Watchman Newsletter

Deception: Appearing to be on God's Side

From The Lighthouse (Link) - Ray Yungen (January 24, 2009)

In the days prior to Jesus Christ's return, [f]amiliar spirits (fallen angels) will not just mislead a few individuals; they will deceive the whole world into embracing a new system. Satan (whose name means adversary) will be the power behind the "coming one"-the great Antichrist. The origin of the Antichrist-s religious system is clearly revealed by the apostle John in Revelation 17:5:

"And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth."

Another word for Babylon in the Old Testament was Chaldea. The Chaldeans were renowned for their use of metaphysical arts. They began the first mystery schools. Daniel 4:7 says: "Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in." This Mystery Babylon, then, would be the original source or mother of what is now New Age metaphysics.

Emerging Church Movement Threatens Church Foundation, Says Pastor

The Christian Post (Link) - Eric Young (January 24, 2009)

The Emerging Church movement is seeking to revitalize the faith but may infect an entire generation with a philosophy that kills it, according a Reformed Presbyterian pastor and theologian.

"If churches embracing the principle of Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) fail to understand and address the concerns voiced in the Emerging Church conversation, we may lose an entire generation of professing believers,” says the Rev. Rutledge Etheridge, an adjunct professor of systematic theology at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in Pittsburgh and pastor of Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church.

According to Etheridge, the Emerging Church movement – known for flexible methodology and efforts to be culturally relevant – seeks to glean the good from Christianity's past while painting a fresh picture of the faith today. Those familiar with the movement say its members seek to live their faith in what they believe to be a "postmodern" society, while its leaders are often critical of traditional evangelical churches and often place high value on good works or social activism.

Obama lifts ban on abortion funds

BBC News (Link) (January 24, 2009)

US President Barack Obama has lifted a ban on federal funding for foreign family planning agencies that promote or give information about abortion.

The US is one of the biggest supporters of family planning programmes globally, but former president George W Bush blocked funds for abortion services. Powerful anti-abortion groups in the US have criticised the lifting of the ban. But aid agencies welcomed the move, saying it would promote women's health, especially in developing countries.

A White House spokesman said Mr Obama signed the executive order without asking for coverage by the media late on Friday afternoon. The issue of abortion services remains controversial in the US, pitting pro-life conservative groups against more liberal, pro-choice Americans who back a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says this may be why President Obama signed the order with so little fanfare.

A Free Pass for the Indispensable Man

National Review Online (Link) - Jonah Goldberg (January 23, 2009)

During the hothouse days of the presidential campaign, Joe Wurzelbacher became famous because he got Barack Obama to confess that he likes to spread the wealth around. Better known as Joe the Plumber, the Toledo, Ohio, laborer became the target of bottomless venom and scorn because he seemed like an obstacle to Obama’s coronation. One of the main talking points, particularly among left-wing bloggers, was that Wurzelbacher was a tax cheat because, it was revealed by ABC News, he had a tax lien of $1,182 for back Ohio state taxes. This fueled the argument that he was a fraud, his opinion didn’t matter. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

Fast-forward to today. Timothy Geithner, President Obama’s choice to be the next treasury secretary, quite clearly tried to defraud the government of tens of thousands in payroll taxes while working at the International Monetary Fund. The IMF does not withhold such taxes but does compensate American employees who must pay them out of pocket. Geithner took the compensation—which involves considerable paperwork—but then simply pocketed the money.

His explanations for his alleged oversight don’t pass the smell test. When the IRS busted him for his mistakes in 2003 and 2004, he decided to take advantage of the statute of limitations and not pay the thousands of dollars he also failed to pay in 2001 and 2002. That is, until he was nominated to become treasury secretary.

PA official: Israel made 'big mistake'

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (January 23, 2009)

Israel made a "big mistake" by ending Operation Cast Lead without overthrowing the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah said on Thursday. His remarks came as the PA security forces intensified their crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank. "It was a big mistake to end the war this way," the official said. "The fact that Hamas is still in power is bad for all."

The PA leadership had decided to take draconian measures to thwart any attempt by Hamas to stir unrest in the West Bank, the official also said. "There's no room for these Hamas thugs in the West Bank," he said. "We won't allow Hamas to turn the West Bank into another Islamic republic."

