May 2011....Hold on Tight!

Most of us who live in Buffalo, MN have seen the billboard on the east side of town that tells us to save the date of May 21, 2011 because Jesus is coming on that day.

We understand what the Bible tells us that "no man knows the day or the hour"....so we are still planning church services for May 22.

BUT......something appears to brewing for Israel in May of this year, and the planned events could be a trigger that snaps a bunch of things into motion.

First off we have a Facebook page announcing another Palestinian uprising against Israel....and the date planned is for May 15.

See it here; http://www.facebook.com/Palestinian.Intifada

Next up we have another "Freedom Flotilla" that is planning on sailing ships to Gaza...thus provoking Israel as these ships insist on sailing through their waters in an attempt to bring "humanitarian aid" to Gaza.

Gaza is a territory intentionally reduced to misery. 80% of its inhabitants depend on humanitarian aid for food, 70% of households live on less than one euro per day for each of its members, over 40% of the population is unemployed. The State of Israel has kidnapped people physically as well as kidnapping their rights, their dreams and hopes as they have been doing for more than 60 years.

Because of the silence and inaction of our governments to these crimes against humanity, the international civil society campaign has grown since 2008 when the siege was broken for the first time by two small boats and last year the first Freedom Flotilla was launched. A well known fact, the Israeli army attacked this Flotilla in international waters, in what constituted a flagrant violation of international shipping laws, murdering nine activists, injuring 50 others, kidnapping everyone on board, and hijacking the boats.

More determined than ever to break and end the blockade, the Coalition announced today that during the second half of May 2011 Freedom Flotilla II will sail. To this end there will be at least twice as many boats carrying many more volunteers and more aid. The expedition will sail in order to force Israel to respect international law and to mobilize civil societies’ support and solidarity with the Palestinian population of Gaza as well as bring attention to the wider issue of the host of human rights abuses carried out by the Israeli state against the entire population of Palestine.

See that one here; http://www.freedomflotilla.eu/en/news/announcements/93-ff2-will-sail-in-may-11

So we have some EXTREME FORCES planning chaos for Israel...both kicking off in the middle of May.

And BOTH these forces are planning on FORCING Israel to do something.

I wonder if this could be the trigger that ignites Psalm 83?

Hat tip to Tom F.

As Tom pointed out, the word "coincidence" doesn't exist in the Bible. Amen Tom!

Debt Fears Rise

After the Japanese earthquake a few weeks ago, we wondered aloud on this blog whether Japan would start cashing in all the U.S. treasuries that it bought so they could start bringing the money back to Japan for the rebuilding that is going to be required.

Of course, if they did this, it could be problematic for the U.S. because we desperately need foreigners to continue buying our debt because of how hopeless our deficit situation is.

Proverbs 22:7 clearly warns us that the borrower WILL be slave to the lender. This warning is true for us personally and is true for governments as well.

Some lawmakers and market analysts are expressing rising concerns that a demand for capital by earthquake-ravaged Japan could lead it to sell off some of its huge holdings of U.S.-issued debt, leaving the federal government in an even tighter financial pinch.

Others say a major debt sell-off by Tokyo is unlikely, but noted that the mere fact that questions are being raised speaks volumes about the risks involved in relying so heavily on foreign investors to fund U.S. debt.

“This natural disaster in Japan concerns me that it could speed up what’s coming, because they are the second leading buyer of our debt,”Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, told The Washington Times. “Small degrees of differences in how much they buy of our debt, I think, can make a big difference in interest rates that we have to pay people to buy our debt.”

“They have a lot of bonds,” former Sen. Pete V. Domenici told The Times this month after testifying before Congress about the country’s mounting debt woes. “Are they in such bad trouble that they are not going to buy anymore? If they don’t, who do we look to?”

Asked point-blank last week if he thought Japan’s troubles could affect the U.S. borrowing costs and interest rates, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told a congressional hearing, “I do not.”

Japan, which held some $886 billion in U.S. debt in January, is “a very rich country, with a very high savings rate,” Mr. Geithner said.

