Command the Raven

From End of the American Dream.Com

Is 2012 the year when we will see a major war in the Middle East? For years we have heard about rising tensions in the Middle East, and for years we have heard politicians express concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, but now things really do seem to be reaching a boiling point. In just the past few days, the U.S. government has imposed tough new sanctions on Iran and has totally shut down the U.S. embassy in Syria. The truth is that we are getting dangerously close to a major war in the Middle East.

So will Israel strike Iran at some point in the next few months? Will the U.S. military intervene in the rapidly escalating conflict inside of Syria? If a major war does erupt, it could send the price of oil skyrocketing and there is the potential that the war could broaden very quickly.

Hezbollah has already indicated that it will side with Syria, and there is always the potential that Hamas could as well. Russia and China have both stated that they are completely opposed to military action by the United States against Iran and Syria, and they have even hinted that they would possibly even help defend those countries. As the nations of the world take sides, there is even the potential that we could see World War III develop. Let us hope that it never comes to that, but with the world as unstable as it is right now, you never know what may happen.

What makes war so much more likely now is that nobody has shown any signs of backing down.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has sworn that he will never step down.

U.S. President Barack Obama says that it is only a matter of time until he is forced to step down and that no other outcome is acceptable.

Iran has sworn that it will never end its nuclear program.

The United States believes that if Iran is allowed to develop a nuclear weapon it would be a fundamental threat to world security.

Israel believes that if Iran is allowed to develop a nuclear weapon it would be a fundamental threat to the very existence of the nation of Israel.

So if nobody backs down, what is going to happen?

I think we all know what is going to happen.

The following are 25 signs that we are getting dangerously close to a major war in the Middle East….

#1 The United States has just imposed tough new sanctions on Iran. Some of the new sanctions are specifically targeted at the central bank of Iran. Stronger sanctions have been a prelude to war in the past, and the Obama administration surely wants to argue that “all other alternatives have been exhausted” before going to war.

#2 The EU has announced that all imports of crude oil from Iran will be banned starting in July.

#3 The U.S. embassy in Syria has been shut down and the Obama administration has once again called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign.

#4 The U.S. has also removed all diplomats from Syria.

#5 In speaking of the removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Barack Obama is making it very clear what he believes the final result will be….

“This is not going to be a matter of if, it’s going to be a matter of when.”
This is very reminiscent of the language that Obama used to describe the removal of Gadhafi before the U.S. launched airstrikes in Libya.

#6 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling for “an international coalition” to support the opposition fighters in Syria.

#7 Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says that Iran is moving their uranium enrichment facilities into recently constructed underground bunkers and that the point of no return is rapidly approaching….

“The world has no doubt that Iran’s nuclear program is steadily nearing readiness and is about to enter an immunity zone”
#8 There are indications that Israel may consider launching an attack against Iran without even notifying the United States. Aaron David Miller, a Mideast peace negotiator during the Clinton administration, recently made the following statement….

“There’s a growing concern — more than a concern — that the Israelis, in order to protect themselves, might launch a strike without approval, warning or even foreknowledge”
#9 The Washington Post is reporting that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes that Israel will strike Iran at some point during the months of April, May or June.

#10 Former IDF chief of staff Moshe Yaalon insists that an attack on Iran could be successful….

“It’s possible to strike all Iran’s facilities, and I say that out of my experience as IDF chief of staff”
#11 U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner says that the Obama administration “is absolutely committed to preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons”.

#12 Barack Obama underscored his policy toward Iran in a speech just the other day….

“I’ve been very clear — we’re going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating a nuclear arms race in a volatile region”
#13 According to Debka, thousands of U.S. troops have been heading to “two strategic islands within reach of Iran”.

#14 Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei is speaking as if the coming war is a foregone conclusion….

“The war itself will be 10 times as detrimental to the U.S.”
#15 Khamenei also seems to think that the outcome of the coming war is a foregone conclusion as well….

“In light of the realization of the divine promise by almighty God, the Zionists and the Great Satan (America) will soon be defeated”
#16 Khamenei also has declared that Israel is a “cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut”.

#17 According to one estimate, there are currently 200,000 missiles aimed at the nation of Israel.

#18 Some Israeli officials claim that Iran is trying to develop a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States.

#19 The death toll from the conflict inside of Syria continues to rise. According to Debka, “a continuous Syrian bombardment beginning early Saturday, Feb. 4, is estimated to have left a record 350 dead and up to 1,300 wounded in the Homs district of Khaldiyeh.”