PA representatives have accused Hamas of killing and kneecapping dozens of Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks. During the past few days, the PA security forces arrested more than 30 Hamas supporters and figures in different parts of the West Bank. One of those who arrested was Khaled Amayreh, a journalist from the Hebron area, who appeared on a local TV station and allegedly voiced sympathy for Hamas. Amayreh was released after being held in a prison cell for 55 hours.

Britain officially slips into recession

Reuters (Link) - Fiona Shaikh and David Milliken (January 23, 2009)

Britain's economy shrank at its fastest pace in nearly three decades at the end of last year, sending the economy into recession for the first time since 1991 as the financial crisis hit even harder than expected. Friday's bleak data piles pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, under fire after massive job losses, banking sector turmoil and a plummeting currency knocked Britons' faith in his ability to deal with the global economic downturn. "The economy entered recession with an almighty bang in the fourth quarter of 2008," said Howard Archer of Global Insight.

The Office for National Statistics said the economy shrank by 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the biggest drop since 1980. That followed a 0.6 percent decline in the third quarter, fulfilling the technical definition of recession. The figures drove the pound down to a fresh 23-year low against the dollar, and the FTSE-100 share index fell below the psychologically important 4,000 mark for the first time in more than a month as investors realized the UK was in for a deep and prolonged downturn.

The Bank of England has already slashed borrowing costs by three-and-a-half percentage points since October to shore up the economy, and Friday's data fueled bets policymakers would have to cut rates further from the current 1.5 percent. "With the UK economy now officially deep in recession, we continue to expect interest rates to be cut to zero or thereabouts within the next two or three months," said Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics.

'IDF accomplished goals of Gaza op'

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (January 23, 2009)

Paratroopers Brigade Commander Col. Herzi Halevi said Friday that the IDF accomplished the goals of Operation Cast Lead. "No one really believed that Gaza would be completely clean of rocket launchers and tunnels," Halevi told Israel Radio. "The IDF hit numerous Hamas operatives and a lot of its infrastructure, and now the other side understands that a second round won't be such a good idea," he added.

During the three-week operation, the IDF destroyed 80 percent of the 300 tunnels that Hamas is believed to have dug under the Philadelphi Corridor, the 14-kilometer stretch of land separating Gaza and Egypt. Nevertheless, since the end of the operation Hamas has seized control of all the remaining tunnels and has been moving additional arms into the Strip since Operation Cast Lead ended on Sunday morning.

Pulling out the pistons for 100 miles to the gallon

Israel 21c (Link) - Karin Kloosterman (January 22, 2009)

Americans love their cars, and own more of them per capita than anywhere else on earth -- some 765 for every 1,000 people. But turbulent financial times threaten both the automotive industry and the ability to put gas in the tanks of our favored mode of transportation.

Electric cars offer promise, but switching over still has limits: infrastructure is lacking, new cars need to be built, and the electric car just doesn't have the same "muscle" as the petrol-fueled machines that Americans love.

An entirely new solution may come by way of an Israeli company - Agam Energy Systems -- which has developed a piston-less turbine engine, featuring a new kind of compressor that the company hopes will revolutionize the automotive industry. American automakers are already taking notice, the company reports.

Solana says George Mitchell as Obama’s Mideast envoy is ‘good news’

European Jewish Press (Link) - Yossi Lempkowicz (January 22, 2009)

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has welcomed as “good news” a report that US President Barack Obama has asked former Senator George Mitchell, who helped broker the 1998 peace deal in Northern Ireland, to become his Middle East envoy. “I know him very well, he is going to do a very good job,” Solana said at a press conference in Brussels after a meeting between the 27 EU Foreign Ministers and their Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni.

At the end of the Clinton administration, Mitchell, 75, was appointed to lead an international commission to investigate the causes of violence in the Middle East. He released a report in 2001 that called for a freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank and a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism. Solana contributed to this report.

Mitchell is viewed as a diplomatic heavyweight who may bring more balance to Washington’s relationships in the region, the New York Times wrote. "He’s neither pro-Israeli nor pro-Palestinian," said Martin Indyk,, a former US ambassador to Israel and an adviser to the Clinton administration.

