---

The following articles are compiled by:

Leo Wong

Leo@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

 

 

Israel and Saudis inch toward talks on Middle East peace

Source: Associated Press

 

March 28, 2007 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice encouraged Israel and the Palestinians to continue direct talks as an international diplomatic drive toward Mideast peace gained ground Monday.

 

Israel welcomed the idea of a regional peace summit and Saudi Arabia suggested it would consider changes in a dormant peace initiative that could make it more acceptable to Israel.

 

The new developments came at a time of high-profile diplomacy, with Rice and United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon both in the region for talks with Israeli and Arab leaders.

 

Rice has been trying to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, with help from Arab neighbours. Israel has refused substantive talks since moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, whom Israel had called a partner for peace, joined Hamas militants in a coalition government this month.

 

Hamas is a political and military group that the United States, Israel and the European Union list as a terror group.

 

"I don't intend by any means to take control of the Palestinian-Israeli bilateral dialogue," Rice told reporters before a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "I think it's extremely important that that continue."

   

But on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he "wouldn't hesitate" to take part in a regional summit. Palestinian officials cautiously endorsed the idea.

 

Any such meeting -- especially if Saudi and Israeli officials were to publicly meet -- would be a huge symbolic breakthrough. Saudis and Israelis are believed to have held private meetings in the last year.

 

A regional gathering would bring Israel and the Palestinians together as part of wider talks involving moderate Arab countries and four would-be Mideast peacemakers: The United States, European Union, UN and Russia.

 

Olmert said he would look at an invitation to such a summit "in a very positive manner."

 

 

The signs of progress came ahead of an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia this week, where the Saudis are expected to relaunch a 2002 proposal calling for a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Arab world.

 

Comments:  Inch by inch, the Middle East peace process plods along toward an eventual regional peace.  Thereafter comes world peace.  The New World Order linchpins couldn’t have planned it any better.  Yesterday, Ms. Condi Rice said she didn’t believe in a “big bang” peace solution, but an incremental bit by bit process.  Yes, she may be right on that, but this turtle like sprint will become cannon shot once the Rapture event has occurred and the Antichrist is catapulted onto the world scene.  Until that happens, the Saudi peace initiative appears to pave the way for Daniel 9:27 [And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week] to be fulfilled.  (The 1993 Oslo Accords = dead. The Quartet’s Roadmap needs a GPS navigational unit.)  The “he” refers to the Antichrist and the “many” alludes to Israel entering into a peace pact with many nations/peoples, most likely Arab nations or the entire world community.

 

The word “comprehensive” is being bandied about more often these days than in the past.  No longer content on just solving the Israeli-Palestinian quagmire, the Arab League wants all players involved, i.e. Palestinians, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, etc., to sign onto a “comprehensive” peace treaty with Israel. In the past, it has always been the Arabs who have resisted peace overtures from Israel (no thanks to U.S. pressure bearing down on the Israelis).  Now, the ball is squarely on Israel’s side of the court.  She must respond to the Saudi initiative.  A rejection will most likely ignite a regional war that will parallel the major wars of 1953, 1967 and 1973 except this time around, Israel will go for the jugular vein and no amount on Russian threats will deter her.  Perhaps the next major Middle East war will precipitate the Russian-Persian led invasion of Israel (see Ezekiel 38) to exact retribution on the Jewish State.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Guitar god Eric Clapton

Source: Tom Harrison for CanWest News Service

 

March 28, 2007 -- He was God in 1965, uncle by 2007.

 

Eric Clapton has proven more human than Godlike these past 42 years. As God he was worshipped for his guitar-playing. As everybody's favourite uncle he's experienced personal disasters. He seems to want to help just as his friends were there to help him. Those good intentions, and his obvious flaws, are why he is liked and respected and might even eclipse his original claim to fame.

 

Clapton has been involved in tributes such as the concert following the 2004 death of George Harrison, been interviewed for countless musicians he respects such as Ronnie Lane, participated in almost as many charity concerts from Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh to Lane's A.R.M.S Benefit.

 

As a father, he suffered the death of a child, Conor, in 1991. As a musician, he has survived drug addiction and alcoholism.

 

As a philanthropist, he has established the Crossroads Centre to help other musicians overcome their addiction and/or alcoholism.

 

By 1971, Clapton was unhappy for various reasons and turned to heroin. Friends like Harrison and, especially, Pete Townsend, helped him beat his addiction and, despite an ensuing long bout with alcoholism, the Clapton we've known since 1974's 461 Ocean Boulevard began to show himself.