#20 According to the United Nations, a total of approximately 6,000 people have been killed since the conflict in Syria began.

#21 The city of Homs is one giant war zone at this point. The following comes from a recent article in the Telegraph….

“We can’t count all the bodies from the streets and the collapsed buildings. Anyone who tries to go on the street might be killed - there are snipers,” said Abu Abdu al-Homsi, spokesman for the Syrian Revolutionary Council, an opposition group, in Homs. “An old woman - her son was shot and killed in the street, she went to get his body and was shot dead too.”

#22 The Russians appear to be very serious about supporting the Assad regime in Syria. According to Debka, “the Russians backed their hard line against the West by putting Rapid Reaction Force (aka Spetsnaz) units in Black Sea bases on the ready to set out for Syria and defend Damascus.”

#23 It is being reported that a Hezbollah official has indicated that Hezbollah will attack Israel if Syria is attacked.

#24 There are even signs that Saudi Arabia is busy preparing for a coming war. The following comes from a recent Debka article….

“Our military sources report that the Saudis this week wound up their own intensive preparations for war. Large forces are now deployed around Saudi oil fields, pipelines and export facilities in the eastern provinces opposite the Persian Gulf, backed by anti-missile Patriot PAC-3 batteries. American, British and French fighter-bombers have been landing at Saudi air bases to safeguard the capital, Riyadh.”

If a major war does erupt in the Middle East, what is that going to do to the global economy and the price of oil?

It is being projected that the price of gasoline in the United States could go above 4 dollars a gallon this spring even if there isn’t a war in the Middle East.

So how much higher would it go if there is a conflict with Iran?

Today, Iran is the third largest exporter of oil in the entire world. If those shipments are cut off that would have a huge impact.

But Iran could have an even greater impact by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Approximately 20 percent of all oil sold in the world goes through the Strait of Hormuz each year. If Iran started raining missiles down on oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, that would change the global economy overnight.

We live in very unusual times, and it should be apparent to everyone that there is not going to be lasting peace in the Middle East any time soon.

Right now, the world is on a road that is inevitably going to lead to a major war in the Middle East and nobody is showing any signs of backing down.

When the next major war does erupt in the Middle East, it is going to change the world forever.

But what kind of change will that be?

- Prophecy News Watch

From Daily Mail.Co.Uk

Contact lenses which focus 3D screens directly into people’s eyeballs could be on sale as early as 2014, says U.S. company Innovega.

The tiny ’screens’ sit directly on users’ eyeballs and work with a pair of lightweight glasses with a built-in translucent screen.

The experience is equivalent to a 240-inch television viewed at a distance of 10 feet, says Innovega’s CEO Steve Willey.

The lenses sit directly on the eyeball, and have been engineered using nanoscale techniques to work as a focusing device that pairs with a pair of hi-tech glasses.

The devices can ‘pair’ with smartphones and portable game devices to deliver up-close video - or switch to a translucent ‘augmented reality’ view, where computer information is layered over the world we know.

Crucially, the devices can be worn while moving about - previous bulky ‘VR headsets’ have blindfolded their users and can only be used sitting down.

The effect could be similar to the lenses worn by Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

The company is also developing hi-tech lenses for use by American soldiers, feeding battlefield information directly into their eyes.

DARPA - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, thought of as the American military’s ‘mad scientist’ wing - has been funding research on ’soldier mounted displays’ for some time.

It’s now working on ‘iOptik’ lenses with Innovega.

The lenses, made with nano-scale engineering processes,work as a hi-tech focusing device, which allows Innovega’s glasses to be considerably less bulky than previous devices.

The lenses themselves require no power, and thus can sit safely on the eyeball.

DARPA projects are often oddball technology, but it also has a history of far-sighted technological leaps.

DARPA invented the first virtual reality devices, and one of the precursors of the modern internet.

DARPA Says, ‘Innovega’s iOptiks are contact lenses that enhance normal vision by allowing a wearer to view virtual and augmented reality images without the need for bulky apparatus. ‘

‘Instead of oversized virtual reality helmets, digital images are projected onto tiny full-color displays that are very near the eye.’

These novel contact lenses allow users to focus simultaneously on objects that are close up and far away.’

Innovega claims that the devices could become popular rapidly due to the number of contact lens wearers worldwide.

The program seeks to develop novel computational imaging capabilities and explore joint design of hardware and software that give warfighters access to systems that greatly enhance their awareness, security and survivability.

