A Review of "A Journey" by Tony Blair

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

If you're interested in the premiership of Tony Blair, Amazon is as good a place as any to seek out the recently published, must read book, entitled "A Journey" by Tony Blair. If you've read "The Third Man: Life at the Heart of New Labour" by Peter Mandelson you will have noticed that Blair's account follows a very similar path.

Tony Blair seems to be public enemy number one at the moment, but I find it hard to agree that his ten years in charge of Britain were as bad as is being made out. After all, Labour's historic election victory in 1997, where they defeated the Conservatives by the largest election swing in political history, couldn't have been a fluke could it? I am in no way saying that Blair was blameless in the futile war with Iraq, but don't forget that the vast majority of the House of Commons actually voted to take us into war. Ask yourself why it is that Thatcher was claimed to be a hero for defeating an already demoralised Argentinian army in a pointless conflict, thousands of miles away and completely unrelated to the interest of our country?

There have been a lot of enquiries post Iraq and all of the evidence seems to suggest that his judgement, however deluded, was based on professional evidence. To say that Blair deliberately deceived the house of commons is basically untrue. It was Blair who was deceived, not Parliament. It is also worth pointing out that Blair is actually a lot more like Clinton then he is Bush and his friendship with Clinton was a lot more natural.

I have read this book (unlike, I'm sure most of the authors of the negative reviews which I have read) and can honestly say that it seems to be an honest description of proceedings, written in a fluent and stylish manner. Blair makes the reader seem that you are in a one on one exchange with him, not an easy feat! The entire book is written in such a way so as to be easily understood without losing any of its intellectual "meat".

It is true that Blair's ego sometimes got in his way, but show me a successful leader who didn't have an inflated ego. In my book, it is imperative that a leader should have a big ego, which is simply another way of saying that they should be super-confident.

So Blair was a confident and extraordinary leader and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that Britain misses him. Obama, Cameron and Brown have all had the opportunity to put right the west's activities in the Middle East but none have been brave enough to do anything about it. It seems to me that Blair has been made a scapegoat by many deluded persons who should probably look elsewhere for one. Tony Blair is fundamentally a decent, honest family man, which is plain to see when reading this book.

Visit [http://www.tonyblairamazon.com] to read more impartial reviews of Tony Blair's controversial new book, "A Journey". When you get there, subscribe to the RSS feed to enable you to keep updated with any reviews that get added about Tony Blair and Amazon [http://www.tonyblairamazon.com].

Political Book Review - The US Transfer of Top Secret Military Technology by Bill Clinton

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Every once in a while you find out that what you think you know about politics and current events of the time, turn out to be a complete 180 of the reality. Then sometimes you suspect foul play but cannot put your finger on it. Well, what if I recommend a very good book to you that will get you much closer to the truth than you probably wanted to get? Please read:

"Betrayal - How the Clinton Administration Undermined American Security" by Bill Gertz (also a reporter for the Washington Post specializing in defense and national security issues); Regency Publishing, Inc, an Eagle Publishing Company, Washington, DC. 1999. ISBN 0-89526-317-3

In case you've wondered exactly what all the fuss was over the Chinese and Clinton Administration and the transfer of top secret technology, but never thought to ask. Well, this is the book for you. And it is well documented, footnoted and enough to scare the hell out of you, and wonder why treason hearings were not conducted. Apparently, there is so much executive power in America that you can cover up just about anything as Gertz demonstrates in the first two chapters.

But is it really all politics and will we ever know you'll ask yourself? Well, keep reading, as it gets better, or worse, as he goes into the implications of nuclear technology, stress on the Korean Pennisula, missile and satellite technology. And how the Russians play a part and how the US is played off against the game.

Indeed from a political perspective one could say, as Bill Gertz does, what will become of the Clinton Legacy, and how will history portray the betrayl? I recommend this book to anyone that studies history, the flow of nuclear arms knowledge or the rapid advancement of the Chinese Military war machine. Please consider this.

Lance Winslow enjoys community philanthropy - Lance Winslow likes small business. Lance Winslow has also been involved in the Oil Industry; http://www.oilchangeguys.com/aboutus.shtml.

Did President Obama Side With Israel's Enemies?

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

In his Middle East address this week, President Obama called Israel to return to the 1967 borders. Unfortunately, these borders are indefensible, which means that if Israel did heed this call, the nation would be set up for terrorist extermination. In fact, what keeps its terrorist attacks down is its military presence in the West Bank. But guess what? In his speech, the president also called for Israel to withdraw its forces from the West Bank.

