Faber To Shiller: “You Keep Your U.S. Dollars And I’ll Keep My Gold”

Bloomberg reported that Credit Suisse says gold holders may have withdrawn gold from the euro zone due to the region’s debt crisis. They noted the Bundesbank comment about capacity becoming available in its own vaults in Germany.

The World Economic Forum is into its second day in Davos, Switzerland, and with the theme of ‘Resilient Dynamism’ it appears a good time to announce or spin positive news in Europe such as a slight growth in consumer morale and confidence.  

I’m not sure what Europe the Davos attendees are living on but Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Greece’s ‘recoveries’ are bleak at best.

Spanish youth unemployment has risen again and is now nearly at 60%.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Republican led plan to allow the federal government to keep borrowing money through mid-May.

The borrowing and money printing party can continue a little while longer but it would be prudent to prepare for the hangover. 

Owning physical gold today is akin to drinking plenty of water and having a few pain killers to hand. When this party ends, those not owning gold are going to suffer one hell of a financial hangover.

XAU/JPY Daily, 2 Years – (Bloomberg)

“Everyone should keep gold in their portfolios” as the precious metal will be able to offer value to investors even in a worst-case scenario, said Marc Faber, the publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report.

“In the worst case scenario, in the systemic failure that I expect, it would still have some value,” Faber, who is also the founder and managing director of Marc Faber Ltd., said today at an event hosted by Evli Bank Oyj in Helsinki.

Faber said his outlook was so bleak that he is “hyper bearish”. He joked that “sometimes I’m so concerned about the world I want to jump out of the window.”

He wisely said that `I advise everyone to have some gold.'

Faber said that he thought there could be a flight out of cash and overvalued bonds and into equities and gold. 

In response to a question from Yale University’s Robert Shiller querying the recommendation to hold gold, Faber said: “I’m prepared to make a bet, you keep your U.S. dollars and I’ll keep my gold, we’ll see which one goes to zero first.”

XAU/JPY Quarterly, 1971-2013 – (Bloomberg)

Shiller, who is the co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values, responded "I'm inclined to think gold prices after this crisis might return to a lower level. Given the low yields of the alternatives [ie, bonds], the valuation of the stock market doesn't look so bad."

Faber, whose advice has protected millions of investors in recent years, warned of a global systemic crisis possibly due to massive size of the global derivatives market which is now worth over an incredible $700 trillion.

He warned “when the system goes down,” and only plastic credit cards are left, “maybe then people will realize and go back to some gold-based system.”

Zero Hedge

Real Clear and Present Danger

A group of senators, has introduced the Senate version of the “No Budget, No Pay” bill

A group of senators, one of them a Democrat, has introduced the Senate version of the “No Budget, No Pay” bill that would withhold congressional salaries unless Congress passes a budget and 12 appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year. But some lawmakers are questioning its constitutionality.

Led by Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the effort mirrors the one mounted by House Republicans in lieu of a politically damaging debt ceiling fight.

The House bill— which passed Wednesday on a 285-144 vote -- would block congressional salaries to force Senate Democrats to pass a budget. But one of the 33 Republicans who voted against the bill says it’s unconstitutional:

"The American people rightfully expect Congress to do its job, and that includes passing a budget," Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said in a statement. "However, while I support the concept of the 'No Budget, No Pay' bill, the 27th Amendment to our Constitution specifically says 'No law, varying the compensation for services of Senators and Representatives shall take effect until an election of the Representatives shall have intervened.”

“The language is clear and unambiguous,” Rep. King said. “I support the spirit of the bill, but it did not meet constitutional standards.”

Over in the Senate, Heller noted that it has been nearly four years since Congress last passed a budget: “1,365 days since we’ve had a budget here in Washington, D.C.,” Heller said at a press conference Wednesday. “1,365 days since Congress has passed a budget – 1,365 days of crisis.”

The Senate version differs from the House bill in that it does not contain a three-month debt ceiling extension, and it requires that both a budget and the 12 spending bills be passed on time each year.

Under the Senate version, if Congress does not pass both a budget and the spending bills by the beginning of that fiscal year, then pay is suspended until those bills are passed.

Manchin, the bill’s lone Democratic co-sponsor, said that members of Congress should have to suffer some kind of penalty for failing to do the basic functions of their jobs.

“If we can’t get our job done, then there has to be some type of penalty or consequences, and that seems to be the most logical one,” he said. “It’s easy for the American public to understand, if they don’t do their job then they lose it and if not they wouldn’t get paid – well we should be the same.”

The no budget, no pay campaign is already having an impact in Washington after being unveiled by House Republicans last week. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – the third-ranking Senate Democrat, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the Senate would in fact pass a budget this year.

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said that her committee would pass a budget through the Senate for the first time in nearly four years, saying in a statement that the Senate would return to “regular order.”

“[T]he Senate will once again return to regular order and move a budget resolution through the Budget Committee and to the Senate floor,” she said.

“Senate Democrats plan to move on a budget resolution regardless of whether the House rolls this issue into their short-term bill to increase the debt limit. I am ready to get to work with my colleagues on the Budget Committee and I look forward to fighting for middle class budget values and priorities in a conference with Chairman Ryan and the House.”

CNS

Brother against Brother

Joseph Herrin (01-23-2013)




Jim and John Harbaugh - Brothers and Super Bowl Adversaries

John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh are brothers born 15 months apart. They will face one another as head coaches of their respective teams in Super Bowl XLVII on February 3rd. Never before since the NFL was founded in 1920 have two brothers served simultaneously in a head coaching position in the league. Never before have two brothers met as head coaches in the Super Bowl.

That this match-up was determined on January 20, 2013, the same day that Barack Obama took his official oath of office for his second term as President of the United States is significant. Although there was a public ceremony on January 21st, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution stipulates that the President must be inaugurated on January 20th following a Presidential election.

The word “Inaugurate” means “to take omens.” In a previous article I shared the following:

I have an interest in the etymology (origins) of words. The word “inaugurate” has a dark history. In Roman times, an Augur was a man who could read omens. Another title for an Augur was a Soothsayer. In modern parlance an Augur might be called a Fortune Teller, or a Prophet.

The term Augur came from the practice of observing flocks of birds in flight and reading messages from what was observed.



Roman Augur

The word “Augur” is derived from the Latin avis, (bird), and garrire, (to talk, or to tell). The Augur would receive messages from the birds in the heavens as he observed their formations and flight. He would also listen to the birds’ song, observe what they ate, and examine their entrails. The Augur understood the arcane minutiae of these omens, and would translate their meaning for those who called upon his services...

The Bible commonly refers to Satan, those fallen angels and unclean spirits in league with him, as birds. Following are a few select passages in which this typology is used.

Mark 4:3-4, 13-15
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up... And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.”

Revelation 18:2
And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.”

In this last passage, the two highlighted phrases are parallel to one another. Demons and unclean spirits are synonymous with unclean and hateful birds...

The services of an Augur were especially sought after when it was time for a man to enter into a position of ruling. This is how the word “augur” came to be connected to our modern word “inauguration.” Kings, Presidents, and other rulers are inaugurated. Prior to their accession to their position of ruling, these leaders would call for an Augur. They wanted to know when the most auspicious time would be for their rule to begin. They would ask for omens (signs) that would testify of the success of their rule, and they would be wary if the omens indicated trouble, treachery, or intrigue.

The Latin word inaugurare literally means “to install an official after consulting the birds.”
[End Excerpt]

January 20th was a day of omens. Coincidentally, two of the NFL teams playing on that day to win a berth in the Super Bowl bore the names of birds; the Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens. The Falcons lost to the San Francisco 49ers, while the Ravens defeated the New England Patriots.

A raven is an “unclean and hateful bird.”




Image From “A Game of Thrones” Card Game

As a carrion bird, ravens became associated with the dead and with lost souls. In Sweden they are known as the ghosts of murdered persons...

In Irish mythology ravens are associated with warfare and the battleground ...

The earliest known reference to a Tower raven is a picture in the newspaper The Pictorial World in 1883. This and scattered subsequent references, both literary and visual, which appear in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, place them near the monument commemorating those beheaded at the tower, popularly known as the “scaffold.” This strongly suggests that the ravens, which are notorious for gathering at gallows, were originally used to dramatize tales of imprisonment and execution...

