Holy Reminders Memo

End of Days, world war, atomic holocaust, the "big one" is coming next year, 2006. That is, if you believe in Biblical decoding interpretations by Michael Drosnin, author of The Bible Code. Drosnin is a former WaPo and WSJ reporter. I've read somewhere Drosnin is an atheist or agnostic Jew. He reads like the Ms. Cleo of the Middle East, or a member of the New Age Jewish movement. The kaballah, magical, occultish, amulet wearing, charm collecting, potion making, trendy sort of stuff normally attributed to liberal types, but attract many of the rightwing folks who don't feel they should wait for all things to come when a good potion or amulet might work, and more fun than a barrel of Bible thumpers.

Bill Keller, a NYT reporter, penned in March 2003 that a gathering had taken place a month before with Paul Wolfowitz, top MI officials, and the (scariest intel group) DIA's Lowell Jacoby. Supposedly the group wasted several hours with Drosnin decoding, predicting the future. No mention of any amens, praise the lord, and Torah chanting in the corner. Drosnin supplied the believers with OBL's location and hopefully we're still hot on that unholy CIAsset trail. Liberal bloggers Off The Kuff and Atrios laughed "lord help us all" and the rightwing bloggers claimed the left was blowing the "meeting" all out of proportion because lefties labeled it a "briefing." Okay, so it wasn't a "briefing," it was a "meeting." That makes it less officially a nut group perusing Genesis as a lead up to the Iraq War; just a Bible group of brass and suits discussing the next civilized crusade using every fifth letter from the Tanakh.

Drosnin's Hebrew decoderism has been debunked by several sources, but that doesn't keep millions from believing, particularly and especially if slaughter and theft can be excused as a mandate from G_d and prophecy. Can't go against God's will be done's.

Drosnin was not the first decoder. Jewish scholars Doron Witztum, Eliyahu Rips, and Yoav Rosenberg "decoded" in 1985. By the way, the coding is done using the Torah and book of Genesis. Mr. Rips issued a statement regarding Drosnin's work, stating "I do not support Mr. Drosnin's work on the Codes, nor the conclusions he derives." Rips says all attempts to extract predictions are futile and of no value, but then says the Torah codes exist and are not a coincidence. And says he personally witnessed Drosnin locating the Rabin assassination prediction in the Bible. