Cap Phantom

It is difficult to open a magazine or newspaper without seeing an article, if not several articles, on the subject of Barack Obama. His emergence as a Presidential candidate and on November 4, 2008 as President-Elect has captured the attention of the country and the world in a fashion never seen before. Even more surprising is the fact that almost half of the populace in America had never even heard of Barack Obama just two years ago.

Obama’s Background
Barack Obama was born in 1961 in Hawaii; his parents met while attending the University of Hawaii. Barack’s father, Barack Obama Sr., grew up in a small village in Kenya, and his mother, Ann Durham, was originally from Kansas. Obama attended Columbia University in New York and graduated in 1983, and later he went on to Harvard Law School, where he obtained his law degree.

Prior to his entry into politics, Obama worked as a community organizer, a civil rights lawyer and a professor of constitutional law. In 2004, Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, and in February, 2007 announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States. Obama is married and has two daughters.

The Presidential Election
Originally, nine Democratic contenders for the candidacy were announced, but after a series of debates and other campaign activities, Senator Hilary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards and Senator Barack Obama emerged as the front-runners. Until early 2008, Clinton led in nationwide polls, but as the state primary elections began, public support for Obama eclipsed Clinton’s lead. During the same period, the twelve Republican contenders battled for their party’s nomination; Senator John McCain was confirmed as the Republican nominee in March of 2008.

On June 6, 2008, after a 17-month campaign against Clinton, Obama clinched the Democratic nomination. Clinton had characterized herself as the office-seeker with the most experience, while Obama positioned himself as the contender most able to bring much-needed change to Washington. This message was seen again during the course of the general election.

McCain adopted a very similar theme from the start in his campaign against Obama, painting himself as the war veteran with the experience necessary to succeed as President, while Obama continued to emphasize his message of much-needed change for the political system and the country as a whole. After a tumultuous campaign with the candidates’ every word immediately publicized and analyzed by the frenzied media, Barack Obama was elected to the position of President of the United States on November 4, 2008.

President Obama’s Future Challenges
President Obama inherits many formidable challenges: massive financial upheaval, staggering unemployment figures, and a domestic economy that is barely limping along. Additionally, an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq and rising unrest in the ongoing Israel/Gaza conflict mean that Obama has a very full plate indeed. Despite this dismal outlook, he has started quickly assembling an Administration to stem the bleeding and repair the confidence of a shaken nation. President Obama’s message to the country includes encouraging choices to limit further damage in 2009 and, even as the hour is the darkest, to see the promise in our future.

For more information on Barack Obama, visit http://www.obamaaspresident.com.

Talk, talk, talk solves no problems at all. The Zimbabwe crisis leaves a lot to be desired about the many regional and international political and human rights organizations ability to action more than talking. I don’t have to recite the stories that sometimes seem made up yet they are true because the press has done it well. Nobody could say they don’t know about the Zimbabwe situation, unless they want to intentionally turn a blind eye to the situation.

Talk is cheap and many manage to go away with it. Regionally, the southern African region has always had high hopes on the South African political system to providing solutions. Such political parties as COSATU and ANC have disappointed the whole world when it comes to the Zimbabwe crisis. Even when we look beyond South African national political parties, the regional leaders have let down the Zimbabwean community. Even when a team of leaders was set to address this issue, no Zimbabwean is happy about any attempts by this committee. Let alone the international community, particularly the United Nations. As events roll out in Zimbabwe and the situation gets worse, people and organizations that should be taking this seriously seems to get less and less interested.

My claim therefore is proven true ‘Shun The Terrible Human Error – Lip Service!’ and that it applies across all hierarchies.

Just a practical example, I know Swaziland has often referred their political concerns to South Africa hoping for solutions. I’m afraid they surely have to think otherwise and probably look for a solution within, if they so think there is a need for change. South Africa cannot not help any nation against the ruling authorities as undoubtedly demonstrated in the case of Zimbabwe.The same applies for Israel, Gaza and the middle East.

In the like manner, don’t expect things to work out for you if you don’t put an action to it. Information without application is benefits nothing. It may take time, but it will eventually get there. Just don’t miss your vocation.

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In the last days, the Bible tells us of a horrible series of events that will take place in the lands of Israel and Syria. One of these events is the disappearance of Damascus as one of the premiere cities in the world. The oldest continuously inhabited city on the planet, Damascus has witnessed at least 5,000 years of human history, and some historians believe the city actually dates back to the seventh millennium BC. In fact, Paul was on the road to Damascus when Christ first appeared to Him, an event that transformed not only his life, but the course of human history.