CODE RED: Economy in Collapse - Drastic Actions Will Be Taken

Trend Alert (Link) - Gerald Celente (January 22, 2009)

President Barack Obama will use his poll shattering popularity to swiftly enact policies that will prove to be among the most costly and potentially destructive in America's history, predicts Trends Research Institute Director Gerald Celente. "We are forecasting dramatic measures will soon be taken by the Obama Administration that will worsen the credit crisis and severely damage the nation's economic system," says Celente.

According to The Trends Research Institute Director, the new President who swept into the White House on a tidal wave of unprecedented enthusiasm and the blessings of a strong majority, will have free reign to take whatever actions he deems necessary. "Whatever Obama wants, Obama gets. Desperate, scared and not knowing what to do to survive the economic storm, people are seeking a messiah to save them, and Obama is their man," said Celente. "When fear rules, reason and logic are ruled out." (According to an AP poll, 71 percent of Americans believe the economy will improve during the first year of the Obama presidency.)

The 332-point stock market decline that greeted Mr. Obama into office (a record breaker for Inauguration Day) and today's 105-point market decline will be followed by a steady stream of worsening economic news and major financial calamities, Gerald Celente forecasts. Just as President Bush exploited 9/11 as a pretext to wage the War on Terror, invade Iraq, abrogate the Constitution and exert broad Executive powers (with bipartisan and majority public support), President Obama will be given even greater latitude to fight a war on economic terror, predicts Celente.

'Maximum 600 Palestinians died in Gaza'

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (January 22, 2009)

The number of Palestinians killed in Operation Cast Lead did not exceed five or six hundred, Lorenzo Cremonesi, a correspondent for Italy's Corriere della sera reported on Thursday. Cremonesi based his report on tours of hospitals in the Gaza Strip and on interviews with families of casualties.

He also assessed the number of wounded to be far lower than 5,000, the number quoted by Hamas and repeated by the UN and the Red Cross in Gaza. "It is sufficient to visit several hospitals [in the Gaza Strip] to understand that the numbers don't add up," he wrote.

In the European hospital in Rafah, one of the facilities which would presumably be filled with wounded from the "war of the tunnels," many beds were empty, according to Cremonesi. A similar situation was noted in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and in the privately-run Amal Hospital Cremonesi reported that only five out 150 beds were occupied.

EU Urges Israel to Lift Gaza Aid Blockade

Voice Of America News (Link) - Lisa Bryant (January 22, 2009)

As the last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, European Union foreign ministers in Brussels urged Israel to lift its blockade of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory. The ministers met in Brussels with their Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni late Wednesday. The Europeans have sent official missions to the Middle East to seek a truce in the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 27-member block is the biggest aid donor to the Palestinians.

Although a truce has been struck, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters the stakes are high in maintaining the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs Gaza. "I would like to say the situation is still fragile, the ceasefire is fragile. And all the efforts have to be made to make it solid, to make it durable, to make it sustainable. I would like to say also it is very important that Gaza is open, that crossings are open and the help that the international community is willing to give can arrive to those in need," he said.

Mr. Solana said the European Union is committed politically to maintaining the cease-fire and committed economically to helping the Palestinians. He said the E.U. also wants to ensure a secure future for the Palestinians and for the Middle East peace process.

Palestinian medics say Israeli forces killed 1,300 Palestinians in the fighting. Thirteen Israelis were killed by Hamas rocket attacks on Israel.

The European Union says it hopes the new U.S. administration of President Barack Obama will breathe new life into the Mideast peace process. But the E.U. ministers downplayed the chance of discussions with Hamas in the near future.

UN chief looks to new partnership with Obama

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Associated Press (January 24, 2009)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he looks forward to "a new era of strong and effective partnership" with the United States under President Barack Obama who shares many of the same goals as the United Nations.

Ban, who just returned to New York from a 10-day Mideast trip aimed at getting a cease-fire in Gaza, congratulated Obama on his inauguration "with great optimism." "More than ever before, the challenges we face as a community of nations are global in scope," Ban said in a statement. "Economic uncertainty. Climate change. Pressing issues of peace and security, including disarmament and non-proliferation. The multiple crises of food, energy and human development. By their nature, these are issues that require strong and collective responses."

