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In This Issue
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- December 31, 2006 - Iran: Mahdi will defeat archenemy in Jerusalem
- January 1, 2007 - Muslims shout at Jesus' home: 'Islam will dominate the world' - March through town of Nazareth 'meant to intimidate Christians'
- January 2, 2007 - IN THE NEWS - Mason Gerald Ford: Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33°
- January 03, 2007 - Examining the quality of a president's mercy
- January 03, 2007 - Catholicism Top Faith in U.S. Congress
- January 04, 2007 - Inventor crafts GPS-equipped shoes
- January 05, 2007 - First Muslim sworn into Congress using Koran once owned by Jefferson
- January 5 - Medicine faces ban on rabbit-human embryos
- January 5 - French president calls for Middle East peace conference
- January 04, 2007 - 2007 predicted to be world's warmest year
- January 06, 2007 - New Muslim congressman avoids loyalty questions
- January 06, 2007 - Israel has plans for nuclear strike on Iran: paper
- January 6 - Rice hopes to energize peace process
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The Weekly News In Review
Newsletter is a
compilation of the news articles that have appeared
on the Understand The Times website during the
previous week.
This issue is the first for the year of 2007. You can
look
forward to additional issues for 2007.
We have also chosen the 15 most important articles
for 2006 in our "Year In Review 2006" . You can read
these by clicking on the link below:
http://www.understandthetimes.org/yir2006.shtml
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December 31, 2006 - Iran: Mahdi will defeat archenemy in Jerusalem
Article: Islam
State media
says, 'Shiite messiah will kill archenemy in
Jerusalem, could come during
spring equinox'
Yaakov
Lappin
| Published: |
12.31.06,
13:01
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A
triumphal religious prophecy has appeared
on an Iranian official state media
website, heralding the return of the
Shiite messiah.
According to the website, "Imam
Mahdi
(may God hasten his
reappearance) will appear all of a sudden on the
world scene with a voice from the
skies announcing his reappearance at
the holy Ka'ba in
Mecca."
The Islamic Republic of Iran broadcasting
(IRIB) website said in a program
called 'The World Towards
Illumination,' that the Mahdi will
reappear in Mecca and form an army to
defeat Islam's enemies in a series
of apocalyptic battles, in which the
Mahdi will overcome his archvillain
in Jerusalem.
..."After his appearance the Imam
would
remain in Mecca for some time,
and then go to Medina... a descendant of
the Prophet's archenemy Abu
Sofyan will seize Syria and attack Iraq and
the Hejaz with the ferocity of a
beast... finally Imam Mahdi sends
troops who kill the Sofyani in Beit
ol-Moqaddas (Jerusalem), the Islamic
holy city in Palestine that is
currently under occupation of the
Zionists," the IRIB added.
'Jesus will be Mahdi's
lieutenant'
According to the Iranian series, the
Mahdi will reappear on earth with
Jesus: "We read in the book Tazkarat
ol-Olia, 'the Mahdi will come with
Jesus son of Mary accompanying him.'
...Imam Mahdi will be the leader
while Prophet Jesus will act as his
lieutenant in the struggle against
oppression and establishment of
justice in the world. Jesus had
himself given the tidings of the coming
of God's last messenger and will
see Mohammad's ideals materialize in
the time of the Mahdi."
Read More ...
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January 1, 2007 - Muslims shout at Jesus' home: 'Islam will dominate the world' - March through town of Nazareth 'meant to intimidate Christians'
Article: Islam
By Aaron Klein
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
NAZARETH - Islamic groups held a large
militant march down the main
streets of Nazareth this weekend,
highlighting for some here the
plight of Christians in this ancient city
where Muslims have become a
majority and members of the dwindling
Christian population say they
suffer regular intimidation.
Nazareth, considered one of the holiest
cities for Christians, is described in
the New Testament as the
childhood home of Jesus. It
contains multiple important shrines and
churches, including the famous
Church of the Basilica of the
Annunciation, the site at which
many Christians believe the Virgin Mary
was visited by the Archangel
Gabriel and told that she had been selected
as the mother of Jesus.
