The Bird Flu IS Coming to the USA
ABC News reported on March 13:
“In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United States. Ready or not, here it comes. It is being spread much faster than first predicted from one wild flock of birds to another, an airborne delivery system that no government can stop. ‘There’s no way you can protect the United States by building a big cage around it and preventing wild birds from flying in and out,’ U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Michael Johanns said. U.S. spy satellites are tracking the infected flocks, which started in Asia and are now heading north to Siberia and Alaska, where they will soon mingle with flocks from the North American flyways…
“ABC News has obtained a mathematical projection prepared by federal scientists based on an initial outbreak on an East Coast chicken farm. Within three months, with no vaccine, almost half of the country would have the flu. That, of course, is a worst-case scenario — but one that cannot be completely discounted. The current bird flu strain has been around for at least 10 years and has taken surprising twists and turns — not the least of which is that it’s now showing up in cats in Europe, where officials are advising owners to bring their cats inside. It’s advice that might soon have to be considered here.”
ABC News reported on March 14:
“Robert G. Webster is one of the few bird flu experts confident enough to answer the key question: Will the avian flu switch from posing a terrible hazard to birds to becoming a real threat to humans? There are ‘about even odds at this time for the virus to learn how to transmit human to human,’ he told ABC’s ‘World News Tonight.’… viruses mutate, and the big fear among the world’s scientists is that the bird flu virus will join the human flu virus, change its genetic code and emerge as a new and deadly flu that can spread through the air from human to human. If the virus does mutate, it does not necessarily mean it will be as deadly to people as it is to birds. But experts such as Webster say they must prepare for the worst. ‘I personally believe it will happen and make personal preparations,’ said Webster, who has stored a three-month supply of food and water at his home in case of an outbreak. ‘Society just can’t accept the idea that 50 percent of the population could die. And I think we have to face that possibility,’ Webster said. ‘I’m sorry if I’m making people a little frightened, but I feel it’s my role.'”
The outbreak of the bird flu in the USA is a real danger and could very well be in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, which predicts famines and pestilence IN THE USA–as well as around the world. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”
Israel vs. Iran
On March 10, 2006, The Jerusalem Post reported the following:
“The United States has until now not done enough to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a senior Defense Ministry official has told The Jerusalem Post… ‘America needs to get its act together,’ the official said. ‘Until now the US administration has just been talking tough but the time has come for the Americans to begin to take tough action.’ The only real way to stop Teheran’s race to obtain the bomb apart from military action was through tough economic sanctions that caused the Iranian people to suffer… Iran, the official said, was doing all it could to stall for time, including holding ‘pointless’ talks with Russia concerning the enrichment of its uranium… While it was complicated to overthrow the current regime in Teheran, ‘it is not impossible,’ the official said. If the world stopped refining Iranian oil, the official said as an example, the country would not have gas for its cars… if the diplomatic course failed, Israel and the US needed to be prepared, the official said, to take military action against Teheran.”
The article continued:
“Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told reporters in Germany on Wednesday that Israel had all it needed to defend itself against Iran… Israel, Mofaz told senior German officials, would not stand by idly while its very existence was at risk. ‘We do not plan to turn a blind eye to these threats and we will do everything possible to make sure they do not materialize.'”
The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 13:
“The Pentagon is looking into the possibility of Israel launching a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities… The discussions, which were described as intelligence-oriented and not policy-oriented, examined the likelihood of an Israeli pre-emptive attack against Iran and the method in which such an attack could be carried out. One of the main questions presented in these discussions was whether Israel would inform the US in advance in case such an attack is to take place and when would such an advance notice be given… The sources pointed out that it is clear that Israel would have to coordinate with the US forces air control any attempt to fly over Iraq on the way to Iran, if Israel chooses to attack using the shortest route.”
The Bible clearly predicts that in these end times, which will lead to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, we would be hearing of wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24: 6). Christ said that these, as well as “famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places,” would be “the beginning of sorrows” (verses 7-8). Although we have always had wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes, there can be no doubt that they have dramatically increased in recent years, especially in their magnitude and with their potential consequences.
Iran Prepares for War
The Telegraph reported on March 11:
“Iran’s leaders have built a secret underground emergency command centre in Teheran as they prepare for a confrontation with the West over their illicit nuclear progamme… The underground strategy is partly designed to hide activities from satellite view and international inspections but also reflects a growing belief in Teheran that its showdown with the international community could end in air strikes by America or Israel… The regime is also reviewing its contingency plans to attack tankers and American naval forces in the Persian Gulf and to mine the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 15 million barrels of oil (about 20 per cent of world production) passes each day. Any action in the Gulf would send oil prices soaring – a weapon that Iran has often threatened to wield… US intelligence believes that if Iranian nuclear facilities were attacked by either America or Israel, then Teheran would respond by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz with naval forces, mines and anti-ship cruise missiles… ‘The price to the West for standing up to Iran is clear,’ Gen Moshe Ya’alon, the former Israeli defence chief said last month in Washington. ‘It includes terror attacks, economic hardship… and consequences resulting from fluctuations in Iranian oil production. Indeed, the regime believes that the West – including Israel – is afraid to deal with it.'”
Iran and Venezuela
The Miami Herald reported on March 12 about the new-found friendship between Iran and Venezuela:
“Iran is not the first or last openly anti-Western Middle Eastern government that has warm relations with Caracas. As an OPEC member, Chávez courted Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and last month endorsed the Palestinian government of Hamas, which Washington and Europe regard as a terrorist organization. But few countries are as embroiled in as serious an international controversy as Iran, accused of seeking nuclear weapons. Venezuela joined Cuba and Syria as the only countries to vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency last month against reporting Iran to the U.N. Security Council… The Caracas-Tehran ties have been causing concern in Washington.”
