I've never seen our country as isolated, as much as a sort of international pariah for a number of reasons as it is today."

Kerry said the government needs to use diplomacy to improve national security.

"We need to do a better job of protecting our interests, because after all, that's what diplomacy is about," he said. "But you have to do it in a context of the reality, not your lens but the reality of those other cultures and histories."

Kerry criticized what he called the "unfortunate habit" of Americans to see the world "exclusively through an American lens."

Kerry Blasts U.S. Foreign Policy

[Shammu]

Russia queries US military role in M.East: agencies
Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:16am ET147

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia expects the United States to explain its growing military presence in the Middle East when the countries next meet to discuss the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies on Saturday.

"I have seen no change in Washington's fairly aggressive rhetoric," Lavrov said. "It continues, just like its actions to increase the military presence in the region. It will be one of the questions which we want to clarify in Washington. What's it all about?"

Lavrov is expected to take part in a meeting of the Middle East quartet group in Washington on February 2 to try to get a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians back on track. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza is due to host the meeting.

The United States is in the process of sending an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, which it invaded in 2003, to try to quell an insurgency. It already has 134,000 troops in the country.

Washington has said it is also deploying a second aircraft carrier group in the Gulf as well as Patriot missile defense systems -- steps widely seen as a warning to Iran and Syria.

It maintains a significant military presence in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, which houses the U.S. Navy's Fifth fleet.

Lavrov also said unilateral U.S. sanctions against Iran would be counterproductive to efforts to resolve the problem of the country's nuclear ambitions and would force Tehran out of the negotiating process.

Russia's number 2 diplomat, Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, is due hold talks in Iran on Sunday and is expected to discuss nuclear issues.

Lavrov said Iran and Syria should not be isolated but should understand that they were expected to play a positive role and in return they would receive an appropriate position in the regional dialogue.

"We are deeply convinced that Iran and Syria should not be isolated but brought into the peace process," he said, speaking on return from a visit to India with President Vladimir Putin.

"In general, the problems that exist in the Middle East and in the surrounding region are linked to muddle-headed ideas about prestige. Someone says something once and from then on he can't break with this principle. This is an inflexible policy, and it's short-sighted."

Russia queries US military role in M.East

[Shammu]

Hamas-Fatah violence continues; 20 dead

By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 49 minutes ago

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gunmen armed with mortars and grenades fought in several areas of Gaza City on Saturday, killing two men on the third straight day of factional clashes linked to the power struggle over the Palestinian government.

The deaths brought to 20 the number of Palestinians killed since late Thursday, and at least 66 people were wounded, medical officials said. The rival Hamas and Fatah movements traded angry accusations, and each held several supporters of the other side hostage.

The violence froze talks about bringing Fatah into the Hamas-led government, negotiators said. Fatah's leader, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said he would go ahead with his plan to call early elections if the coalition negotiations fail to produce results within two to three weeks.

The Gaza fighting, which started late Thursday, was among the deadliest in nearly two months.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas called for calm, but in a clear jab at Abbas, criticized "troublemakers who are trying to veer away from the path of our people" by receiving "dirty American funding and arms." The U.S. recently pledged more than $80 million to help bolster Abbas' forces.

Streets in the hardest-hit neighborhoods were deserted Saturday, and only bakeries and grocery stores open for business. Al Azhar University called off exams, and the Interior Ministry told its employees to go home.

A gun battle erupted Saturday near the Islamic University, killing one man, according to hospital officials. In a firefight elsewhere in the city, a Palestinian policeman was killed.

Before dawn Saturday, Hamas gunmen fired mortars at the Abbas-allied Preventive Security Service headquarters and at the home of the force's chief, Rashid Abu Shbak, officials said.

In fighting around the compound on Friday, six Hamas gunmen were killed and a seventh died Saturday of wounds sustained in that battle, said Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha. He accused Fatah loyalists of storming a mosque near the security headquarters and executing a senior Hamas activist inside while he was reading the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Fatah denied it had stormed the mosque, but said Hamas gunmen had used the building as a base for attacking the security headquarters.

Mediators from two small factions, meanwhile, tried to win the release of hostages taken by the two sides; Fatah was holding 23 Hamas supporters, while Hamas held about 16 Fatah loyalists hostage, officials from the two groups said. Kidnappings have become a common tactic during the infighting. In all cases so far, hostages have been released unharmed.