[In the Movie] Damien: Omen II The titular teenage Antichrist has one as his protector.
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_ravens]

It is striking to note that at a time in American history when the patriots of the nation are warring against those forces in government who would remove their freedoms and strip away their Constitutional rights, that the NFL Ravens triumphed over the Patriots on the same day that Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated for a second term.

Ravens are also renowned as thieves. They are particularly attracted to shiny metals and have been known to steal jewelry and coins. Having stripped the flesh from the Patriots, these unclean and hateful birds will turn their attention to San Francisco, whose team is named in honor of the miners who flocked to the state of California during the gold rush of 1849. Having subdued the patriots, the wealth of the nation will be booty for the thieves who will rush upon the spoils of war.

Did the augurs observe the birds on the day of the Inauguration of the President of the United States, and discern that it is an auspicious time to triumph over the patriots of the nation so that they can take the treasure of the nation as their own? I believe this is what was indicated.

On the following day, a public Inauguration was held. During this Inauguration the President did an unprecedented thing as he took his oath of office with his hand upon two Bibles.




Barack Obama laid his hand upon the Bible used by President Lincoln during his inauguration. This in turn rested upon the personal Bible of Martin Luther King. As mentioned previously, both of these men were assassinated. Yet another thing they shared in common is that both men rose to prominence during periods of civil strife in America. During both men’s careers the hands of Americans were turned against one another.




Brother Against Brother - The War Begins

The victory of the Baltimore Ravens over the New England Patriots set-up a showdown between brothers. The expression “Brother Against Brother” has become a synonym for Civil War.

"Brother against brother" is a slogan used in histories of the American Civil War, describing the predicament faced in families (primarily, but not exclusively, residents of border states) in which loyalties and military service were divided between the Union and the Confederacy. There are a number of stories of brothers fighting in the same battles on opposite sides, or even of brothers killing brothers over the issues.
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_against_brother]

Just as soon as it was announced that Lincoln had won election to the White House, the movement toward secession was embraced. The significance of Obama taking his oath of office with his hand on Lincoln’s Bible is not to be overlooked. At this very time there are states once again speaking of seceding from the U.S.. Citizens from more than 30 states have filed petitions on the White House website to secede “peacefully” from the Union.

With the President’s recent spate of Executive Orders to regulate gun ownership, the “peaceful” protests are becoming much more heated. Gun sales, especially for the type of assault rifles that are chiefly targeted by the White House, have been skyrocketing. People are arming up while defying the government to attempt to try to take their guns away, or make them register them. Legislators in two states recently proposed laws to arrest any federal employees who seek to enforce gun bans in their states.

http://patdollard.com/2013/01/texas-threatens-to-arrest-any-federal-agents-who-attempt-to-enforce-king-obamas-anti-right-to-bear-arms-decress/

The language employed in Obama’s second Inaugural address is worthy to note. He used the words “self-executing,” “patriots of 1776,” “tyranny of a king,” and “rule of a mob.” At one point he used the phrase, “Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword...” He spoke of the “vulnerable,” and of “hazards” and “misfortunes.” In his speech he mentioned the implausibility of Americans meeting “the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.” Mr. Obama spoke of “a decade of war,” and families on “the brink of hardship.”

As he continued he made mention of “perpetual war,” “the flames of battle,” and “the strength of arms.” Although all of these words were couched in sentences that appeared innocuous, they imparted a martial tone to the occasion. You can read the full text of the President’s speech at the link below.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2013/01/21/full-text-president-obamas-inaugural-address/

The augurs have been consulted by the powers that be. The birds have been observed. It appears an auspicious time to triumph over the patriots of the nation. Brother will be pitted against brother, and the ravens will swoop down to consume the flesh from the bodies of the slain.

How will this triumph occur? In the previous post the possibility of the President being assassinated, or surviving an assassination attempt, was considered. Were such an event to occur there would be blood in the streets. Even as in the days of Martin Luther King, there would be racial strife of unprecedented proportions. Rioting, and murder will be rampant as Americans slay Americans, and the resulting civil unrest will be so great that the citizens of the nation will call for the Federal government to restore order, even if it requires disarming the citizenry.

In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings, President Obama stated in a speech that he could not successfully pass gun control laws unless the people of the nation ask for it. There must be some event that will drive the people of the nation to cry out for this very thing.

