The Gun and Jesus-Christ

Reblogged from www.omegashock.com

As I read the stories of broken lives and stolen futures, my blood just boils. I want the kleptocrats in Washington, D.C. and the banksters in New York to pay. I want the pornographers and the pedophiles to pay. I want the corrupt judges and the corrupt lawyers to pay. I want the psychopaths running our intelligence services and corporations to pay. I want them all to pay.
I am white-hot at the evil that is happening, and the desire for vengeance boils in my blood. And, I would be seeking a way to be out there exacting that vengeance, …except for one thing.
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Hot mic catches Egyptian president and cabinet plotting against Israel, America, and Ethiopia

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata´s the-end-time.blogspot.com

Isaiah 19 along with the more 'famous' prophecy in Isaiah 17 (Damascus destroyed)  are two prophecies that have not yet come to fruition. Isaiah 17's oracle regarding the city of Damascus (Syria) being razed to the ground with not one inhabitant hasn't come to pass yet because Damascus is the longest continuously lived-in city in the world- about 5500 or 6000 years. Isaiah 19's companion prophecy about the future of Egypt also has not come to pass-yet, though some parts of it have come to pass once already. Coffman's Commentary on the Old Testament explains the double fulfillment concept like this:

Source

"THE BURDEN OF EGYPT"

"This well organized chapter naturally divides into two sections. The first (Isaiah 19:1-15) falls into three stanzas or strophes: (a) strophe 1 (Isaiah 19:1-4) prophesies the overthrow of Egypt through strife and their suffering under a cruel ruler; (b) strophe 2 (Isaiah 19:5-10) prophesies the drying up of the Nile and the total collapse of Egypt's economy; (c) strophe 3 (Isaiah 19:11-15) foretells the incompetence of Egypt's vaunted wise men. The total picture that emerges in these fifteen verses is that of the total ruin of Egypt. "We may see in this section of the oracle Isaiah's determination to persuade the court of Judah not to embark on any alliance with Egypt against Assyria."

"The second division of the chapter (Isaiah 19:16-25) is Messianic and is composed of five sub-paragraphs, each of them beginning with the words "in that day." The paragraphs begin in Isaiah 19:16,18,19,23,24. Although the prophecies of this section could refer to historical events prior to Christianity, to the extent that this might be true, we believe that the great thrust of the passage is Messianic and that whatever fulfillments might have come in pre-Christian times such fulfillments were typical of the far more perfect fulfillments in Christ and the age of the Gospel. For example the return of Judah from captivity is far more adequately fulfilled in the acceptance of Christ by the "righteous remnant" of Israel and their release from the captivity of sin."

Isaiah 19 is not a long chapter, I recommend you read it.

In any case, with the usual attention to Turkey, Syria, Israel, Russia, and Iran in prophecy, I wanted to bring some attention back to Egypt in prophecy. The LORD has a plan for the Egyptians, it is a glorious plan, too! Though it will be dark for the Egyptians for a while, they are one of three nations specifically mentioned to be receiving a blessing in the Millennium! Here is what the LORD says,

"In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance." (Isaiah 19:24-25).

Isn't it fantastic that Egypt, terrible Pharaoh-ruled Egypt who oppressed the Israelites, are going to be blessed? Perhaps it is because that nation was chosen to harbor the savior Babe when the family fled Herod's plans to kill the Jesus and all the children. Don't count Egypt out just yet. They will be front and center of prophetic plans from our LORD!

Meanwhile, back to today, there is a part of the Egypt prophecy that I'd like to look at in view of some news.

"And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;" (Isaiah 19:2)

Egypt has had a long history of strife, external and internal. One Arab Spring or one dictator falling doesn't mean imminent fulfillment, but it is confirmatory of the character of the people throughout history. as described in the bible. With that caveat, here is the news,

"Egyptian Cabinet member caught on hot mic discussing war with enemies Israel and America"
"Just last month, Secretary of State John Kerry quietly sent Egypt an additional $1.3 billion, even though Egypt has failed to live up to democracy standards. That largesse didn’t stop a prominent Egyptian politician from talking about Egypt’s “enemy” the United States in what some pundits are classifying as a classic and embarrassing “hot mic” moment. President Mohammed Morsi gathered a group of politicians last week who thought they were speaking privately at a parliamentary meeting. But as seen in an Egyptian television video of the meeting — excerpts of which were later translated by the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) — they were actually on live television, cringingly discussing secret ways to stop Ethiopia’s Nile River dam project which threatens water flowing to Egypt."

"Before being told he was on television, Hussein described the U.S. as an enemy:

I’m very fond of battles. With the enemies, of course – with America and Israel, but this battle must be waged with maximum judiciousness and calm. Even though this is a secret meeting, we must all take an oath not to leak anything to the media, unless it is done officially by sister Pakinam [el-Sharkawy, a Morsi aide]. We need an official plan for popular national security, even if we…"
"The viewer sees him being handed a note, which presumably points out that his words are not confined to the room. Hussein laughs, then continues with the anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric: “Okay… Fine… The principles behind what I’m saying are not really secret… Our war is with America and Israel, not with Ethiopia. Therefore, engaging in a war… This is my opinion...”