Tensions have been high since Hamas swept parliamentary elections in January 2006, ending four decades of Fatah rule.

In its election campaign, Hamas promised to root out corruption and improve social services, but its government has been paralyzed by an international boycott and has struggled to pay the salaries of 165,000 civil servants, including some 80,000 members of the security forces, most loyal to Abbas.

A senior Abbas aide said Saturday that the president will start paying some security forces' salaries.

The aide, Rafiq Husseini, said Abbas will pay the salaries from a fund of $152 million, including $100 million in tax rebates recently transferred by Israel, which froze the money after Hamas took power.

Israel and Western donors have cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the Palestinian government, demanding Hamas renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. Hamas has rejected the conditions, despite deepening poverty in the West Bank and Gaza caused by the sanctions.

The international community has rerouted some of the aid to the moderate Abbas.

Seeking a way out of the crisis, Abbas has called on Hamas to join Fatah in a moderate coalition government. Abbas, who was elected separately, hopes a moderate platform will get the sanctions lifted and allow him to restart peace talks with Israel.

Abbas has threatened to order early elections, but Hamas has said it would boycott a new vote. Abbas' threat to call new elections, along with the deadlock in unity talks, has fueled the factional violence. A poll published Saturday indicated Palestinians are evenly divided over the election plan.

Hamas-Fatah violence continues

[Shammu]

Russia: Include Syria, Iran in peace process

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov embarks on new attack against United States, demanding that the superpower explain its heavy military presence in Middle East. Lavrov also calls to include Syria, Iran in peace process

Reuters
Published: 01.27.07, 15:46

Russia expects the United States to explain its growing military presence in the Middle East when the countries next meet to discuss the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies on Saturday.

"I have seen no change in Washington's fairly aggressive rhetoric," Lavrov said. "It continues, just like its actions to increase the military presence in the region. It will be one of the questions which we want to clarify in Washington. What's it all about?"

Lavrov is expected to take part in a meeting of the Middle East quartet group in Washington on February 2 to try to get a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians back on track. US Secretary of State Condoleezza is due to host the meeting.

The United States is in the process of sending an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, which it invaded in 2003, to try to quell an insurgency. It already has 134,000 troops in the country.

Washington has said it is also deploying a second aircraft carrier group in the Gulf as well as Patriot missile defense systems—steps widely seen as a warning to Iran and Syria. It maintains a significant military presence in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, which houses the US Navy's Fifth fleet.

'Don't isolate Syria, Iran'
Lavrov said unilateral US sanctions against Iran would be counterproductive to efforts to resolve the problem of the country's nuclear ambitions and would force Tehran out of the negotiating process.

Russia's number two diplomat, Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, is due hold talks in Iran on Sunday and is expected to discuss nuclear issues.

Lavrov said Iran and Syria should not be isolated but should understand that they were expected to play a positive role and in return they would receive an appropriate position in the regional dialogue.

"We are deeply convinced that Iran and Syria should not be isolated but brought into the peace process," he said, speaking on return from a visit to India with President Vladimir Putin.

"In general, the problems that exist in the Middle East and in the surrounding region are linked to muddle-headed ideas about prestige. Someone says something once and from then on he can't break with this principle. This is an inflexible policy, and it's short-sighted."

Russia: Include Syria, Iran in peace process

[Shammu]

EU treaty ratifiers want, build on current constitution

Jan 26 12:14 PM US/Eastern

Representatives of the 18 states that have ratified a proposed EU constitution said that all 27 EU states should use the document as the basis for a new accord.

"We are willing to work together on the basis of the Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome in October 2004, by all the governments of the EU member states, in order to reach an agreement which respects its fundamental content and its balances", the meeting said in a closing statement.

Friday's conference was designed to provide current EU presidency holder Germany with backing for its plans to simplify the bloc's institutional structure and streamline decision-making.

Failure to make progress by 2009 would be an "historic mistake", German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the European parliament last week.

Document ratifiers attending the Madrid meeting wer Spain, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Romania.

They collectively represent 270 million people.

Two more countries -- Ireland and Portugal -- were attending the "informal" gathering, held largely behind closed doors.