The
Islamic Movement, the main Muslim
political party in Nazareth, said it
organized yesterday's march to
celebrate Eid ul-Adha, or the
Feast of the Sacrifice, which commemorates
the Muslim belief Abraham was
willing to sacrifice his son Ishmael for
Allah.
Read More ....
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January 2, 2007 - IN THE NEWS - Mason Gerald Ford: Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33°
Article: Mason And Freemasonry
Gerald
R. Ford, the thirty-eighth President
of the United States of America,
was initiated into Masonry on September
30, 1949, in Malta Lodge No. 465,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with his
brothers Thomas Gardner Ford
(1918-1995), Richard Addison Ford (1924-)
and James Francis Ford (1927- ).
The Fellowcraft and Master Mason
Degrees were conferred by
Columbia Lodge No. 3, Washington, D.C., on
April 20 and May 18, 1951, as a
courtesy to Malta Lodge.
Brother Ford was made a Sovereign
Grand
Inspector General, 33°, and
Honorary Member, Supreme Council A.A.S.R.
Northern Jurisdiction at the
Academy of Music in Philadelphia, on
September 26, 1962, for which he
served as Exemplar (Representative) for
his Class. He was also awarded
the Grand Cross, by Grand Commander
Clausen in 1975.
President Ford said of Masonry,
"When I took my obligation
as a master mason--incidentally, with my
three younger brothers--I recalled
the value my own father attached to
that order. But I had no idea that
I would ever be added to the
company of the Father of our Country and 12
other members of the order who
also served as Presidents of the United
States.
Masonic principles--internal, not
external--and our order's vision of
duty to country and acceptance of
God as a Supreme Being and
guiding light have sustained me during my
years of Government service.
Today especially, the guidelines by which I
strive to become an upright man
in Masonry give me great personal
strength.
Masonic precepts can help America
retain
our inspiring aspirations while
adapting to a new
age. It is apparent to me
that the Supreme Architect has set out
the duties each of us has to
perform, and I have trusted in His will
with the knowledge that my trust
is well-founded.
Read More ....
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January 03, 2007 - Examining the quality of a president's mercy
Article: Masons And Freemasonry
GERALD FORD AND AMERICA'S PUBLIC
RELIGION
BY JON
MEACHAM
WASHINGTON
In
history's light, the defining hour of
Gerald Ford's presidency came at
11 o'clock on the morning of Sunday,
Sept. 8, 1974, when he
announced his pardon of Richard Nixon. The
country has already heard much
about Ford's role in healing the nation
after Watergate and will
undoubtedly hear more such reflections. It is
fitting that these words echoed
through the great nave of Washington
National Cathedral at his memorial
service Tuesday, for Ford was, in a
quiet, unnoticed way, an
important figure in America's public
religion.
During his most
critical
moments in the White House - his
assumption of power and the
pardoning of Nixon - Ford drew deeply on
theological imagery. Everyone
knows that Ford said, "My fellow
Americans, our long national
nightmare is over," on Aug. 9, 1974. Much
less quoted, but perhaps more
revealing, given the pardon, is a sentence
he spoke a moment later: "(T)here is a higher
power, by whatever name we
honor him, who ordains not only
righteousness but love, not only
justice but mercy."
...Then Ford
explicitly
spoke of the "higher power" he had
mentioned when he was sworn in.
"The Constitution is the supreme law of
our land, and it governs our
actions as citizens. Only the laws of God,
which govern our consciences, are
superior to it."
In a New Testament allusion
("Then Peter opened his mouth, and
said, 'Of a truth I perceive that
God is no respecter of persons: But in
every nation he that feareth him,
and worketh righteousness, is accepted
with him' "), Ford said:
"I deeply
believe in equal justice for all
Americans, whatever their station or
former station. The law, whether
human or divine, is no respecter of
persons; but the law is a
respecter of
reality."
Note from Understand The
Times:
In a
previous article entitled, "In
The News - Mason Gerald Ford:
Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33°
", it was pointed out that
Gerald Ford was deeply involved in Masonry.
Masons believe in a
"supreme being", but this "supreme
being" is not the
God of the Bible, as evidenced by
Gerald Ford's comment in the above
article,
""(T)here is a
higher power, by whatever name
we honor him...".
This comment leaves it open to
interpretation that this higher power
could be Allah, Buddah or any
other so called
god.
