8/8/05 -8/14/05

Look out for more of this type of thing in the coming days. Each one of these archaeological discoveries will be used to further the agenda of re-building the temple and set the wheels in motion for the formation of the Judaic New Age New World religion.

Digging up biblical dynamite
The supposed palace of King David has been uncovered in Jerusalem, but other scholars are saying the find is being used as a political tool
By Steven Erlanger
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , JERUSALEM
Saturday, Aug 06, 2005,Page 16
An Israeli archaeologist says she has uncovered in East Jerusalem what may be the fabled palace of the biblical King David. Her work has been sponsored by a conservative Israeli research institute and financed by an American Jewish investment banker who would like to prove that Jerusalem was indeed the capital of the Jewish kingdom described in the Bible.
Other scholars are skeptical that the foundation walls discovered by the archaeologist, Eilat Mazar, are David's palace. But they acknowledge that what she has uncovered is rare and important: a major public building from around the 10th century BC, with pottery shards that date to the time of David and Solomon and a government seal of an official mentioned in the book of Jeremiah. The discovery is likely to be a new salvo in a major dispute in biblical archaeology: whether the kingdom of David and Samuel was of some historical magnitude, or whether the men were more like small tribal chieftains, reigning over another dusty hilltop.
The find will also be used in the broad political battle over Jerusalem -- whether the Jews have their origins here and thus have some special hold on the place, or whether, as many Palestinians have said, including the late Yasser Arafat, the idea of a Jewish origin in Jerusalem is a myth used to justify conquest and occupation. Hani Nur el-Din, a Palestinian professor of archaeology at Al Quds University, said he and his colleagues considered biblical archaeology an effort by Israelis "to fit historical evidence into a biblical context."
He added, "The link between the historical evidence and the biblical narration, written much later, is largely missing. There's a kind of fiction about the 10th century. They try to link whatever they find to the biblical narration. They have a button, and they want to make a suit out of it."
Even Israeli archaeologists are not so sure that Mazar has found the palace -- the house that Hiram, king of Tyre, built for the victorious king, at least as Samuel 2:5 describes it. It may also be the Fortress of Zion that David conquered from the Jebusites, who ruled Jerusalem before him, or some other structure about which the Bible is silent. Either way, they are impressed by its likely importance.
"This is a very significant discovery, given that Jerusalem as the capital of the united kingdom is very much unknown," said Gabriel Barkay, an archaeologist from Bar-Ilan University.
"This is one of the first greetings we have from the Jerusalem of David and Solomon, a period which has played a kind of hide-and-seek with archaeologists for the last century."
Based on the Bible and a century of archaeology in this spot, Mazar, 48, speculated that a famous stepped-stone structure excavated previously was part of the fortress David conquered, and that his palace would have been built just outside the original walls of the cramped city, on the way to what his son, Solomon, built as the Temple Mount.
"When the Philistines came to fight, the Bible said that David went down from his house to the fortress," she said, her eyes bright. "I wondered, down from where? Presumably from where he lived, his palace."
"So I said, maybe there's something here," she added, referring to East Jerusalem. David's palace was the topic of a last conversation Mazar had with her grandfather, Benjamin Mazar, a famous archaeologist who helped to train her and who died 10 years ago. Five months ago, with money and permission from the Ir David Foundation, which controls the site (and supports Jews moving into East Jerusalem), she finally began to dig. Amihai Mazar, a professor of archaeology at Hebrew University, calls the find "something of a miracle."
He says he believes that the building may be the Fortress of Zion that David is said to have conquered, which he renamed the City of David.
"What she found is fascinating, whatever it is," he said. Amihai Mazar is Eilat Mazar's second cousin, but he has his own reputation to protect. Archaeologists debate "to what extent Jerusalem was an important city or even a city in the time of David and Samuel," he said.
"Some believe it was tiny and the kingdom unimportant."
The site of ancient Jerusalem, stuck between two valleys on a ridge south of the Temple Mount, is very small, less than 10 acres. Israel Finkelstein, another renowned archaeologist, has suggested that without significant evidence, Jerusalem in this period was "perhaps not more than a typical hill-country village."
In his book, The Bible Unearthed, Finkelstein writes with Neil Silberman, "Not only was any sign of monumental architecture missing, but so were even simple pottery shards."
The building can be reasonably dated by the pottery found above and below it. Mazar found on the bedrock a large floor of crushed limestone, indicating a large public space. The floor and fill above it contain pottery from Iron Age I of the 12th to 11th centuries BC, just before David conquered Jerusalem. Above that, Mazar found the foundations for this monumental building, with large boulders for walls that are more than 1.8m thick and extend at least 30m. In one corner was pottery from Iron Age 2, the 10th to 9th centuries, roughly the time of the united kingdom. Unfortunately, Amihai Mazar said, she found no floor. It is clear the building was constructed after the pottery underneath it, but less clear exactly how much later.
The archaeological debate is also partly a debate over the roots of Zionism and the effort to find Jewish origins deep in the land. Eilat Mazar's latest dig, which has cost about US$500,000, has been sponsored by Roger Hertog, a New York financier who is vice chairman of Alliance Capital Management. Hertog, who owns a piece of The New York Sun and The New Republic, is also chairman of the board of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, where Mazar is a senior fellow.
The Shalem Center was founded as Israel's first "neoconservative think-tank," said William Kristol, who is also on the board, in an effort to give the Israeli right a better foundation in history, economics, archaeology and other topics. Hertog calls his investment in Mazar "venture philanthropy -- you have the opportunity for intellectual speculation, to fund something that is a work of great consequence." He said he hoped to show "that the Bible reflects Jewish history."
Mazar continues to dig, but right now, three families are living in houses where she would most like to explore. One family is Muslim, one Christian and one Jewish.