Another part of the Isaiah 19 prophecy involves one of the world's great rivers, the Nile. The 'secret

meeting' the Cabinet held to discuss their mutual enemy (America/Israel) was over the contentious issue of the Ethiopian Dam which Egypt feels would staunch the flow of precious water into their country. The prophecy says, Isaiah 19:5-10,

"And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched, and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away. There will be bare places by the Nile,on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more. The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water. The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton. Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved."

That is specific. Its fulfillment will be devastating, because a great many millions of people depend on the river for income, as you can see in the prophecy. It was true when it was written around 700 BC and it is true today. When that prophecy comes to pass, it will mean total economic devastation for Egypt.

Source

I've been watching a development which I've written about once, and that is the new dam that some claim will dry up the Nile River. It is variously known as the Grand Millennium Dam and the Renaissance Dam. I'd written,

"One thing that may hurry this disaster along is the dam that Ethiopia is building. We read above that the headwaters were only discovered a century ago and they are in Ethiopia. Ethiopia (and other nations) are tired of Egypt dominating the River. The Ethiopians are building a huge dam so they, too, can control the waters."

In November of 2012 we read, Egypt, Ethiopia Tiff Over Nile Dam Continues

And seven months later to this very day the tiff is escalating into a full-blown war room plan to stop the dam. Egypt is serious about their water, and they have to be. See what Morsi's cabinet member said in that same meeting, with Morsi present and in attendance

"I say to the Egyptian people: Nobody can turn off your water supply – unless they want to turn the Egyptians into the world’s most extremist people. Imagine what this people would do if its water were turned off – what all 80 million of us would do to Israel and America if our water were turned off,” Hussein concluded."

Ethiopia shrugged off Egypt's threats over the dam. "Mohamed Morsi, promised to "defend each drop of Nile water with our blood" and other senior Egyptian politicians called for the dam's destruction." Ethiopia should not be too hasty to shrug off those threats, the serous intentions of which were revealed in the hot mic gaffe.

Barry Rubin at GLORIA wrote, "The televising of a meeting held by President Muhammad Morsi allowed listeners to hear plans for military attacks on Ethiopia because of a dam that country is building on the Nile in order to generate electricity. Participants didn’t know the meeting was being aired on live state television. Egyptian leaders discussed covert operations to destroy the dam or giving covert support to rebel groups."

Source Commons Wikipedia

Forbes speculated on the practical ways Egypt might carry out their threat. "As Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said June 9 following Ethiopia’s refusal to halt construction of the dam and ahead of his trip to Addis Ababa to discuss the project, Egypt will not give up a “single drop of water from the Nile." "No Nile, no Egypt," he said."

Forbes's speculation included Egypt convincing N. Sudan to allow them bomber landing privileges so that Egypt could bomb the dam ... a bombing Morsi alluded to in the hot mic gaffe The Blaze, MEMRI, and Barry Rubin reported on.

Today the Egyptian Parliament ratfied a new Nile sharing agreement. "Ethiopia’s parliament on Thursday ratified an accord that replaces colonial-era deals that awarded Egypt and Sudan the majority of the world’s longest river." The article goes on to say that the agreement for water sharing will include five other Nile River countries: "Ethiopia, and Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Burundi".

South Sudan is said to be getting on board with the pact, but not North Sudan. So perhaps North Sudan will cooperate with Egypt after all as Forbes speculated, and the dam will be history soon. Or not, but the prophecy says the Nile will be dried up. How that happens is anybody's guess, but right now the dam is the front runner contender.

When Morsi's people say, "No Nile, no Egypt" they are right. Not because they are so wise, but because the bible is. Isaiah 19 depicts a very dark time for Egypt. Their main artery of the Nile River dries up and their economy totally collapses. Whether that time is imminently in front of our eyes or is still in the future is unknown to us.

One thing is for sure, it will happen. My advice is to keep watching the news of this tiff over this dam.

One last note.

Morsi held a secret meeting and talked of the war against Israel. This echoes the Psalm 83 language, verses 3-4a

"They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones. They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;"

Our glorious God will not let that happen. And even though they vainly plot against His people now, He will hold His nation Israel in His hand and personally protect Israel. And alongside Israel in the Millennium He will raise up Assyria and Egypt, and bless them. God is surely loving and forgiving! Egypt will think so too, they will worship Him!

"In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. 20It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them."

"23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians."

"24In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance."

Assad And His Allies Threaten To Open A Front In Golan Heights

Assad And His Allies Threaten To Open A Front In Golan Heights

American blood to help Islamists in Syria?

Pat Buchanan warns against getting involved in another Mideast conflict

Published: 20 hours ago
 

  

“The worst mistake of my presidency,” said Ronald Reagan of his decision to put Marines into the middle of Lebanon’s civil war, where 241 died in a suicide bombing of their barracks. 

And if Barack Obama plunges into Syria’s civil war, it could consume his presidency, even as Iraq consumed the presidency of George W. Bush.

Why would Obama even consider this?
Because he blundered badly. Foolishly, he put his credibility on the line by warning that any Syrian use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line” and be a “game changer” with “enormous consequences.” 

Not only was this ultimatum unwise, Obama had no authority to issue it. If Syria does not threaten or attack us, Obama would need congressional authorization before he could constitutionally engage in acts of war against Syria. When did he ever receive such authorization? 

Moreover, there is no proof Syrian President Bashar Assad ever ordered the use of chemical weapons.

U.S. intelligence agencies maintain that small amounts of the deadly toxin sarin gas were likely used. But if it did happen, we do not know who ordered it.
Syrians officials deny that they ever used chemicals. And before we dismiss Damascus’ denials, recall that an innocent man in Tupelo, Miss., was lately charged with mailing deadly ricin to Sen. Roger Wicker and President Obama. This weekend, we learned he may have been framed. 

It is well within the capacity of Assad’s enemies to use or fake the use of poison gas to suck us into fighting their war.
Even if elements of Assad’s army did use sarin, we ought not plunge in. And, fortunately, that seems to be Obama’s thinking. 

Order Pat Buchanan’s brilliant and prescient books at WND’s Superstore.

Why stay out? Because it is not our war. There is no vital U.S. interest in who rules Syria. Hafez Assad and Bashar have ruled Syria for 40 years. How has that ever threatened us?
Moreover, U.S. intervention would signal to Assad that the end is near, making his use of every weapon in his arsenal, including chemical weapons, more – not less – likely. 

U.S. intervention would also make us de facto allies of Assad’s principal enemies, the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Nusra Front, Syria’s al-Qaida. As the New York Times reported Sunday, “Nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of.”
Do we really wish to expend American blood and treasure to bring about a victory of Islamists and jihadists in Syria? 

If Assad’s chemical weapons threaten any nation, it is Israel. But Israel knows where they are stored and has an air force superior to our own in the Med. Israeli troops on the Golan are as close to Damascus as Dulles Airport is to Washington, D.C. Yet Israel has not attacked Syria’s chemical weapons. 

Why not? Israel is well aware that Syria’s air defense system is, as the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, “one of the most advanced and concentrated barriers on the planet.”
And if Israel does not feel sufficiently threatened by Syria’s chemical weapons to go after them, why should we, 4,000 miles away? 

Then there is Turkey, with three times Syria’s population, NATO’s second-largest army and a 600-mile border. Why is ridding the Middle East of Assad our assignment and not Ankara’s?
Surely the heirs of the Ottomans have a larger stake here.
And if we get into this war, how do we get out? 

For the war is metastasizing. Hezbollah is sending in fighters to help the Alawite Shia. Other Lebanese are assisting the Sunni rebels. The war could spread into Iraq, where the latest clashes between Sunni and Shia are pulling the country apart. Young Muslims are coming in from Europe.

Iran and Russia are aiding Damascus. Qatar and Saudi Arabia are aiding the Islamists. The United States, Jordan and Turkey are aiding the secularists. Syria could come apart, and a sectarian and ethnic war of all against all erupt across the region.
Do we really want the U.S. military in the middle of this? 

Because his “red line” appears to have been crossed, Obama is being told he must attack Syria to maintain his credibility with Iran and North Korea.
Nonsense. To attack Syria would compound Obama’s folly in drawing the red line. Better to have egg on Obama’s face than for America to be dragged into another unnecessary war. 

Obama would not be alone in having his bluff called. George Bush proclaimed that no “axis of evil” nation would be allowed to acquire the “world’s worst weapons.” North Korea now has those weapons. 

Congressional war hawks, led by Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, are cawing for air strikes and no-fly zones, which would mean dead and captured Americans and many more dead Syrians. 

Time for Congress to either authorize Obama to lead us into a new Middle East war, or direct him, in the absence of an attack upon us, to keep America out of what is Syria’s civil war. 

Before we slide into another war, let the country be consulted first.

Close confidante of Netanyahu warns “it’s now or never” for military strike on Iran: Analysis.

Reblogged from: flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com

In Uncategorized on April 26, 2013 at 9:02 pm

Tzachi Hanegbi (right) has been a long-time friend and confidante of Netanyahu.

Tzachi Hanegbi — a close, trusted, long-time personal friend and confidante of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – made remarks on Tuesday at a security conference in Tel Aviv that did not make news in the U.S. But they should have.
Hanegbi explained that the time for sanctions and diplomacy and covert options to neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat is over, and the time for Israel to use its military option has come.

“It’s now or never,” said Hanegbi, ”and the option of never does not exist.”
Hanegbi formerly served as the Minister of Intelligence and as Justice Minister in previous governments. He is currently a Member of Knesset (Likud).
“Israel has to act according to its own imperatives,” he said.

Given how close Hanegbi and Netanyahu are — and given how sensitive the current moment is – it is difficult to believe Hanegbi spoke without knowing the Prime Minister’s mind, and without having his blessing to make such ominous remarks.