- Prophecy News Watch

From SeattlePi.Com

In recent weeks, India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier — modernizing its military to face a rising China.

India and China have a long history of tension, dating back to a 1962 border war, and New Delhi has watched with dismay in recent years as Beijing has increased its influence in the Indian Ocean.

China has financed the development of ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar, virtually encircling India. Beijing’s recent efforts to get access to facilities in the Seychelles have prodded New Delhi to renew its own outreach to the Indian Ocean island state off its west coast.

With its recent purchases, running into tens of billions of dollars, India is finally working to counter what it sees as aggressive incursions by neighboring China into a region India has long dominated.

“The Indian military is strengthening its forces in preparation to fight a limited conflict along the disputed border, and is working to balance Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean,” James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, told a Senate committee last week.

India has created new infantry mountain divisions and plans to raise a strike corps aimed at countering aggression by China. Their border still has not been agreed upon despite 15 rounds of talks, and patrols from the two sides frequently face off on the ground.

Analysts say that although the probability of a conflict between the two Asian giants is remote, a short, sharp conflict in the disputed Himalayan heights can’t be ruled out.

“Over the last couple of years, the Chinese have been acting more and more aggressively in the political, diplomatic and military arena,” said retired Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal, director of the Indian army-funded Centre for Land Warfare Studies in New Delhi.

Indian leaders and defense strategists have watched with alarm as China modernized its forces and extended its military advantage over India. For some in India, countering China is taking precedence even over checking longtime rival Pakistan.

“Of late, there has been a realization (in India) that China is the real danger of the future,” Kanwal said.

To compete, India has embarked on a long-overdue drive to modernize its forces and replace their obsolescent, Soviet-era weapons.

Its orders for fighter jets, naval frigates, helicopters and armaments have made India the world’s largest importer of arms. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said India accounted for 9 percent of all the world’s weapon imports in 2010, the latest year for which figures were available.

Last week’s order of 126 combat aircraft, won by France’s Dassault, followed a bitter battle by global jet manufacturers hoping to entice India.

The initial cost for the 126 planes is estimated at about $11 billion, but on-board weaponry, technology transfers, maintenance, warranties and other costs are expected to almost double the price.

The Indian navy last week took command of a Russian Nerpa nuclear submarine, renamed INS Chakra-II, at the Russian port of Vladivostok, propelling India into an elite group of countries operating underwater nuclear-powered vessels. Others in the club are the United States, France, Russia, Britain and China.

The Chakra-II, on lease from Russia for the next 10 years at a cost of nearly $1 billion, is expected to be inducted into the navy by March. Later this year, India is expected to take delivery of a retrofitted Soviet-built aircraft carrier.

In addition, six Scorpene subs being built in India under license from France in a $5 billion deal are expected to start going into service in 2015, three years behind schedule, said Defense Minister A.K. Antony. Labor problems and difficulties procuring needed technology have hampered the project, he told the Indian Parliament recently. Critics also blame India’s sluggish bureaucracy for the delays.

“India’s efforts at modernizing its forces have been very slow,” said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a defense analyst at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

Some Indian military experts complain that the country is not doing enough to upgrade its forces to the level befitting the regional power it aspires to be.

“It’s not only China that is rising. India is on the ascent too, and it’s a trend that will continue for some decades,” said retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak at the Centre for Air Power Studies in New Delhi.

India may be watching China’s overtures to its neighbors with alarm, but New Delhi has also embarked on its own effort to reach out to the Southeast Asian and East Asian countries in Beijing’s backyard.

India has struck a strategic partnership with Vietnam, including helping Hanoi beef up its defense capabilities. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been actively pursuing a “Look East” policy, engaging the leaders of South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, among others. The policy has resulted in a troupe of high-level visits to India, bolstering trade and economic cooperation.

Nowhere is the contest between China and India more evident than in Myanmar, where both of the energy-seeking Asian giants are caught in a race to gain access to the country’s natural gas sources.

India has regularly conducted defense exercises with countries in the region. It is scheduled to host the navies of 14 Asian countries in maritime exercises later this week; the Chinese and Pakistani navies have not been invited.

And, while India is increasing its defense capabilities, China is doing the same, but faster, making it difficult for India to catch up. The Chinese government’s military budget is the second largest in the world after the United States.

India has raised two mountain divisions of soldiers to add to its existing high-altitude troops. Around 36,000 soldiers and officers of the divisions have been posted in the remote northeast, not far from India’s Arunachal Pradesh state, which China claims as part of its territory.

A proposal for a mountain strike corps is awaiting clearance by India’s Cabinet, and an independent armored brigade for the mountain region also is in the works. India hopes to show it can strike deep beyond its neighbor’s borders to serve as a deterrent for any Chinese aggression, Kanwal said.

“India is building up its capability for offensive operations in the mountains with a view to taking the fight into Chinese territory,” Kanwal said.

“India’s efforts at modernizing its forces have been very slow,” said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a defense analyst at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

Some Indian military experts complain that the country is not doing enough to upgrade its forces to the level befitting the regional power it aspires to be.

“It’s not only China that is rising. India is on the ascent too, and it’s a trend that will continue for some decades,” said retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak at the Centre for Air Power Studies in New Delhi.

India may be watching China’s overtures to its neighbors with alarm, but New Delhi has also embarked on its own effort to reach out to the Southeast Asian and East Asian countries in Beijing’s backyard.

India has struck a strategic partnership with Vietnam, including helping Hanoi beef up its defense capabilities. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been actively pursuing a “Look East” policy, engaging the leaders of South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, among others. The policy has resulted in a troupe of high-level visits to India, bolstering trade and economic cooperation.

Nowhere is the contest between China and India more evident than in Myanmar, where both of the energy-seeking Asian giants are caught in a race to gain access to the country’s natural gas sources.

India has regularly conducted defense exercises with countries in the region. It is scheduled to host the navies of 14 Asian countries in maritime exercises later this week; the Chinese and Pakistani navies have not been invited.

And, while India is increasing its defense capabilities, China is doing the same, but faster, making it difficult for India to catch up. The Chinese government’s military budget is the second largest in the world after the United States.

India has raised two mountain divisions of soldiers to add to its existing high-altitude troops. Around 36,000 soldiers and officers of the divisions have been posted in the remote northeast, not far from India’s Arunachal Pradesh state, which China claims as part of its territory.

A proposal for a mountain strike corps is awaiting clearance by India’s Cabinet, and an independent armored brigade for the mountain region also is in the works. India hopes to show it can strike deep beyond its neighbor’s borders to serve as a deterrent for any Chinese aggression, Kanwal said.

“India is building up its capability for offensive operations in the mountains with a view to taking the fight into Chinese territory,” Kanwal said.

- Prophecy News Watch

From Daily Mail.Co.Uk

A system for keeping an eye on potentially dangerous ‘artificial life’ laboratories around the world is essential, say leading experts.

The Woodrow Wilson Centre, in Washington, US, warns that there is no way of monitoring labs tinkering with ’synthetic biology’ to ensure that anything created is safe.

The field ’synthetic biology’ came into being in 2010 when a scientist added synthetic DNA to a bacteria cell to create a ‘new’ life form. An Oxford ethicist warned that it opened the door to ‘the most powerful bioweapons imaginable’.

The Centre’s Synthetic Biology project has recommended a ’score card’ to ensure laboratories adhere to guidelines laid down by a Presidential Commisision in 2010.

Billionaire entrepreneur Dr Craig Venter-a controversial figure known as ‘Darth Venter’ to his colleagues- created a life form two years ago

President Obama was presented with a report from the Commission’s 13 scientists in 2010, after billionaire entrepreneur Craig Venter created the world’s first artificial life form.

Since then, the field has changed. Worryingly, enthusiasts calling themselves ‘biohackers’ - and calling the field DIYBio - have begun experimenting with their own ’synthetic biology’ projects, such as MIT graduate Kay Aull’s reprogramming of E Coli’s genome.

Free ‘Genspace’ biology labs have opened in New York, Boston and San Francisco, where scientists are provided with equipment to run their own experiments without regulation.

‘As the field progresses, the government should continue to assess specific security and safety risks of synthetic biology research in settings including the ‘do-it-yourself’ community,’ the report advised.

Valerie Bonham, executive director of the Commission, said, ‘In the report, the members emphasized the need for transparency, dialogue, and accountability around synthetic biology.’

President Obama requested the Commission’s report almost two years ago in response to the first ‘artificial life form’.

Billionaire entrepreneur Craig Venter only created ‘artificial life’ for the first time in 2010, christening his life form ‘Synthia’.

Professor Julian Savulescu, an Oxford University ethicist, said of Venter’s discovery: ‘Venter is creaking open the most profound door in humanity’s history, potentially peeking into its destiny.This could be used in the future to make the most powerful bioweapons imaginable. The challenge is to eat the fruit without the worm.’

‘The Commission’s report was a landmark document and lays out a framework, but, like many reports of this type, no mechanisms were put in place to track progress,’ David Rejeski, director of the Wilson Centre’s Synthetic Biology Project, said.
‘Our goal is ensure that this report — and others like it – can drive change.’

The centre recommends a web-based ’score card’ to highlight rogue synthetic biology projects.

‘The Scorecard, unveiled today, monitors the progress made toward implementing the recommendations in the report from the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.’

The report contains 18 recommendations covering a range of topics from risk assessment to ethics education and public engagement.’

- Prophecy News Watch

From Daily Mail.Co.Uk

Details of secret experiments by scientists who have created the most deadly form of bird flu in the lab will inevitably be leaked - potentially into the hands of terrorists - an expert has warned.

A furore erupted in December over the decision by the U.S National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) to censor details of the virus being made public, which can be transmitted by coughs and sneezes.

But now the head of that board claims they will enter the public domain anyway.

Professor Paul Keim has issued a stark warning to governments to begin preparing for an outbreak.

‘We recognise that, in the long term certainly, the information is going to get out, and maybe even in the midterm,’ he told The Independent.

‘But if we can restrict it in the short term and motivate governments to start getting busy in terms of building up the flu-defence infrastructure, then we’ve succeeded at a certain level.’

Chillingly, he added: ‘The infrastructure to stop a pandemic in this area is not there. We just don’t have the capabilities. Even if we spotted it early on, I don’t think we have enough vaccines. The vaccines aren’t good enough, and the drugs are not good enough to stop this emerging and being a pandemic.’

When H5N1 bird flu erupted over seven years ago, out of the 584 people known to have caught it, 335 died.

What stopped it from becoming a world-wide killer was its inability to jump from birds to humans easily.

However, a mutation of the virus was made by Ron Fouchier and his team at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam in Holland, which was just as deadly and passed easily between ferrets, the animal that best indicates whether humans will catch it.

In December, the NSABB asked the journals Nature and Science to censor publication of the study, and similar research conducted by American scientists, setting off a furious debate in the scientific and public health communities.

The move followed a voluntary 60-day suspension of a study into the virus by the researchers themselves, who became worried that their work could lead to a pandemic.

Fears were raised that the engineered viruses may escape from the laboratories - not unlike the frightful scenario in the 1971 science fiction movie The Andromeda Strain - or possibly be used to create a bioterror weapon.

In a letter published in Nature and Science, 39 scientists defended the research as crucial to public health efforts.

Among the scientists who signed the letter were leaders of the two teams that have spearheaded the research, at Erasmus Medical College in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, as well as influenza experts at institutions ranging from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the University of Hong Kong.

- Prophecy News Watch

From News Yahoo.Com

Iran is capable of carrying out military strikes on U.S. interests all around the world if the Islamic Republic is attacked by the United States, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow said on Wednesday.

The United States has tried to force Tehran to scrap sensitive nuclear work by imposing sanctions targeting Iran’s central bank and giving U.S. banks new powers to freeze Iranian government assets.

Iran’s ambassador to Moscow said that the United States would be making a serious mistake, akin to suicide, if it risked a military strike on OPEC’s No. 2 oil exporter.

Washington has announced no such plans, but has said a military option is always on the table if Iran cannot be otherwise prevented from developing atomic weapons.

“The Americans know what kind of country Iran is. They are well aware of our people’s unity,” Iranian ambassador Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi told a news conference in Moscow.

“And that’s why Iran is fully able to deliver retaliatory strikes on the United States anywhere in the world,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.

“Even if it attacks, we have a list of counter actions. (The United States) would be disappointed with their huge mistake.”

Iran has increasingly issued threatening statements against the West in recent weeks as tension has increased over its uranium enrichment program, which it moved last month to a mountain bunker better protected from possible air strikes.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful while Western powers fear Tehran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.

“The issue of a military attack from America on the Islamic Republic of Iran has been on the agenda for several years,” said Sajjadi, adding that Iran would never strike first.

Iran has warned its response to any such strike would be “painful,” threatening to target Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, along with closing the Strait of Hormuz used by one third of the world’s seaborne oil traffic.

Russia, the world’s biggest energy producer, opposes further U.N. Security Council sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program and has sharply criticized U.S. and European Union sanctions.