The find will also be used in the broad political battle over Jerusalem -- whether the Jews have their origins here and thus have some special hold on the place, or whether, as many Palestinians have said, including the late Yasser Arafat, the idea of a Jewish origin in Jerusalem is a myth used to justify conquest and occupation. Hani Nur el-Din, a Palestinian professor of archaeology at Al Quds University, said he and his colleagues considered biblical archaeology an effort by Israelis "to fit historical evidence into a biblical context."
He added, "The link between the historical evidence and the biblical narration, written much later, is largely missing. There's a kind of fiction about the 10th century. They try to link whatever they find to the biblical narration. They have a button, and they want to make a suit out of it."
Even Israeli archaeologists are not so sure that Mazar has found the palace -- the house that Hiram, king of Tyre, built for the victorious king, at least as Samuel 2:5 describes it. It may also be the Fortress of Zion that David conquered from the Jebusites, who ruled Jerusalem before him, or some other structure about which the Bible is silent. Either way, they are impressed by its likely importance.
"This is a very significant discovery, given that Jerusalem as the capital of the united kingdom is very much unknown," said Gabriel Barkay, an archaeologist from Bar-Ilan University.
"This is one of the first greetings we have from the Jerusalem of David and Solomon, a period which has played a kind of hide-and-seek with archaeologists for the last century."
Based on the Bible and a century of archaeology in this spot, Mazar, 48, speculated that a famous stepped-stone structure excavated previously was part of the fortress David conquered, and that his palace would have been built just outside the original walls of the cramped city, on the way to what his son, Solomon, built as the Temple Mount.
"When the Philistines came to fight, the Bible said that David went down from his house to the fortress," she said, her eyes bright. "I wondered, down from where? Presumably from where he lived, his palace."
"So I said, maybe there's something here," she added, referring to East Jerusalem. David's palace was the topic of a last conversation Mazar had with her grandfather, Benjamin Mazar, a famous archaeologist who helped to train her and who died 10 years ago. Five months ago, with money and permission from the Ir David Foundation, which controls the site (and supports Jews moving into East Jerusalem), she finally began to dig. Amihai Mazar, a professor of archaeology at Hebrew University, calls the find "something of a miracle."
He says he believes that the building may be the Fortress of Zion that David is said to have conquered, which he renamed the City of David.
"What she found is fascinating, whatever it is," he said. Amihai Mazar is Eilat Mazar's second cousin, but he has his own reputation to protect. Archaeologists debate "to what extent Jerusalem was an important city or even a city in the time of David and Samuel," he said.
"Some believe it was tiny and the kingdom unimportant."
The site of ancient Jerusalem, stuck between two valleys on a ridge south of the Temple Mount, is very small, less than 10 acres. Israel Finkelstein, another renowned archaeologist, has suggested that without significant evidence, Jerusalem in this period was "perhaps not more than a typical hill-country village."
In his book, The Bible Unearthed, Finkelstein writes with Neil Silberman, "Not only was any sign of monumental architecture missing, but so were even simple pottery shards."
The building can be reasonably dated by the pottery found above and below it. Mazar found on the bedrock a large floor of crushed limestone, indicating a large public space. The floor and fill above it contain pottery from Iron Age I of the 12th to 11th centuries BC, just before David conquered Jerusalem. Above that, Mazar found the foundations for this monumental building, with large boulders for walls that are more than 1.8m thick and extend at least 30m. In one corner was pottery from Iron Age 2, the 10th to 9th centuries, roughly the time of the united kingdom. Unfortunately, Amihai Mazar said, she found no floor. It is clear the building was constructed after the pottery underneath it, but less clear exactly how much later.
The archaeological debate is also partly a debate over the roots of Zionism and the effort to find Jewish origins deep in the land. Eilat Mazar's latest dig, which has cost about US$500,000, has been sponsored by Roger Hertog, a New York financier who is vice chairman of Alliance Capital Management. Hertog, who owns a piece of The New York Sun and The New Republic, is also chairman of the board of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, where Mazar is a senior fellow.
The Shalem Center was founded as Israel's first "neoconservative think-tank," said William Kristol, who is also on the board, in an effort to give the Israeli right a better foundation in history, economics, archaeology and other topics. Hertog calls his investment in Mazar "venture philanthropy -- you have the opportunity for intellectual speculation, to fund something that is a work of great consequence." He said he hoped to show "that the Bible reflects Jewish history."
Mazar continues to dig, but right now, three families are living in houses where she would most like to explore. One family is Muslim, one Christian and one Jewish.

---

The U.S. economy continues to be bled dry. It is happening so gradually that people don’t even notice what is happening. It’s like the frog in a pot of water on the stove. The heat is gradually raised and in the end, the frog doesn’t even realize that the water is boiling.

Watching the Economy Crumble
Paul Craig Roberts | August 10 2005
The US continues its descent into the Third World, but you would never know it from news reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July payroll jobs release.
The media gives a bare bones jobs report that is misleading. The public heard that 207,000 jobs were created in July. If not a reassuring figure, at least it is not a disturbing one. On the surface things look to be pretty much OK. It is when you look into the composition of these jobs that the concern arises.
Of the new jobs, 26,000 (about 13%) are tax-supported government jobs. That leaves 181,000 private sector jobs. Of these private sector jobs, 177,000, or 98%, are in the domestic service sector.
Here is the breakdown of the major categories:
• 30,000 food servers and bar tenders;
• 28,000 health care and social assistance:
• 12,000 real estate;
• 6,000 credit intermediation;
• 8,000 transit and ground passenger transportation;
• 50,000 retail trade; and
• 8,000 wholesale trade.
(There were 7,000 construction jobs, most of which were filled by Mexicans immigrants.)
Not a single one of these jobs produces a tradable good or service that can be exported or serve as an import substitute to help reduce the massive and growing US trade deficit. The US economy is employing people to sell things, to move people around, and to serve them fast food and alcoholic beverages. The items may have an American brand name, but they are mainly made off shore. For example, 70% of Wal-Mart’s goods are made in China.
Where are the jobs for the 65,000 engineers the US graduates each year? Where are the jobs for the physics, chemistry, and math majors? Who needs a university degree to wait tables and serve drinks, to build houses, to work as hospital orderlies, bus drivers, and sales clerks?
In the 21st century job growth in the US economy has consistently reflected that of a Third World country--low productivity domestic services jobs. This goes on month after month and no one catches on--least of all the economists and the policymakers.
Economists assume that every high productivity, high paying job that is shipped out of the country is a net gain for America. We are getting things cheaper, they say. Perhaps, for a while, until the dollar goes. What the cheaper goods argument overlooks are the reductions in the productivity and pay of employed Americans and in the manufacturing, technical, and scientific capability of the US economy.
What is the point of higher education when the job opportunities in the economy do not require it?
These questions are too difficult for economists, politicians, and newscasters. Instead, we hear that “last month the US economy created 207,000 jobs.”
Television has an inexhaustible supply of optimistic economists.
Last weekend CNN had John Rutledge (erroneously billed as the person who drafted President Reagan’s economic program) explaining that the strength of the US economy was “mom and pop businesses.” The college student with whom I was watching the program broke out laughing.
What mom and pop businesses? Everything that used to be mom and pop businesses has been replaced with chains and discount retailers. Auto parts stores are chains, pharmacies are chains, restaurants are chains. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowes, have destroyed hardware stores, clothing stores, appliance stores, building supply stores, gardening shops, whatever--you name it.
Just try starting a small business today. Most gasoline station/convenience stores seem to be the property of immigrant ethnic groups who acquired them with the aid of a taxpayer-financed US government loan.
Today a mom and pop business is a cleaning service that employs Mexicans, a pool service, a lawn service, or a limo service.
In recent years the US economy has been kept afloat by low interest rates. The low interest rates have fueled a real estate boom. As housing prices rise, people refinance their mortgages, take equity out of their homes and spend the money, thus keeping the consumer economy going.
The massive American trade and budget deficits are covered by the willingness of Asian countries, principally Japan and China, to hold US government bonds and to continue to acquire ownership of America’s real assets in exchange for their penetration of US markets.
This game will not go on forever. When it stops, what is left to drive the US economy?

