STRANGE DAYS

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Pietro Arnese, the founder and editor of Apocalypsesoon.org is available for speaking engagements, seminars and addressing church services on Bible prophecy.

Lot's of material, this week. Let's start with the following WASHINGTON TIMES article, which denotes how absurd, but politically correct, has our society become. Read well, for this is the future, (limited, thank God).

Evangelical tone of memorial spurs backlash

By Valerie Richardson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
LITTLETON, Colo.

Some liberal Christian, black and Jewish leaders are outraged over the strongly evangelical Christian tone of last Sunday's memorial service for those massacred at Columbine High School. "The entire community was invited to come and mourn, and then it turned into an evangelical prayer service," said the Rabbi Stephen Foster of Temple Emanuel in remarks before the Denver Interfaith Clergy Alliance. "I've had many complaints from people saying, 'Where were the Jews?' but that's not the issue," he said. "The issue was one of insensitivity to the kind of statements being made that were exclusively directed to not just Christians, but fundamental Christians." Another rabbi called the service reflective of an "ignorant, narrow-minded" streak of Christianity. None of the parents expressed objections about the memorial or its speakers, which included a rabbi. Several of the slain students were known for their born-again Christian faith, and the testimony of one of them, Cassie Bernall, in the face of death seized the attention of millions of readers and viewers across the nation. One of the gunmen, who seemed to be seeking out believers, asked her whether she believed in God. She looked him in the eye and said, "Yes, I believe in God." He shot her dead. Critics are trying to arrange a meeting with Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, whose office organized the service. About 70,000 persons attended the service in a parking lot across the street from Columbine, which was attended by Vice President Al Gore and Colin Powell, the retired general. Both sat on the platform. "The consensus was [that the program] was not inclusive to all faith communities," said the Rev. Michael Carrier of Calvary Presbyterian Church. Critics said they were aware of numerous phone calls to the governor's office objecting to what they called the "lopsided nature" of the service, although Owens spokesman Dick Wadhams said he was unaware of any complaints. The rabbis apparently took offense at remarks by the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, and Jefferson County pastor Gerald Nelson. Both, following the custom of many Christian funerals, encouraged listeners to follow the example of several of the slain students to accept Christ as personal savior. Mr. Nelson told an anecdote about two women Holocaust prisoners, one of whom said she overcame her despair through her faith in Christ. The rabbis said they took this an an implication that Christians had a better chance of surviving the Holocaust. "That's pretty offensive," said Rabbi Foster. The program also featured songs with a Christian theme by Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Phil Driscoll. Two Columbine students, Jonathan and Stephen Cohen, sang "Columbine, Friend of Mine," a song with a Christian spiritual message they wrote with help from their pastor. Rabbi Fred Greenspahn, who gave the service's closing prayer, told the Denver Post the program exhibited "a pretty ignorant, narrow-minded streak of Christianity." He was the only non-Christian religious leader featured during the service. Some black religious leaders complained that the program featured only white speakers, even though one of the victims, 18-year-old Isaiah Shoels, was black. Gen. Powell, who is black, sat on the dais but did not speak. Dick Wadhams, the governor's spokesman, bristled at the criticism, describing the complaints as "inappropriate and groundless" in the wake of the massacre. Two Columbine seniors killed 12 students and a teacher in a shooting and bombing spree April 20 before committing suicide. "It's just reprehensible that they would try to politicize the memorial service in the immediate aftermath of such a tragedy," he said. Mr. Wadhams said the event was organized in about 72 hours with advice from ministers in the community. "[The critics] were nowhere to be found last week when this was being put together," he said. The Rev. Lucia Guzman, executive director of the liberal Colorado Council of Churches, said the memorial service was representative of the Columbine community, which is heavily weighted toward "what you might call evangelical or independent churches." "In no way do I feel I was excluded, but I have many rabbi colleagues who were incensed by the one-sided nature of the service," she said. "You can't put the focus on that [evangelical Christianity] and then say it was inclusive of the whole community." But she said her organization would not complain. "The entire community is in such an emotional state, and our governor's office is new, and they had so little time to plan this thing," she said. "At another time, this might have been planned with a little more sensitivity." Stephanie Auger, director of the Holocaust Awareness Institute at the University of Denver, said she doesn't know whether she thinks the service was lopsided. "That's a tough call, because if you look at the community where it happened, it was fairly inclusive. There isn't a lot of diversity in that particular section of Denver. If you're looking at the whole Denver area, then I think there could have been more inclusion." Another debate with religious undercurrents bubbled over a row of 15 crosses on a hill overlooking the makeshift Columbine memorial, each cross named for a dead student, and includes the gunmen, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17. The gunmen have been excluded from much of the mourning surrounding the tragedy. At the service, Mr. Owens read only the names of the 13 victims, and 13 doves were released to memorialize them. Several mourners said the two crosses should be removed. "I don't think it's right to have the killers up here with the victims," said Anna Whitcomb of Denver.