I, for one, am praying for peace. I don’t want to see another war in the Middle East. I’m asking the Lord to bring down the regime in Tehran, and sabotage their nuclear weapons projects, and keep Tehran from going to far. But even as I pray for peace, I know Israel is preparing for war.

Consider other indicators that an Israeli first strike may be increasingly close at hand:

• At the same conference, Israeli Major Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, a former head of IDF Military Intelligence, said that “for all intents and purposes, Iran has crossed Israel’s red line…in the summer, Iran will be a month or two away from deciding about a bomb.”
• Netanyahu and his inner circle are watching how Iran has been accelerating its building of uranium centrifuges, expanding its nuclear facilities, and possibly building secret new facilities.
• President Obama is doing nothing after the Assad regime in Syria crossed the Obama “red line” by using chemical weapons against the rebels, killing and wounding many. Are they concluding the White House is serious about dealing with Iran if and when Tehran crosses the “red line”? Hardly.
• Netanyahu and his inner circle are watching how President Obama is doing nothing to stop North Korea from building — and testing — nuclear warheads and the ballistic missiles to deliver them. Are they concluding the White House is serious about preventing nuclear proliferation? Again, hardly.
• Netanyahu are his inner circle are watching how President Obama has pulled U.S. military assets out of the Persian Gulf region, claiming budget cutbacks.
• All this suggests the Netanyahu team believes it is all alone to deal with the Iran problem.

Now, let me be clear: I don’t know if war will happen or not. I hope not. I pray not. But I want to be honest and keep you up-to-date on the latest developments.

The Joshua Fund and I are going forward full steam ahead with our plans for our “Prayer & Vision Tour” in Israel this summer (June 25 to July 7) and the 2013 Epicenter Conference on July 5th in Jerusalem. We have nearly 200 people signed up for the trip — mostly evangelical Christians — are we are grateful for their trust and eager to take them into the Holy Land to pray, study God’s Word, meet Israelis and Palestinians, learn about TJF’s humanitarian relief work, and even participate in humanitarian relief projects. 

If we need to cancel the trip because war breaks out or is clearly imminent, we will do so — and our guests will receive 100% of their money back. But we won’t be swayed by rumors of war, and we’re impressed with this group that’s signed up because they don’t seemed to be swayed by the rumors either. They know we won’t knowingly take them into harm’s way. But they also know that this is the right time for Christians to stand with Israel and show our love and support by going there and praying for the peace of Jerusalem, as we are commanded in Psalm 122:6. There’s still some room on the trip if you’d like to join us. Click here for more details.

In the meantime, let’s keep praying for peace from wherever we are on the globe. Let’s keep a close eye on the developments in the region. And let’s keep preparing for war, should it break out [see video of how The Joshua Fund is making war preparations].

I’ll be in speaking and ministering in Europe for the next two weeks. While I’m there, I’ll do my best to post blogs and Tweet on a regular basis, as possible. Thanks, and God bless.

Israeli firm talks up mankind’s recovery from the Tower of Babel

Reblogged from http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-firm-talks-up-mankinds-recovery-from-the-tower-of-babel/

You speak in your language but the listener hears you in his or hers — by phone, via the Internet, or even face-to-face. It’s a linguistic revolution, say the innovators behind Lexifone

By David Shamah April 9, 2013, 2:50 pm 7

An official from Changzhou (L) shakes hands with Lexifone CEO Dr. Ike Sagie after the two signed a memorandum of understanding for the opening of an R&D center in the Chinese city (Photo credit: Courtesy)

“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech… And they said, Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven… And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower… And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

“So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”

(Genesis, Chapter 11, Verses 1-9)

The Bible ascribes the diversity of languages on Earth — some 6,500 tongues in current usage, according to most estimates — to the hubris of post-flood mankind in seeking to build a tower to heaven, and a divine decision to punish that Tower of Babel construction project by “confounding” man’s capacity to communicate in a single tongue.

Now, an Israeli start-up claims to be perfecting the best means of overcoming that biblical curse of global language barriers.

“Our vision is to allow two people anywhere in the world to communicate and understand each other, no matter their language and no matter the medium — phone, Internet, or face-to-face,” said Ike Sagie, the CEO of Lexifone. “We believe that our product is the harbinger of this revolution.”

A step toward conquering the Earth’s linguistic cacophony, Lexifone lets you speak to anyone in English and (so far) seven other languages. The person on the other end (or right next to you, using an Android app) hears what you’ve just said in his or her own language. Right now, speakers of English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Russian, and Mandarin can call each other and have their conversations automatically translated; on the agenda are Japanese, Arabic, Korean, and Hebrew. More languages, including other Chinese dialects, will follow, eventually covering most global language requirements.

Using Lexifone “is like working with a translator, but a lot cheaper,” said Itay Sagie, son of Ike Sagie and the company’s head of marketing. It’s at least 15 times cheaper, he posits, depending on the nature of the live translation services a client would have used instead of Lexifone.

“Our machine interacts with you, hearing what you say and translating it for the listener. The system is extremely accurate, with the machine engaging in a back and forth with the speaker to ensure that it understood what was being said,” Itay told The Times of Israel. The system can differentiate between dialects, such as American, British and Australian English, and can take into account regional accents, thanks to voice-to-machine software packages produced by Nuance and other companies. The system is based on enhanced voice recognition with a translation mechanism.