We think it is
very interesting that Rick Warren
has posted a link to the above article
on his website for pastors.
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/?
ID=292 Is there a tie between Rick
Warren, his involvement in the
Council on Foriegn Relations and the New
World Order?
Read More ....
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January 03, 2007 - Catholicism Top Faith in U.S. Congress
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Roman
Catholics are the largest single U.S.
religious denomination among
members of the new U.S. Congress which also
includes two Buddhists and a
Muslim.
...Catholic 155; Baptist 67; Methodist
61;
Presbyterian 44; Jewish 43;
Episcopal 37; Protestant nondenominational
26; Christian nondenominational
18; Lutheran 17; Mormon 15; United
Church of Christ 7.
Eastern Orthodox 5; Christian Science 5;
Assemblies of God 4; Unitarian
Universalist 2; African Methodist
Episcopal 2; Buddhists 2;
Evangelical 2; Seventh Day Adventists 2;
Christian Reformed 2; Disciples of
Christ 2; Church of Christ 2;
Congregational Baptist 1; Anglican
1.
Reorganized Mormon 1; Quaker 1;
Church of
God 1; Muslim 1; Evangelical
Lutheran 1; Church of the Nazarene 1;
Evangelical Methodist
1.
No
affiliation 6.
Read More ....
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January 5 - Medicine faces ban on rabbit-human embryos
Article: Cloning And Genetic Engineering
Patients with incurable crippling diseases
may be denied the first effective
treatments because of government plans to outlaw the
creation of "human-animal"
embryos.The
proposed ban on fusing human DNA with
animal eggs is an affront to thousands
of Britons suffering from conditions
such as motor neuron disease and
Alzheimer's, leading scientists said
yesterday.
In an attack on ministers, who are
seeking legislation to prohibit such
experiments, the scientists gave warning that it would
deny society one of the most powerful tools
for medical research.
They said that the Department of
Health has fundamentally misunderstood
the ethical implications of human-animal
embryos and bowed to pressure from
religious groups for an all-out ban. The
technique, which produces embryos
that are 99.5 per cent human, aims to
address the shortage of human eggs for
stem-cell research.
Professor Chris Shaw, of King's College
London, who is investigating
motor neuron disease, said: "There are
hundreds of thousands of patients in
Britain with degenerative neurological
conditions. We can use these cell
lines to study them, and to see if drugs are
going to be effective.
"To shut that down is a real affront to
patients who are desperate for
therapy. Of all these diseases, none are
really treat-able.
This is a very serious
turning point in terms of
science and medicine."
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January 04, 2007 - 2007 predicted to be world's warmest year
Article: Signs Of The Last Times
By
Jeremy Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) - This year is set to
be
the hottest on record worldwide
due to global warming and the El Nino
weather phenomenon, Britain's
Meteorological Office said on Thursday.
The
Met Office said the combination of
factors would likely push average
temperatures this year above the
record set in 1998. 2006 is set to
be the sixth warmest on record
globally.
"This new information
represents another warning that
climate change is happening around the
world," said Met Office
scientist Katie Hopkins.
The world's 10 warmest years
have all occurred since 1994 in a
temperature record dating back a
century and a half, according to
the United Nations'
weather agency.
Read More ....
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January 06, 2007 - New Muslim congressman avoids loyalty questions
Article: Islam
When the first Muslim congressman in
U.S. history, Keith Ellison (Hakim-
Mohammed) of Minnesota, won the 2006
election and was making the
regular thank-you-to-my-supporters
speech,
he allowed his fans to shout,
"Allahu Akbar!," the same phrase allegedly
used by the 9/11 suicide pilots.
Since November he's addressed
various different Islamic groups
and organizations, and he's used the
Quran to be sworn into office.
He's also been linked to Islamic
organizations with questionable
agendas.
...I am inspired by the
Quran's message of encompassing
divine love, and a deep faith guides my
life every day," he wrote in
his promotional materials.
...He was given unprecedented
permission
during this week's swearing-in
ceremonies to place his hand on a piece
of the nation's archival history -
the Quran once owned by Thomas
Jefferson - for his photo-
opportunity with family and friends.