I will mention some further signs that cause me to consider whether such an event may be forthcoming, for the repercussions would impact the entire world. Consider the following list of unusual details.

On the day that Barack Obama was inaugurated the world news reported on a failed assassination attempt of a Bulgarian politician who was speaking before a crowd of supporters to announce his retirement. A gunman walked up on the platform, pointed a gun at the man’s head just inches away, but the gun failed to fire. The assailant was tackled to the ground and all of this was recorded on video.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/failed-assassination-attempt-bulgarian-opposition-leader-18263191

The response of the crowd was violent as they began to beat and kick the assailant after he had been subdued. This reaction is a small token of what would occur in America if Obama were similarly attacked.

On January 20th, the day of the official inauguration, Tropical Cyclone Oswald formed and struck Queensland, Australia. Oswald is the last name of the man charged with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

This morning I received the following in an e-mail from a brother in Christ who, coincidentally, lives in Australia.

In relation to Obama, I want to share this. If you recall some of my writings, you would know my thoughts about Obama. I felt to watch his second inauguration live on TV here in Australia. I checked online and found it would be aired at 3:00am so I set up a mattress in the lounge room so I could wake and watch it. Incidentally there were two programs leading up to the live coverage of the inauguration that I wanted to watch. One was a documentary about Obama and the other, interestingly, was a documentary about the assassination of JFK. After the JFK documentary, I fell asleep having set my phone alarm for 3:00am. The next thing I knew it was 3:02am and [wife’s name withheld] was waking me. Here is what happened. What I am about to describe is a significant sign from the Lord. My wife had gone to bed about 10:30pm and she put the audio Bible to listen to as she fell sleep. She put it on at Philippians and after a while fell asleep. She had no plans to watch the inauguration. The KJV audio Bible app on her phone continues playing through the books until is turned off. At 3:00am, without any alarm, [wife’s name withheld] woke to hear these words, “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” With those words, she looked at the time and realised that it was 3:00am and that I would be watching Obama’s inauguration. She came out to the lounge room to find me asleep and my phone vibrating next to me. My phone was on silent so it wasn’t sounding the alarm as I had planned and therefore I was still asleep at this critical time. She woke me and told me how she had just woken up to the words from Rev 13:18. We turned the TV on and started watching Obama’s inauguration with that verse as context. There are some clear signs in this that I am sure you can see. In addition to what I’ve just described, I just now went to the video that you recommended on Amazon, “Dreams of My Real Father” and I immediately noticed the number of reviews. As I write this, they currently sit at 666. I called [wife’s name withheld] over and showed her. I’ve taken a screen shot for you and attached it to this email.

Here is the screen shot from Amazon. Note the number of reviews, outlined in red.


The following Scriptures show the significance of this number, and its relationship to a fatal wounding.

Revelation 13:1-3, 14-18
And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea... And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed... And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

It has been noted previously in this blog that Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago lie in postal zip code 60606. The day the results were announced that Obama had been elected to his first term as President of the United States the pick 3 lottery numbers for Illinois, his home state, came up as 6-6-6. The armored limousine the Secret Service uses to drive the President around is nicknamed “The Beast.” Vehicles signify a person’s ministry. For images and further details see the post titled Barack Hussein Obama - Antichrist?

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/barack-hussein-obama-antichrist.html

In the post preceding this one, it was noted that a large image of Obama constructed in sand was placed outside the Democratic National Convention where Obama was chosen for a second time as this party’s Presidential candidate. The image of Obama was damaged and had to be repaired, symbolic of sustaining an injury and being healed.




Further events to consider are that the recent movie Lincoln, about the assassinated 16th President of the United States, was given a private screening in the White House, attended by the President and the actors and director of the movie.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2012/11/15/obama-to-host-white-house-lincoln-screening/

The movie posters for this Hollywood production have been displayed in some highly unusual, but profoundly symbolic ways. Consider the following two images reported on the following website.

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/lincoln-poster-positioning-found-wanting-115609956.html




Lincoln/Skyfall



Lincoln/The Walking Dead

Back in 2008 I posted an image from Obama’s acceptance speech after his first election. A Christian site had posted an image of Barack Obama standing next to his family. His wife Michelle wore an unusually patterned dress that resembled the coloration of a Black Widow spider.