Milosevic Dies
AFP reported on March 11:
“Serbs were stunned by the news of the sudden death of former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic, blaming his recent health problems on his detention at the UN war crimes tribunal… Even opponents of Milosevic said they believed the former Yugoslav president’s death would have a negative effect in Serbia… Many questioned the cause of Milosevic’s death.”
On March 13, AFP reported:
“Sunday’s autopsy pinpointed ‘myocardial infarction’ — heart attack — as the immediate cause of death, although a court spokeswoman admitted it was too early to rule out poisoning, as claimed by his entourage and Milosevic in a letter revealed after his death… a medical report given to Milosevic by court officials had revealed the presence in his blood of an antibiotic also described as one used to fight leprosy and tuberculosis. In the letter, written a day before his death, Milosevic pleaded with the Russian foreign ministry for protection, charging: ‘They would like to poison me.'”
The Queen of Australia
The Associated Press reported on March 12:
“Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Australia on Sunday for a five-day state visit that has reignited the simmering debate over whether she should remain the country’s head of state… Australia became an independent state in 1901, but, like many former outposts of the British Empire such as Canada, it still recognizes the queen as head of state. The nation overwhelmingly voted against changing the country’s constitutional monarchy into a republic in 1999.”
For more information on the increasing lack of influence of Great Britain in world affairs, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”
Trade War Between EU and US
The Associated Press reported on March 14:
“The European Union advised the World Trade Organization on Tuesday that it would reintroduce trade sanctions against the United States in two months unless Washington complies with a WTO ruling condemning tax breaks for U.S. companies operating overseas… Last month’s decision ‘made it absolutely clear that the U.S. has yet to come into full compliance with earlier rulings and recommendations,’ the EU told the WTO’s dispute settlement body. The panel’s ruling was officially adopted by the global commerce body at Tuesday’s meeting. EU legislation means the retaliatory measures, suspended in January will automatically go back into force in 60 days…The EU estimates the tax advantages from the jobs creation act will benefit airplane maker Boeing alone by at least $615 million over the next decade.”
Worst Fires in Texas’ History
Star Telegram reported on March 14:
“Panhandle firefighters spent a second day Monday battling hot spots in the worst series of wildfires in Texas history. Since Sunday, wildfires have claimed at least 11 lives, injured more than a half-dozen people and scorched at least 697,000 acres, officials said.”
Gaza Strip Under Attack
On March 14, AFP reported:
“Three foreign hostages — two French and a Korean — were being held by Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli raid on the Jericho jail, which succeeded in its aim of netting a militant leader but sparked a violent reaction in the territories, much of it aimed at British and US interests… The president of the European Parliament roundly condemned Israel’s massive raid on the prison and the wave of kidnappings of foreigners that followed it. ‘We strongly condemn the attack on the prison in Jericho by Israeli forces as well as the resulting kidnappings and acts of violence in the Palestinian territories today,’ Borrell, head of the European Union’s directly elected assembly, said in a statement…
“Israeli troops had pounded the prison compound with tank and missile fire throughout the day in a bid to force the militants’ surrender. Two Palestinian security guards were killed and 26 others wounded, five of them critically. The operation came minutes after the three British monitors, part of a team that normally also includes Americans, were withdrawn from the prison, prompting furious charges of collusion from the Palestinians. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw denied the charges, saying the monitors were pulled out for their safety. Hundreds of armed Palestinians reacted to the Israeli action by storming the British cultural centre in the Gaza Strip and set fire to it while gunmen barged into [an] American office used to teach English in Gaza City. In the West Bank town of Ramallah, the British cultural centre and a branch of HSBC bank were also attacked… Israeli Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the prison raid was undertaken to prevent the militants going free after Abbas repeatedly voiced readiness to release them in recent weeks. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat condemned what he described as a ‘kidnapping operation’ and held Britain and the United States responsible for the safety of the PFLP leader, whose predecessor Abu Ali Mustafa was assassinated by Israel in 2001.”
Der Spiegel Online reported on March 14:
“In a potentially dangerous escalation of Middle East violence, Palestinian gunmen have kidnapped a number of foreigners in response to the storming of a West Bank jail by Israeli forces. Arabs are accusing the United States and Britain of coordinating the raid… The new outbreak of violence in the Palestinian territories underscored the wider collapse of relations between Israel and the Palestinians since the militant Islamist group Hamas won Jan. 25 Palestinian elections.”
The Middle East will become more and more the focus of Biblical prophecies. And it will be Europe–not the United States of America or Great Britain–which will play a most important role in the developments within that region of the world. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”
Iraq’s New Parliament
AFP reported on March 16:
“Iraq’s new parliament opened three months after elections but continuing deadlock on forming a government and choosing a speaker forced the chamber to adjourn after only a brief session. The session, held deep inside Baghdad’s fortified ‘Green Zone’ protected by walls, razor wire and troops, lasted just 40 minutes and was adjourned after the 275 members of the national assembly were collectively sworn in. The summoning of parliament was meant to provide new momentum to talks between rival Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions on forming a coalition at a time of worsening sectarian violence which threatens to trigger civil war. The latest sign of such blood-letting came when authorities announced the discovery of 25 corpses — men who had been shot to death and dumped in different parts of the capital. At least 80 more were found earlier in the week. Communal violence has left hundreds dead since a Shiite shrine was blown up on February 22.”