 

Comments:  Mark 13:[22] For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 1 John 2:[18] Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

 

Is there any doubt that Eric Clapton is a false Christ/antichrist?  He doesn’t even try to refute it.  Oh how he must soak it all in that his adoring fans revere him as God.  Overt blatant idol worship of the worst sort.  Utter blasphemy!  Idolatry has once again raised its ugly head and it seems like it’s growing in intensity.  How is it that “American and Canadian Idols” and “Dancing With the Stars” are top rated TV shows?  Most reality shows is about self when you think about it.  Why the fixation with worshipping mere human beings?

 

Clapton is an avowed doper and a godless man to boot.  His friends (George Harrison and Pete Townsend) are noted anti-Christians.  George Harrison was a follower of Eastern mysticism and Hinduism.  On his death bed, he didn’t ask for a Bible believing pastor or minister, but requested that his cremated ashes be spread over India’s Ganges River.  He wanted to be with the Indian gods.  He believed in the serpent’s lie (reincarnation).  Genesis 3:[4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

 

Clapton’s experiences with hallucination inducing drugs would have taken him into the spirit world where demons run to and fro.  They would no doubt have endowed him with inspiration for his demonic songs and revved up his guitar stringing skills.  The end result is the mesmerizing of millions of brainwashed fans and groupies all bowing at his feet and paying him homage.  It’s no wonder that his concerts sell out faster than an All You Can Eat Lobsterfest for $9.99 at Long John Silver’s Restaurant.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Lotto sellers pocket $100M in bogus prizes: Provincial agency was 'fixated on profit'

Source: Canadian Press

 

March 28, 2007 -- "Unscrupulous" lottery-ticket retailers in Ontario have collected at least $100 million in fraudulent claims since 1999, thanks in large part to a "hopelessly conflicted" provincial agency that allowed the practice to persist, a government watchdog said Monday.

 

In an investigation of jackpot wins by so-called lottery insiders, ombudsman Andre Marin showed no quarter to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which he said ignored allegations of fraud because it was "fixated on profit rather than public service."

 

"The OLG's oversight of retailers is non-existent," Marin told a news conference.

 

"The OLG has turned a blind eye to allegations of crime for many years. The OLG's scant documentation... reveals that $100 million were pocketed by insiders between 1999 and 2006."

 

Marin stopped short of calling for a ban on retailers buying lottery tickets, but said the government-owned corporation has too cosy a relationship with the thousands of men and women who sell its products -- and are also some of its best customers.

 

"It has lost sight of the fact that it is supposed to be the guardian of the trust of the public," he said. "Without the trust that whoever has lady luck on their side will actually pocket the jackpot, confidence in our lottery is shattered."

  

Marin criticized the corporation for failing to keep track of how many retailers it has and how many have claimed jackpots, and called the OLG's "coddling" of retailers its "fatal flaw."

 

Customers who complained were rarely taken seriously, said Marin, who called the corporation's customer-complaints department "rude and inept" when dealing with them.

 

"The problem with how the OLG dealt with allegations (of fraud by insiders) is that there was way too much hanky panky between retailers and the OLG," he said.

 

Another investigation was launched in British Columbia after the province's lottery corporation found retailers were winning six times more than the general public.

 

Comments:  Fraudulent gambling?  Sounds like a double negative here.  Gambling is trying to get something for no work.  Playing the stock market is another example of gambling.  Governments which legalized state and provincial lotteries are now calling the kettle black.  Unscrupulous retailers who sell the governments’ gaming tickets have defrauded the system causing it to lose its credibility with the buying public.

 

A recent TV investigative report showed how retailers can tell which scratch and win tickets are winners and which aren’t.  With a pin, a retailer employee can simply drag the head of the pin lightly over the scratch area and the prize or “Sorry.  Please Try Again” is revealed.  Of course, the unwary consumer doesn’t know this and it’s conceivable that entire boxes of scratch and win tickets would not yield any big winners because the big prizes have already been taken out by the “relatives” of the retailer.  So as not to produce unhappy customers, the $5 and $10 prizes aren’t cashed in by the retailer, i.e. the “crumbs” are left for his/her customers.  Another way of ripping the customer off is for a retailer employee to check a customer’s winning ticket and tell him/her that he/she had won a much lesser prize and then pocketing the bulk of the winnings.

 

In today’s lottery frenzy, the customers deserve what they’re not getting.  Gambling has gotten out of control.  Powerball is all that Americans talk about to their fellow lotto players. The monster that was unleashed by governments cannot be controlled.  It’s a sign of the last days when the love of money is indeed the root of all evil.  Even Christians are caught up with the prospect of gain without work.  Lady luck indeed.  1 Timothy 6:[10] For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  2 Timothy 3:[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

Watchmen Watching HOME PAGE

Millennium Weekend Ministries Home Page