Following is an image of a Black Widow Spider.




Black Widow

In the previous post it was also noted that during Obama’s first inaugural celebration, a concert was held in front of the Lincoln Memorial where Barack Obama, along with 500,000 Americans, sang the words “This’ll be the day that I die” from the hit song American Pie. Yet, the most significant event in my estimation is that Obama took his second oath of office with his hand upon the Bibles of two assassinated men.

Some of these details, such as the release of the Lincoln movie at this time, and it’s private screening by the President in the White House, and using the Bibles of two assassinated men, seem intentionally designed to lead people to ponder such connections as are being set forth here. I have not received a word of revelation from the Father that such an event will occur. I cannot say with surety that we will witness an assassination attempt on the President. What I can say with confidence is that if such a thing did occur, America would fall into such civil unrest and bloodshed on her own soil that comparisons to the Civil War of Lincoln’s day, and the Civil Rights movement of Martin Luther King’s day, would pale in comparison.

Why has the government been purchasing billions of rounds of ammunition for Homeland Security? Why are military being trained for urban warfare and civil unrest? Why was one of the first acts of the 111th Congress which began simultaneously with Obama’s first term in office, to pass legislation to create regional FEMA detention camps across America? Why has Posse Comitatus been repealed? Why have executive orders been signed by the president to give him full control over all food, transportation, communications, and other critical segments of the economy in the event of civil unrest? Why has the National Defense Authorization Act been recently passed, giving the government authority to arrest American citizens, and to hold them without trial indefinitely. The following recent video of Congressman Ron Paul speaking to the House of Representatives gives one pause to consider the rationale for these actions.

http://youtu.be/tg69QM1yXQQ



If Christians are awake at all, they will understand that the government fully foresees a time of great civil unrest on American soil. It will be a time when brother will be against brother. Surely, the upcoming Super Bowl match-up is intended as a sign of what is to come.

We should ask, “Why is Yahweh giving His people foreknowledge of what lies ahead?” I believe it is so that they can prepare themselves for troublous days. I strongly exhort all saints to take to heart the messages recently set forth on this blog concerning taking up guns for self-defense. Arming onself will be the natural response of the soul of man. There are no lack of voices telling Christians to do this very thing. They would advocate that Christians wield the sword against others, that they join in the conflict of brother against brother.

It requires a living faith to be able to entrust one’s life, and the lives of one’s family, into the hands of Yahweh in the midst of perilous times. Is your faith such that you will be able to stand? Or will fear drive you to do the very thing Satan would tempt the people of God to do?

If your life has been one where your hope and trust has been in the arm of the flesh; if you have been looking to terrestrial devices, and the strength of man’s arm for your provision, health, safety, security, finances, and direction for living, you will be ill prepared to stand in an hour when the overcomers in Christ must yield their lives fully to the hands of God.

Revelation 12:11
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.”

Do you have a living faith that can trust Yahweh to choose the hour and circumstances of your death? Do you have confidence that He will protect, guide, and sustain you until the time it has been appointed for you to suffer, and that He will then carry you through the hour of suffering? The signs point to troublous times ahead. Seek the Lord now, while He may be found. Christ has said that for a lack of roots, many of His followers will fall away in a time of persecution and suffering.

Matthew 13:20-21
“And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

It is time to do a root check in your life. Are your roots deep enough? Are you drawing from the life of Christ? Is your life firmly anchored in Yahshua? Are you able to weather the storms to come? Don’t wait until the storm falls to know the answers to these questions.

There is great civil unrest coming to this nation. Yahweh has declared judgment upon the sins of the nation. Not much longer will America be known as a land of peace and prosperity. Her cities will be set ablaze. Famine will stalk the land. The wealth of the people will be plundered. Vast numbers will perish as the streets are filled with violence.

Satan would fill the world with strife. Yet you can overcome his schemes. You can refuse to fight fire with fire. You can meet evil with goodness, and hatred with love.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days. 

Joseph Herrin

Comet Ison, Celestial Events & The Return of Jesus

Later this year, Comet ISON will pass through the asteroid belt, enter the Inner Solar System and sidestep Mars on its way past Earth, putting on what scientists expect will be a spectacular heavenly show that is not to be missed.