Two countries -- France and the Netherlands -- decisively rejected the treaty by popular vote in 2005, while seven others have either postponed or indefinitely shelved moves to ratify it.

EU treaty ratifiers want, build on current constitution

[Shammu]

 Bangladesh, India exchange fire
New Delhi, Jan 27, IRNA

Bangladesh-Clash-India
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) opened fire on India's BSF (Border Security Force) after a Bangladeshi intruder was shot down at Khowai in West Tripura district, in the northeastern state of India.

The BSF soldiers on patrolling duty challenged the intruder, but when he still tried to cross over he was shot down, BSF sources said today, PTI said.

Following this, the second battalion of BDR opened fire and the 37 battalion of BSF retaliated.

The exchange, however, stopped after five minutes and the BSF is to arrange to hand over the body to BDR after completion of necessary formalities, the sources said.

Bangladesh, India exchange fire

[Shammu]

China's state TV bans pig images to avoid offending Muslims

Sat Jan 27, 2:26 AM ET

BEIJING (AFP) - China's national state-run television network has banned all images of pigs from advertisements to avoid offending Muslim minorities, according to a company official.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2007 is the year of the pig. (*SNICKER* DW) Across China, images of the animal are proliferating on billboards and in print advertisements as well as being used in promotional gifts in many shops.

There are 18 million Muslims in China, according to official statistics.

China Central Television (CCTV), a mouthpiece of the government, told AFP it was keeping images and spoken references to pigs off the screen to avoid arousing ethnic tension.

"CCTV is a national television network... Due to concern over ethnic and cultural habits, we will keep the pig image away from the screen," said a programme department official, who declined to give his name.

"We do not want to cause unnecessary bad influence or hurt the feelings of ethnic groups."

Global food giant Nestle said it had been forced to scrap a plan to air a new year TV advertisement featuring a smiling cartoon pig due to the state television station's opposition.

"It explained that this is to show respect to Islam and was a guidance from the higher levels of the government," said Thierry Vapperaeau, spokesman for Nestle China.

"It is not a big problem... we will change to another cartoon image."

China's state TV bans pig images to avoid offending Muslims

[Soldier4Christ]

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2007 is the year of the pig. (*SNICKER* DW) Across China, images of the animal are proliferating on billboards and in print advertisements as well as being used in promotional gifts in many shops.

SNICKER!!

If they get offended by pigs then they need to stay away from here. This is pig country. Pigs are second only to dairy cows.

[Shammu]

China's state TV bans pig images to avoid offending Muslims

And pigs fly..........................

[Shammu]

Church hosts 'porn and pancakes' event

Fri Jan 26, 11:08 PM ET

ONTARIO, N.Y. - It's not your typical church breakfast. An event billed as "Porn and Pancakes" is being hosted by a church in rural upstate New York.

The breakfast discussion on the pornography industry in America is planned next month at the Living Word Assembly of God Church in the town of Ontario, about ten miles east of Rochester.

A billboard advertisement near the church shows the words "Porn and Pancakes" written in syrup on a stack of flapjacks.

Organizers told a Rochester TV station that the event on February 10th will be an honest discussion about pornography and its impact on society. The discussion will be led by Triple-X Church, a group of youth ministers who travel the country talking about porn and the porn industry.

The pastor of the Wayne County church and churches from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse have asked about hosting "Porn and Pancakes" events.

Church hosts 'porn and pancakes' event

[Shammu]

Iranian nuclear official denies centrifuges installation 

2007-01-28 05:02:53

    TEHRAN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian nuclear official Saturday denied a senior Iranian lawmaker's earlier announcement saying the country is installing 3,000 nuclear centrifuges, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    "No new centrifuges have been installed in Natanz," Hossein Seemorgh, public relations director of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted as saying.

    IRNA said that Seemorgh's remarks were a reaction to the earlier statement by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chief of Iran's parliamentary national security and foreign affairs.

   Earlier in the day, IRNA quoted Boroujerdi as saying that "We are now installing 3,000 centrifuges."

    He also said that the installation "stabilizes Iran's capability in the field of nuclear technology."

    "Inshallah (God willing), it will be completed in due time," Boroujerdi said, without elaborating on details of the installation work.

