By early February, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.56. That’s not the highest it’s ever been, but gasoline prices have never been this high this early in the season. It’s interesting, too, that demand for gasoline is also at record levels — record LOWS and falling! According to MasterCard, demand fell by 3.1% in recent days and is 5% below last year. And even though Europe has had a brutal winter, this has been a rather mild one for the US. Yet, heating fuel prices have not fallen despite the fact that Americans used far less heating oil than expected this year.

Some observers credit the fact that Saudi Arabia has cut production by more than 250,000 barrels per day. Also, Iran decided to punish Europe for threatening to impose fuel sanctions. The Iranians announced they will stop sending more than 300,000 barrels per day to France, England, and Germany.

So, there seems to be no easy answer to the most popular question these days, “Why?” Why are fuel prices rising when demand is falling?

And, it appears the Obama administration is not going to take advantage of a golden opportunity to drive those prices down, put tens of thousands to work, and decrease our dependence on Arab oil.

Canada has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. Because of new technologies not available just a few years ago, Canada has been able to begin successfully recovering that crude oil. The Canadians announced that they wanted to sell that oil to their neighbors to the south. That’s us! So the private sector got busy and in 2005 began developing and building a pipeline that would move Canadian crude from northeastern Alberta province to refineries throughout the Midwest and on down to the Gulf Coast states.

Talk about a bonanza! The mammoth pipeline project is privately funded. No government stimulus funds needed. It will employ tens of thousands in construction-related jobs and maybe hundreds of thousands in related industries as the project grows and the oil is finally pumping. And there’s so much oil available, it will help make us less dependent on Arab oil. And it will help drive down the refined prices because, currently, Saudi oil is selling for $105 a barrel while Canadian oil is going for $33 per barrel. Some analysts speculate that within a few years, by combining our reserves with Canada’s, America could become a net oil exporter. We could sell oil to fuel-hungry China and maybe get some of our money back!

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Wrong! Remember, we are now living in a “progressive” society. There’s no such thing as a “no-brainer” anymore. You see, our President is either so ideologically bound or so financially beholden to the environmentalist lobby that he feels obligated to do its bidding. So, on January 18, President Obama announced he was rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline project.

You see, he first tried to “postpone” his final decision until 2013 so he wouldn’t have to antagonize the environmentalists going into the 2012 general elections. Congress would have none of that, though. So they passed legislation requiring him to make a decision within 60 days or formally reject the project.

Then, President Obama complained that his government didn’t have time to do an effective environmental survey. That excuse brazenly ignored the fact that his own State Department had already issued an environmental impact study in 2010 that gave the project the environmental “green light.” So, the so-called “smartest President” in American history caved to the far Left and said “no” to a “no-brainer.” Even many in his own party are outraged.

Canada had already declared that they intended to sell the oil. If not to their closest neighbors (that’s us), then to someone else. It is now late February and the Canadians have already begun signing agreements with the Chinese to build the pipeline to Canada’s west coast and begin shipping the crude to China.
For a more complete discussion on this issue, please play the video below.  (This story begins at 10-minutes into the video).

Some experts predict that Israel may possess enough natural gas that it could relieve Europe of its dependence on Russia as its major gas supplier. In fact, Greece is already proposing an agreement to make it the hub through which those supplies will flow to Europe.

Other knowledgeable sources speculate that Israel possesses the third largest reserve of oil shale deposits in the world, behind only America and China. They say it will rival Saudi Arabia’s reserves. Up to now, though, oil obtained from shale rock has been expensive to recover and the whole process considered ecologically dirty. What’s more, the recovery consumes vast amounts of water, an expensive and increasingly rare commodity. However, the Israelis are developing a new process to recover shale oil that is neither dirty nor as expensive as current methods. It takes place a thousand feet underground and actually produces water rather than consumes it!

If they’re successful, not only can they mine their own vast reserves, but they can make the technology available for Western nations to use. This would break the back of the Arab nations’ stranglehold on the world oil market. Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, said that the effect of the spread of this technology would be to “shift the center of gravity of world oil away from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf to more stable states that have no history of backing terrorism or radical Islamic causes.”

The last 90 days have made painfully clear to the West that the Muslim oil-supplier states that were previously volatile and undependable (and didn’t hesitate to commit extortion with their oil), are now even more so. You can bet that if a Western-oriented, stable nation were to suddenly be able to supply those same energy products, the West, particularly Europe, would be knocking on their door tomorrow.

All of a sudden, Ezekiel’s description of Israel in the last days as a people who “have acquired land and wealth and who live at the center of the world” takes on new meaning! Isn’t it exciting to see prophecy unfolding before us at breakneck speed?