---

It looks like the anti-Iran propaganda is under way. It’s time for the Iran smear campaign to build up a case to create an Iraq part 2. It’s time to justify another war. We’ll be hearing more “Iran is the boogeyman, we need to stop them” type of news.

Iran breaks seals at nuclear plant
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; Posted: 2:48 p.m. EDT (18:48 GMT)
VIENNA, Austria (CNN) -- Iran has broken the seals on equipment at an atomic processing facility amid Western fears Tehran could use its technology to build a nuclear bomb.
The fact that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seals had been in place until Wednesday indicates the equipment at the nuclear plant had not been used up to now.
Removal of the seals means the uranium conversion plant is now capable of being fully operational, a state-run news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa declaring the "production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons" against the beliefs of Islam.
Under immense international pressure, Iran voluntarily suspended its nuclear program in October 2003. Earlier this week, the Islamic Republic rejected a European proposal to end a stalemate over its nuclear aspirations and announced it would resume conversion operations.
U.S. and other Western nations fear that full operations at the plant could lead to the development of nuclear weapons. Tehran says its atomic work is for peaceful purposes only.
Mohammad Faidi, deputy director of international affairs of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said a U.N. representative was present when the seals were removed, the agency reported.
A spokesman for the IAEA said the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog would have preferred Iran not remove the seals and restart full operations.
But Mark Gwozdecky said the plant at Isfahan, 410 kilometers (255 miles) south of Tehran, "is fully monitored by the IAEA" and "is not a uranium enrichment plant."
"Their uranium enrichment plant in Natanz remains frozen, and they have indicated it will remain that way," he said. "This plant (Isfahan) produces feed material that could one day be used in enrichment."
Still, he said, Iran's decision "isn't particularly helpful."
"This is a process of confidence building," he said. "Iran built a nuclear program for 18 years and concealed it from the international community.
"The international community, through our board of governors, has asked Iran to put on hold activities that are not urgently needed right now and allow this dialogue ... as well as allow the inspectors to finish their job."
In Vienna, the IAEA's board of governors postponed a planned meeting to give delegates more time to hammer out a resolution on the issue.
The agency was expected to press Iran to reverse its decision to resume its uranium conversion program at Isfahan.
CNN's Walter Rodgers said the postponement "indicates a lack of unanimity on how to deal with the Iranians."
Iran restarted parts of the uranium conversion process at Isfahan Monday without breaking any U.N. seals at the plant. (Full story)
But to run the whole plant -- which converts uranium concentrate into a gas that can then be enriched into reactor or bomb fuel -- seals had to be removed.
Iran has insisted it has the right to have a nuclear fuel recycling program in its quest for greater reliance on nuclear energy.
Western nations, however, fear this same uranium enrichment program could also be used by Iran as a front to develop atomic weapons.
The IAEA board met Tuesday to receive a report from its monitors on the restarting of the fuel conversion at Isfahan.
The agency indicated its board would ask Iran to rescind its decision on resuming its uranium conversion program. If Iran declines, it could be referred to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions.
Iran agreed in November to suspend the production of enriched uranium amid heavy international pressure. (Full story)
In a statement read late Tuesday at the IAEA meeting, Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa, or religious legal ruling, saying "production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons are forbidden under Islam and that the Islamic Republic of Iran shall never acquire these weapons."
"The leadership of Iran has pledged at the highest level that Iran will remain a non-nuclear-weapon state party to the (Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty) and has placed the entire scope of its nuclear activities under IAEA safeguards and additional protocol, in addition to undertaking voluntary transparency measures with the agency that have even gone beyond the requirements of the agency's safeguard system," Khamenei said in the statement.
According to Iran's state news agency, new Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a phone call that Iran was willing to continue negotiations on its nuclear program.
But Ahmadinejad rejected a European Union proposal to settle the dispute as "an affront to the Iranian nation."
'Positive sign' amid suspicion
U.S. President George W. Bush, at his ranch in Texas, said Ahmadinejad's willingness to come back to the table was "a positive sign" but warned that Washington was "deeply suspicious" of Iran's goals.
Last week, EU negotiators offered Iran a package of proposals for long-term support of its civilian nuclear program in exchange for guarantees not to develop atomic weapons. (Full story)
A government spokesman said Saturday that Iran would reject the offer. (Full story)
Cyrus Nasseri, Iran's delegate to the IAEA, said Tuesday that an Iranian settlement proposal was still on the table for European consideration.
IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei said he hoped the dispute between Iran and the EU was "simply a hiccup, not a permanent rupture." He urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint.
As the 35-member IAEA board met, Russia joined other European nations in calling on Iran to resume suspension of the program.
"It would be a wise decision to immediately stop the work begun on uranium conversion and continue Iran's close cooperation with the IAEA in removing the questions that still remain about the Iranian nuclear program," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told a news conference.
Russia, a member of IAEA board, signed a deal with Iran in February to transfer nuclear fuel to Iran's $800 million power plant reactor in the southern city of Bushehr and move the spent fuel back to Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is convinced Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. (Full story)
Britain, France and Germany -- the so-called EU-3 -- have led attempts to negotiate a solution with Iran. The United States, which has no diplomatic relations with Iran, has remained largely in the background.
"Our strategy has been all along to work with Germany, France and Great Britain in terms of sending a strong signal and message to Iran," Bush said Tuesday.
"Today it looked like the new Iranian leader has heard that message," said Bush, who once branded Iran as part of an "axis of evil" along with North Korea and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
The bottom line is that "we don't want the Iranians to have nuclear weapons," Bush said.
Iran's Nasseri, speaking in Vienna, scoffed at the U.S. insistence that his country not have nuclear weapons.
"The United States is the sole nuclear weapons state which had the guts to drop the bomb and kill and maim and turn into ashes millions in a split second," he said, referring to the atomic bombs that destroyed two cities in Japan and helped end World War II 60 years ago this month. (Full story)
"The United States is in no position whatsoever to tell anyone or preach what they should or should not with their nuclear program."
Under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, signatory nations -- which include Iran -- are allowed to develop nuclear power with monitoring by the IAEA.
The agency says it was making progress but that Iran's past lack of candor about its program had left some doubt about its current work.