Others said the crosses show the community may be ready to forgive, if not forget. On the Harris and Klebold crosses, someone had written, "Hate breeds hate," but another message said, "I forgive you."

An acute visitor to our site has sent the following note.

NATO AND ISRAEL

NATO and Israel have followed a parallel birth and growth. I wonder if there is more here than meets the eye. Israel won its independence in January-February, 1949 after a bloody war with the Arabs. NATO was born two months later On April 4, 1949. This year marks the 50th anniversary for both. This is only speculation, but I am beginning to sense that it may be NATO and not the UN which best represents the emerging New World Order and will provide the structure for the prophesied revived Roman Empire. It is already happening. NATO has abandoned the Cold War defensive purpose for which it was established and has turned offensive. Recent news reports reveal NATO's shocking longer-range plans to intervene in any world dispute according to its own dictates, without regard to national sovereignties. It is taking on a world agenda, almost dictatorial. This is ominous. The next target could be Israel, if Israel does not surrender cherished sovereign territory to the PLO. Sovereignty, history and divine right mean nothing to world power brokers driven by petro-dollar greed. A recent WorldNetDaily feature article documented NATO's real purpose in Yugoslavia, not humanitarian as we are being told, but as a strategy against Russia, while at the same time NATO is wooing Muslim, former USSR republics adjoining Russia. The writer said that NATO is the military arm of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a group of elite globalists and one-worlders. From one point of view, the pro-Muslim tilt in the U.S. and NATO countries does not bode well for Israel. But from God's point of view, it does not bode well for the West, because God is Israel's defender! Just wait until Michael the archangel is unleashed in Israel's defense! Both Israel and the revived Roman Empire play major roles in God's end-time plan. The stage is being set. The actors are in place. Stars Bill Clinton and Tony Blair are center stage. The curtain is coming up. The players are probably not even aware of their roles, but are being driven by personal power politics. Spiritual conspiracies are born and orchestrated in the heavenly realms, and humans are merely pawns, often unawares. But by their choices, role players unknowingly open themselves up to the manipulation of spiritual forces, outside the protective covering of the blood of Christ. But God is always in control. And He always wins. "Watch," as Jesus said.

Jim Bramlet

And someone else sent the following riddle. Can you solve it? I might send a prize to whomever sends the correct answer. I said "I might". It depends on how many of you guess right, given my limited resources.

God made Adam out of the dust,
But thought it best to make me first;
So I was made before the man,
According to God's Holy plan.
My whole body God made complete,
Without arms or hands or feet.
My ways and acts did God control,
But in my body He placed no soul.
A living being I became,
And Adam gave to me a name.
Then from his presence I withdrew,
For this man Adam I never knew.

All my Maker's laws I do obey,
And from these laws I never stray.
Thousands of me go in fear,
But seldom on the earth appear.
Later, for a purpose God did see,
He placed a living soul in me.
But that soul of mine God had to claim,
And from me took it back again.
And when this soul from me had fled,
I was the same as when first made;
Without arms, legs, feet, or soul,
I travel on from pole to pole.

My labors are from day to night,
And to men I once furnished light.
Thousands of people both young and old,
Did by my death bright lights behold.
No right or wrong can I conceive;
The Bible and it's teachings I can't believe.
The fear of death doesn't trouble me;
Pure happiness I will never see.
And up in Heaven I can never go,
Nor in the grave or Hell below.
So get your Bible and read with care;
You'll find my name recorded there.
      

This puzzle was written by a lady in California in 1890 in response to a gentlemen in Philadelphia, who said that he would pay $241,000.00 to anyone who could write a puzzle that he could not solve. He failed to do so, and paid the lady $241,000.00 (a great sum at that time).

