The following articles are compiled by:

Leo Wong

Leo@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

Javier Solana says Tony Blair won't mediate Middle East peace

Source: jurnalo.com

 

Middle East quartet envoy Tony Blair will not be charged with mediating in the Middle East conflict, but with channelling aid towards the construction of a Palestinian state, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was Friday quoted as saying. Former British Premier Blair, whose appointment has been met with scepticism in parts of the region, will not conduct a peace process, the Spanish daily El Pais quoted Solana as saying in Lisbon.

 

Blair's task will be to mobilize political and economic aid, "will and solidarity" to create a government structure for a Palestinian state, Solana explained.

 

The current situation in the Palestinian territories, with the confrontation between Fatah and Hamas, did not make Blair's task easy, Solana added.

 

Comments:  Never say never.  When a slick politician such as Javier Solana says one thing, expect him to mean the complete opposite.  Don’t trust lawyers, bureaucrats and politicians.  Senor Solana, after all, has indicated that he was resigning sometime in the near future.  If he can groom Tony Blair in all the finer aspects of the Arab‑Israeli quagmire, perhaps a Middle East Peace Express Course would be in order.  You know Blair won’t be content with a janitorial job of cleaning up the Palestinian mess.  He’ll want to be promoted to Director of Personnel Relations after the required 6‑month probation period.  No, a former prime minister of Britain has lofty aspirations to work outside his job description and put in some overtime hours getting Jews and Arabs to explore all aspects of the Quartet’s peace proposals.  With his boyish enthusiasm and Crest Whitestrip whitened molars, he’s bound to get a few jaws to drop as they marvel at his mediation skills.  He might even enlist Paul McCartney and Sean Lennon to replay the Beatles’ hit “Give Peace a Chance”.  Anything and everything including the kitchen sink from Buckingham Palace will be available to help forge Middle East peace.

 

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Jordan King Abdullah rejects West Bank confederacy

Source: Associated Press/Jerusalem Post

 

Jordan's King Abdullah II flatly rejected a confederation with the Palestinians on Sunday, calling any such proposal at the current time a "conspiracy" against his kingdom and the Palestinians, a local newspaper reported.

 

Despite government assertions to the contrary, speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Jordan may want to assume a protectorate role in the West Bank by forming a confederation with the Palestinians.

 

In newspaper remarks published Sunday, Abdullah said he was "fed up talking about this issue."

 

"We reject the formula of confederation and federation and we believe that proposing this issue at this specific period is a conspiracy against both Palestine and Jordan," Abdullah told the independent Al-Ghad newspaper.

 

This key US ally fears that any confederation before a final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could give credence to Israeli hard-liners, who have urged making Jordan a home for the West Bank's Arabs.

 

Under a 1950 deal, Jordan administered the West Bank and east Jerusalem until Israel captured them in the 1967 war. Abdullah's father, the late King Hussein, severed administrative links with the West Bank in 1988, handing responsibility to the Palestine Liberation Organization under its late leader, Yasser Arafat.

 

Hussein said a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation was possible once the Palestinians had an independent state.

 

In May, the Israeli Maariv daily said that Jordan was pressing hard for a confederation with the Palestinians.

 

But Abdullah echoed his father's position Sunday, saying it was "premature to talk about the shape of future relations with Palestine and we will not tackle this issue until an independent Palestinian state on Palestinian soil is established."

 

When asked if there was Israeli or US pressure on Jordan to accept a confederation with the Palestinians, he said, "We will not accept such solutions no matter what the pressures are."

 

The king harshly rebuked Israel in the interview, underlining his frustration with its peace policies.

 

Comments:  The question has been asked many times in the past:  Why won’t Jordan assist the displaced Palestinians?  After all, Jordan (about the size of Texas) has a lot of land that the Palestinians can create a state. In comparison, Israel’s land is about the size of the state of New Jersey and shrinking to the size of Rhode Island with each Israeli concession.   The Arabs would never agree to this.  They assert that the Jews should not be in ‘Palestine’, only the Palestinians.  Of late, they have grudgingly recognized Israel’s right to the Holy Land.