A woman at a hotel reception desk in Mexico uses the Lexifone app to speak to clients from abroad, hearing the conversation in Spanish, regardless of the language spoken by the other party. “Mexico is now a Multi-Lingual Zone, thanks to Lexifone,” said Itay Sagie, the company’s director of marketing (Photo credit: Courtesy)

The capacity to “talk” to computers and be understood by them has been around for years. What Lexifone brings to the table is a unique translation system, called computational linguistics, which can take the sentences spoken by users and quickly turn them around into the same sentence translated into another language. Lexifone strives not just for a literal translation, but a cultural one, too. “We have a committee that evaluates phrases and idioms in different languages and decides which ones are the best match in each corresponding language,” said Itay.

Hundreds of companies large and small are already using Lexifone to provide translation services for customers, clients, or employees, he said. “Among our biggest customer segments are expats who are living in countries where they are less familiar with the language. They use our software to make phone calls to government agencies, businesses, and the like.” The system works online, at the Lexifone website, or via an Android app — which, Ike Sagie said, can also be used for live, face-to-face translations via the Android device’s microphone.

“We also have many small and medium-sized businesses using it, getting translation services for a lot less than they could with a live interpreter,” Ike added. “Right now we are working on signing up large corporations and governments that have expressed interest in our services.”

Many of those using Lexifone for translation services also use it as an IP telephony app, similar to Skype, allowing users to make calls via the Lexifone app to more than a hundred countries at low rates, with the translation service built in.

Lexifone’s pride and joy is its accuracy, said Itay. There are other tools on the market, he said, but they “will give you gibberish for the most part. No one has as advanced a translation system as we do.” Several other companies, notably NTT Docomo in Japan, are making forays into the automatic translation market, “but their system is much more limited, translating Japanese to and from only a few languages. No one has taken translation as far as we have or has been as successful and accurate as we have,” the younger Sagie said.

In a demonstration at a recent technology industry event, Lexifone worked as advertised. A conversation with a Mandarin speaker went surprisingly smoothly, from the exchange of pleasantries (“hello, how are you, I am fine”) to a discussion of the weather (“It’s raining here, what’s the weather over there?”) to a relatively complicated sentence (“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”). Most of the translations were nearly instantaneous, with a two-second computer beep differentiating between the original sentence and the translation, which both participants in the conversation heard. (The woodchuck line was a bit slower — about three seconds.)

Lexifone is a relatively young company, established in 2010 at the Hi-Center accelerator in Haifa, but its products are already in use around the world. “We are working in countries where there is a high language barrier, such as Russia, China, and Latin America,” said Itay Sagie. Among the company’s marketing efforts is developing programs for local governments in the US, said Ike Sagie. “Many local and even state governments are doing business with companies, suppliers, and officials in foreign countries, and especially in the US many people do not have a foreign language. With Lexifone they will have a much cheaper and easier way to communicate with non-English speakers.”

Tower of Babel by medieval artist Pieter Breugel the Elder. Painted in 1563, it is currently on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Photo credit: Courtesy Google Art 

Project/Wikipedia Commons)

Lexifone’s latest project is an R&D facility to be built in China, which will work on expanding and perfecting the system for Mandarin and other Chinese dialects. Under the guidance of an Israeli-owned company called The PTL Group, which helps local firms navigate the Chinese business environment, Lexifone recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Changzhou, a city near Shanghai where numerous Israeli companies have set up shop. “We will be hiring Chinese staff and bringing in workers from Israel, and begin working with Chinese companies that are looking to expand their exports, but are stifled due to language challenges,” said Itay. “Working in China will be a challenge, but no greater than the challenge we successfully met in building our application.”

Growth has been going according to schedule, said Ike, and the company aims ultimately to enable smooth communication for anyone, anywhere. That’s quite a  goal, given those 6,500 languages — even though about 2,000 of them are said to be spoken by fewer than 1,000 people.

But Ike Sagie is undaunted. “The technology behind Lexifone is very sophisticated,” he acknowledged, “but the user interface is as simple as possible — all you have to do is talk.”

PROPHECY WATCH: Abbas demands two-state map from Netanyahu

Posted on April 6, 2013 by END TIME HEADLINES

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu present a map for a future Palestinian state before any peace talks can resume, an aide said on Friday. Abbas “wants to know, through a map to be presented by Benjamin Netanyahu to (US Secretary of State John) Kerry, what the prime minister’s view of a two-state solution would be, especially the borders,” 

The remarks came just days ahead of a visit by Kerry, who will hold fortnightly meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, local media say, as he tries to revive the stalled peace process. “Any return to negotiations requires Netanyahu to agree on 1967 borders,” Hammad said.

 Abbas has insisted that participation be conditioned on using the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War as the basis for negotiating future borders. Abbas also repeated to Barack Obama, on his first visit to the region as US president in March, that a halt to Israeli settlement building in the Palestinian territories was a precondition for any peace talks, iser Nimr Hammad told AFP.