The answer is one word, five letters long, and appears only four times in the King James Version of the Bible.

ADDENDUM - Many of you have guessed correctly, so no prizes will be sent. Just be happy you are smart. For those (like me) who are still guessing, the answer is HERE

As more incredible details are surfacing from the precise diary kept by the young assassins on the events prior to the Columbine School massacre, we are left with a shocking realization of the REAL state of the Union.

I do not want to add more comment to this sad event, except to make a couple of observations:

1) What do Americans expect from their youngsters, after having by law removed God from the classrooms? "You got to serve somebody ..." says a Bob Dylan song. And the choice is very clear: God or the devil.
What ? you still believe in the devil? We are in the year 2000, we are emancipated from such medieval beliefs!

Really? I would like to listen to a plausible explanation on the behaviour of these two, apparently-normal kids-turned assassins. I said plausible. Psychiatrists and psychologists will be having a field day (and lot's of work) in trying to explain the horror that has transpired at the Columbine institute. But I believe firmly that none of them will be able to come up with a true answer and suggest a solution. The answer is simple, but to them, unbelievable. They will analyze every little detail, they will find symbolism in the black trench coats, they will find past events which have "scarred and traumatized" these youngsters and turn them into monsters, but they will not accept the fact that these two kids have been led by demons to commit those acts of unmotivated murder and mayhem. No, no, this explanation it's too unscientifically simple to justify all the years of study they have undergone. Surely they must give a complex, ununderstandable, deluded, deceived and deceiving response. Any explanation will be good, except the real one.

The fact is, we are living in a highly disturbed society. From the very start, children are being indoctrinated into violence, viciousness, abnormal behavior by the cartoons and videogames they watch for hours each day. As they grow, they will find an entertainment industry which will readily offer them unbelievable levels of obscenity and violence, all in the name of free speech and free choice. Not to speak of the "arts" and culture. There are a lot on very unstable persons in the world today, with no ideals nor morals. The garbage they have continuously been fed from birth, has transformed them, and while they grow up, the same garbage compounds the problem. America (and the Western world) have become an open sewer whose smell has reached unto heaven. How far can the judgement be?

2) I find it the height of hypocrisy, that President Clinton, in commenting the massacre has said something to the effect of that "young people must be taught to resolve their anger with dialog and not with force." Somebody should tell Mr. Clinton that the selfsame lesson should apply as well to adults. How can he expect to be believed when he is the leader of the ongoing war in Kossovo? Do as I say, and not as I do. Or he must be suffering from Alzheimer.

I have chosen two links for you to examine. One is a TIME magazine report on the tragedy:
Time report

The other is a different point of view, from alienated teens:
alienated voices

Certainly, no news about wars is good news, and neither are the latest on Kossovo.
It must be the media reports or the current apathetic mode the (Western) world is in, but nobody seems really interested in putting a stop this war, (except the direct interested, of course). There is a passive resignation to the inevitable, notwithstanding all the circumstantial talks of the occasion.

While we assist to a host of initiatives, from different countries, the Vatican (always ready to get credit to its status, when there is nothing to risk) organizations and from simple citizens, it seems self-evident that these efforts are futile right from their very start.

The Americans have (arrogantly) demonstrated that whatever they decide is good, must be good for the rest of the world. Here in Europe, America's popularity has been on the wane for a number of years, and this war over Kossovo, is digging deeper into Europe's disenchantment with the once admired (envied) nation.

Europeans are tired of playing second fiddle to the USA, especially in their own territory and they are saying so, in a more or less direct way. There is much talk about restructuring NATO, so as to deprive America of her leading role. Talk shows guests openly criticize America's bully-behaviour and several protests have taken place in front of American Embassies.

There is a falling out going on, and many are noticing.

Another curious result of this strange war has been the strange coincidences and curious bedfellows it has been making. President Clinton, an alleged dove, (of National Guard memories) has been the most war-prone President of recent memory, certainly outstripping former President Reagan, who was allegedly a hawk. And, I've never thought to see this, but it's the european communist parties which are defending (Christian Ortodox) Serbia from the NATO intervention and are the most outspoken opposers of this war. Better late than never.

One can believe this or that reason about why the Kossovo war is a "just" war, or not believe at all, but to those with their antennas up-and-tuned, it is evident that breakthrough principles of international policy are being introduced and put to test in this conflict. Here are some links for those who want to explore deeply.

How Clinton created Serb war (Charles Smith)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_smith/19990406_xcsof_how_clinto.s html

Clinton willing to risk global war in desperate attempt to redefine legacy
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/April1999/040599/clinton040599.htm

Bloody blundering: Clinton's cluelessness is selling out Kosovo
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/04/05/hitchens/index.html

Survey: Two-thirds of Russians fear NATO attack
http://cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9904/03/kosovo.russia/

Be prepared for war, China's Jiang urges PLA
http://www.scmp.com/news/template/China-

Looking at Kosovo from another angle. I received the following quotes which I think present different facets of this strange conflict. We are just quoting, but there is something there...

KOSOVO: POINTS TO PONDER

· Boston University academic Eugene Narrett (FREEMANLIST, Mar 23):

"[The Clinton administration is] playing a bellicose game that turns history on its ear, shreds the principle of sovereignty that is the basis of all social order and [aligns] itself with Islamic terrorists.

"Many of the rebels of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army are Albanians living on both sides of the now porous border. Some are Muslims from other countries including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iran. "Their purposes are not peaceful. While smuggling arms across the border in late 1998, they killed 165 Serbian policemen, wounding 395. Would this be tolerated in Texas ...?"

· US commentator Charles Krauthammer (INSIDE WASHINGTON, Mar 20):

"You have to ask yourself, aren't there atrocities happening today much worse in Sierra Leone, in Congo, in Rwanda, in Sudan for the last 15 years? A week ago, there was a battle between Ethiopia and Eritrea which nobody has ever heard of where five times as many people were killed in one day as died in Kosovo.

"The only difference I can see between Serbia and Africa is that these are white people who are being killed in Europe. I do not understand how you can make a case purely on the grounds of preventing atrocity when all these others are happening in the world, and be consistent in any way."

· Bill Lind, director of the Free Congress Foundation's Center for Cultura l Conservatism (CNS, Mar 19):

"I wonder how many American Christians have thought about the fact that their defense dollars now go to attacking other Christians on behalf of Islam?"

· Israeli journalist Steve Rodan (WORLD TRIBUNE.COM, Mar 24):

"[According to European security and diplomatic sources] Kosovo has become the latest and most significant arena for radical Islamic states and groups that seek to widen their influence in Europe.

"Nobody argues that Islamic elements fomented the conflicts in the Balkans. But they say Iran, Saudi Arabia and some of their terrorist beneficiaries have exploited the fighting to establish a sphere of influence that spans from Greece to the Austrian border."

· The London-based Islamist group Al Muhajiroun (PRESS RELEASE, Mar 25):

"We declare that we will not rest until Kosova is returned to the Muslims and they achieve their independence as a Muslim nation. We declare that we will not stop the Jihad against the Serbian or Israeli occupiers no matter what the UN say or do."

· Anjem Choudary, secretary-general of the Society of Muslim Lawyers (quoted in Al Muhajiroun's PRESS RELEASE, Mar 25):

"Muslims everywhere are obliged to fight against the Serbs who are fighting against Muslims in the Balkans physically, financially and verbally until all Muslim land is liberated."

· Israeli counter-terrorism expert Ely Karmon (CNS, Mar 26):

"Kosovo is important to Islamic terror groups, because they see it as a battlefield between Muslims and Christians."

· The Middle East Christian Committee (PRESS RELEASE, Mar 24):

"We certainly criticize the authoritarian regime in Belgrade, and hope to see the conflict in Kosovo solved by diplomatic means ? However, we do not understand our decision makers who seem to be only in favor of Muslim rights and always opposed to Christian's rights in that region."

· Coptic American Union (PRESS RELEASE, Mar 25):

"We are sick and tired of watching our foreign policy being dictated by the Islamist lobby in Washington DC ? Our community [in Egypt] is being ethnic cleansed by a government which is receiving U.S. foreign aid."

· The World Maronite Union, Beirut (PRESS RELEASE, Mar 24):

"We Maronite Catholic[s] feel that the Islamist-inspired attack against Orthodox Serbia is an aggression against all Middle East Christianity."

· South Sudan Movement spokesman Dominic Mohammed (PRESS RELEASE, Mar 24):

"? we never saw the U.S. fighter bombers in the skies over Khartoum or southern Sudan. Are white Muslims [in Kosovo] more valuable than Black Christians?"