---

Is martial law a foregone conclusion? If they have this planned, you can bet it is. In fact, this IS planned. They even have names for it. Operation cablesplicer and Operation Garden Plot. These operations were planned out years ago. If this sounds too far fetched, all it takes is another 9/11 type of event. You can be sure that this is in their bag of tricks. They won’t surprise any of us this time.

Pentagon devising scenarios for martial law in US
By Patrick Martin
9 August 2005
According to a report published Monday by the Washington Post, the Pentagon has developed its first ever war plans for operations within the continental United States, in which terrorist attacks would be used as the justification for imposing martial law on cities, regions or the entire country.
The front-page article cites sources working at the headquarters of the military’s Northern Command (Northcom), located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The plans themselves are classified, but “officers who drafted the plans” gave details to Post reporter Bradley Graham, who was recently given a tour of Northcom headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base. The article thus appears to be a deliberate leak conducted for the purpose of accustoming the American population to the prospect of military rule.
According to Graham, “the new plans provide for what several senior officers acknowledged is the likelihood that the military will have to take charge in some situations, especially when dealing with mass-casualty attacks that could quickly overwhelm civilian resources.”
The Post account declares, “The war plans represent a historic shift for the Pentagon, which has been reluctant to become involved in domestic operations and is legally constrained from engaging in law enforcement.”
A total of 15 potential crisis scenarios are outlined, ranging from “low-end,” which Graham describes as “relatively modest crowd-control missions,” to “high-end,” after as many as three simultaneous catastrophic mass-casualty events, such as a nuclear, biological or chemical weapons attack.
In each case, the military would deploy a quick-reaction force of as many as 3,000 troops per attack—i.e., 9,000 total in the worst-case scenario. More troops could be made available as needed.
The Post quotes a statement by Admiral Timothy J. Keating, head of Northcom: “In my estimation, [in the event of] a biological, a chemical or nuclear attack in any of the 50 states, the Department of Defense is best positioned—of the various eight federal agencies that would be involved—to take the lead.”
The newspaper describes an unresolved debate among the military planners on how to integrate the new domestic mission with ongoing US deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign conflicts. One major document of over 1,000 pages, designated CONPLAN 2002, provides a general overview of air, sea and land operations in both a post-attack situation and for “prevention and deterrence actions aimed at intercepting threats before they reach the United States.” A second document, CONPLAN 0500, details the 15 scenarios and the actions associated with them.
The Post reports: “CONPLAN 2002 has passed a review by the Pentagon’s Joint Staff and is due to go soon to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and top aides for further study and approval, the officers said. CONPLAN 0500 is still undergoing final drafting” at Northcom headquarters.
While Northcom was established only in October 2002, its headquarters staff of 640 is already larger than that of the Southern Command, which overseas US military operations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
About 1,400 National Guard troops have been formed into a dozen regional response units, while smaller quick-reaction forces have been set up in each of the 50 states. Northcom also has the power to mobilize four active-duty Army battalions, as well as Navy and Coast Guard ships and air defense fighter jets.
The Pentagon is acutely conscious of the potential political backlash as its role in future security operations becomes known. Graham writes: “Military exercises code-named Vital Archer, which involve troops in lead roles, are shrouded in secrecy. By contrast, other homeland exercises featuring troops in supporting roles are widely publicized.”
Military lawyers have studied the legal implications of such deployments, which risk coming into conflict with a longstanding congressional prohibition on the use of the military for domestic policing, known as posse comitatus. Involving the National Guard, which is exempt from posse comitatus, could be one solution, Admiral Keating told the Post. “He cited a potential situation in which Guard units might begin rounding up people while regular forces could not,” Graham wrote.
Graham adds: “when it comes to ground forces possibly taking a lead role in homeland operations, senior Northcom officers remain reluctant to discuss specifics. Keating said such situations, if they arise, probably would be temporary, with lead responsibility passing back to civilian authorities.”
A remarkable phrase: “probably would be temporary.” In other words, the military takeover might not be temporary, and could become permanent!
In his article, Graham describes the Northern Command’s “Combined Intelligence and Fusion Center, which joins military analysts with law enforcement and counterintelligence specialists from such civilian agencies as the FBI, the CIA and the Secret Service.” The article continues: “A senior supervisor at the facility said the staff there does no intelligence collection, only analysis. He also said the military operates under long-standing rules intended to protect civilian liberties. The rules, for instance, block military access to intelligence information on political dissent or purely criminal activity.”
Again, despite the soothing reassurances about respecting civil liberties, another phrase leaps out: “intelligence information on political dissent.” What right do US intelligence agencies have to collect information on political dissent? Political dissent is not only perfectly legal, but essential to the functioning of a democracy.
The reality is that the military brass is intensely interested in monitoring political dissent because its domestic operations will be directed not against a relative handful of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists—who have not carried out a single operation inside the United States since September 11, 2001—but against the democratic rights of the American people.
The plans of Northcom have their origins not in the terrible events of 9/11, but in longstanding concerns in corporate America about the political stability of the United States. This is a society increasingly polarized between the fabulously wealthy elite at the top, and the vast majority of working people who face an increasingly difficult struggle to survive. The nightmare of the American ruling class is the emergence of a mass movement from below that challenges its political and economic domination.
As long ago as 1984—when Osama bin Laden was still working hand-in-hand with the CIA in the anti-Soviet guerrilla war in Afghanistan—the Reagan administration was drawing up similar contingency plans for military rule. A Marine Corps officer detailed to the National Security Council drafted plans for Operation Rex ’84, a headquarters exercise that simulated rounding up 300,000 Central American immigrants and likely political opponents of a US invasion of Nicaragua or El Salvador and jailing them at mothballed military bases. This officer later became well known to the public: Lt. Colonel Oliver North, the organizer of the illegal network to arm the “contra” terrorists in Nicaragua and a principal figure in the Iran-Contra scandal.
As for the claims that these military plans are driven by genuine concern over the threat of terrorist attacks, these are belied by the actual conduct of the American ruling elite since 9/11. The Bush administration has done everything possible to suppress any investigation into the circumstances of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon—most likely because its own negligence, possibly deliberate, would be exposed.
While the Pentagon claims that its plans are a response to the danger of nuclear, biological or chemical attacks, no serious practical measures have been taken to forestall such attacks or minimize their impact. The Bush administration and Congress have refused even to restrict the movement of rail tank cars loaded with toxic chemicals through the US capital, though even an accidental leak, let alone a terrorist attack, would cause mass casualties.
In relation to bioterrorism, the Defense Science Board determined in a 2000 study that the federal government had only 1 of the 57 drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tools required to deal with such an attack. According to a report in the Washington Post August 7, in the five years since the Pentagon report, only one additional resource has been developed, bringing the total to 2 out of 57. Drug companies have simply refused to conduct the research required to find antidotes to anthrax and other potential toxins, and the Bush administration has done nothing to compel them.
As for the danger of nuclear or “dirty-bomb” attacks, the Bush administration and the congressional Republican leadership recently rammed through a measure loosening restrictions on exports of radioactive substances, at the behest of a Canadian-based manufacturer of medical supplies which conducted a well-financed lobbying campaign.
Evidently, the administration and the corporate elite which it represents do not take seriously their own warnings about the imminent threat of terrorist attacks using nuclear, chemical or biological weapons—at least not when it comes to security measures that would impact corporate profits.
The anti-terrorism scare has a propaganda purpose: to manipulate the American people and induce the public to accept drastic inroads against democratic rights. As the Pentagon planning suggests, the American working class faces the danger of some form of military-police dictatorship in the United States.