 

King Abdullah may be an angry man who’s pulling out his hair and beard in frustration over the Middle East peace situation, but he can blame himself for much of the problems.  After all, his Hashmite Kingdom holds the key to the Temple Mount and his country could easily absorb many of the Palestinian refugees who have been refused to return to Israel.  All he needs to do is permit Israel’s religious leaders to build the Third Temple alongside the existing Dome of the Rock and agree to take in any Palestinians who prefer to dwell in Jordan and the Middle East process would progress speedily like a hot knife through butter.  He has to have the will and the courage.  Yes, a West Bank-Jordan confederation is rather premature considering that the state of Palestine is only a proposal albeit a done deal to some optimistic anti-Israel proponents.

 

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Poll: Americans' confidence in the church nears all-time low 

Source: THE CHRISTIAN POST

 

Americans' confidence in organized religion and other institutions is down across the board compared to last year, a recent Gallup poll found.

 

Of those surveyed, only 46 percent said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in church/organized religion - one percentage point of being the lowest in Gallup's history since 1973.

 

Confidence in the church dropped in the wake of the television evangelism scandals of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It then fell significantly in the wake of revelations surrounding the Catholic priest abuse scandal in 2002.

 

Comments:  Luke 18:[8] Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?    America and Canada have become more godless with each passing year.  With the uncontrolled influx of pagan based religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, New Ageism, the cults and the occult, the populace have embraced these imports and are shunning God, Jesus and the Bible.  Many of these promote self as the center of one’s life and a link with the universal force (Satanic in origin).  We can be whatever we want to be.  Just think positively, expand our conscientiousness, look within ourselves and for the goodness in others.  We can all achieve godhood.

 

No thanks to the Roman Catholic Church and its historical killing Crusades, many have blamed Christianity for starting wars and butchering people by the millions all in the name of God.  How can a loving God permit such atrocities?   If we can somehow stamp out Christianity, we can rid this planet of wars and conflicts.  God is the punching bag.  It’s an easy cop out not realizing that it’s not God who is behind all this, but Satan, the murderer from the very beginning.  Christ rejecters use religion as an excuse not to accept the Savior of sinners, Jesus.  It’s not religion that they need, but Christ.  Sinners kill due to their lust, envy and wicked hearts.

 

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Car bomber strikes Scotland

Source: SCOTLAND on SUNDAY 

 

Suspected suicide car bombers struck at Glasgow Airport yesterday, causing a massive fire, widespread panic and pushing the UK's terror threat level to "critical" - the highest level possible.

Witnesses said two Asian men deliberately rammed a four-wheel-drive vehicle into doors at Terminal 1, resulting in a fireball and causing thousands of passengers to flee for their lives.

 

Last night, police said the attack was linked to last week's failed car bombings in London. It also emerged that one of the alleged attackers had a "suspect device" removed from his body after he was taken to hospital to be treated for life-threatening burns. Prime Minister Gordon Brown chaired a meeting of Cobra - joined on a videolink by First Minister Alex Salmond - after which it was announced the security threat level was being increased to "critical", an indication that further terror attacks are considered imminent.

 

Comments:  There has been some talk on the Internet that since Tony Blair was appointed Middle East envoy, the UK has been targeted for terrorist attacks.  That could explain this bombing in Scotland or it could just be a mere coincidence.  This has the British people in a state of anxiety not knowing if and when the next attack will take place.  We know the UK is not on Islam’s popularity list because of the stationing of British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and especially Britain’s cozy association with U.S. President Bush.  Any friend of Bush’s is fair game for suicide bombers.  Mr. Blair will have to watch his back every carefully when he travels from town to town in the West Bank in fulfilling his job duties.  I wouldn’t want to be his bodyguards for all the pasta in Venice.  He will be a contract for hire for assassins I would think.  If radical Muslims had threatened to shoot Prince Harry, Tony Blair would not be exempted.  Mr. Blair’s wish to become a Roman Catholic would be easier and a lot safer than shuttle diplomacy in the shooting gallery known as the Occupied Territories.

 

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Joel Osteen Prepares for U.K. Tour

Source: Christian Post

 

The pastors of the largest church in the United States will kick off their U.K. tour on July 3 at the Odyssey Arena Belfast in Northern Ireland.