· State Department spokesman James Rubin (DEPT OF STATE briefing, Mar 24):

"The critics have been unable to answer the question of why we would be better off to allow the slaughter to spread, the humanitarian catastrophe to grow, instability to spread throughout Europe in places that are of concern to the United States. "In their opposition to the use of air power, they have offered no alternative other than appeasement of [Yugoslav] President Milosevic's policies, which is something unacceptable to this administration."

Winds of War, again. This is not in some distant gulf region, it is closer to home. Very close. I'll write a comment on this by this upcoming weekend. God bless!

I have a couple of items to bring to your attention. Both, have to do with Israel, more or less directly. The first item is a news report which I received just before last Christmas, if proved correct, would have far reaching implications for Israel. I am posting the original article which is quite self explanatory.

A LOST AND FOUND TRIBE: 1.5 MILLION JEWS ON INDIA-BURMA BORDER - By Kaye Corbett Copyright 1998, WorldNetDaily TORONTO

Nearly 1.5 million Jews, known as the "Children of Menmasseh," who live on the border of India and Burma, could be one of the lost tribes of Israel and, more startlingly, the majority of them are also Messianic Jews (believers in Jesus Christ -- Yeshua). There are other smaller groups of Jews in India -- the Bene Israel of Western India, the Cochin Jews of the Malabar Coast and the Baghdadi Jews of Bombay and Calcutta. However, the Children of Menmasseh are undoubtedly one of the largest groups with an estimated 1.2 to 1.5 million people. Menmasseh is believed to be a corrupted version of the word for the biblical tribe (Manasseh or Menashe). Two-time Emmy Award winner Simcha Jacobovici, of Toronto, spurred renewed interest in the mystery by making a documentary, called "Quest for the Lost Tribes." He traveled along the Old Silk Route with his camera looking for clues. The TV program will air on A&E. In addition, Canada's national weekly magazine, Maclean's, has featured a story called, "The Jews of Asia -- Canadians Urge Israel to Aid a Lost Tribe." It also has been a prominent story in Toronto's Globe & Mail and the Canadian Jewish News.

Maclean's also noted that the issue "strikes to the heart of the 'Who is a Jew?' debate that has long raged both inside and outside of Israel."

"There are 1.5 million of them scattered throughout India and in my opinion I believe they are one of the lost tribes," Felix Golubev has been quoted as saying. Golubev worked as a production manager on Jacobovici's documentary and was with the Menmasseh for 10 days.

It's believed only 5,000 of the 1.5 million are not believers in Jesus.

The other item is about a recent trend among evangelicals concerning the study of uses and customs of ancient Biblical Israel. This trend, which has been growing by leaps and bounds is known as the Hebraic Heritage, or Hebrew Roots movement. While I believe that knowing more about these things is commendable, as we are all to ignorant about Old Testament symbology, I am starting to see aberrations and deviations to a subject which was instead purposed to bring light upon some not so readily accessible points.

I want to make clear that I am not condemning such movements per se, -I personally subscribe to one such newsgroup-. What I intend to do, is instead to ring the alarm bell to those who have ears to ear.
It seems to me that evangelicals are unable to live without the help of "some new thing from the Spirit." And the faith movement, and the falling under the "Spirit" movement, and the laughter movement, and the healing of memories movement, and the positive confession movement, and so on. Evangelicals are indeed a moving people: they move continuously from one trend to another, with the passionate abandon of a blind and naive faith. Christianity would fare much better, if Evangelicals would instead be a "set" people: set on the Rock, unmoved by whatever new wind of doctrine, a column in the House of their God.

I am not the only one who is noticing the bad trend this movement has been taking. I have received some letters of alarmed Christians who are concerned about the way this thing is evolving. Next week, I will post an article, on the X files, which will shed some needed light on this trend. Please do not complain to me before you read it and meditate prayerfully upon it.

One of the most important traits of a Christian should be balance. Balance is instead a mythological word, especially to Christians. Few seem able to achieve this fundamental quality. Of course, a lack of balance does not make a Christian lose his salvation: it just complicates his life unnecessarily while distracting him from what it is truly important, so that he will not be an effective tool in the Hands of His Lord. The enemy uses well this lack of balance in the lives of Christians.