---

As predicted, the opposition against the disengagement is getting stronger as the days get closer. The only question is how violent will things get when the date arrives? There are only 4 days left as of the time of this writing. This is an extremely pivotal event. However, the average, casual news-observing American has no clue, as news of this goes in one ear and out the other since it’s only mentioned briefly on CNN and there's craziness in that part of the world on a constant basis. They definitely are on top of what reality shows are on TV tonight though.

Mass Prayer Against Expulsion at Foot of Holy Temple Mount

Jews across Israel are taking part in a mass prayer at Jerusalem's Western Wall, just below the Temple Mount, Wednesday to call on G-d to stop the expulsion of Jews from their homes in Gush Katif
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Haredi and National Religious rabbis are calling upon all Jews to take part in a mass prayer at the Western Wall Wednesday for the "nullification of the uprooting decree."

Former Ashkenazi and Sephardi Chief Rabbis Avraham Shapira and Mordechai Eliyahu, who have long led protests against the Gaza expulsion plan, will lead rabbis in a united call directed to the Heavens, rather than toward Israel's Knesset. Rabbis Shapira and Eliyahu will be joined by Shas Party Leader and former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (pictured above), members of the Haredi-religious Council of Torah Sages, former MK Rabbi Menachem Porush and other prominent Hassidic rabbis.

The event has special significance in that it marks a rare uniting of leading, influential Rabbis from the Hareidi, Sephardic, and National Religious sectors together in one event.

At an emergency meeting that took place last week at his home, Rabbi Menachem Porush, a well-known Hareidi-religious leader and former member of Knesset, burst out in tears. The rabbi told those present that over the past 80 years of his life, he cannot remember a time where thousands of Jewish families were being expelled from their homes in such a manner, when 25 Jewish towns were set to be utterly destroyed, when the destruction of dozens of synagogues and houses of Torah study was to take place, as well as the desecration of Jewish graves. "Even in Russia it was not like this," he said.

"Our forefather Abraham asked for mercy on behalf of Sodom and Gemora, which were evil - appealing to G-d that there must be fifty..twenty..even ten righteous people living there," said Porush. "How much more so, when we have towns filled with Torah and yeshivas, with righteous Jews who fear Heaven, are we obligated to pray for them and for the nullification of the decree."

It was decided at the meeting to hold a mass prayer at the Western Wall as soon as possible.

Aside from the prayer rally, Rabbi Porush and Shas Party Chairman Eli Yishai agreed to coordinate activities against the Disengagement Plan from now on. One of the highlights of Wednesday's prayers will be the presence of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who will read Selichot (heavenly petitions for mercy) in the intonation and custom of Sephardic Jewry.

"I pray every day [for the nullification of the Disengagement Plan], but we need to have a mass prayer," Rabbi Yosef said in his weekly Saturday night address. "Even when the sharpened sword is resting on one's neck, one should not despair of Divine mercy."

The former Sephardic chief rabbi and Shas Party spiritual leader, considered one of the most prominent and influential rabbis alive, added, "It is obligatory on every person to take part in the prayer gathering on Wednesday."

The ceremony will begin at 6 PM. Organizers plan on distributing sack-cloth to worshippers "in order to symbolize the mourning that is resulting from the decision to expel Jews."

Residents of Gush Katif are not waiting for Wednesday for a mass prayer. They will gather at 6 PM on Tuesday evening in the courtyard of the Neve Dekalim synagogue. Participating in the prayer session will be Rabbi Avraham Shapira, Kiryat Arba Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Yoram Aberjil of the "Rav Poalim" educational centers in Netivot, Beit El Yeshiva Head and Chief Rabbi Zalman Melamed, Kiryat Shemona Chief Rabbi Tzefania Drori, Tzfat Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, and others.
All rights reserved IsraelNationalNews ©

---

Déjà vu? This is getting eerily simlar to the Spring of 2003 right before the U.S. launched pre-emptive strikes on Iraq.

Flashback: First there were tons of reports of WMD possibly being developed by Hussein, then it was confirmed (later to be discovered that WMDs didn’t exist) by Bush and Colin Powell, a deadline was established and the war started in March/2003.

Another deadline has been set…We are already hearing of Iran’s nuclear development as we speak. Here we go again.