In his inaugural address, Ban said, "president Obama was explicit in committing his administration to tackling all of these problems, urgently and decisively."

Where You Won't Shop in 2009

Yahoo! Finance (Link) - Forbes.com - Tom Van Riper (January 21, 2009)

While industry executives and shoppers will remember 2008 as the year the party ended, figure 2009 to be the year of the hangover. Already, Circuit City, Linens 'N Things and Mervyn's stores are going away. Sharper Image is too, though the company will continue to sell some of its high-end gadgets through license agreements with other retailers.

More pain is on the way. One-third of U.S. women recently surveyed by America's Research Group said they plan no clothing purchases--none--in 2009. Normally, it's just 4%. That means the market is still far too saturated with stores.

Expect closings to rattle the likes of Lane Bryant, Gap, and Starbucks. It's the inevitable counterpunch to the days of retailers fighting hand over fist for market share during an era of loose credit and minuscule interest rates. Those days are over, probably for a long time. While accelerating unemployment will only last so long, consumers' debt loads and credit access don't figure to recover to pre-party levels for quite awhile.

"I don't think we will live the same way for 10 years," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York-based retail consultant and investment bank Davidowitz & Associates. "People are so scared they're starting to save."

Levitt: Banks Will Be Nationalized

Newsmax Money News (Link) (January 21, 2009)

Some experts have argued that U.S. banks should be nationalized. Arthur Levitt, a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman goes a step farther: He says our banks will be nationalized. “The whole question of ringing banks, of having good banks and bad banks doesn’t make sense. Clearly we’re moving toward nationalizing banks,” Levitt, a senior advisor to private equity firm Carlyle Group, told Bloomberg TV. The government has to choose winners and losers among the banks, Levitt says. “Nothing less will work.”

That’s not the favored policy of the Obama administration, but “it’s being pushed toward that,” he says. “The whole idea of forcing banks to lend is a populist notion. To whom are they going to lend? I don’t think there’s demand from borrowers out there.” The government can’t force banks to lend, Levitt says. “At most, the government can jawbone.”

Gordon Brown brings Britain to the edge of bankruptcy

The Telegraph UK (Link) - Iain Martin (January 21, 2009)

They don't know what they're doing, do they? With every step taken by the Government as it tries frantically to prop up the British banking system, this central truth becomes ever more obvious.

Yesterday marked a new low for all involved, even by the standards of this crisis. Britons woke to news of the enormity of the fresh horrors in store. Despite all the sophistry and outdated boom-era terminology from experts, I think a far greater number of people than is imagined grasp at the root of what is happening here.

The country stands on the precipice. We are at risk of utter humiliation, of London becoming a Reykjavik on Thames and Britain going under. Thanks to the arrogance, hubristic strutting and serial incompetence of the Government and a group of bankers, the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic.

The political impact will be seismic; anger will rage. The haunted looks on the faces of those in supporting roles, such as the Chancellor, suggest they have worked out that a tragedy is unfolding here. Gordon Brown is engaged no longer in a standard battle for re-election; instead he is fighting to avoid going down in history disgraced completely.

Geithner pledges 'dramatic' action

Financial Times (Link) - Krishna Guha (January 21, 2009)

The Obama administration will take action on a “dramatic scale” to revive credit markets and strengthen banks so they are able to lend, Treasury secretary- designate Tim Geithner said on Wednesday. Testifying to the Senate committee considering his nomination, Mr Geithner said the Obama team was working on a “comprehensive plan” to deal with the banks and hoped to unveil it soon. “We’re going to have to do more to make sure that the institutions at the core of our system are strong enough that they can lend.”

He refused to offer any insight into how this might work, in spite of pressure from the markets, saying: “We have seen the costs in terms of uncertainty created by tentative signals not followed up with clear actions.” His remarks came as he repeatedly apologised for underpaying taxes in the early 2000s – a revelation that had delayed his confirmation hearing. The vast majority of members of the committee appeared willing to accept his apology.