See it here; http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/24/fears-rise-that-japan-could-sell-off-us-debt/

Funny....I wonder how long it has been since other countries looked at the U.S. and said, "a very rich country, with a very high savings rate."

We HAVE become slave to our debt. In our desperate attempt to HAVE things that we could not afford, we ate the lie that we could HAVE it all now and pay for it all in the future....because things are ALWAYS better in the future...right?

North Korea Famine Brewing

Yesterday it was Texas drought.

Today it is North Korea's looming famine.

North Korea's government food distribution programme will run dry in May and put one-quarter of the country's 24 million people at risk of starvation, the United Nations has warned.

The UN World Food Programme, which resumed sending food aid to North Korea in 2006, blamed flooding, foot-and-mouth disease, and an unusually cold winter for devastating food supplies to the country.

"Vulnerable members of society are currently facing increasing shocks to their daily coping strategies, leaving them on a knife edge," the WFP said in a statement.

See it here; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8406442/North-Koreas-food-stocks-running-dry-UN-warns.html

Stupid gobal warming! (I meant to say climate change) First you make it too hot...then that leads to too much rain and flooding...now you make it unusually cold! And NOW we are all going to starve to death in a famine!!

When-O-When will we be able to find ONE MAN who can consolidate all the nations so that together, as Mother-Earth-Lovers, we can all come together under the banner of tolerance, unity and peace, and all start making dream catchers, peace signs and unicorns?

I also wonder why NATO went in to Libya to stop the slaughter of thousands of civilians...but we continue to allow Kim Jong Il to put 1 million of his citizens in concentration camps and starve millions of others to death? Shouldn't we establish a no-fly zone and send a pack of Tomahawk missiles right into his front room....and save all those thousands of North Koreans from certain death?

Why only Libya??

List of Birth Pangs

A reader sent me a partial list of the birth pangs that have been happening just since January 1, 2011.

Magnitude 7.0 SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA January 01, 2011
Magnitude 7.1 ARAUCANIA, CHILE January 02, 2011
Magnitude 4.1 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA January 08, 2011
Magnitude 6.6 VANUATU January 09, 2011
Magnitude 7.0 LOYALTY ISLANDS January 13, 2011
Uprising Tunisia: January 14
Magnitude 7.2 SOUTHWESTERN PAKISTAN January 18, 2011
Uprising Egypt: January 28
Separation vote Sudan January 30
Magnitude 6.5 CELEBES SEA February 10, 2011
Magnitude 6.8 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE February 11, 2011
Magnitude 6.6 OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE February 14, 2011
Uprising Iran: February 14
Uprising Libya: February 17
Uprising Jordan: February 18
Magnitude 4.1 ARKANSAS February 18, 2011
Uprising Algeria: February 19
Uprising Morocco: February 20
Magnitude 6.3 SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND February 21, 2011
Uprising Saudi Arabia: February 23
Uprising Bahrain: February 25
Uprising Iraq: February 25
Uprising Lebanon: February 27
Uprising Oman: February 27
Magnitude 4.7 ARKANSAS February 28, 2011
Magnitude 6.5 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION March 06, 2011
Magnitude 6.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS March 07, 2011
Magnitude 6.5 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA March 09, 2011
Magnitude 7.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN March 09, 2011
Uprising Ivory Coast civil war March 2011
Magnitude 5.4 MYANMAR-CHINA BORDER REGION March 10, 2011
Magnitude 9.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN March 11, 2011
Uprising Yemen: March 13
Uprising Syria: March 15
Magnitude 6.3 VANUATU March 17, 2011
No fly Zone enforced March 17, 2011
Magnitude 6.6 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN March 22, 2011
Magnitude 6.8 MYANMAR March 24, 2011

That's a whole lotta' shakin' and a whole lot of wars and kingdom unrest going on in VERY short order!....and he didn't even include the strange birds falling from the skies, the unexplained fish washing up on beaches and the Jews training sharks to eat Egyptian tourists!!

I wonder if a baby is on the way??

I'm sure if we added the "Biblical" floods, historic storms and droughts that have been happening during the same time frame, Tom's list would double.