Envoys: Iran Faces Sept. Deadline on Nukes
AP - 53 minutes ago
VIENNA, Austria - The U.N. nuclear watchdog expressed "serious concern" Thursday over Iran's resumption of nuclear activities that could lead to an atomic bomb and diplomats said Tehran faced a September deadline to stop uranium conversion at a plant in central Iran. The Iranians resumed work at the nuclear facility in Isfahan earlier this week, despite appeals from European negotiators to maintain a voluntary suspension of nuclear activities.

---

Things seem to be progressing in a way that convinces me that once the spark is lit, things will move at an incredibly fast pace. Everything up to this point has been pretty gradual. Next week’s post will feature the disengagement scheduled on the 15th. That may be the spark that sets things in motion. We will see…

Three Remaining Events
By Ted Lang
8-7-5
Once an inquiring mind accepts the "absurdity" of the United States government's planning, arranging, and conspiring with another government's intelligence agency to bring about the Pearl Harbor of the 21st century, and once it can be recognized that the anger generated by such a successful plot was capitalized upon by the American Empire to wage an unnecessary, unjust and unconstitutional war, figuring out the rest is easy.

Today in America, allegiance to both the Bush administration and its uncalled for invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and its brutal mass murder of Iraqis serving the objectives of Israel and oil, the term "patriotism" is now used to identify those Americans who support Bush and his political party. Those Americans who "support the troops," who cheer the slaughter of "towelheads," smelly Arabs, Israel-threatening Palestinians, "camel jockeys," and all the other rock-solid reasons for killing our fellow humans in the nationalistic trade-off of blood-for-oil, are indeed the select members of "patriotic" American society. Either you are with Bush and his GOP [Gang of Plunderers], or you are with the terrorists!

As a true American, you must agree unquestionably with the napalm carpet-bombing of Fallujah in retaliation for the "murders" of four one-thousand-dollar-a-day private contractors, more accurately termed "mercenaries." They were killed in that hapless city and their horribly mangled bodies were hung from a bridge signifying the contempt and hatred these people now have for all Americans, not just their brutal, criminal US government.

You are a true American if you close your eyes and reject all aspects of the true Spirit of '76. If you support Bush's unilateral word and semantics engineering abolishing the Geneva Conventions that were already in place that far back, you are a true American. Rejecting the Declaration of Independence itself is now a truly patriotic act - what sacrifice! Only one aspect of 1776 must be lovingly and faithfully embraced, for it is the very essence the Bush administration's vision. It is the origin of the Bush crime family's wealth, amassed by working with and for an even greater crime family: Rothschild. It was in 1776 that Meyer Rothschild uttered this famous call for Bush-defined patriotism: "Let me issue and control a nation's money, and I care not who writes its laws."

So, if you reject the humanity of peace, and accept rather the inhumanity of both war and the torture of falsely-arrested innocent civilians and militarily disabled, captured prisoners of war, you are an American patriot. You reject our Nation's founding, its history, tradition, honor and morality, all of which served to set a standard for moral, just government around the world, then you are a Bush and GOP patriot. And you richly deserve the security and protection of the Bush crime family's trump of the Founding Fathers efforts - the USA PATRIOT Act.

Considering the outrage that this gang of killers has unleashed in the world, how can any sane, thinking human being align themselves with either the Bush regime or today's "Republican Party?" I cannot accept it, so I am no longer a Republican. And I guess, that blows it for me as well in terms of being either an American or a patriot. And I'm sure this is precisely how the Bush gangsters see it.

When one assesses just how far off the track this "Polar Express" has gone, then everything fits nicely into place. And since it is the contention of this writer, and a growing list of others, that there IS indeed a conspiracy working here, no matter what your damned definition of "is" is, we need to digress for a moment and consider it and its objective.

The term "Illuminati," according to Collier's Encyclopedia, originated with the Ante-Nicene Church fathers to designate those Christians who accepted baptism. "They were called 'illuminati' or 'illuminated ones,' on the assumption that those who were instructed for baptism in the Apostolic faith had received the grace of illumination in an enlightened understanding. Clement of Alexandria speaks thus of such baptismal light: 'This is the one grace of illumination, that our characters are not the same as before our washing. And since knowledge springs up with illumination, shedding its beams around the mind, the moment we hear, we who were untaught become disciples. ... This work is called ... illumination by which that holy light of salvation is beheld, that is, by which we see God clearly.'"

The referenced information from Collier's goes on: "Among the societies subsequently adopting the name 'illuminati' were the Alumbrados or Alombrados, a mystical sect existing in Spain from the early 16th century and appearing in France as the Guerinets during the period from 1623 to 1635. Later, the title 'illuminati' was adopted by a secret society founded by Adam Weishaupt, [Jewish] professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, on May 1, 1776, with the aim of combating religion and fostering rationalism." Of course, as you will recall, the Spanish sect was persecuted during that black time designated as the "Spanish Inquisition."

Once again, the coincidental year of 1776 comes to the fore, the same year Rothschild made his notorious claim driving for monopolistic state banks in every nation, which he intended to control. Now citing as a reference, the Columbia Encyclopedia, we progress to an understanding how these seemingly isolated occurrences come together.

After founding his secret society in Germany, Weishaupt, a professor at Ingolstadt, "having close affinities with the Freemasons and seemingly organized on a Masonic plan," the society had only limited success. The following concepts were offered by none other than Pat Robertson in his book, The New World Order, published in 1991. Robertson offers that Weishaupt's organization was supposed to work through the Freemasons, and in order to give his secret society financial momentum, he employed the power, influence and financial might of those rich Jewish bankers: the Rothschilds.

Leonard Fein, commenting on the book in the Jewish news periodical based in New York City, Forward, in a March 10, 1995 article writes: "His [Weishaupt's] immediate purpose was to take over the Freemasons, and for that he depended on rich Jews. The Illuminated Freemasonry moved its headquarters to Frankfurt, which was controlled by the Rothschilds, and suddenly 'new money...poured into the Frankfurt lodge, and from there a well-funded plan for world revolution was carried forth.' Operating secretly in France and Germany, offspring 'revolutionary societies' commissioned the writing of the Communist Manifesto."

Considering the many false flag operations conducted by Jews on behalf of Israel, and the millions of lives lost in all the wars America has been caught up in via Jewish influence, is it really so hard to imagine that an Illuminati, manifesting itself publicly through the Council on Foreign Relations, Tri-Lateral Commission and Bilderberg, and reaching all corners of the earth through the Communist-established International Monetary Fund, really exists? And if we view the real conspiracies of a Pearl Harbor of the 20th century, as well as the 9-11 Pearl Harbor of the 21st century, as well as the U.S.S. Liberty incident, just how many iceberg tips and smoking guns are really required for real inquiring minds? And now we have the Downing Street Memo, and the Air Force One Valerie Plame memo, and still no effective reporting and detailed analysis from the Zionist-controlled media?