Comets offer one of the most spectacular celestial scenes the unaided human eye can see. By November or December, ISON is expected to be brighter than a full moon. Some believe it will be up to 15 times brighter.

While ISON may prove to be brighter than any other comet of the last century, this trip may also be its swan song, as it is projected to end its flight in a fiery death in the sun.

Read about the solar flares that are forecast to hit at the same time, in “A Nation Forsaken – EMP: The Escalating Threat of an American Catastrophe.”

Comets are made of several parts. The core, or nucleus, is a solid snowball of dust and ice. As the comet nears the sun, the nucleus heats up, releasing the mixture of gas, called the coma, and dust, which forms the tail. There is also a plasma ion tail, which can be several hundred million miles long.

Occasionally, a comet is dislodged from its orbit and makes its way toward Earth.

Comet ISON, currently in the vicinity of Jupiter, was discovered by two Russian amateur astronomers, Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, using a 16-inch International Scientific Optical Network telescope in Vitebsk, Belarus. The comet possibly came from the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy small bodies beyond Neptune.

ISON, for the moment, is a faint object, visible only in sophisticated telescopes, but that will change in the next few months.

British astronomer David Whitehouse, in the London Independent, reports that by the end of summer, it will become visible in small telescopes and binoculars.

By October, the comet will pass close to Mars, and it will start to become exciting. The surface of the comet will begin to shift as it nears the sun.

As it continues to warm, the surface will crack, releasing small puffs of gas from its core, forming the comet’s tail. Slowly at first, but with increasing energy, the gas and dust will reflect even more of the sun’s light

By autumn, the view should be remarkable.

Astronomers have calculated that the comet will not impact Earth, however, it will pass less than 800,000 miles away from Earth, making it easily visible.

Like the moon, comets do not shine on their own. They reflect only about 4 percent of the sun’s rays, about the same luminescence as a lump of coal. So while the sun’s reflection makes comets look brilliantly white from Earth, they are black on the surface.

The comet will begin brightening once it comes within Jupiter’s orbit, as the sun’s heat begins boiling the ice locked within, converting it directly into a gas.

The reaction to ISON is likely to recall the excitement of Comet Hale-Bopp, which sailed past the Earth in 1997, appearing as a static smear in the skies across the Northern Hemisphere.

ISON is also set to outshine “the greatest comet of the last century” - Comet McNaught, which shone brighter than Venus as it passed above the Southern Hemisphere in 1965.

There are reports Comet ISON’s path resembles that of the Great Comet of 1680, which is also called Kirch’s Comet or Newton’s Comet. That comet’s tail was reportedly visible during the day.

Comets are known as “dirty snowballs,” although technically a better definition would be “snowy dirtballs,” as they are generally rocky at the surface, with chemical-laden ice inside.

Comets can also give off a distinctive sound as they interact with the various space probes exploring the universe.

The timing of Comet ISON has set the astronomical world abuzz. The comet will be closest to the Earth during a time when the solar system’s star, the sun, will reach the maximum of its 11-year solar cycle.

While the comet will not impact Earth, the solar activity that will light up the comet will also unleash multiple Coronal Mass Ejections, or CME, that project trillions of tons of radioactive material at millions of miles per hour toward Earth.

If a major CME happens when the flare is facing directly toward Earth, satellites risk severe damage and, in some cases, destruction. In a nightmare scenario, a massive solar blast would initiate a cascading series of failures that could severely hamper daily life in today’s information age.

Electrical systems would fail, and anything that depends on them - such as food, fuel and energy supply systems - simply would not work. No refrigerators in grocery stores, no pumps at gas stations, no valves controlling flows in dams.

The threat is serious enough that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists are watching these celestial events closely as the sun enters what is called the Solar Max. Government agencies are looking at contingency plans for anything from minor power and communication outages to destruction of global power grids and communications systems.

F. Michael Maloof relates in his book “A Nation Forsaken - EMP: The Escalating Threat of an American Catastrophe” that the effects of a solar maximum can be both spectacular and shattering:

On September 2, 1859, the largest recorded geomagnetic storm dazzled the pre-electronics era with auroras seen around the world. The white-light solar flare was so bright; folks in the northeastern United States could read newspaper just from the light of the aurora.

