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September 21 - September 27. 2009 
 News In Review
 Vol 4, Issue 20
In This Issue
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Dear Ron,

The News In Review newsletter is a service provided by Understand The Times that is a compilation of the news articles previously posted on our site . Understand The Times does not endorse these events but rather is showing the church the current events.  Our purpose of posting these articles is to warn the church of the Biblical deception.

 September 18 - Over 50 Groups Call for End to Faith-Based Hiring Policy
 Article: Perilous Times

Nearly 60 groups are pressing the Obama administration to put an end to a Bush-era policy that allowed federally-funded faith-based groups to hire only fellow believers. In a letter sent Thursday, the 58 groups - which include the ACLU, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Human Rights Campaign - asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., to direct the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to review and ultimately withdraw a 2007 memorandum that they say "threatens crucial religious freedom protections."

The hiring policy of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has been a source of controversy since Bush established the office in 2001 and Obama had vowed on the presidential campaign trail to reverse the hiring policy so that groups receiving federal money would no longer be allowed to discriminate based on religion.

"As someone who used to teach constitutional law, I believe deeply in the separation of church and state," Obama said last July in a speech about expanding Bush's office of faith-based initiatives. "If you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help, and you can't discriminate against them - or against the people you hire - on the basis of their religion."

In the meantime, until a better solution can be found, Obama's new and expanded faith-based office was to deal with complaints against faith-based groups receiving federal funding on a case-to-case basis.



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 September 19 - Iran building backup nuke plant in Americas?
 Article: Wars and Rumors Of Wars

Iran may consider a proposal from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to build a backup "nuclear village" in his nation to produce nuclear energy and also to have a safe fall-back production capability in case there is an attack by Israel or the United States on nuclear facilities in Iran, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Chavez, in a visit last week to Iran, proposed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the idea of building a project in Venezuela.

Security sources have confirmed such a "nuclear village" could become the Iranian nuclear production alternative, or a location to hide especially critical nuclear components from attack.

With the United Nations about ready to take up the issue of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear enrichment efforts, such a prospect of attack, particularly from Israel, is increasingly likely. Israeli officials have stated on numerous occasions that a nuclear Iran would threaten Israel's existence.

While the U.N. is expected to consider proposals for sanctions on Iran, there is an expectation that Russia and China will reject further sanctions. If that happens, security experts believe that Israel then could declare diplomacy a failure, opening the way for its long-intimated attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.



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 September 19 - Congress, Obama team up to kill marriage protections
 Article: Periilous Times

Nearly 100 members of the U.S. House are working in lockstep with the Obama administration to try to eliminate protections for traditional marriage in the United States with the "Respect for Marriage Act" that has just been introduced in Congress. H.R. 3567 was introduced just days ago by U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, and more than 90 co-sponsors.

"This legislation would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 law which discriminates against lawfully married same-sex couples," Nadler said in a statement on his website.The proposal has been assigned to committee.

"The introduction of the Respect for Marriage Act responds directly to a call from President Obama for congressional action on the issue. As the president recently confirmed: 'I stand by my long-standing commitment to work with Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. It's discriminatory, it interferes with states' rights, and it's time we overturned it," the statement said.

The Defense of Marriage Act provides that federal laws must be interpreted in accord with the traditional definition of marriage as the union of husband and wife. But Justice Department lawyer Scott Simpson filed a brief Aug 17 declaring: "With respects to the merits, this Administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory, and supports its repeal."

In a written statement, Obama declared: [T]he Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, however, that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law.

The Justice Department said it "does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing" and evidence "that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents."

According to an analysis by Alliance Defense Fund, a repeal of the primary federal law that protects marriage opens the door for litigation that would seek to force states to recognize "marriages" between same-sex duos.



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 September 22 - Next International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Dublin
 Artilce: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

Soon Ireland will host the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, just as the Church prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Drawing upon that great contribution to the teaching of the Church, the theme for the upcoming congress will be, "The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another."

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin explained that the theme was chosen because the celebration of the congress coincides with the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of Vatican Council II. Archbishop Martin added that, the council was a "moment of renewal for the Church's teaching and for her understanding of herself as Body of Christ and Body of God," according to the announcement from the pontifical committee.