Anytime you want to come now Jesus,....I believe most all of us would be VERY happy to hear the trumpet and ECSTATIC that you would be plucking us off this dying planet.

Hat tip to Tom F.

Texas Drought Worst in 44 Years

We have talked about the worst drought in Russia last summer that decimated their crops, followed by the worst flood in Pakistan that ruined their crops, followed by a "biblical" flood in Australia that wiped out their crops, and also rumors of floods in Brazil that are making it hard on their crops. Now we have radiation poisoning in Japan that is forcing them to dump crops and milk.

We can not afford to have poor crops in the USA this year. So this headline today out of Texas is something to watch.

Worst Texas Drought in 44 Years Damaging Wheat Crop, Reducing Cattle Herds

The worst Texas drought in 44 years is damaging the state’s wheat crop and forcing ranchers to reduce cattle herds, as rising demand for U.S. food sends grain and meat prices higher.

Texas, the biggest U.S. cattle producer and second-largest winter-wheat grower, got just 4.7 inches (12 centimeters) of rain on average in the five months through February, the least for the period since 1967, State Climatologist John Nielsen- Gammon said. More than half the wheat fields and pastures were rated in poor or very poor condition on March 20.

Dry conditions extending to Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado may cut crop yields in the U.S., the world’s largest exporter, as too much moisture threatens fields in North Dakota and in Canada. Wheat futures in Chicago are up 50 percent in the past year, after drought in Russia and floods in Australia hurt output and sent global food prices surging. Wholesale beef reached a record this week, and the U.S. cattle herd in January was the smallest since 1958.

See it here; http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-24/worst-texas-drought-in-44-years-eroding-wheat-beef-supply-as-food-rallies.html

Jesus said there will be wars and rumors of wars, nation will rise against nation, earthquakes in various places, famine and pestilence.

With a few billion people already going to bed hungry around the world....it sure appears that famine may be upon us.

Now here is the GOOD NEWS! Jesus also said that when you see these things BEGIN to happen, then lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near.

Friends, I'm pretty sure that Jesus is talking about the time when the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn from earth....an event commonly referred to as the rapture.

Can you feel the mountains tremble? Can you see how the things of this world seem to be passing away? Have you laid up your treasures in heaven where moth and rust will NEVER destroy?

He who has eyes let him see. He who has ears...let him hear.

Little Boy Goes to Heaven

A few days ago the TODAY SHOW on NBC had the story of a little boy who died in the hospital, and before being brought back to life, went to heaven, saw Jesus and some of his deceased family....including a sister who his mother had miscarried and that the little boy had never known about.

If you haven't seen this story, you can watch it here; http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42154263/ns/today-books/

It is pretty interesting to see Matt Lauer asking questions about Jesus to this little kid.

It makes one wonder if the Lord is going to use some of these stories to ignite a hunger for heaven during these Last Days....and maybe to confirm to many doubters who may be on the edge, that there actually IS something that happens when you die.

Iran Ordered Attack on Israel

Yesterday we posted about how missiles were being launched from Gaza deep into southern Israel.

Now we discover that it may have been Iran which ordered Hamas to carry out those attacks on Israel. It is important to note the COINCIDENCE that the attack was ordered on Purim, which is the Jewish day of celebration to commemorate how God saved them from the Persians (Iran) in the book of Esther.

That is so cool.

JERUSALEM – Iran ordered Hamas to fire the massive barrage of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip at Jewish population zones in recent days, according to a senior Israeli security official.

The official said Iran was concerned Hamas was considering moderating its position during ongoing talks to form a government with the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority.

"Incredibly, the attacks against Israel have little to do with Hamas' confrontation with Jews and was more about internal political posturing," the official said.

Ironically, the allegedly Iranian-ordered rocket and mortar barrage over this past weekend came as the Jewish state was celebrating Purim. The holiday commemorates the events in the Book of Esther – when the Jews were saved from the genocidal intentions of the viceroy of Persia, which is modern-day Iran.