In the very near future, Damascus will once again play a major role in human events. The prophet Isaiah provides us with God’s commentary on a future conflict between Damascus and Israel, and in so doing, he reveals certain prophecies which have been partially fulfilled in the past. However, the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah 17 remains in the future. The current existence of Damascus, which will one day cease to be a city, as well as the historical absence of the coalition of nations prophesied to attack Israel and be destroyed by God, is proof that Isaiah 17 prophesies events yet future.

This is what God revealed to the prophet Isaiah:

”This message came to me concerning Damascus: ‘Look, Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted. Sheep will graze in the streets and lie down unafraid. There will be no one to chase them away. The fortified cities of Israel will also be destroyed, and the power of Damascus will end. The few left in Aram will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 17:1-3 (NLT)

These opening verses paint a bleak picture. The city of Damascus will become a heap of ruins, utterly destroyed. Few, if any, buildings will be left standing. The once great city will be devoid of human life and will become home to all manner of wildlife in the absence of humans to chase them away.

According to these verses, the cities of Aroer, which are located on the northern bank of the Arnon River just east of the Dead Sea, will also be deserted. However, the passage doesn’t say they will be destroyed in the same manner as Damascus, just that they will be deserted. It may be that people simply flee these cities out of fear.

In addition, many of the fortified cities in northern Israel will also be destroyed. Those few who remain in Aram, 38 miles south southeast of Damascus, will share the fate of these northern Israeli cities.

”‘In that day the glory of Israel will be very dim, for poverty will stalk the land. Israel will be abandoned like the grain fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest. Only a few of its people will be left, like the stray olives left on the tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five out on the tips of the limbs. Yes, Israel will be stripped bare of people,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel.” Isaiah 17:4-6 (NLT)

The breadth and scope of destruction is clearly illustrated as God describes the Israeli landscape as stripped bare of people. Only a small fraction of people either choose to stay in the land or else survive what is a massive holocaust, leaving only a few inhabitants who struggle in poverty.

”Then at last the people will think of their Creator and have respect for the Holy One of Israel. They will no longer ask their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or burn incense on the altars they built.” Isaiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

As a result of this event, the people of Israel will once again turn to God Almighty. Currently, the nation of Israel is predominantly secular in nature. Other biblical passages infer that this will change as the prophesied rebuilding of the Temple in the last days indicates a spiritual resurgence among the Jews of Israel. Nevertheless, this passage clearly indicates the people of Israel will turn away from all false idols and gods.

Knowing that this will happen, we must ask: why does it happen? The answer is found in the verses that follow:

”Their largest cities will be as deserted as overgrown thickets. They will become like the cities the Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you – the Rock who can hide you. You may plant the finest imported grapevines, and they may grow so well that they blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and incurable pain.” Isaiah 17:9-11 (NLT)

The devastation that overshadows Israel will come about because Israel has “turned from the God who can save them.” All the hard work performed prior to this event will be lost. Those who have been distracted by the things of this world will be disappointed, for they have forgotten God, and by putting faith in the things of this world, they will ultimately be disappointed. Their only harvest will be “a load of grief and incurable pain.” This grief will be brought to a climax when, in the midst of their suffering, the nation of Israel faces an imminent invasion:

”Look! The armies rush forward like waves thundering toward the shore. But though they roar like breakers on a beach, God will silence them. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm. In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.” Isaiah 17:12-14 (NLT)

While Syria and Israel lie in ruin, the enemies of Israel will view her suffering as an opportunity to invade, their ultimate goal to destroy her forever. However, God has a different plan in mind, and He will destroy these invaders Himself. A more in depth illustration of this attack is foreseen in Psalm 83:

”O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive! Don’t you hear the tumult of your enemies? Don’t you see what your arrogant enemies are doing? They devise crafty schemes against your people, laying plans against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.’ This was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you – these Edomites and Ishmaelites, Moabites and Hagrites, Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites, and people from Philistia and Tyre. Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot. Do to them as you did to the Midianites or as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, for they said, ‘Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!’ O my God, blow them away like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind! As a fire roars through a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, chase them with your fierce storms; terrify them with your tempests. Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Make them failures in everything they do, until they learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.” Psalm 83 (NLT)