We're not talking about Adolf and his beer hall buddies here! There is more than mere coincidence and conjecture at work here - as FDR said, everything in politics doesn't just happen. So I now must sadly relate all these events to the unavoidable future. There are three things that the Jews will foist upon US before they leave US alone to go about their business of destroying America and its sovereignty to merge our military, private property and wealth into the UN.

The Illuminati's plan will be to use Israel to destroy the US by an unending war with all of Islam. In this way, the two major obstacles, the people of the United States, and the people of Islam, will neutralize each other and become to weak to resist. True American patriots, those that remember the purpose of America's founding, also known as "the remnant," will be termed not only as unpatriotic, but as traitors to the cause [The New World Order]. Thus, any true American patriot must either be imprisoned or murdered by The State. Once Jews have served their purpose in putting the Illuminati's NWO in place, they will be summarily massacred in total, as they have demonstrated all throughout history that they turn on their own kind and cannot be trusted.

As far as we-the-people are concerned, American government, as per direction from our Jewish rulers, must be encumbered by three distinct events: one) hate crimes legislation; two) total abolition of the Internet, the source of truth; three) a nuclear 9-11 "terrorist act" in order to institute the Rove-Cheney-Rumsfeld plan for martial law in America.

Step One: "Hate crimes" legislation, which ultimately protects Jews and Israel from any and all criticism, MUST be enacted. Two Senatorial prostitutes have already been approached: Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum [R] and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy [D]. Considering the anti-American legislation that has already sailed flawlessly through Congress, war powers for "Unser Fuehrer" and CAFTA, and the Supreme Soviets' "legislation" abolishing private property, hate crimes should be a no-brainer. Jews need this protection to silence the growing ranks of Americans who are finding out through the Internet just what's going on. Information technology is rapidly outpacing the Zionist media, and this is a real threat to Jews, their fascist/imperial police state of Israel, and to their international communism designs as well.

Step Two: As previously pointed out, the Internet is a serious threat. But in order to quietly and rapidly abolish it, tax legislation must first be created to "regulate" websites, and to ensure Senator Hillary Clinton's vision of "responsible journalism" through licensed and State-authorized "gatekeepers."

Step Three: A nuclear 9-11 is MANDATORY. How else can the Bush gangsters deploy the USA PATRIOT Act?! Of course, since the bothersome Internet through some of its more radical and unpatriotic websites, along with Scott Ritter and some guy named Hersh, interference via Internet predictions with "The Grimace's" plan to nuke Iran has already compromised the Bush criminals and deferred the execution of their quest in bringing nuclear democracy to the heathens in Iran and Syria.

Considering this and the serious threats to world democracy, risking yet another sloppy 9-11 WTC/Pentagon hit, and then constrained by the resultant Downing Street-type Memos, the Valerie Plame mess, the bull---- has to stop! The Bush regime will really think this through.

Perhaps the mechanisms have already been put in place. First, ignore Limbaugh and think conspiracy. Second, think of the massive nature of a false flag nuclear hit on America. Third, think of Israel and the Zionist Jews.

Obviously, the best and so-proven false flaggers are the Israeli Mossad. They, along with the CIA, will need to smuggle the nuclear device across the USA to where it can be detonated. Second, it might be a problem to detonate it in either the Northeast, or the West Coast. Considering all that "Jewish Activity" immediately preceding 9-11, and then just think of the Jewish activity [Wall Street short sells, long and extended holidays for Jewish businesses and their employees, a massive Jewish exodus] that will precede this deadly hoax; these activities might constitute a tip-off! And of course, security is tight all over America, except!

The border with Mexico! That's the only hole in the Bush regime's tightening grip on America! And the risk of trying to get a nuclear device through the country might tip off some real American patriots in the CIA and FBI - but dismissal by higher-ups loyal to Bush and Israel has been exposed for the conspiracy it was. This time around, some American public servants might just ignore their politician-appointed superiors. Looks like the Southwest United States is in for a nasty surprise! And no, it won't be Texas or anywhere near there. Looking at a map of the Southwest United States, where can a nuclear 9-11 best take place?

I don't wish to frighten needlessly - that is not my intent here. But, when considering the unbelievable crimes committed so recently by our government upon all humanity, even the mass murders of our own people, just as was planned and executed on December 7, 1941, I am just sure these criminals and Israel intend to carry this out. The warning signs will be disruptive and well-publicized civil unrest between Mexican illegals and Americans - perhaps riots, lynchings, shootings, etc. Then, as usual, a pow-wow between international mass murderers Bush and Sharon. Then the big bang.

Hopefully, this message will serve in the same vein as that of the Ritters, the Hershs and the LaRouches - perhaps this false flag horror can be delayed long enough to vote the entire GOP out of office, impeach Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Zakheim, and repeal the USA PATRIOT Act and Bush's suspension of the Geneva Conventions. We will need to make war reparations to Iraq. We will need to abolish AIPAC and the ADL. Then, and maybe only then, can we ask the world's forgiveness, and promise to return to those thrilling days of yesteryear and real American sovereignty and patriotism.

---

Do you think it is a coincidence that they are releasing this discovery at this time when it appears that the Zionists are ready to rebuild the temple? This futher validates their position to take action to remove what’s currently on the temple mount and establish the temple there for their coming Moschiach. This along with the upcoming discovery of the lost ark makes me think that there will be something huge going down in Jerusalem very soon.

King David palace may have been found
JERUSALEM, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- An Israeli archaeologist says she has uncovered in East Jerusalem what might be the palace of the biblical Old Testament King David.
Eilat Mazar uncovered a major public building from around the 10th century B.C., with pottery shards that date to the time of David and Solomon and a government seal of an official mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, reported the New York Times.
The find might be used in the battle over whether Jews have their roots in Jerusalem or, as many Palestinians say, the idea of a Jewish origin in Jerusalem is a myth used to justify conquest and occupation.
The find may be the Fortress of Zion that David conquered from the Jebusites or some other structure.
"This is a very significant discovery, given that Jerusalem as the capital of the united kingdom is very much unknown," said Gabriel Barkay, an archaeologist from Bar-Ilan University. "This is one of the first greetings we have from the Jerusalem of David and Solomon, a period which has played a kind of hide-and-seek with archaeologists for the last century."
Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

---

There appears to be another real life Indiana Jones looking for the ark. Hey just like in the movie! For the first time ever, there are reports of this nature that state that a serious effort is being made to discover the ark. I would have to think that it is inevitable that this will be discovered in the very near future. I personally think Vendyl Jones is the one that will eventually uncover it. He had originally stated that he would uncover it by 8/14 but according to his website it seems as if it has been delayed due to ‘funding’ issues possibly worked out by September of this year. Perhaps, there is still some fine tuning left to do before he gets the green light to start what will eventually be the uprising of the Jewish people leading to the destruction of the Muslim structures on the Temple Mount.