What should the U.S. be doing to stop Iran? My interview w/fmr CIA Director James Woolsey

Reblogged from Joel Rosenberg´s flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com

In Uncategorized on April 3, 2013 at 1:06 pm

Former CIA Director James Woolsey

On Monday, I met with James Woolsey, the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I’ve long been impressed with Woolsey’s analysis of global trends, but had not previously had the honor of meeting him. We spent about an hour in his Washington, D.C. office, discussing the growing threats posed by Iran, Syria and North Korea and how the U.S. should be handling them. I gave him a signed copy of Damascus Countdown, and we spent some time discussing the book and then various “worst case scenarios” I may write about in future novels.

Most of our conversation was off-the-record. But I took careful notes and Woolsey graciously agreed to allow me to make some of his comments public. His analysis was particularly interesting to me in light of yesterday’s headline in the Times of Israel: “UN nuke chief fears Iran secretly working on a bomb: Intelligence shows Tehran was and is involved in nuclear weapons project, says International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano.” 

Woolsey was appointed CIA Director by President Clinton and served from 1993 to 1995. Previously he had served as Under Secretary of the Navy and as Ambassador and U.S. Representative to the negotiations on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Since leaving the CIA, Woolsey has continued to write and speak extensively on national security and energy security issues. A self-described “Scoop Jackson” Democrat — more conservative on foreign policy and military issues than traditional liberals — he endorsed Senator John McCain’s presidential bid in 2008 and served as a foreign policy advisor to McCain.

Excerpts of our conversation:
Q: Do you think Israel will use military force, and if so, how soon?
James Woolsey: The problem is that the Israeli air force is one of the two best in the world, but they are not big. We have the capacity to launch a sustained bombing campaign — multiple sorties over many days or weeks — and really damage or completely destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. But a brief Israeli air strike won’t suffice. It’s not like hitting the Osirik reactor in Iraq in 1981. It’s not like the hitting the Syrian reactor that the North Koreans built in 2007.
This is what the U.S. should be doing:

• Put four or five carriers in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean region.
• Send B-52, B-1, and B-2 bombers to Diego Garcia
• Stockpile our most effective conventional earth-penetrating weapons in the Western Pacific or Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia, Guam)
• Start running military exercises in the Indian Ocean
• Don’t say anything publicly, officially about what we’re doing – but let it be known through a well-timed leak that what these forces are doing is preparing for is a sustained bombing campaign to destroy everything they can reach that is related to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, everything they’ve got. Let it be known that, at much as possible, we won’t target the Iranian people, their civilian infrastructure, or their regular army. But we are going to destroy anything and everything related to the Revolutionary Guards, starting with the nuclear facilities, but also the factories they own, and their headquarters, and their bases, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
• And then wait for a little bit and see if the Iranian regime gives some ground.

 I laid this out in an op-ed with Bud McFarlane a couple of years ago. Of course, maybe it’s too late for that now. It’s definitely getting late.

Q: What if President Obama won’t do this? He’s sending B-52s and Stealth bombers and others military assets to South Korea and the Pacific to send a strong message to North Korea. But he’s doing just the opposite with regards to Iran — pulling carrier battle groups out of the Persian Gulf area, and so forth. So this brings us back to Israel. Are you saying the Israelis don’t have the military capabilities to neutralize the Iran nuclear threat?

Woolsey: I’m concerned because I don’t think Israel can take out all of Iran’s nuclear facilities using air strikes – some yes, but all? I don’t think so.

Q: Then what does Netanyahu do? I ask that because my impression is that Netanyahu brought in Ehud Barak, a long-time political rival, to serve as his Defense Minister for the past four years precisely to lead the IDF into devising and practicing and be preparing to execute a decisive plan to stop Iran from getting the Bomb. And my impression is that Barak feels like he accomplished that objective and stepped down feeling confident that he gave Netanyahu a viable plan, should it become necessary to use.

Woolsey: You may be right. Israel’s air assets are limited in numbers, but Netanyahu may have to attack anyway. He may have no other choice. He can’t just sit there and do nothing. The one thing that gives me a little bit of optimism is that Bibi and Barak are the two most experienced men in the art of unconventional warfare serving in the leadership of any country anywhere in the world. No other country has one Bibi, or one Barak – much less both. These are men who understand how to defeat an enemy using every trick in the book. And they may have something up their sleeve, a plan that doesn’t simply involve attacking from the air. These two guys are used to thinking about the art of war the way Sun Tzu told us to. I don’t think they’d limit themselves to an airstrike or two.

Will North Korea strike the US? Should we fear? No!

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata´s  the-end-time.blogspot.com 

Well North Korea certainly seems to be making a permanent job of bluster. Except this time, it may not be bluster.