It is one thing to be enthusiastic about something, and quite another to let this something guide our lives. Only the Lord Jesus Christ should guide the lives of His people, and to achieve this all-important stage, a Christian needs much seeking prayer in his little closet. Since we seem all too obsessed with "activities", and "service", prayer and close relationship with God gets second place, IF it gets it at all. We get all busy at His service and we forget HIM. What a tragedy! But I think this generation is not much different from the ones that have preceeded it, we simply know our situation better, thanks to the information explosion of our days.
Remember Mary and Martha? Whom did Jesus praise for having chosen the best part? Busy busy (legitimately at work) Martha, or quite quite (attentive to His Word) Mary?

This week I have some mixed news about computers and the Internet in general. While we can appreciate the comunication possibilities offered to us by these media, we should not be so blind as to ignore the hidden agenda which is behind it. Like it or not, some day soon everybody will be neatly indexed, catalogued, and properly monitored. This is already happening in some countries, while in others it's taking shape. What a marvelous world it will be, when there will be no more money laundering and financial crimes; when nobody will be able to rob or defraud you; when criminal organizations will "technically" cease to exists, since they will not be able to get cash illegally, since there will be no more cash to go around; when there will be no more "black markets" and "black labour" and so on. A wonderful digital world, indeed, where everything must be exactly accounted for and balanced.

We should learn to recognize those who are preparing this "paradigm shift" as the new and future "benefactors" of the human race. First prize must go, without any doubt to Microsoft Corporation, in the person of its chairman and owner Bill Gates III, who is constantly at work, inventing new ways to bring humanity to the total safety of digital control. His. Not to speak of all the "not-digital" money he is making in the process.

Billy, (we are allowed to be so familiar with someone whose software we use every day and know better than our own family members) was caught AGAIN with his sticky fingers in the cookie jar. It has just been reported that his Windows are able to peer into yours, naturally without your knowledge and consent. Read on.

SAN FRANCISCO-The Microsoft Corporation moved to defuse a potentially explosive privacy issue today, saying it would modify a feature of its Windows 98 operating system that has been quietly used to create a vast data base of personal information about computer users.

Microsoft conceded that the feature, a unique identifying number used by Windows and other Microsoft products, had the potential to be far more invasive than a traceable serial number in the Intel Corporation's new Pentium III that has privacy advocates up in arms. The difference is that the Windows number is tied to an individual's name, to identifying numbers on the hardware in his computer and even to documents that he creates. The combination of the Windows number with all these data, the company said, could result in the ability to track a single user and the documents he created across vast computer networks. Hackers could compromise the resulting data base, or subpoenas might allow authorities to gain access to information that would otherwise remain private and unavailable. Privacy advocates fear that availability will lead to abuses.

"We're definitely sensitive to any privacy concerns," Robert Bennett, Microsoft's group product manager for Windows, said. "The software was not supposed to send this information unless the computer user checked a specific option." Mr. Bennett said the option to collect the information had been added to the software so that Microsoft support employees would be able to help users diagnose problems with their computers more accurately. He said the Redmond, Wash., software giant had never intended to use the data for marketing purposes. In response to a complaint from a software programmer in Massachusetts, Microsoft will not only alter the way the registration program works in the next maintenance release of Windows 98, Mr. Bennett said. He said Microsoft technicians would look through the company's data bases and expunge information that had been improperly collected as a result of earlier versions. The company is also exploring the possibility of creating a free utility program that would make it possible for Windows users to delete the serial number information from a small data base in the part of Windows system known as the registry, where it is now collected. Microsoft has been discussing the issue with a Cambridge, Mass., programmer who contacted the company earlier this week after discovering that the Microsoft Office business software was creating unique numbers identifying a user's personal computer and embedding them in spreadsheet and word processing documents. The programmer, Robert M. Smith, who is the president of Phar Lap Software Inc., a software tools development company, told the company that he believed the practice created a potential threat to privacy. Microsoft officials said earlier this week that the numbers generated by the company's software were part of an effort to keep different components from interfering with each other in an increasingly complex world of networked computers. However, Mr. Smith said that the number, in effect, created a "digital fingerprint" that could be used to match a document created by a word processing or spreadsheet program with a particular computer. On Thursday, after further studying the "registration wizard"-the software module that enables customers to register their copies of Windows 98 operating system for support and updates-Mr. Smith discovered that the number, known as a Globally Unique Identifier, was being transmitted to Microsoft as part of a list of registration information that generally includes the owner's name, address, phone number and other demographic information as well as details about the hardware and software on or attached to the user's computer. "Microsoft never asked me if it was O.K. to send in this number, and they never said it was being sent," Mr. Smith said. "They are apparently building a data base that relates Ethernet adapter addresses to personal information." Ethernet adapters are cards inserted in a personal computer that enable it to connect to high-speed networks within organizations and through them to the Internet. The controversy erupted just weeks after Intel, maker of the most widely used processors for machines that use the Windows operating system, agreed to make it possible for computer manufacturers to set its new Pentium III computer chip so that a serial number on the chip would not be recorded without the computer user's permission. Privacy activists have been attacking both companies, arguing that identification numbers can be easily misused to create electronic monitoring systems. Such systems could track a computer user's behavior in cyberspace or create dossiers of personal information about individuals. The issue has sparked a heated debate over the fundamental technology of modern computer networks and software systems, which routinely employ serial numbers to identify individual computers and software modules, known as "objects," that can be shared by a number of programs. But the Intel number only identified a computer. The Windows number identifies a person. And because the Windows number created a potential linkage between individuals and confidential documents they created, privacy advocates said they were outraged.