(This article is in the last half of the Hal Lindsey Report dated April 15, 2011)

Iran went on the offensive after its industrial infrastructure was infected by the ‘Stuxnet’ computer worm. Though the Iranian government accused “the enemy,” it did not name any specific nation or nationalities. Instead, Iran’s security services arrested dozens of ‘cyberspies’ at the Bushehr, Natanz, Isfahan nuclear facilities and also in Tehran.

Particular attention has been paid to the many Russian scientists, technicians, and engineers who are in Iran building the nuclear plants and putting them on-line.

However, many assume that Israel is responsible for creating the worm and planting it. Independent computer security experts think they may have found further proof of that involvement. An interesting file labeled “Myrtus” has been found in the Stuxnet code. Many are speculating that the label is an obscure reference to the Biblical Book of Esther. That book details the story of how the Jews foiled a Persian plot against them.

As a clue, it’s too obvious. As a taunt, it’s priceless.

http://brasherweb.com/now/downloads/cellphone_expose.wmv

A study by SMobile Systems of 1,958 smartphones revealed infections by Spyware, Viruses Worms and Trojans, as well as hundreds of unlicensed software programs installed on the handsets reviewed. A comparison of these statistics to the worldwide smartphone population places the number of infected devices globally into the millions. Because the vast majority of these infections are designed to be stealthy and the fact that few smartphones possess Anti-Malware applications, most infected users are completely unaware their devices have been compromised.

“As more and more people carry smartphones, the target-rich environment is proving to be incredibly tempting to hackers, spammers and criminals looking to steal vital information on these handsets. With millions upon millions of new devices in the market, the likelihood of unwanted infection increases,” said Neil Book, president of SMobile Systems. “The sophistication and ease of spreading malware is escalating; as such, the need for handset-based security has never been greater.”

SMobile’s Global Threat Center (GTC) monitors devices throughout the world for malware infections detected by its industry-leading Security Shield(TM) software. Throughout 2009 the GTC has seen a marked increase in the capabilities of new malware infecting mobile devices, as well as the frequency of attacks. The attacks have taken the form of worms and Trojans that are transmitted via Bluetooth, SMS, MMS, or email, as well as Spyware that is unwantedly being downloaded from various online application and shareware websites.

According to Daniel V. Hoffman, chief technology officer of SMobile, “These attacks are very concerning and financially motivated. The Spyware we are detecting has the ability to intercept e-mail and SMS messages, allow hackers to listen-in on voice conversations and even track the location of the user. This can have devastating repercussions to those performing online financial transactions, mobile banking or having sensitive business-oriented communications. Additionally, worms are unknowingly sending Premium SMS messages from infected devices, directly charging user cell phone accounts.”

Mr. Hoffman concluded, “Handset manufacturers and network carriers continue to insist that mobile malware is not a significant concern. According to data from our customers, the infection rate is accelerating and the capabilities of today’s mobile malware is increasing.”

What Can You Do?

This expose of unwanted cell phone capabilities is intended to educate the user, not to sell any particular product.  SMobile, however, has researched and provided substantial work in this uncharted territory, and I feel strongly that all smartphone users should be knowledgeable of what their devices are capable of or problems they are likely to encounter.  I therefore thank SMobile for placing much of the information I have used here on the internet, and for developing products that will allow users to continue using their cell phones without worry.  Please visit their website (www.smobilesystems.com) for suggestions on how to thwart these invasions of your privacy.

SMobile, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, currently offers the most comprehensive suite of security and parental control applications on the market for consumer, business and government smartphone users.  SMobile currently markets and sells its Anti-Theft and Identity Protection and Security Shield(TM) suites, which address the critical threats facing consumers, enterprise users and government agencies using smartphones. The software protects users from malware, hackers and physical compromise with its anti-virus, firewall and remote lock, locate, wipe and backup features.

– Portions of this article ©2009 SMobile Systems

The concerns the researchers uncovered with the wireless robots include the fact that:

• The robots’ presence is easily detected by distinctive messages sent over the home’s wireless network.
• The robots’ audio and video streams can be intercepted on the home’s wireless network or in some cases captured over the Internet.
• Only some robots give an audible or other alert when a user logs on, letting people nearby know that someone new is accessing the data.
• Only some robots periodically generate a noise or other signal when stationary, reminding people nearby that the robot is collecting data.

The authors also identified scenarios in which a robot might physically harm its owner or the home environment. While the risks today are relatively small, researchers say they believe the risks will become more serious as robots become more widespread.

Read the entire article and accompanying report

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation research fellowship.