So how do we know that Psalm 83 describes the same scene envisioned in Isaiah 17? Let’s compare the two. Here’s how the intentions of Israel’s enemies are described:

Plunder & Destruction
”This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.” Isaiah 17:14 (NLT)

Destruction
”They devise crafty schemes against your people, laying plans against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.’ This was their unanimous decision.” Psalm 83:3-5 (NLT)

Plunder
”for they said, ‘Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!” Psalm 83:12 (NLT)

Here’s how the fate of Israel’s enemies are described:

”They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm.” Isaiah 17:13 (NLT)

”O my God, blow them away like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind!” Psalm 83:13 (NLT)

From the description of their fate alone, it is reasonable to conclude that the armies of Isaiah 17:12 are the same nations who sign a treaty against the Lord in Psalm 83:5-8. Below is a list of those nations and their modern geographical equivalents:

Edomites = Jordan / Parts of the West Bank
Ishmaelites = The Arab people
Moabites = Jordan / Parts of the West Bank
Hagrites = Jordan / The Arab people
Gebalites = Lebanon
Ammonites = Jordan
Amalekites = Southern Israel / Gaza
Philistia = Gaza
Tyre = Lebanon
Assyria = Syria / Parts of Turkey and Iraq
The Descendants of Lot = Jordan

By studying the geographical history of these ancient people and places, we can uncover which nations they currently compose. According to Psalm 83, in the aftermath of the destruction of northern Israel and Damascus, Israel will be invaded by armies from Jordan, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. All of these locations are heavily populated by the enemies of Israel today.

An Expanding War?

But are the nations cited in Psalm 83 the only nations involved in this attack? It’s quite possible that additional conspirators are named in the Book of Ezekiel. Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 might well foreshadow the war of Gog and Magog.

In Ezekiel 38-39, an enormous coalition of nations, “a vast and awesome horde” – will roll down on Israel “like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” Ezekiel 38:9 (NLT). This prophesied future war in Ezekiel has many similarities to Isaiah 17:12-14. Both prophets foresee a time when enemy armies rush toward Israel while she awaits unprepared. Both prophets foresee God’s instantaneous destruction of Israel’s enemies. And in both scenarios, the marching armies intend to plunder and destroy the people of Israel:

Destruction
”You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!” Ezekiel 38:11 (NLT)

Plunder
”But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Who are you to rob them of silver and gold? Who are you to drive away their cattle and seize their goods and make them poor?’” Ezekiel 38:13 (NLT)

Plunder & Destruction
”This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.” Isaiah 17:14 (NLT)

Could the events predicted in Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 be a catalyst for the war of Gog and Magog prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39? Although it is not a certainty, the possibility can not be completely ruled out.

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False claims that Israel is 78% – not 17% – of historic Palestine whilst the West Bank and Gaza comprise the remaining 22% – not 5% – of historic Palestine have materially derailed efforts to resolve the issue of sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza.

These spurious claims have been repeatedly made on hundreds of Arab oriented web sites asserting that the Jews established the State of Israel on 78% of Palestine in the War of Independence in 1948 and subsequently conquered the remaining 22% – the West Bank and Gaza – in the Six Day War of 1967.

This has created the perception that Israel now occupies 100% of Palestine, the Arab residents of former Palestine have been deprived of a State of their own in Palestine, and that the only just solution to resolve Arab grievances is the creation of an Arab state in at least the 22% of Palestine captured by Israel in 1967.

This propaganda has been given credence on the web by such diverse and influential opinion makers as

(i) Editor at large of the Washington Times and United Press International Arnaud de Borchgrave,

(ii) Professor of Politics at San Francisco University Stephen Zunes,

(iii) South Africa’s Minister for Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils,

(iv) Journalist and filmmaker John Pilger,

(v) The BBC News Service,

(vi) French intellectual and journalist Professsor Jules Regis Debray and

(vii) Trenchant anti- Zionist critics Assistant Professor Norman Finkelstein, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe and Jeff Halper.

John Pilger shows how his thinking has actually been influenced by such propaganda when he writes:

“Shortly after it was founded in 1948, Israel controlled, mostly as a result of a United Nations partition and partly by force, a total of 78 per cent of historic Palestine…During the Six-Day War in 1967, the Israelis occupied the remaining 22 per cent of Palestine. Today, the Palestinians, seeking to form their own independent state, want only that 22 per cent back.”

These are false and deceptive statements based on an incorrect understanding of the size of Palestine and the boundaries that defined Palestine in international law.