"I think this is horrendous," said Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters, a consumer privacy organization based in Greenbrook, N.J. "They're tattooing a number into each file. Think of the implications. If some whistle blower sends a file, it can be traced back to the person himself. It's an extremely dangerous feature. Why did they do it?"

What can I say! Billy gets the prize for getting away with it.

On another front, I have heard some very troubleing reports about hacker's attacks to the Pentagon and to some spy English satellite. Of course, all involved are staying numb, but some bits of news are filtering through. Look at this ABCNEWS report:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/pentagonrussia990304.html

Finally, a couple of warnings sent in by smart surfers:

If you receive an email titled "It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus'" DO NOT open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward this letter out to as many people as you can. This is a new, very malicious virus and not many people know about it. This information was announced yesterday morning from IBM; please share it with everyone that might access the internet.

Once again, pass this along to EVERYONE in your address book so that this may be stopped.
Also, do not open or even look at any mail that says "RETURNED OR UNABLE TO DELIVER."
This virus will attach itself to your computer components and render them useless. Immediately delete any mail items that say this. AOL has said that this is a very dangerous virus and that there is NO remedy for it at this time. Please practice cautionary measures and forward this to all your online friends ASAP.

Bryan Martin
Compaq Computer Corporation
1125 Evergreen Oak Way
Dacula, Georgia 30019
bryan.martin@compaq.com

and

Subject: RE: FW: Phone Scam....Please Beware

This can happen at home and at work, everyone should be aware...I've sent this to all my friends last Friday night and I've already had 3 email me and say that it's already happened to them. I received a telephone call from an individual identifying himself as an AT& T Service Technician that was running a test on our telephone lines. He stated that to complete the test we should touch nine (9), zero (0), pound sign (#) and hang up. We were suspicious and refused. Upon contacting the telephone company we were informed that by pushing 90# you end up giving the individual that called you access to your telephone line and allows them to place a long distance telephone call, with the charge appearing on your telephone bill. We were further informed that this scam has been originating from many of the local jails/prisons. I have verified with UCB Telecomm. that this actually happens. I called GTE Security this morning and verified that this is definitely possible. DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE. It will give them access to your phone line to make long distance calls ANYWHERE!!!! The GTE Security department told me to go ahead and share This information with EVERYONE I KNOW!!!

Last week I had a major computer crash, courtesy of Bill Gates's Explorer and Windows OS. So there were no updates made to the site. I had a chance to discover the enormous ignorance which exists among computer "experts". My original vendor, told me that there was nothing to do about it, but re-install Windows, thereby loosing all my files. One alternative was to go in DoS and save manually the files, if at all possible, a lenghty and laborious job at best. Now you must know that I am a careful computer user. I do not indulge in strange practices or host unknown disks in my system. Nevertheless, given the instability of Windows, all good intentions come to a crashing end, sooner or later. It took me two years, but I experienced the "hole-in-the-stomach" caused by the unknown end of my files.