The rocket onslaught also came after Israel seized a ship carrying a large quantity of weaponry the Jewish state says originated in Iran and was intended for Hamas in Gaza.

See it here; http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2692648/posts

Hat tip to Lisa H.

Bombing in Jerusalem

Earlier today we posted about the missiles that have been coming into southern Israel.

Now we have reports coming of a bomb planted by a bus stop in Jerusalem that killed one and injured 30.

And I don't need to remind you twice in one day that Israeli Jews are still raw about the butchering of the family of five last week.

(Reuters) - A bomb planted in a bag exploded near a bus stop in a Jewish district of Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing a woman and injuring at least 30 people, in an attack police blamed on Palestinian militants.

No one claimed responsibility for the blast, which coincided with an upsurge of violence on the Gaza border that has led to fears of a new war between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, after months of relative quiet.

Medics said three people were seriously hurt by the explosion, which hit one of the main routes into central Jerusalem in the afternoon, shattering the windows of a nearby bus. A woman in her 60s died in hospital.

Police said it was a "terrorist attack" -- Israel's term for a Palestinian strike. It was the first time Jerusalem had been hit by such a bomb since 2004.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would take action against those groups who he said are testing the Jewish state's will to defend itself.

"Israel will act aggressively, responsibly and wisely to preserve the quiet and security that prevailed here over the past two years," Netanyahu said.

In the Gaza, a Hamas spokesman said the group, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, was seeking to reverse the recent rise in violence and "to protect stability and to work in order to restore the conditions on ground."

See it here; http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/us-israel-explosion-idUSTRE72M40L20110324

Pay close attention to Netanyahu's words above. What do you think "aggressively" may mean?

China Going for Gold?

By now all of us know that our U.S. dollar is ONLY held up by faith in the U.S. government....and we have done much in the last few decades to seriously erode that faith.

By now all of us know that the rest of the world is looking at what else THEY can use for a stable currency...because they can see the writing on the wall that at some critical point the U.S. dollar is going to sail off into the sunset.

So when you see an article like this....it helps to confirm what we already suspect.

Communist China Embraces the Gold Standard

In one of the most ironic and revealing moves in the unfolding of relations between the United States and China, China has announced that it is seeking a shift to the gold standard. According to the World Gold Council, the market development organization for the gold industry, China’s appetite for gold has been rapidly expanding: It consumed 175.2 tons of gold in the fourth quarter of 2010, bringing its grand total for the year to 579.5 tons, or 18.5 million ounces. By comparison, the United States consumed a mere 233.3 tons of gold in 2010. While it is unknown how much of China’s gold acquisitions were made by private citizens, industry, or central banks, speculations remain as to what the country's true intentions are regarding its continued massive purchase and use of the gold.

The financial news source The Street reports that many in the gold community theorize that China wants its yuan to become the world's reserve currency, and is buying gold and silver in order to accomplish that goal:

See it here; http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/world-mainmenu-26/asia-mainmenu-33/6413-communist-china-embraces-the-gold-standard

Again, I certainly am not an insider in the Chinese communist party so I have no idea what they may truly be up to. This is simply one more article that may add some idea of how the USA may meet it's currency demise.

I also know that we owe China an awful lot of money that they are starting to KNOW is going to be paid back with printed money. So just maybe they are gathering hard currency because they are preparing for a BIG WRITE OFF of U.S. Treasuries.

Newsflash....the USA can not currently afford to have China cash in $1 Trillion of U.S. Treasuries exactly when Japan will most likely be cashing much of theirs.

Hat tip to Jared F.

Muslim Teacher in Chicago

Honestly...you HAVE to read this to believe it.

It seems a Muslim woman wanted three weeks off from her job so she could run to Mecca and do a pilgrimage. When the school board said, "No" because it was the end of the semester and they needed her to keep her math lab open...she quit and went to Mecca anyway.

It now seems Team Obama may have ordered the justice department to sue the board on behalf of the poor Muslim teacher.

The school district, faced with losing its only math lab instructor during the critical end-of-semester marking period, said no. Khan, a devout Muslim, resigned and made the trip anyway.