The telegraph system in use all over Europe and North America failed. Telegraph operators were shocked, and telegraph pylons threw sparks, causing telegraph paper to spontaneously catch fire.

And when telegraphers disconnected the batteries powering the lines, aurora-induced electric currents in the wires still allowed messages to be transmitted!

ISON might not be the only spectacular comet visible soon. Another comet, called 2014 L4 (PanSTARRS), was discovered last year, and in March and April it could also be a magnificent object in the evening sky.

Comets and other celestial objects have often been regarded as harbingers of events on Earth.

Mark Twain was born during the 1835 appearance of Halley’s Comet, and he predicted he would “go out with it.” He died April 21, 1910, the day following the comet’s return.

The Star of Bethlehem heralding the birth of Jesus is mentioned in Matthew 2:

Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. (Mt 2:2 KJV)

This celestial event is also thought to be foretold in Numbers 24:17 and Isaiah 60:3. It has historically been explained in three ways: as a major comet; as a planetary conjunction or sequence of conjunctions; or as a supernova.

The first-century Roman historian Josephus, in Book VI, chapter 5 of “The Wars of the Jews,” recorded the arrival of a comet before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Josephus recounts a heavenly “sign” that was ignored by those without eyes or minds to consider it at the time:

Thus were the miserable people (the Jews of Jerusalem) persuaded by these deceivers (false prophets), and such as belied God himself; while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs [of the heavens] that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation, but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them.

“Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year.”

Biblical prophecies of the Last Days also include celestial events:

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” (Joel 2:30-31 KJV)

From this passage and from Revelation 6:12-13 comes what is known as the “Blood Moon” prophecy.

Four “blood-red” total lunar eclipses will fall on Passover and Sukkot in 2014 and 2015, the same back-to-back occurrences in 1492, 1948 and 1967.

The Blood Moon theory says the Second Coming of Christ will likely occur in 2014 or 2015 when there will be four consecutive, rare lunar eclipses, or a tetrad. The eclipses will coincide with two major holidays on the Jewish calendar in 2014 and 2015: Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Supporters of this theory believe the Rapture likely will coincide with one of the eclipses.

While the world did not end with the end of the Mayan calendar last year, Comet ISON is considered by some to be another celestial sign of things to come.


Prophecy News Watch

The First and Only Church of Barack Hussein Obama.

I watched the coronation — sorry;inauguration — of Emperor Barack the Magnificent I — sorry; President Barack (don’t say “Hussein”) Obama. As he recited the oath of office for the second time in as many days (he took the “official” oath in the Oval Office on Sunday), a light switched on. At first, I thought it might just be the camera lights reflecting off of that fright wig stuck to the first lady’s cranium. But the light was actually a revelation, one much greater than the knowledge that Obama should put that thing back before the janitor notices it’s missing. Obama, who has made it clear that he thinks as highly of the Constitution as I do of The New York Times, placed his hand on not one but two copies of the Bible — one belonging to Martin Luther King Jr. and the other belonging to President Abraham Lincoln.

Obama — who believes he can overrule the 2nd Amendment by what amounts to imperial fiat; Obama, who endorsed Attorney General Eric Holder before, during and after Holder’s criminal mendacity regarding Operation Fast and Furious; Obama, whose nationalization of the Nation’s health held down the Interstate Commerce Clause and beat the justice out of it; Obama, who brazenly lied (and still lies) to the country about the Benghazi, Libya, massacre — literally swore to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” on an actual stack of Bibles. The arrogance to do so with a straight face, despite it being an affront to Nation, office and Almighty God, sets the bar at a whole new level. He even “tweeted” while in church… really.

What sort of person can so easily lie, not to mention blaspheme like the little kid in “The Exorcist”? I’m aware that many of you believe Obama is a Muslim. I doubt it. Others may believe he is a Christian. Not bloody likely. Others still may consider him a fairly typical American “Christmas and Easter” type. You’re all off the mark. Before you firebomb Bob Livingston’s in-box with demands that he replace me with “The Wizard of Id,” hear me out: the Obama I watched on Monday with his hand on two copies of a book by which he does not abide, swearing an oath in which he does not believe, is a spiritual man. And he attends Mass every single day. Indeed, he holds to his holy strictures with the devotion of a Trappist monk. His temple attracts millions of believers: The First (and Only) Church of Barack Hussein Obama.