I know, I should have back-ups. But, under the illusion created by the eerie normalcy of my system, I never got around to it. So, fits me right for trusting Billy.
Anyways, I had a nervous week, but finally, in a small and overworked computer shop near home, I found out that they could copy my harddisk on a couple of CD-roms and then re-install Windows, and all that for a very modest price. I should have known that these guys were doing something right by noticing the line-up of people waiting to be served, while in other computer shops there was the desert.

So, thanks God, we are back on track, but quite a bit behind. So please bear with us. Meanwhile, please enjoy this humourous mail sent to us just this week:

From: Michael Oyler
Subject: Computer Lingo

Remember When ...

A computer was something on TV,
from a science fiction show of note.
A window was something you hated to clean...
And ram was the cousin of a goat....

Meg was the name of my girlfriend,
and gig was a job for the nights.
Now they all mean different things
and that really mega bytes.

An application was for employment.
A program was a TV show.
A cursor used profanity.
A keyboard was a piano.

Memory was something that you lost with age.
A CD was a bank account.
And if you had a 3 1/2" floppy
you hoped nobody found out.

Compress was something you did to the garbage
not something you did to a file.
And if you unzipped anything in public
you'd be in jail for a while.

Log on was adding wood to the fire.
Hard drive was a long trip on the road.
A mousepad was where a mouse lived
and a backup happened to your commode.

Cut you did with a pocket knife
paste you did with glue.
A web was a spider's home.
And a virus was the flu.

I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
and the memory in my head
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash
but when it happens they wish they were dead.

This week I will submit to your attention a letter I just received and which ties-in well with our recent articles on America's future.

GIs abroad: The Empty Quarter

U.S. troops to get new quarters in Saudi Arabia
February 2, 1999
Web posted at: 12:27 a.m. EST (0527 GMT)
From Correspondent Martin Savidge

PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Since a fatal 1996 terrorist attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, all American soldiers in the Kingdom have moved to an isolated air base in a remote region whose name says it all: The Empty Quarter.

More than 4,000 American, British and French troops are stationed at sprawling Prince Sultan Air Base. By day, they go about their duties, which for the US and British means patrolling the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. By night air crews live under a world of canvas in a town of tents.

"I think the worst thing about being here is just being away from your family," said Capt. Geoff Hickman, a U.S. Air Force pilot.

During the time they spend in Saudi Arabia, most U.S. personnel will never set foot off base. Not once. Security is fierce. The coalition compound is ringed by more than 40 miles of barbed wire. Concrete barriers force traffic to slow and zig-zag its way through the many checkpoints.

"It's I guess in a sense a lot like being in prison," said Air Force Tech Sgt. Fuz Eller. "Except the barbed wire faces outward," he added with a laugh.

U.S. Patriot Missile crews routinely drill to protect the allied forces and equipment from any air threat. But there is little to protect troops from the deep sense of isolation that seems to surround them. Eight people share a tent, each carving out his or her own little living space.

There are some distractions. Cable TV and VCRs in every tent, e-mail, even stores and fast food restaurants. There's even a workout area known as muscle beach. But life on the beach and everywhere else is about to change. Within two months coalition forces will move into the new Friendly Forces complex nearby. The complex boasts more than two thousand rooms built at a cost of over $15 million, and paid for by the Saudi government. The new facilities include an Olympic sized poll, common areas, dining halls, a gym and -- best of all -- indoor bathrooms.

The name of the contractor of the huge project may ring a bell: It is the family of Osama bin Laden, former Saudi Arabian and current alleged terrorist.

"When I initially heard of it, it did concern me," said 1st Lieut. Kevin Hetrick. "But after specialists came through this area I am not concerned any more based on the measures they took to ensure this facility was safe," Herrick said.

There's no question the new quarters will improve life for coalition forces. But it also hints of something disturbing in the ongoing conflict with Iraq: a sense of permanence.

© 1999 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.

No comments are needed except that this mail has arrived to me through a Muslim news-release, and their added remarks were neither joyous nor gratifying (to America).
Observing America, one cannot fail to feel that the country is enjoying a time of relative well-being: business is good, the budget is balanced, crime is going down and all that. Observing America through spiritual eyes, one cannot fail to notice that the country is enjoying the classical calm before the storm. And when the storm arrives, there will be no time to run for shelter.