Justice Department lawyers examined the same set of facts and reached a different conclusion: that the school district’s decision amounted to outright discrimination against Khan. They filed an unusual lawsuit, accusing the district of violating her civil rights by forcing her to choose between her job and her faith.

As the case moves forward in federal court in Chicago, it has triggered debate over whether the Justice Department was following a purely legal path or whether suing on Khan’s behalf was part of a broader Obama administration campaign to reach out to Muslims.

“This was the first year she was financially able to do it,” Memon said. “It’s her religious belief that a Muslim must go for hajj quickly . . . that it’s a sin to delay.”

See it here; http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-sues-on-behalf-of-muslim-teacher-triggering-debate/2010/07/28/ABfSPtEB_story.html?hpid=z3

Well then....I have a new religion to propose for all of us downhill skiers. Our religion will be called "Mountain Lovers". It is our religious duty to worship mountains the first two weeks of February every year. To NOT DO SO is a serious sin....and the Mountain god may cast serious curses onto us. Any job that we take, we will demand that our employer knows of our faith...and if they do not let us off every February (hopefully they will pay us during our absence too) we will sick Team Obama on them!

After all....how would YOU like to be cursed by a mountain??

Honestly, this is simply one more sign of how far gone this country truly is. And if America is one of the LEAST SICK countries on planet earth.....just imagine how quickly the world may fall apart when America falls.

Rockets Hit Deep Into Israel

As the headlines are clearly stating....tension is building in Israel as rockets get launched out of Gaza and land deep into southern Israel.

GAZA — Palestinian militants fired rockets far into southern Israellate Tuesday and early Wednesday and Israel responded with airstrikes in Gaza. Tensions were running high after a stray Israeli mortar shell killed three Palestinian youths and a 60-year-old man as Israel responded to a rocket attack a day earlier.

In a separate attack on Tuesday night, the Israeli Air Force killed four militants in a car, all members of Islamic Jihad, the organization and the Israeli military said. The army said the men were preparing to launch rockets at Israel.

Hamas appears to have ended a two-year cease-fire that had held since the three-week Israeli military operation in Gaza ended in early 2009. But it was unclear if policy had shifted; there have been signs of a rift between Hamas’s hard-line military wing and the government, which may have led to the escalation. Hamas statements have said the recent attacks are a response to “ongoing Israeli crimes.”

See it here; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/world/middleeast/24gaza.html?_r=1

If this tension explodes into another war between the militants in Gaza and the IDF...is it possible that it could grow into the war prophesied in Psalm 83?

With the speed in which prophetic events are unraveling, it would not surprise me.

Helen Thomas Speaks Again

You remember the White House reporter who got canned last year for making anti-Jewish statements. Well, she hasn't changed her stripe...in fact she is confirming it.

Veteran US Journalist Helen Thomas said that Jews have "total control" over the White House and US Congress, telling Playboy magazine in an interview to be published in April, "Everybody is in the pocket of the Israeli lobbies.

"Thomas, who covered the White House for more than six decades, was forced to resign from her position at Hearst Corp. last year, after saying in an interview that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and "go home to Poland, Germany and the United States."

Thomas appeared to show no regret for last year's comments, reiterating in the Playboy interview her belief that "Israelis have the right to exist-but where they were born."
"Why shouldn't I say it? I knew exactly what I was doing-I was going for broke. I had reached the point of no return. You finally get fed up," Thomas said.

When asked whether she believed their was a secret Jewish conspiracy at work in the US, Thomas stated that it is "not a secret. It's very open...Everybody is in the pocket of the Israeli lobbies, which are funded by wealthy supporters, including those from Hollywood. Same thing with the financial markets. There's total control."

See it here; http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=212815

Poor Helen. I guess she never read the part in the Bible that says, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you."

Maybe we should introduce her to Congresswoman Michelle Bachman? That would be a lively conversation.

Hat tip to Julie E.

Islamic Scholar Explains Last Days

A reader sent me this link which is LOADED with explanations about what many Muslims believe is soon coming for the Last Days. It is incredibly interesting to read because you can see how Satan has taken some of the Truth of scripture and woven it into the Koran with a twist....so that it will deceive many.