 

Other stops by Joel and Victoria Osteen of Lakewood Church will include London's Wembley Arena on Friday, July 6, and the NEC Arena in Birmingham on Saturday, July 7.

 

Each event, titled “A Night of Hope,” will feature an ”exciting” time of praise, worship and prayer during which attendees will hear an inspirational message from the Osteens along with the electrifying music of Dove Award-winning Cindy Cruse Ratcliff and the Lakewood band and ensemble.

 

Comments:  Church attendance in the U.K. has declined to a single digit percentage.  Great Britain can no longer consider itself a ‘Christian’ nation.  The formalities, traditions, liberalism, humanism, acceptance of gay clergy, denial of the authority of the Holy Spirit, lack of adherence to the Word of God, and the non-preaching of Jesus Christ as Savior in the state Church of England have all contributed to Britons leaving the churches in droves never to return.  The vacuum has been filled by pleasures and sins for a season.  “What’s in it for me?” is what each Brit asks himself/herself.  Like Americans, it’s all about what one can get out of life.  Live life now with mucho gusto.

 

The Osteens will find a grand welcoming committee awaiting them in the U.K. Their M.O. (Modus Operandi) is “we do not offend sinners”.  As such, they don’t bring up touchy subjects such as sin, God’s holiness and judgment, repentance, Jesus on the cross dying and shedding His blood, forgiveness of sins, salvation, discipleship.  In their place are ‘good feeling’ sugar coated speeches about attaining one’s best life now, becoming wealthy beyond one’s wildest dreams, and spending the rest of our lives praising God for our riches and happiness.  It’s a “good news, no bad news” gospel.  “No pain, no gain” does not exist for the Osteens.  If John Hagee hadn’t patented the slogan “Name it, claim it!”, Joel Osteen would have made that his calling card.  It’s not the Gospel that the Apostle Paul preached.  It lulls sinners into a false sense of security and it’s not what Jesus is all about.  It doesn’t warn sinners about physical death and Hell.  When an entire nation rejects Christ, God allows it to run after false teachers with grandiose wealth speeches.  2 Timothy 4:[3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.

 

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Israel braces for July war with up to five enemies

Source: www.worldtribune.com

 

Israel is preparing for an imminent war with Iran, Syria and/or their non-state clients.

 

Israeli military intelligence has projected that a major attack could come from any of five adversaries in the Middle East. Officials said such a strike could spark a war as early as July 2007.

 

On Sunday, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that the Jewish state faces five adversaries in what could result in an imminent confrontation. Yadlin cited Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas and Al Qaida.

 

Comments:  It may be indeed a “Black Day in July” as sung by Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot.  All signals point to Israel having to fight off a conglomerate of Arab/Muslim hordes.  It has been 34 years since the last major war in 1973.  In the Middle East, that is an extremely long interval between wars.  It’s been way overdue.  This time around, it appears that Egypt, Iraq and Jordan will sit on the sidelines, however, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran are more fierce with their Kamikaze fighting attitude.

 

Almost everyone agrees that this time around the stakes are much higher.  It will be either “destroy Israel or be destroyed”.  Israel will not hesitate to deploy her “Samson Option” which assures mutual destruction, i.e. Israel’s nukes will be launched in a scatter pattern that will hit major cities in Iran, Syria, Gaza City and Lebanon.  Mushroom clouds will dot the Middle East and Persian Gulf regions.  The radioactive fallout will make the Chernobyl nuclear contamination look minor league in comparison.  Unimaginable?  It does seem so since nothing of this magnitude has ever been experienced by planet Earth.  Israel will suffer immense loss of life and property.  The world will look on with bewilderment.  The pope and other religious leaders will clamour for sanity and a prompt return to reason.  Politicians will be rushed to a world conference to expedite an Arab-Israeli ceasefire and peace treaty.  It may very well require nuclear strikes by Israel for the long awaited Middle East peace to come about. The summer of 2007 may be the hottest one on record. Make sure you bring along a short wave radio with you if you’re planning a vacation at the cottage.

 

 

 

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Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

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