The reality is that Israel was founded on 17% of historic Palestine in 1948 – not 78% , and captured 5% of historic Palestine in 1967 – not 22%.

The Committee for Accurate Reporting of the Middle East in America (CAMERA) succinctly summarises this reality as follows:

“In fact, the original land of Palestine, as determined by the League of Nations, included what is now Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and the entire state of Jordan. The British transferred nearly 78% of historic Palestine to the Arabs to create a new entity called the Emirate of Transjordan. Jews were forbidden to live, buy land or become citizens there.”

The Emirate remained part of Palestine until 1946 when independence was granted by Great Britain with the consent of the League of Nations and it was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan,

That decision in 1946 created an independent Arab state in 78% of historic Palestine and truncated Palestine to just 22% of its original size.

In 1947 the United Nations recommended partitioning this remaining 22% of historic Palestine into a Jewish State (55%) and another Arab State (45%) . The Jews accepted the proposal but the Arabs refused. When the 1948 War ended, the State of Israel was created on 17% of historic Palestine whilst Egypt and Jordan occupied the remaining 5% – the West Bank and Gaza – until captured by Israel in 1967.

1948 Palestine therefore was only 22% of the size of 1946 Palestine. 78% of Palestine had already come totally under Arab control in 1946.

Arab propagandists deliberately ignore the events of 1946 to justify their claim that Israel now occupies 100% of Palestine. They are only telling 22% of the story – classic misinformation at its Goebbels’ best.

Article 2 of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Charter 1968 debunks and exposes these purveyors of half truths (or to be more accurate – 22% truths) by unequivocally declaring:

“Palestine, with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate is an indivisible territorial unit”

For the PLO – the sole spokesman of the Palestinian Arabs – Jordan remains an inseparable part of Palestine notwithstanding the actions of Great Britain and the League of Nations in 1946.

Indeed the PLO’s stated position was reinforced at the 8th Palestinian National Council meeting in February-March 1971 which declared:

” Jordan is linked to Palestine by a national relationship and a national unity forged by history and culture from the earliest times. The creation of one political entity in Transjordan and another in Palestine would have no basis either in legality or as to the elements universally accepted as fundamental to a political entity. .. In raising the slogan of the liberation of Palestine and presenting the problem of the Palestine revolution, it was not the intention of the Palestine revolution to separate the east of the River from the West, nor did it believe the struggle of the Palestinian people can be separated from the struggle of the masses in Jordan…”

Despite these clear and unrevoked declarations by the PLO, whose current Chairman is Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the Quartet – Russia, America, the European Union and the United Nations – still remain foolishly fixated on creating an independent Arab State between Israel and Jordan on 5% of historic Palestine – thus separating the East Bank of the Jordan River from the West Bank and dividing the Arabs who live on each side of the Jordan River from one another.

As Israel’s then Defence Minister Yitzchak Rabin declared on 27 May 1985:

“The Palestinians should have a sovereign State which includes most of the Palestinians. It should be Jordan with a considerable part of the West Bank and Gaza. East of the river Jordan, there is enough room to settle the Palestinian refugees. One tiny State between Israel and Jordan will solve nothing. It will be a time bomb”

How right Mr Rabin was and how wrong the Quartet, the above opinion makers and their ilk are in pursuing an outcome based on propaganda and misinformation – not reality.

Size does matter when Palestine is discussed and the sooner the significance of this is recognized the sooner the resolution of sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza can occur.

President Bush prepares to leave the Oval Office no doubt wondering why his “two state solution” has failed to get to first base after six years of fruitless negotiations.

The answer can be found in the following statement made by Palestinian Authority President – Mahmoud Abbas – appearing in the Wall Street Journal on 19 September:

“What is often overlooked is the enormous historic compromise we already made in accepting the two-state solution and the creation of our state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on only 22% of our historic homeland.”

President Abbas’ claim that the West Bank and Gaza comprise 22% – instead of 5% – of the historic homeland of the Palestinian Arabs continues to materially derail efforts to resolve the issue of sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza – the only area of former Palestine remaining unallocated between Israel and Jordan.

President Abbas was parroting similar claims made on hundreds of Arab oriented web sites asserting that the Jews established the State of Israel on 78% of the historic homeland of the Palestinian Arabs in the War of Independence in 1948 and subsequently conquered the remaining 22% – the West Bank and Gaza – in the Six Day War of 1967.