Also it is interesting that many Muslims believe that Jesus is returning to earth.....however he will not be God, but will somehow be affiliated with the return of the 12th Imam.

Could it be that they may accept the Antichrist believing that he is in fact the 12th Imam? Could it be that they will understand the False Prophet spoken of in Revelation to actually be Jesus?

Check out this one paragraph and tell me what these Muslims are looking for: (Dajjal is what they call Satan)

It is logically inconsistent that a wise God, whose creation is flawless, should send the true Messiah back to this world before Dajjāl the false Messiah has completed his mission of impersonating the true Messiah. That mission of impersonation would not be complete until he publicly proclaims that he is the promised Messiah. In addition, I believe that no learned Jew would ever respond seriously to any claimant to be the promised Messiah unless that claimant is a Jew, he makes his claim from within the Holy Land (Jerusalem to be specific), and makes his claim while offering overt evidence that he has already established his rule (or has the capacity to do so) over the world in general and in particular over the Arab/Muslim world that surrounds the Holy Land on all sides. I hold this view since the Jewish scriptures proclaim the advent of a Messiah who will rule the world (eternally) from the throne of David (‘alaihi al-Salām).

Our conclusion therefore, is that only a brief period of time will elapse between the advent of the Imām and the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām).
Since we also argue that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām) will not return until Dajjāl the false Messiah has completed his mission and publicly claimed to be the Messiah, it follows that the world may have to wait for at least another two or three decades for the blessed Imām to emerge and for events to then rapidly escalate until Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām) returns, Dajjāl is killed, Gog and Magog are destroyed, and Khilāfah is restored in Jerusalem. And Allah Knows best!

Our gentle readers must strive to remain ever vigilant during the time which remains before the Imām emerges, however long that may be, not to be deceived by the false Imāms who are certain to soon emerge, and who would faithfully follow in the misguided footsteps of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. I would be surprised if the Israeli Mossad/CIA has not already groomed a suitable candidate.

See it here; http://www.imranhosein.org/articles/signs-of-the-last-day/267-is-imam-al-mahdi-about-to-emerge.html

Did you catch that last sentence?? They believe that Israel and the CIA may have already been grooming a FALSE 12th IMAM!

Amazing!! Just like Jesus told us to watch for false Christs who come in the last days claiming to be Messiah....so the Muslims on on the lookout for false Imams who Israel and the CIA might be grooming to deceive Muslims.

You can see how the world is going to be so thoroughly confused during the Tribulation....there will be many grasping at straws and MANY will be cursing the One True God because Satan will have them VERY confused.

Hat tip to Tom F.

Basically, It's Over

Almost all of you have heard of Warren Buffet. He is the most successful investor of our generation and lives in Omaha, NE in a modest home.

But probably almost none of you know the name, Charlie Munger, who happens to be Buffet's long time business partner.

This is what Charlie has been saying....and I must admit he sounds an awful lot like what we have been saying.

Money News
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner in Berkshire Hathaway, warns in a new column that the U.S. economic empire is crumbling before our eyes, thanks to federal debt and poor planning.

In an article penned for Slate.com, Munger uses the form of a parable to explain how Wall Street’s love affair with gambling has destroyed America’s Main Street.
The article leads with this headline: “Basically, It’s Over.”The Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman describes the economic history of Basicland, which happens to match U.S. history.

Early in its history, debt is unknown except for home mortgages and some consumer loans, and people live within their means. Speculation is discouraged, and commodities markets are small and tightly regulated.

Under this rational system, economic growth skips merrily along at a steady 3 percent, Munger explains.

Taxes are limited and pay for only “essential services” like fire protection, courts, and defense. Most taxes are collected on imports, and government spending matches that tax income. Debt via government bonds is limited.

Then things take a turn for the worse. “The extreme prosperity of Basicland had created a peculiar outcome: As their affluence and leisure time grew, Basicland's citizens more and more whiled away their time in the excitement of casino gambling,” Munger writes.