    Iranian officials have said that Iran plans to install 3,000centrifuges for uranium enrichment at a plant in Natanz in central Iran by the end of the current Iranian year, which ends on March20.

    According to Iran's announced plan, it will eventually have 60,000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment. The country also has an ambitious plan to build 20 nuclear power plants.

    Uranium enrichment at low levels can be used to produce fuel to generate electricity but at higher levels can be used to make atomic bombs. Iran has already claimed that it has enriched uranium to levels of around 5 percent.

    In another report, IRNA said that three International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors arrived in Iran late Friday to inspect the country's nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

    A reliable source told IRNA on Saturday that the inspectors will carry out routine inspection of Iran's nuclear facilities in their week-long mission.

    Their visits came after Iran announced on Monday that it had decided not to allow 38 IAEA inspectors to enter the country, and it had been officially communicated to the UN atom agency.

    Iran insisted that it, as a member of IAEA, has the right to allow or bar the UN nuclear watchdog's inspectors from visiting their territory.

    The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1737 on Dec. 23,2006, demanding Iran to "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and work on all heavy water-related projects."

    However, Iran has rejected the resolution as an "illegal measure" and vowed to continue the country's nuclear programs.

Iranian nuclear official denies centrifuges installation

[Shammu]

Bush's backdoor attack: Iran via Hizbullah

New policy authorizing attacks on Iranian agents in Iraq also allows for covert ops against Iran-backed terror groups all across ME, including Hizbullah
Yitzhak Benhorin

President Bush has authorized an aggressive program aimed at impeding Iran's influence all around the Middle East, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Friday, the Washington Post reported Bush's authorization of a new, more intensive policy that allows for more stringent measures against Iran.  This includes, primarily, the authority to capture or kill Iranian agents active in Iraq, a story Bush and other US officials did not deny. However, the new policy extends far beyond Iraq.

The Post reported that the new plan is part of a wider US strategy aimed at destroying Iranian influence from Afghanistan to Lebanon, as well as to hinder Iran's nuclear program. In this context, the plan addresses known terrorist entities within the sphere of Iran's influence, such as Hizbullah.

According the Post, during the Lebanon war, senior US officials concluded on the importance of exposing the connection between Iran's nuclear plan and its extensive assistance in arming, training and funding terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hizbullah and insurgent militias in Iraq.

As part of the new plan, US intelligence has now begun covert operations against Hizbullah.  It is also focused on weakening Tehran's funding chain to Hizbullah and to various Palestinian terror organizations.

The Post also reported that the White House ordered an extension of what is known among the intelligence community as the "Blue Game Matrix", a list of potential operations to be taken against Hizbullah. 

In his State of the Union Address Tuesday, Bush mentioned Hizbullah, referring to it as "second only to al-Qaeda in the amount of American lives it has taken" and condemning its attempts to sow turmoil and undermine the existing Lebanese government.

Bush's backdoor attack: Iran via Hizbullah

[Shammu]

Church uses sexy billboard to get people in

A church in Matthews is taking an unconventional approach in an effort to lure people to attend services.

Charlotte South Fellowship has put up a billboard at the corner of Highway 74 and Interstate 485 which reads "Sex Crazy."

The billboard is an attempt by the church to draw attention to an upcoming church series.

The “Sex Crazy” series starts February 4 and will explore sexuality in today’s culture and offer guidance in dealing with tough issues.

Lead Pastor Kenny Hibbard said, “At Charlotte South, we’ve always done things a little outside of the box so that we can talk about real issues that people face each day.”
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I wil not post the link because of wording in the title.

A generation ago A.W. Tozer wisely said,"One of the most popular current errors,and the one out of which springs most of the noisy,blustering religious activity in evangelical circles,is the notion that as times change the church the church must change with them."

If we aren't already in the "great falling away",then I sure would hate to see what has become of these "churches" then.

Also God tells us not to use trickery, deceit or impure motives. We need to trust God, with the message of the Gospel.

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 For our appeal [in preaching] does not [originate] from delusion or error or impure purpose or motive, nor in fraud or deceit. 4 But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the glad tidings (the Gospel), so we speak not to please men but to please God, Who tests our hearts [expecting them to be approved].