The Race For The Lost Ark
Posted 8/3/2005
By Dvora Waysman
Thousands of people saw the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and most of them knew that Indiana Jones was based on a real person, famous archaeologist Dr. Vendyl Jones. Less well-known is another charismatic contender, who believes he will be the first to uncover the hiding place of this fabulous prize. He was recently in Jerusalem, and his name is Lt. Barry S. Roffman of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Roffman is basing his search on the Bible Code ... a code encrypted in the Bible some 3,000 years ago, now unlocked by computer. The mathematician who discovered the code was Dr. Eliyahu Rips, one of the world`s leading experts in group theory, the field that underlies quantum physics. Jones is basing his research on the Talmud. Once a Christian pastor, he left his post to become a leader of the Noahide movement, Gentiles who observe the seven laws of Noah. His search is aided by an ancient document found in Qumran together with the Dead Sea Scrolls, known as the "Copper Scroll." He is convinced that he has pinpointed the ark`s location. (Vendyljones.org.il/copperscroll). For Roffman`s research, you can hear a 30 minute radio broadcast by accessing www.biblecodenews.com

In the case of Vendyl Jones, he plans to uncover the lost Ark of the Covenant by Tisha b`Av. It was the resting place of the Ten Commandments, given to the Jews at Mt. Sinai and supposedly hidden just before the First Temple was destroyed. Although the Talmud says the Ark is hidden under the Temple Mount, Jones believes the tunnel continues 18 miles to the south and is now in the Judean Desert. Jones is not Jewish, although his daughter Sarah has converted and lives in Samaria (Shomron). However, he is learned in Torah and Talmud and has contact with a mysterious kabbalist who has now given him his blessing to reveal the Ark by Tisha B`Av (August 14th), the anniversary of the destruction of both the First and Second Temples.

But Jones is not alone in his search. Barry Roffman, an Orthodox Jew and a Lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard and author of Ark Code, (www.amazon.com ) believes that the Torah codes he has discovered can unlock the secret of the Ark`s location, and his findings are very different from those of Vendyl Jones. According to Roffman, there are maps encoded in the Torah. Key site names are encoded in such a way that the angles between Jerusalem, Arabic sites and a suspect Egyptian Ark site correspond to actual course headings on real world maps. The site, which he describes as 31 degrees 9 minutes North, 33 degrees 4 minutes East, is where a cloud of fire blocked the Egyptian army from the Israelites before we crossed the Sea of Reeds (Yam Suf) at Lake Bardawil in Northern Sinai, Egypt. He cites Jeremiah as the last prophet to control the Ark before finishing his life in that area of Egypt. Roffman`s research is unique, quite different from methods used by other Bible code researchers. It is rooted in his expertise as a Coast Guard military planner. He has explanations as to why Jeremiah took the Ark to the site of the splitting of the sea, and believes that the Ark`s purpose is to prevent a nuclear war between Israel and its enemies.

Barry Roffman was born in 1947 in Philadelphia and now lives in California with his second wife, Katherine Kim Roffman and their young son David. He has a distinguished Navy background, and was also a high school teacher of earth science, biology, chemistry and physical science. In 1989, his book, A Matter of Spiritual Custody, dealt with an interfaith child custody battle in which the Catholic Church, possibly for the first and only time, annulled his older son`s baptism on a ruling by Edward A. McCarthy, Archbishop of Miami, on the grounds that it was carried out without the father`s knowledge or consent when the boy was seven and considered himself to be Jewish. Today, that son, Robert Altair Roffman, is an Orthodox Rabbi in the U.S. Air Force.

So now, the world is waiting with bated breath. Will it be Jones or Roffman who finds the Ark of the Covenant? Will it be found in Israel or in Egypt? Will it be discovered by means of ground-penetrating radar?

What will be the religious, political and scientific implications and ramifications if it is found? And what else can we learn of the future from the words encrypted in the Bible codes or the secrets of the Talmud? We may not have long to wait. The Nobel Laureate physicist, Richard Feynman, put it this way:

"To solve any problem that has never been solved before, you have to leave the door to the unknown, ajar."

---

Big brother is alive and well in Chicago. Remember that song by the Alan Parson’s Project? “I am the eye in the sky looking at you.” I had no idea what that song really meant but it sounds quite prophetic now doesn’t it?

MAGNIFICENT SURVEILLANCE
Behave yourself on Michigan Avenue

By Jason George
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 8, 2005
Stand on Michigan Avenue and look up to the spire of the Water Tower. You'll see history in the Gothic Revival architecture.

The future, however, is staring back.

Surveillance cameras peer down from rooftops at the tower square, while others scan from one passing face to another. Then there are those hidden in tinted globes. The Park Hyatt Chicago has one. So does Giorgio Armani.

In all there are 11 cameras that are easily seen--and seeing--around the square, covering virtually every footstep within this short strip of the Magnificent Mile. Several are within stores, trained on lobbies and entrances, but their wide-angle lenses capture passersby as well.

At the American Girl Place on Chicago Avenue, it's not just doll eyes staring out the display windows. A security supervisor said he can even see onto the street using his video system.

Nearby, at Michigan and Chicago Avenues, a camera affixed to a light pole is among about 2,200 the city maintains and monitors. Like most of them, it is encased in a bowling ball-like orb, although there are other, larger, bulletproof cameras that are scattered about the city's higher-crime areas, according to Monique Bond, spokeswoman for the Office of Emergency Management.

She said their primary purpose is homeland security, but she also noted that corner drug dealing in front of the cameras has repeatedly resulted in arrests. The city also is hoping to use the cameras to observe traffic patterns and reduce gridlock.

One security guard at a building on the square said revealing exactly where the unseen cameras are placed would be unwise, but she offered some sly consolation:

"We're watching."