Lately they have been issuing videos of ridiculous quality which would be laughable if they weren't so crazy. There have been three in the last month so far. As the UK Telegraph reports on the latest video issued last week,

North Korea 'defeats' US troops in new video
"The latest propaganda video to emerge from North Korea depicts paratroopers descending on Seoul in an invasion scenario that it said would see thousands of US citizens living in South Korea taken hostage. ... An video released early last month showed New York in flames after an apparent missile attack, and another two weeks later depicted US soldiers and President Barack Obama burning in the flames of a nuclear blast. And earlier this week, another video showed the dome of the US Capitol building in Washington exploding in a fireball."

Then have come the belligerent threats, backed up by action this time however. Dictator Kim Jong Un has threatened nuclear war on the Korean peninsula, in the Pacific at Guam and Hawaii, and on our shores at the continental US. We sent stealth bombers. He made more threats and declared war and started his missiles to ignite position (or some such). We sent destroyers. Jong Un threatened to re-start nuclear facilities, and China sent troops to its border with Korea. We sent a radar tracking device closer to Korea. Finally the UN stepped in yesterday and said enough is enough, this will end up in a collision course.

I keep reading in the news that NK has no such capability to hit Guam or Hawaii and of course not the US shores. But if they have obtained a sub, they can launch a nuke over the US and with one electro-magnetic pulse, fling us back to pre-industrial age. Or from a container ship, same deal. They are so secretive we really don't know what they have nor what they will do. Our intelligence has failed us on many a more open nation and there is no reason to think that the times being what they are, that NK will not follow through with igniting something.

For Jesus said...

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." (Matthew 24:6-8).

The Oriental nations do play a role in the last days Tribulation (which the church will be long gone by).

At Bible.org, the opening paragraph to the essay titled "Kings of the East, The Oriental Confederacy" states,

One of the significant developments of the twentieth century is the political and military awakening of the Orient. The great nations of Asia east of the Euphrates River, slumbering for centuries, are now beginning to stir and to become a major factor in the international situation. The geographic immensity and the millions of humanity involved make it inevitable that any future development embracing the entire world must take the Orient into consideration.

Times are such that in the end of the end when the ten-nation conglomerate spoken of in Daniel 2:31-35, 40-45; 7:7-8, 19-24; and Revelation 13:1-2; 17:3, 7, 12-16 comes to fruition it is more than likely one of those will be the Asian peoples. Japan, the Koreas, China and perhaps Mongolia, Tibet etc will have joined forces. That China and North Korea are joined as allies now is a start, and that is a huge percentage of the world's population. Also is worrisome that two militaristic and insular nations are joined. It is only a matter of time until the rest join in too.

1986 is the last year North Korea released any statistics at all regarding their population, and at that time it stood at almost 20 million. It may be more now due to growth rates or it may be less due to starvation.

China's population is 1.3 billion.

I personally believe that an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) burst will be the preferred method to reduce our stature, remove us from the world stage and push us over the edge (if the rapture hasn't happened first, which will achieve the same result). An EMP over America's heartland will do much more damage to us than a nuke, which has a more discrete damage area.

But Jesus and the Holy Spirit said many times, fear not!

I was reading Psalm 86 yesterday. It is titled "Great is Your Steadfast Love." It is a wonderful, wonderful conversation David is having with God. Even though we do not read of God answering back in the Psalm, we know it is a conversation because God is living and active and so is His word. We know He heard David, and we know David's prayer was answered. Here is something that David asked for which touched me. It is now my second favorite phrase after "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands" (Psalm 100:1)

"Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name."

I fear nothing on this earth. I fear no man, for Jesus who is with me is greater than any man. I fear no event, because the event of the cross is greater than anything man can devise against man.

I want to fear the LORD. It is a good fear, a holy fear. O Lord, unite my heart to fear Your name!

Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10). His holiness is fearfully glorious and awesome in its power. We fear Him because He is the Creator with all power, and He also chastens us when we rebel against Him. But we do not have a fearful relationship with Him because we are to endure no judgment from Him. Jesus paid that through enduring God's wrath at the cross.

O Lord, unite my heart to fear your name!

David's praise continues in Psalm 86:12-13,

"I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol."

David knew that despite being pursued by insolent men and a ruthless crowd seeking to take his life, God is "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (verse15b).

If David can praise His name, glorify Him, seek to fear Him, and depend on Him whilst running from a murderous crowd, we can do the same from the comfort of our homes, which still have not been struck by a bomb or darkened by an EMP. And if you are in the part of the world where you, just like David, indeed are running from a murderous crowd (like Saudi Arabia) or experiencing bombs or rioting, then take heart in David's plea for mercy to a God who is steadfast and merciful. Fear not, because fear of the LORD is whence our comfort comes. If you fear Him, you need not fear anyone or anything else.

Lord, unite my heart to fear Your name, that is where it all begins ... and ends :)

Israel PM brother-in-law says Obama is an anti-Semite

Reblogged from: the-end-time.blogspot.com

I happen to agree with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu's brother-in-law. Here is news today regarding Obama in Israel-

Netanyahu's Brother-In-Law Says Obama Is An Anti-Semite, Hates Israel
"In the midst of trying to ease tensions following one of the worst diplomatic rifts between the US and Israel in recent memory, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to distance himself from his brother-in-law Wednesday after he accused US President Barack Obama of being an anti-Semite during a radio interview. "It's not that Obama doesn't like Bibi," Hagai Ben-Artzi said during the interview, according to Haaretz. "He doesn't like the nation of Israel." Ben-Artzi attributed Obama's alleged anti-Semitism to his long association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose views Obama came to disavow during his presidential campaign in 2008. "When there is an anti-Semitic president in the United States, it is a test for us and we have to say: We will not concede. We are a nation dating back 4,000 years, and you in a year or two will be long forgotten. Who will remember you? But Jerusalem will dwell on forever," Ben Artzi said."