- Prophecy News Watch

From Debka.Com

Some 20,000 marines, seamen and air crews from half a dozen countries, a US nuclear aircraft carrier strike group and three US Marine gunship carriers are practicing an attack on a fictitious mechanized enemy division which has invaded its neighbor.

It is the largest amphibian exercise seen in the West for a decade, staged to simulate a potential Iranian invasion of an allied Persian Gulf country and a marine landing on the Iranian coast. Based largely on US personnel and hardware, French, British, Italian, Dutch, Australian and New Zealand military elements are integrated in the drill.

Bold Alligator went into its operational phase Monday, Feb. 6, the same day as a large-scale exercise began in southern Iran opposite the Strait of Hormuz.

This simultaneity attests to the preparations for a US-Iranian showdown involving Israel behind the words on Feb. 5 of US President Barack Obama (“I don’t think Israel has decided whether to attack Iran”) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 3 (“The war itself will be ten times as detrimental to the US.”).

Monday, Feb. 6, the US president ordered the tightening of sanctions by freezing Iranian assets in America and blocking the operations of Iranian banks including its central bank.

US Rear Adm. Kevin Scott and Brig. Gen. Christopher Owens are coordinating the exercise over large stretches of coastal terrain in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida and Atlantic Ocean from the USS Wasp amphibian helicopter carrier.

It is led by the USS Enterprise nuclear carrier with strike force alongside three amphibian helicopter carriers, the USS Wasp, the USS Boxer and the USS Kearsage. On their decks are 6,000 Marines, 25 fighter bombers and 65 strike and transport helicopters, mainly MV-22B Ospreys with their crews. Altogether 100 combat aircraft are involved.

The exercise is scheduled to end on February 14, a week before the winding up of the Iranian drill, after which the participants are to be shipped out to Persian Gulf positions opposite Iran. Altogether three American aircraft carrier strike groups, the French Charles de Gaulle carrier and four or five US Marines amphibian vessels will be posted there, debkafile’s military sources report.
On Feb. this site first disclosed a flow in unprecedented numbers of US military strength to two strategic islands, Yemeni Socotra and Omani Masirah, within range of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran.

US naval officials insist that the exercise has nothing to do with Iran, but the scenario is a giveaway. A mechanized division from the fictitious hostile country of Garnet (Iran) has invaded its neighbor, Amber (Saudi Arabia), which has asked for coalition assistance to halt the enemy’s northern advance. Garnet has already mined harbors (Hormuz) and established anti-ship missiles on its coastline.

Coalition forces are required to develop strategy for defeating the enemy and carry the combat onto its (Iranian) soil. Hence, the preponderance of amphibian Marines in the exercise.

- Prophecy News Watch

From Jihad Watch.Org

Saudi faces calls for his death after criticizing Muhammad

Feb 09, 2012 06:31 pm | Robert

The blasphemy laws are alive and well in Saudi Arabia. Those who say that they have no part of Sharia as it comes to the West are not being honest; there is no school of Islamic jurisprudence that does not call for death for blasphemy. Hamza Kashgari has fled…

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Egypt: Muslims halt filming of TV show over “indecent” clothing

Feb 09, 2012 11:33 am | Marisol

Wherever Sharia experiences a resurgence, the observable effect is a decrease in tolerance and an increase in harassment. We tried to tell you. “Islamists in Egypt halt filming of TV series,” from Agence France-Presse, February 9: Islamist students halted the filming of an Egyptian television series at Cairo’s Ain Shams…

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Egypt: Muslims attempt to purge village near Alexandria of its Christian population

Feb 09, 2012 11:23 am | Marisol

On particularly prominent display here is the use of the Orwellian “reconciliation meetings,” where “reconciliation” depends in practice on Christians’ giving into whatever demands are imposed on them. “Alexandria: forced eviction of 62 Coptic families by the Salafis,” from AsiaNews, February 9: Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The radical…

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Saudi arrested in Malaysia over “sacrilegious” Twitter posting, could face death

Feb 09, 2012 11:09 am | Marisol

His crime, again, was reported earlier as comparing his poetry to the Qur’an. The Qur’an is adamant that no one can “produce a sura like thereof,” and that it has no rival (2:23). The author of the offending tweet has been hunted down like an armed and dangerous fugitive terrorist…

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Pakistan: Christian student misses out on medical school for not memorizing Qur’an