Ellison said he chose to use the Quran
because it showed Jefferson
believed wisdom could be gleaned from many
sources, although as superstar
performer and WND columnist Pat Boone
explained Jefferson quoted often
from the Bible in his writings, not the
Quran.
(Another explanation for Jefferson's
possession of a Quran could have
been a desire to know his enemies. It
was during Jefferson's presidency
that the U.S. took on the Muslim
slave-traders and pirates on the
Barbary Coast of Africa in war.)
...Rick Jauert, a spokesman for the
congressman, was reached at his
campaign headquarters in Minnesota two
weeks ago, and confirmed that
the congressman does not believe there
will be a conflict between his
religious beliefs and his duty under the
U.S. Constitution.
But when asked which
would take priority if there is a
conflict, or to describe how the
congressman will resolve the
differing philosophies provided by the U.S.
Constitution and the Quran, which
calls for beheading "infidels," he
said he could not answer
immediately.
...He recognizes
Israel, and said "a lasting
peace in the Middle East should be one of
the United States' most focused
goals."
"Right now Hamas represents the
greatest
obstacle to this path, and until
Hamas denounces terrorism, recognizes
the absolute right of Israel to
exist peacefully and honors past
agreements, it cannot be
considered legitimate partners in this
process," he wrote.
...Ellison's campaign also was backed by
the Washington-based lobby
group Council on American-Islamic Relations,
a partner organization to American
Open University-affiliated NAIF. CAIR
held fundraisers for Ellison, a civil-
rights lawyer and one-time acolyte
of Louis Farrakhan who admits to
making anti-Semitic remarks in the past
(under various alias including Keith
Hakim, Keith Ellison-Muhammad and
Keith X Ellison).
CAIR's founder has argued
the Quran should replace the
Constitution as the highest authority in
the land. The group's director of
communications, moreover, has
expressed his desire to see the
U.S. become an Islamic state.
Read More ....
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January 06, 2007 - Israel has plans for nuclear strike on Iran: paper
Article: Israel And The Last Days
LONDON (Reuters) -
Israel has drawn up
secret plans to
destroy Iran's
uranium enrichment
facilities with tactical nuclear weapons,
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper
said.
Citing what it said were several Israeli
military sources, the paper said
two Israeli air force squadrons had
been training to blow up an
enrichment plant in Natanz using low-yield
nuclear "bunker
busters."
The
U.N.
Security Council
voted unanimously last
month to slap sanctions on Iran to try to
stop uranium enrichment that
Western powers fear could lead to making
bombs. Tehran insists its plans are
peaceful and says it will continue
enrichment.
Israel has refused to rule out
pre-emptive military action against
Iran along the lines of its 1981 air
strike against an atomic reactor in
Iraq, though many
analysts believe
Iran's nuclear facilities are too
much for Israel to take on alone.
The newspaper said the
Israeli plan envisaged conventional
laser-guided bombs opening "tunnels"
into the targets. Nuclear
warheads would then be used fired into the
plant at Natanz, exploding deep
underground to reduce radioactive
fallout.
Read More ....
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January 6 - Rice hopes to energize peace process
Article: Israel And The Last Days
US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice is expected to
visit Israel as early as next week to exploit
what she perceives as an
opportunity to break the deadlock on the
stalled peace process.
In speaking of her upcoming visit to the
region, US State Department
spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters
over the weekend that Rice believed
"there is a potential opening here to
make progress on the issue of a
two-state solution, Israel and Palestine
living side by side in peace and
security."
McCormack did not offer specific
examples as to why Rice saw an
opportunity at this point. He did, however,
add that the US was not alone in
looking to "exploit" possibilities
to move the situation forward at this
time.
Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
countries also believed there is
an opportunity here, he said.
Still, he said, "many, many things
would need to happen to in order to
achieve that goal."
The Palestinians had to sort out their
political differences as a
prerequisite for progress to be made,
McCormack said.
He had harsh words for the Palestinian
Authority's governing party Hamas,
which he said "had failed to
govern" and was an obstacle for
"achieving a
Palestinian state."
McCormack lauded PA Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas for his efforts to solve the
conflict between his Fatah party and Hamas
and to create a government that
would meet international standards.
Read More ....
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
In Jesus,
Roger Oakland
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By The Associated Press