"The theme has its direct inspiration in paragraph 7 of the Constitution 'Lumen gentium' which reads: 'Really partaking of the body of the Lord in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread, we are taken up into communion with Him and with one another. 'Because the bread is one, we though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread'. In this way all of us are made members of His Body, 'but severally members one of another,'" the statement continued.

Archbishop Martin suggested that the theme could be developed along the lines of such topics as: "communion with Christ as a foundation for Christian life; the Eucharist as a way of life for clergy, Christian families and religious communities; the gesture of 'breaking bread' as a principle of Christian solidarity; the Eucharist, seed of life for the world of suffering and fragility; and ecumenism and the sharing of the one bread."



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 September 22 - Cardinal says Communion received kneeling and on the tongue is most reverent
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

In a homily Sunday at the Cathedral of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani said, "The most respectful manner of receiving the Eucharist is kneeling and on the tongue.  We must recover the respect and reverence that the Eucharist deserves, because the love of Jesus is the center of our Christian life.  The soul is at stake."
 
He also encouraged the faithful to participate in Eucharist adoration in the more than 70 adoration chapels that have been built throughout the Archdiocese of Lima since the Year of the Eucharist, thus making the Peruvian capital a "Eucharistic city."
 
"Lima is a Eucharistic city with more than 70 chapels of Eucharistic adoration, where the Lord is exposed and where you can speak to Him, because He listens to you and helps you.  We need to adore Him and allow our hearts to be filled with the joy and the beauty of His wisdom," the cardinal said.


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 September 22 - Survey: One Quarter of Americans Could Claim 'No Religion' in 20 Years
 Artcile: Signs Of The Last Times

If current trends continue, a quarter of Americans are likely to claim "no religion" in 20 years, according to a survey out today by Trinity College. Americans who identify with no religious tradition currently comprise 15 percent of the country, representing the fastest growing segment of the national religious landscape.

That's because American religious nones tend to be religious skeptics as opposed to outright atheists. Fewer than ten percent of those identifying with no religious traditon call themselves atheists or hold atheistic beliefs, according to the new study.

"American nones are kind of agnostic and deistic, so it's a very American kind of skepticism," says Barry Kosmin, director of Trinity's Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture. "It's a kind of religious indifference that's not hostile to religion the way they are in France. Franklin and Jefferson would have recognized these people."

The new study found that, in addition to seeing relatively strong retention numbers, American nones are quickly gaining new members. "Twenty-two percent of the youngest cohort of adults self-identify as nones and they will become tomorrow's parents," according to the report. "If current trends continue and cohorts of non-religious young people replace older religious people, the likely outcome is that in two decades the nones could account for around one-quarter of the American population."



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 September 24 - International Week of Prayer and Fasting to ask God for mercy
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

The 2009 International Week of Prayer and Fasting will take place from October 2-12 to pray for an end to abortion and peace.

Organizers of the 17th annual Week of Prayer and Fasting comprise a coalition of Catholic and Christian organizations. They said the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Rosary are "supernatural heavenly weapons to prevent disasters, wars and degeneration."

The goals of this week of prayer are the conversion of nations, peace and an end to abortion. Its theme is "God's Plan for Life and Love." Organizers are asking people to attend the week's events in Washington, D.C. if possible and also to fast, go to confession, attend daily Mass and offer prayers such as Holy Hours, Rosaries and Divine Mercy Chaplets.

Activities during the Week of Prayer and Fasting include a Young Adult Festival and Eucharistic Prayer Vigil, which will both have relics of the Passion present.



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 September 24 - UK's Brown says G20 to become main economic council
 Article: One World Government

Global leaders will institutionalize the G20 as the world's main economic governing council, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday. He said G20 leaders would meet regularly, with South Korea taking over the presidency next year.

"The G20 will take a bigger role in economic cooperation than the G8 has in the past," Brown told reporters ahead of this week's meeting of G20 leaders in Pittsburgh.

Brown noted there were $7 trillion worth of foreign exchange reserves which he said were "not necessarily being used in a constructive way."

Brown said he wanted to see the International Monetary Fund come up with an insurance scheme that would lessen some countries' need to accumulate reserves so that they could use those funds to support their economies.

"We are coming to a moment of truth with Iran," Brown said. "We will be proposing fuller and tougher sanctions."