Feb 09, 2012 10:59 am | Marisol

An extraneous criterion is giving Muslim students an edge over non-Muslims with higher marks. Putting displays of piety over competence: What could possibly go wrong? “Educational bias: Memorise the Quran for twenty extra marks,” by Taha Siddiqi for the Express Tribune, February 8 (thanks to The Religion of Peace): LAHORE:…

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Iran: Strategist for supreme leader says country could wipe out Israel in 9 minutes

Feb 09, 2012 10:54 am | Marisol

More on this story. “‘Iran must attack Israel by 2014′,” from the Jerusalem Post, February 9 (thanks to The Religion of Peace): Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s strategist provided the legal and religious justification for the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people, in a document published on conservative…

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Nigeria: Suicide bomber in army uniform targets barracks

Feb 09, 2012 10:45 am | Marisol

This may be the plainest demonstration yet of the adoption of al-Qaeda-style tactics by Boko Haram: coordinated attacks, attackers disguised in uniforms, and suicide bombing. Such an evolution in tactics would not be possible without support, training, and financing. “Suicide attack, two other blasts rock Nigerian city,” by Victor…

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UK: Muslims push for abolishing of age restrictions on marriage

Feb 09, 2012 10:15 am | Robert

“The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with ‘Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death).” — Bukhari 7.62.88 In Islam, Muhammad is the supreme example of…

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Misunderstander of Islam who threatened South Park creators over Muhammad cartoon to plead guilty

Feb 09, 2012 07:26 am | Robert

Younus Abdullah Mohammad’s lawyer, James Hundley, said that his case presented free speech issues. It did, but not the ones Hundley had in mind. Younus Abdullah Mohammad has no Constitutional right to threaten people with death. But his doing so is the other side of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s…

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Hamas-linked CAIR playing race card in defending Muslim football players charged in brutal assault

Feb 09, 2012 07:14 am | Robert

Just when you thought Hamas-linked CAIR couldn’t get any more despicable: even when Muslims commit a brutal and gratuitous act of violence, CAIR claims victim status. Said their attorney: “Had their names been John or Bill, Randy or Jason, I don’t think these charges would be standing here today. Because…

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From Daily Mail.Co.UK

Human skin can stop a bullet - with a little help from genetically modified goats.

The skin is mixed with goat ‘milk’ from goats ‘tweaked’ to produce the same protein found in spider silk. Woven spider silk is four times stronger than Kevlar, the material used in bulletproof vests.

The ’silk’ is layered with bio-engineered human skin grown in laboratory, and can withstand a direct impact from a bullet - although not one fired at full speed, yet.

The bio-engineered skin cushions a bullet fired at half speed. But its resistance has its limits: when shot at a full speed of 329 m/s, the bullet pierces the material and travels through it,’ says New Scientist.

Dutch researcher Jalila Essaidi said the ’spidersilk’ project was called ‘2.6g 329m/s’ after the weight and the velocity of a .22 calibre long rifle bullet. Working with the Forensic Genomics Consortium in the Netherlands, she said the goal was to replace the keratin in our skin with the spider’s silk.

The silk is produced in Utah, then spun into thread in Korea, then woven into layers of fabric in Germany.

The ’skin’ is created by weaving spider silk proteins into a cloth four times stronger than Kevlar, then growing human skin around it.

The last stage involves growing a layer of real skin around a sample of the bulletproof skin, which takes about five weeks.

Essaidi said that the project was about making science fiction a reality.
She said that silk has a long history of being used in combat - Genghis Khan once issued all his horsemen with silk vests as an arrow hitting silk does not break, meaning you can tease out arrowheads.

‘Imagine a spidersilk vest, capable of catching bullets, the modern day equivalent of Genghis Khan’s arrows,’ she said.

‘Now, let’s take this one step further, why bother with a vest: imagine replacing keratin, the protein responsible for the toughness of the human skin, with this spidersilk protein.

‘This is possible by adding the silk producing genes of a spider to the genome of a human: creating a bulletproof human.

‘Science-fiction? Maybe, but we can get a feeling of what this transhumanistic idea would be like by letting a bulletproof matrix of spidersilk merge with an in vitro human skin.’

Bullet proof vests have been around for decades but skin that can stop them has only been the preserve of science fiction.

The most famous example is Superman, or the Man of Steel - bullets simply ricochet off of him.