Ironically, the president stated that negotiations should begin with territory and security. However, his plan (which will likely be accompanied by pressure on Israel to submit to it) would remove Israel's security. In fact, the call for Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders (which, in reality, would be the pre-June 1967 borders, or the 1949 armistice borders), he seeks to bring the Jewish nation into what some have been termed "Auschwitz borders," referring to the infamous concentration camp. In other words, as mentioned above, these borders would set up Israel for elimination.

In taking this stance, the president has aligned himself with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is no friend of Israel. However, in calling for a "full and phased withdraw of Israeli forces" from "occupied Palestinian lands," he is putting a smile on the faces of Hamas leaders, as it has been Israel's military presence that has, thus far, prevented Hamas from overtaking the West Bank. If Hamas would, in fact, overtake the West Bank at a point in which Israel is moved back to the 1949 borders (which would involve a land mass less than what was originally dispensed to the Jewish nation in 1948), every city in the Jewish nation would be within rocket attack. At that point, the entire country would be living in fear-every minute of every day.

This is truly a sad day for Israel, but, unfortunately, it is just as sad for the United States. The reason for that is because God has promised to bring trouble upon those who bring trouble upon Israel (see Genesis 12:3). Based upon the president's speech, the U.S. should plan for much trouble ahead.

Fortunately, God will prevent Israeli leadership from falling into the trap of acquiescing to the president's insane plan. How do we know that? It is because the Bible tells us that, as part of the end-times treaty-the seven-year covenant that will begin the final seven years leading to the return of Christ (see Daniel 9:24-27; also see Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Times Clock-What Does the Bible Say? for a detailed explanation of this treaty) - Israel will be granted permission to rebuild the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount. We know that for at least three reasons.

First, Daniel 9:27 shows the interconnectedness of the rebuilt temple with the final, seven-year treaty by revealing that when that treaty is broken (in the middle of the seven-year period), there will be "an end of sacrifice and offering". Israel cannot have "sacrifice and offering" without a temple (which is why Jews have not been able to offer up sacrifices to God since A.D. 70); thus, the temple will be rebuilt prior to the mid-point of that final seven-year era.

Second, in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, the apostle Paul reveals that "the man of sin"-the future end-times character (called "the beast" in the book of Revelation) unveiled at the mid-point of that future, seven-year period-will enter into the Jewish temple to proclaim himself as god to be worshipped. Thus, this passage also shows a rebuilt temple within the first three and a half years following the signing of the seven-year treaty.

Third, the Lord Jesus also reveals that the temple will be rebuilt prior to the mid-point of that seven-year era. For in Matthew 24:15, He warns that "the abomination of desolation" will take place when the "desolator" stands in "the holy place," which is the temple. This "abomination of desolation," also mentioned in the book of Daniel, will occur three and a half years following the initiation of the end-times treaty.

So why does the rebuilt Jewish temple indicate that Israel will not withdraw to the 1949 borders? No Jewish individual longing for the rebuilt temple would even think of allowing it to be rebuilt anywhere but where the first two temples have been built, which is on the Temple Mount. In addition, this rebuilt temple is called "the temple of God" in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, indicating it will be built on the same site (the Temple Mount) where God's temple previously existed and where Abraham was called to offer up his son Isaac (and where God provided a substitute offering for Isaac, typifying the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ)-a truly holy site.

The Temple Mount is outside of the pre-June 1967 borders. It resides in East Jerusalem, which is the place President Obama is proposing (in deference to Yassir Arafat) as the capital of a new Palestinian state. Certainly, then, if Israel were to withdraw to the borders being proposed by the U.S. president, the Jews would not hold onto East Jerusalem or the Temple Mount.

So, God will not allow Israeli leadership to submit to President Obama's proposition; for His plan for Israel is much different than that of the president's stratagem. However, while Israel will fortunately escape the consequences of that insane proposal, unfortunately, the U.S. will not. As nations have experienced in past history, leaders' decisions to bring trouble to Israel result in trouble for the entire country.

Thus, this is one decision that will backfire on the president-and on the nation. Watch in the days ahead to see what consequences will transpire. We already know that the U.S. is not found in Bible prophecy (indicating that it will have stepped far away from Israel, which is at the center of the prophetic picture, by that point)-most likely due to decisions such as this plan by the president; however, this alignment with Israel's enemies will undoubtedly bring greater consequences than that. We will see.

Doctoral work, Phoenix Seminary; Th.M., New Testament Greek, Dallas Theological Seminary; B.A., English, University of Northern Iowa

Conference Speaker

Author