Netanyahu immediately distanced himself from his brother-in-law and rejected his opinion.

However, as with anyone, anywhere, check to see that what they say and what they do match up. Obama's behavior over the last 4 years as president toward Israel's prime minister has not been one of love or even regard, but of barely disguised disdain.

Last September, Reuters reported, In an unusual snub, Obama to avoid meeting Netanyahu

In 2010 the UK Telegraph reported, "Obama snubbed Netanyahu for dinner with Michelle and the girls, Israelis claim"
"Benjamin Netanyahu was left to stew in a White House meeting room for over an hour after President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of tense talks to have supper with his family, it emerged on Thursday."

In January 2013, an American columnist with close ties to the White House described Obama's disdain for Netanyahu.

This is not how you treat your ONLY ally in a harsh and hostile part of the world, not if you have regard and respect for its people nation to nation, that is.

Obama seems to be getting some props for "brokering" a rapprochement between Israel and Turkey. Their relations had broken down after Turkey violated (allegedly) a marine blockade by Israel and Israel shot several Turkish officers in the sea scuffle. Diplomatic relations had been called off since late 2010-early 2011, with only one phone call by Netanyahu to Turkey to offer help after Turkey's earthquake. Turkey said no thanks.

The Japan Times explains, "Israel and Turkey were once close allies. Relations began to decline after Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey’s Islamist movement, became prime minister in 2003. Erdogan has embarked on a campaign to make Turkey a regional powerhouse in an attempt to become the leading voice in the Muslim world but has in the process distanced the country from Israel."

However, despite those ambitions, at least for today, the two nations appeared to 'bury the hatchet' as Japan Times said. Haaretz reports, "In November 2012, Israel and Turkey resumed talks on ending the crisis in relations between the two countries. On March 22, 2013, Netanyahu made the phone call to Erdogan, apologizing over the deaths of the nine Turkish citizens in the flotilla incident. The normalization agreed by both countries included the return of the Turkish ambassador to Tel Aviv and the Israeli ambassador to Ankara."

Some say that it is good that diplomatic tensions have eased between the two nations. The region is aflame with Syria's civil war and refugees streaming into Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Israel could use Turkey's help with the situation and vice versa. Others say it is not a good idea, Israel looked weak to bow to Turkey after all this time and lowered morale of the soldiers. His apology created a firestorm at home. And after all, biblically, Turkey will attack Israel in the Gog-Magog war. (Ezekiel 38:6). If they form warm relations now, it won't last.

At the end of Obama's trip to Israel, he stopped to tour the ancient rose-red city of Petra in nearby Jordan. Petra means rock, and it is located in the region of Bozrah, which means sheepfold. It is the place where the Jews will flee to when they see the abomination of desolation. (Matthew 24:16). How do we know this?

Daniel 11:41 declares that Jordan is the only place that will escape the domination of the antichrist in the last days. The Jews at that time will flee over the mountains as per Matthew 24:16 and as Revelation 12:14 says, they will cross the desert. Geologically, the only mountains and desert is toward the southwest, over the Jordan river and into Edom. Isaiah 63:1 shows the Lord Jesus coming from Bozrah with blood stained robes, indicating one of His stops before He lands on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) will be to save the Jews hiding there.

To see a person such as Obama who has such a strong antichrist spirit (1 John 4:3 and also here) standing in such a prophetically wonderful and important place for the Jews, and he who hates Israel so much...it is a jarring juxtaposition.

As far as Netanyahu's brother-in-law goes, I am in total agreement. Obama by his behavior and by his placement here at this time in America, seems to have severe disdain for the nation of Israel. But that is no more or no less than the rest of the world, which seems to be hurtling toward fulfillment of the following prophecy:

"On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it." (Zechariah 12:3)

Zechariah has much to say about the coming times. There is an incredible amount of last days prophecy throughout Zechariah's book, including parallels with Revelation. As Pastor Steve Hadley says, pound for pound, Zechariah has it almost over even Daniel in terms of prophecy. If you would like to listen to a preacher preach through this book, verse by verse, I'd recommend Steve Hadley at Harvest Family Fellowship, here.

Always keep your eyes on the Lord through His word. What He is doing is amazing. We look at the news in wonder but the real wonder comes when we read His valuable and precious word, and see what He has planned. Did you ever stop to think that it is amazing in itself that He even tells us what He plans to do? He is God after all. He doesn't have to. Just reading the bible is a miracle for us, because it is the place where His holiness and perfection and love is revealed. If your bible is dusty, brush it off and open it up. There are many wonders awaiting you there.