- Prophecy News Watch

From Rubin Reports.Blogspot.Com

Arab Liberals Lament: Here’s How the Muslim Brotherhood is Fooling the West Posted: 08 Feb 2012 05:34 PM PST By Barry Rubin Since we can’t get good coverage of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the Western media it’s necessary to turn to the Islamists’ intended victims–Arab liberals—to get a better picture. NowLebanon explains it all to you in an article on what it calls the “media blitz” of the Muslim Brotherhood and its politicians in the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). It writes: “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has been displaying great skill in handling the media over the past year. Since the revolution last January and the party’s electoral success in the recent round of polls in the country, the Brotherhood’s media outlets have tirelessly tried to project an image of moderation. But many secularists and leftists remain suspicious.” The problem is that it has had the full cooperation of the Western media and governments in selling itself as moderate. Here are the NowLebanon talking points: –“`The Brotherhood is very savvy and clever when it comes to the media, and they know their audience very well. They certainly have very good media advisors,’ says Khaled Fahmy, professor of History at the American University in Cairo.” –“The Brotherhood has set up a TV channel and a newspaper, and both it and the FJP have been keeping daily-updated websites in English and Arabic. –Their Twitter page, Ikhwanweb, has almost 8,500 followers. The managers of the account regularly engage their followers in lively discussions, and the Brotherhood’s party is the only one in Egypt that has its own smartphone App. Click here to read the entire article

The World Media Goes Bonkers: An Israel-Attacks-Iran Case Study Posted: 08 Feb 2012 12:49 PM PST http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2012/02/world-media-goes-bonkers-israel-attacks.html The World Media Goes Bonkers: An Israel-Attacks-Iran Case Study By Barry Rubin For the second time in a few months we have seen a crazy global Israel-About-to-Attack-Iran Story. I don’t want to go into all of the details but this tale is an example of how the media has just lost it completely due to a combination of laziness (reporters don’t really do research or check sources); agenda; ignorance; and good old sensationalism. Partly, too, it arises from the difficulty of the mass media in dealing with the Internet media era and the difficulty of the Internet media in achieving decent journalistic standards. A couple of months ago a level of hysteria was reached on the basis of three stories: –A Jerusalem Post article, which could have been published just about any time in the last five years, saying that the Israeli air force was practicing fo ran attack on Iran. –An interview with a former Israeli intelligence official who opposes attacking Iran saying that Israel had decided not to attack Iran but worrying that the prime minister might want to reopen discussion of the issue. –A sensationalistic article in an Arab newspaper with no Israeli inside sources speculating that an attack was going to happen. Out of this was built a worldwide story claiming something was going to happen that wasn’t. It was quickly shown to be wrong but no lesson was learned. Now we’ve just been through phase two. A Washington Post columnist, not known for his accuracy, claimed that the U.S. defense secretary said that Israel was about to attack. This was immediately accepted as if the cabinet member had said so publicly when the supposed statement was completely unproven.  The man in question, Leon Panetta, denied the story. Within a few days President Barack Obama said he knew Israel was not going to attack Iran. Think of what that means. Israeli leaders and American intelligence assessments have been daily reporting that no attack was imminent. If Obama knew it, Panetta knew it. It is true that a respected Israeli journalist wrote an article based on interviews in which he concluded that some day Israel would attack. But my reading of the article concludes that those interviewed are clearly expressing concern and trying to influence Western policy by saying: Do something so we don’t have to attack Iran some day. If Israel was about to attack, he wouldn’t have written the article at all. And consistent Israeli statements to the contrary were simply ignored. The most important was by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak who said what everyone knew: Israel would only attack if Iran had deliverable nuclear weapons, no decision had been made, and that was well in the future. I could go on but what is lacking here is the equivalent of common sense.  There are many good reasons why Israel won’t attack Iran now which I have presented already. To its credit, the Los Angeles Times finally came up with a story noting that Israelis were “bemused” by all the hysteria that ran totally contrary to what they knew. People have written about why Israel should not attack Iran but very few have written about why Israel would not attack Iran at this time. There has been indifference to all of the totally known factors involved regarding this decision. In the end, the issue is one of fact. It is easily observable that Israel has not attacked Iran and still has not done so on any given date in the future. Yet what does this say about media coverage and public debate over other stories, especially international ones? Doesn’t anybody think there’s a lesson to be learned in that fact that they were just plain wrong? Just as they were wrong about the Israel-Palestinian peace process progressing, Syria becoming moderate, the “Arab Spring,” and so many other things? Might all these errors prompt some reconsideration of premises and methods?