Financial services soon grow to account for too big a portion of the economy, Munger says.“The winnings of the casinos eventually amounted to 25 percent of Basicland's GDP, while 22 percent of all employee earnings in Basicland were paid to persons employed by the casinos, many of whom were engineers needed elsewhere.”

Then, a shock: Imported energy costs rise, and low-cost labor competition from abroad appears, Munger writes. “Suddenly Basicland had to come up with 30 percent of its GDP every year, in foreign currency, to pay its creditors,” Munger writes.

The U.S. deficit — just the gap between spending and income in one year — is projected to hit $1.6 trillion in 2010. Total debt is project to exceed 100 percent of GDP starting in 2011.

In the parable, Munger strongly suggests that the United States take seriously the campaign of Reagan-era Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, who wants the big banks to cease pretending to be banks if they expect the freedom to trade securities on the side.

“He suggested that Basicland should strongly discourage casino gambling, partly through a complete ban on the trading in financial derivatives, and it should encourage former casino employees — and former casino patrons — to produce and sell items that foreigners were willing to buy,” Munger writes.

As the parable ends, none of the politicians listen, and Basicland turned into “Sorrowland,” Munger concludes.

If Charlie is right....how then shall we live?

As a nation we need to repent from our idolatrous ways (worshiping Mammon) and pray to God in heaven so that He may hear our prayers and heal our land. We are coming to the conclusion that this is the ONLY chance we have as a nation.

Sadly....I just don't see the evidence of that anywhere. I only see the love of evil, violence, perversity, mocking the Word of God, false teachers, strange earthquakes, strange weather, and the love of many growing cold.

Dear Jesus, we have been pathetic about using the blessings and talents you have given us. We have used them for our own selfish reasons and have gone whoring after the god of Mammon. We have forgotten our first love, which is you Lord. Cleanse us, forgive us, purify us and lead us back to the straight path. You are Lord of the harvest. Please help us to be your holy workers in these Last Days. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Silly Backtracking Arabs

So by now, most of us know that the U.S, Great Britain and France have started bombing Libya. We are told that even that Arab League wanted the coalition of the willing to protect the rebels in Libya from the murderous ways of Gadaffi.

One big question I have is; SO WHERE IS THE EGYPTIAN AND SAUDI AIR FORCE? Why don't we just make some Arab air force to go in and defend the rebels?

But the democratic Senators on Meet the Press this morning assured us that this situation is VASTLY different than the military intervention in Iraq....because bombing Libya will be seen as a "popular" use of force.

So after the bombs dropped yesterday and things started blowing up (over 100 Cruise missiles fired by US battleship)...low and behold....the Arabs have changed their minds. And now they DON'T like us blowing up stuff in Libya.

The Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, also startled western governments when he denounced the air attacks only a week after the league had called for creation of a no-fly zone.

Moussa, who is a candidate for the Egyptian presidency, said: "What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone and what we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing other civilians."

The Foreign Office later said Moussa claimed he had been misquoted, or had put his criticism more strongly in Arabic than in English. "We will continue to work with our Arab partners to enforce the resolution for the good of the Libyan people," the FO said.

The Arab League had, though, been called to an emergency session to discuss the scale of the attacks.

Also in the news is that Russia and China have come forward to denounce the Western bombing campaign in Libya. I guess they are saying we used too big of bombs and caused disproportionate damage.

Holy cow bells!

America, France and Britain – the leaders of the coalition's air attacks on Libya – were struggling to maintain international support for their actions, as they faced stinging criticism about mission creep from the leader of the Arab League, as well as from China and Russia.

Critics claimed that the coalition of the willing may have been acting disproportionately and had come perilously close to making Gaddafi's departure an explicit goal of UN policy.

Russia, which abstained on the UN vote last week, called for "an end to indiscriminate force".

See it here; http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/20/coalition-criticism-arab-league-libya

So now we have Libya (Put of Ezekiel 38), Russia (Magog of Ezekiel 38) and China (Kings of the east from Revelation) all coming on stage at the same time and in the same article.

Hold on tight folks....the Trumpet could sound any day!!