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 September 19 - EU funding 'Orwellian' artificial intelligence plan to monitor public for "abnormal behaviour"
 Article: One Worlod Government

A five-year research programme, called Project Indect, aims to develop computer programmes which act as "agents" to monitor and process information from web sites, discussion forums, file servers, peer-to-peer networks and even individual computers. Its main objectives include the "automatic detection of threats and abnormal behaviour or violence".

Project Indect, which received nearly £10 million in funding from the European Union, involves the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and computer scientists at York University, in addition to colleagues in nine other European countries.

The European Commission is calling for a "common culture" of law enforcement to be developed across the EU and for a third of police officers - more than 50,000 in the UK alone - to be given training in European affairs within the next five years.

Miss Chakrabarti said: "Profiling whole populations instead of monitoring individual suspects is a sinister step in any society. It's dangerous enough at national level, but on a Europe-wide scale the idea becomes positively chilling."

According to the official website for Project Indect, which began this year, its main objectives include "to develop a platform for the registration and exchange of operational data, acquisition of multimedia content, intelligent processing of all information and automatic detection of threats and recognition of abnormal behaviour or violence".

A separate EU-funded research project, called Adabts - the Automatic Detection of Abnormal Behaviour and Threats in crowded Spaces - has received nearly £3 million. Its is based in Sweden but partners include the UK Home Office and BAE Systems. It is seeking to develop models of "suspicious behaviour" so these can be automatically detected using CCTV and other surveillance methods. The system would analyse the pitch of people's voices, the way their bodies move



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 September 21 - Brzezinski suggests Obama shoot down Israeli jets
 Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars

The national security adviser during President Jimmy Carter's administration says the U.S. should confront Israeli jets if that nation chooses to take military action against Iran's nuclear threat.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, in an interview with the Daily Beast website, declared, "We are not exactly impotent little babies."

Israel long has been thought to be considering a military strike against the Islamic regime's suspected development of nuclear weapon technology. Israel has stated it is unwilling to be threatened by a leader with access to nuclear weapons who believes it should be wiped off the map, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared. But an Israeli attack on Iran probably would have to fly over coalition airspace in Iraq.

"Are we just going to sit there and watch?" Brzezinski asked. He said the U.S. has to be "serious" about denying Israel the right to attack.

"That means a denial where you aren't just saying it. If they fly over, you go up and confront them. They have the choice of turning back or not," he said.

He said the Obama administration also already should have developed "a clearer position on what we are prepared to do to promote a Palestinian-Israeli peace."



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 September 23 - The Pope is the 'rock' of the Church, says Cardinal Lajolo
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

The president of the Vatican City State Governorate, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, recalled this week that Pope Benedict XVI is the successor of Peter, the "rock" of the Church, and as such "strengthens the brethren" and shepherds "the flock," fulfilling the mission entrusted by Christ himself for the salvation of mankind.
 
In a Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica for a group of German pilgrims, the cardinal explained that the altar in St. Peter's does not bear the image of the apostle as one would expect because Peter is the living Pontiff who today bears the name of Benedict XVI.
 
The Pope, he said, "is the one who sits on the Chair of St. Peter, the one who carries out his mandate, which Christ conferred to Peter as the 'rock' of the Church in order to 'strengthen the brethren and shepherd the flock.'"
 
This "means guiding the Church today as yesterday throughout the times," the cardinal said.  Consequently an interesting question arises: "Why so much insistence on the symbolic value of this Chair?" he wondered aloud.
 
First of all, Cardinal Lajolo explained, it is because "the Chair sustains the truth that authentically testifies to the word of Christ and protects man, all men, and not only the faithful, from falsehood."
 



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 September 22 - Immortality only 20 years away says scientist
 Article: Cloning And Genetic Engineering

The 61-year-old American, who has predicted new technologies arriving before, says our understanding of genes and computer technology is accelerating at an incredible rate. He says theoretically, at the rate our understanding is increasing, nanotechnologies capable of replacing many of our vital organs could be available in 20 years time.

Mr Kurzweil adds that although his claims may seem far-fetched, artificial pancreases and neural implants are already available.

Mr Kurzweil calls his theory the Law of Accelerating Returns. Writing in The Sun, Mr Kurzweil said: "I and many other scientists now believe that in around 20 years we will have the means to reprogramme our bodies' stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, ageing. Then nanotechnology will let us live for ever.

"Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work thousands of times more effectively. Within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen. Heart-attack victims - who haven't taken advantage of widely available bionic hearts - will calmly drive to the doctors for a minor operation as their blood bots keep them alive.Nanotechnology will extend our mental capacities to such an extent we will be able to write books within minutes.

"If we want to go into virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down brain signals and take us wherever we want to go. Virtual sex will become commonplace. And in our daily lives, hologram like figures will pop in our brain to explain what is happening.

"So we can look forward to a world where humans become cyborgs, with artificial limbs and organs."



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 September 22 - Christian and Muslim Leaders to Hold Joint News Conference to Discuss Islamic Prayer Vigil on the Grounds of the United States Capitol this Week
 Article: Ecumenical Movement - Christianity Uniting With Other Religions

Kris Keating, Director of Hillside Missions, states,
 
"Christians are interested in making God's love evident to all peoples. I am excited for the unique opportunity to do that through dialogue with Islamic leaders as we believe Christ is the hope of the world. In America, one can freely share their faith tradition with an open hand. This ongoing dialogue with Islamic leaders celebrates that freedom. Sitting at a table with people of diverse and even conflicting perspectives for a time of listening and sharing is positive and at the heart of Christian teaching. I encourage America's Christian community to be united with us as we acknowledge that love without conditions is the right motive for relationship with our Muslim neighbors."
 
Rev. Rob Schenck, President of the National Clergy Council, comments,
 
"With over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, it is important that Christians have an open dialogue with the Islamic community. The church must never be timid in reaching out to peoples and groups with differing beliefs and traditions. Too much is at stake for future generations not to begin this historic conversation. This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss."
 
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, adds,
 
"The heart of Christ is to reach out and build bridges to all peoples regardless of what their faith traditions or beliefs might be. Several years ago the Christian Defense Coalition began reaching out to the Muslim world which resulted in a prayer delegation going to Baghdad to pray for the nation of Iraq and Prime Minister Maliki. Since then we have had many conversations and discussions with Islamic leaders in Washington, D.C. and around the world. This news conference gives us another chance to dialogue and share with our Islamic neighbors. It also gives us the platform to celebrate the greatness of America where everyone is allowed to practice their faith tradition in the public square free from government interference of harassment.   The prayer vigil on the lawn of the Capitol this Friday highlights that timeless truth.


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 September 25 - Obama: Iran Building Secret Nuclear Plant
 Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars

U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain and France accused Iran Friday of building a secret nuclear facility and demanded it immediately be opened to international inspectors.

The leaders accused the Iranian government of building a covert, underground plant to produce nuclear fuels. They insisted the International Atomic Energy Agency have access right away to ensure it is not being built to produce nuclear weapons.

Mr. Obama said Western countries presented evidence of the facility to the IAEA Thursday. President Obama said "the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program."

Prime Minister Brown said that Iran's "level of deception" has left the international community with no choice "but to draw a line in the sand."

Western nations accuse Iran of enriching uranium in order to secretly produce nuclear weapons. The U.N. Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.


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 September 25 - Obama to Usher In New World Order at G-20
 Article: One World Government

In a surprising late-night twist on the eve of the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, FOX News has learned President Obama will announce Friday morning a significant expansion of the consortium of countries that tackles global economic and climate change issues.

Obama will tell reporters that the G-20, comprised of 19 industrial and emerging-market countries plus the European Union, will supplant the smaller Group of Eight nations, G-8, as the go-to group for solving the world's economic ills.

"This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial system, and lift the lives of the poorest," the White House said in a statement.

The G8 will retain its national security focus, but be replaced by the broader G-20 on the issues of climate change, financial regulatory reform and global imbalances.

President Obama pressed for the change at the last G-8 Summit in Italy, expressing his displeasure at the unwieldy array of G-8 meeting variations.

Obama said, "There is no doubt that we have to update and refresh and renew the international institutions that were set up in a different time and place. What I've noticed is everybody wants the smallest possible group, the smallest possible organization, that includes them. So, if they're the 21st largest nation in the world, they want the G-21, and think it's highly unfair if they have been cut out."

The more inclusive approach will allow countries such as Brazil, China, and India, who have griped about not being part of the G-8, to now have a bigger stake in strengthening global cooperation and economic stability. President Obama also supported their inclusion, noting fewer meetings would be more effective.



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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a blessing to you.

Sincerely,
Ron Pierotti


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