He floated through the oath with such ease; it was almost enough to keep us from noticing that Beyonce lip-synched the national anthem. He thrilled the assembled throng with his plans for the coming years, including more debt, more war and less of something he referred to as “climate change.” I believe that might be the current moniker for the hoax formerly known as “global warming” and even more formerly known as “global cooling,” although normal people just call it “weather.” He demanded an end to partisanship, “We cannot… treat name-calling as reasoned debate,” while his minions booed Representative Paul Ryan. And he even worked in some material about a new dedication to immigration amnesty, which will probably grant citizenship to every Tomas, Diego and Javier south of the Rio Grande.

Only a man with absolutely no regard for the Bible and the Constitution could treat them both so shabbily. Only a man with absolute faith in himself could immediately turn to his minions and murder the truth so casually. And only a congregation mostly comprised of people who have either abandoned or forgotten the lessons of both of the aforementioned texts could cheer him on.

Hey, I can’t blame the guy for reveling in his own myth. I’m man enough to admit that if I’d gone through life so rarely hearing the word “no,” I might not have turned out so fabulously. Ido blame him for forgetting the difference between fact and fantasy. And I do blame his supporters for attacking me for pointing out the difference.

The liberal deification of Obama violates not only the 1st Amendment, but the first commandment. We don’t recognize a monarch in this country. We don’t have a national deity either — ask any liberal, if you can get him to stop whining about prayer in schools long enough to listen. The man I saw take the oath of office believes he’s both.

Personal Liberty Digest

North Korea plans new nuclear test, threatens to target US

North Korea has announced it's about to carry out a third nuclear test and more long-range rocket launches, which it says are designed to target the United States.

"We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are aimed at the United States," North Korea's National Defense Commission says.

Pyongyang now threatens to wage a “fully-fledged confrontation'' against the US for what they call continued hostility.

The declaration follows the UN Security Council's condemnation of North Korea on Tuesday and expanded sanctions against the regime for launching a rocket in December. North Korea has always claimed the launch was a peaceful satellite mission, but the US and others say it was actually a test of long-range missile technology.

In the face of what it considers to be a US threat, North Korea “will take steps for physical counteraction to bolster the military capabilities for self-defense, including the nuclear deterrence, both qualitatively and quantitatively,'' the country's Foreign Ministry warned in a statement.

Japan states North Korea does not yet have the technology to create compact nuclear warheads, but its missiles are already advanced enough to reach the US West Coast. The latest report published by Japanese observers, states the North Korean missile program has attained a new high and poses a grave threat.

The North was banned from developing missile and nuclear technology under sanctions dating from its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. First tests used plutonium, were detonated underground and had limited success. This time around, the international concern is that Pyongyang may use highly-enriched uranium and get better results.

North Korea does not give a time-frame of when they intend to undertake the threatened nuclear test.

The US has already called on the North to not carry out its third test.

"We hope they don't do it. We call on them not to do it," Glyn Davies, the top US envoy for North Korean diplomacy, said in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

There is no clear indication of an imminent nuclear test, observers say. However, satellite photos recently taken at North Korea's underground nuclear test site in the far northeast showed continued activity that suggested a state of readiness even in winter.

North Korea has enough weapons-grade plutonium for about four to eight bombs, according to nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited North Korea's nuclear complex in 2010. In 2009, Pyongyang also declared that it would begin enriching uranium, which would give North Korea a second way to make atomic weapons.

The latest UN Security Council resolution demands North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible manner," as well as Pyongyang cease rocket launches. The North insists its rocket launches are purely peaceful.

The December 12 ‘satellite’ rocket launch has been celebrated as a great triumph in North Korea. The scientists involved have been treated like heroes ever since. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un mentioned the launch in his New Year's Day speech laying out the country's main policies and goals for the year. Banners hailing the event were posted on buildings across the capital.

The US, however, is not buying into the ‘satellite’ story, considering such launches covert tests of ballistic missile technology since satellite launches and long-range missile launches have similar firing mechanisms. As if to confirm that suspicion, North Korea showed off what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade last April.

RT