He added: “We are also going to have to provide much more substantial direct support to credit markets” in order to “get risk premia down, interest rates down and get that basic mechanism of credit markets going again.” This suggests the Obama team will collaborate with the Federal Reserve to provide finance for securitised markets on a much expanded scale, probably building on the existing model of the Term Asset-backed Securities Lending Facility.

Al-Qaeda cell killed by Black Death 'was developing biological weapons'

Telegraph UK (Link) (January 20, 2009)

An al-Qaeda cell killed by the Black Death may have been developing biological weapons when it was infected, it has been reported. The group of 40 terrorists were reported to have been killed by the plague at a training camp in Algeria earlier this month.

It was initially believed that they could have caught the disease through fleas on rats attracted by poor living conditions in their forest hideout. But there are now claims the cell was developing the disease as a weapon to use against western cities. Experts said that the group was developing chemical and biological weapons.

Five lessons in global diplomacy

Financial Times (Link) - Javier Solana (January 20, 2009)

The US is not just another country and its president is not just another politician. Who he is, the choices he makes, matter to billions of people around the globe. There is no need to tell President Barack Obama that the world is messy and complicated or to list the many things that need to be done. We hope that Mr Obama and his team have also noted the places that have seen steady, sometimes dramatic, progress in recent years – China, Indonesia, Brazil and central Europe to name a few.

Successes can look after themselves. It is the problems and failures that he and others will have to focus on. In many cases, we understand the nature of the problem and even know what the solution looks like. Sometimes – in the Middle East, for example – we have known for years. The real question is how to implement it. Of course, every country is different, every problem particular. But experience over the years (including my own) suggests some key ingredients for tackling international problems.

More Moscow Murder

Washington Post (Link) (January 23, 2009)

Another Russian fighting for human rights and the rule of law has been murdered in Vladimir Putin's Moscow. Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who defended Chechens brutalized by Russian troops and journalists who wrote about the abuses, was shot in the head yesterday by a masked man carrying a silencer-equipped pistol. An opposition journalist who tried to intervene, Anastasia Baburova, was also fatally shot in the head. This occurred in broad daylight, on a busy street in central Moscow less than half a mile from the Kremlin. It was another demonstration that assassinations are a dominating feature of political life under Mr. Putin's regime.

Mr. Markelov, 34, was killed just after holding a news conference. In recent days, he had been fighting against the early release from prison of a Russian colonel who had been convicted of brutally murdering a Chechen woman. The officer, Yuri Budanov, has become a symbol for many of Russia's gross violations of human rights in Chechnya, since he was one of the few officers ever held accountable. Mr. Budanov's release a year before the end of his sentence prompted protest demonstrations in Chechnya; Mr. Markelov pointed out that Mr. Budanov's release contrasted sharply with the treatment of nonviolent political prisoners such as former Yukos oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was denied parole.

Serious infections rising in U.S. children: study

Reuters (Link) (January 19, 2009)

Children in the United States increasingly are developing serious head and neck infections with a drug-resistant type of "superbug" bacteria called MRSA, U.S. researchers said on Monday. They said rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, are rising in children, and called on doctors to be more judicious in prescribing antibiotics.

"There is a nationwide increase in the prevalence of MRSA in children with head and neck infections that is alarming," said Dr. Steven Sobol of Emory University, whose study appears in the Archives of Otalaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

MRSA previously had been a major concern only in hospitals, attacking patients who are already weakened by disease. But recent outbreaks in the community in otherwise healthy children have raised new concerns.

Israel Discovers Gas!

Israel National News (Link)- Hillel Fendel (January 18, 2009)

The Houston-based Noble Energy company, drilling for Israel’s Delek fuel company, announced that it has discovered a huge deposit of natural gas under the Mediterranean Sea near Haifa. Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) said that the find was of “historic proportions,” and that it could change the face of Israel’s economy.

Eighty-seven billion cubic meters, or nearly 3.1 trillion cubic feet, of high-quality gas are estimated to be in three deposits in the Tamar Drilling site, which is named for Delek owner Yitzchak Teshuva’s granddaughter. Teshuva said that the find marks a “historic milestone and a great holiday for Israel,” and that he has no doubt it will “supply Israel’s energy needs for many decades to come.”