This has created the perception that Israel currently occupies 100% of “the historic homeland“ depriving the Palestinian Arabs of a State of their own within that territory, and that the only just solution to resolve their grievances is the creation of such a state in the 22% captured by Israel in 1967.

This propaganda has been given credence by such diverse and influential opinion makers as Editor at large of the Washington Times and United Press International Arnaud de Borchgrave, Professor of Politics at San Francisco University Stephen Zunes, South Africa’s Minister for Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils, Journalist and filmmaker John Pilger, The BBC News Service , French intellectual and journalist Professsor Jules Regis Debray and trenchant anti- Zionist critics Assistant Professor Norman Finkelstein, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe and Jeff Halper.

John Pilger shows how his thinking has actually been influenced by such propaganda when he writes:

“Shortly after it was founded in 1948, Israel controlled, mostly as a result of a United Nations partition and partly by force, a total of 78 per cent of historic Palestine…During the Six-Day War in 1967, the Israelis occupied the remaining 22 per cent of Palestine. Today, the Palestinians, seeking to form their own independent state, want only that 22 per cent back.”

These are false and deceptive statements based on an incorrect understanding of the size of Palestine and the boundaries that defined Palestine in international law.

The reality is that Israel was founded on 17% of historic Palestine in 1948 – not 78% , and captured 5% of historic Palestine in 1967 – not 22%.

The Committee for Accurate Reporting of the Middle East in America (CAMERA) succinctly summarises this reality as follows:

“In fact, the original land of Palestine, as determined by the League of Nations, included what is now Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and the entire state of Jordan. The British transferred nearly 78% of historic Palestine to the Arabs to create a new entity called the Emirate of Transjordan. Jews were forbidden to live, buy land or become citizens there.”

The Emirate remained part of Palestine until 1946 when independence was granted by Great Britain with the consent of the League of Nations and it was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan,

That decision in 1946 irrevocably created an exclusively independent Arab state in 78% of historic Palestine – truncating Palestine to just 22% of the size within which the Jewish people had initially been given the opportunity in 1922 to reconstitute the Jewish National Home.

1948 Palestine therefore was only 22% of the size of 1922 – 1946 Palestine. 78% of Palestine – today called Jordan – together with its Palestinian Arab inhabitants had already achieved statehood in 1946.

Arab propagandists deliberately ignore the events of 1922 and 1946 to justify their claim that Israel now occupies 100% of Palestine. They are only telling 22% of the story – classic misinformation at its Goebbels’ best.

That Mahmoud Abbas can apparently repeat this fiction unchallenged is even more striking when one considers he is also the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) whose Constitution claims that Jordan remains an inseparable part of Palestine notwithstanding the actions of Great Britain and the League of Nations in 1922 and 1946.

Indeed the PLO’s stated position was reinforced at the 8th Palestinian National Council meeting in February-March 1971 which declared:

” Jordan is linked to Palestine by a national relationship and a national unity forged by history and culture from the earliest times. The creation of one political entity in Transjordan and another in Palestine would have no basis either in legality or as to the elements universally accepted as fundamental to a political entity. .. In raising the slogan of the liberation of Palestine and presenting the problem of the Palestine revolution, it was not the intention of the Palestine revolution to separate the east of the River from the West, nor did it believe the struggle of the Palestinian people can be separated from the struggle of the masses in Jordan…”

Despite these clear and unrevoked declarations by the PLO, the Quartet – Russia , America, the European Union and the United Nations – still remain foolishly fixated on creating an independent Arab State between Israel and Jordan on 5% of historic Palestine – thus separating the East Bank of the Jordan River from the West Bank and dividing the Arabs who live on each side of the Jordan River from one another.

As Israel’s then Defence Minister Yitzchak Rabin declared on 27 May 1985:

“The Palestinians should have a sovereign State which includes most of the Palestinians. It should be Jordan with a considerable part of the West Bank and Gaza. East of the river Jordan, there is enough room to settle the Palestinian refugees. One tiny State between Israel and Jordan will solve nothing. It will be a time bomb”

How right Mr Rabin was and how wrong Presidents Bush and Abbas are in pursuing an outcome based on propaganda and misinformation – not reality. These historical truths cannot be ignored.

Size really does matter and George Bush and Mahmoud Abbas need to face up to this reality.

David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International — an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine.

Previous articles written by him can be found at

www.jordanispalestine.blogspot.com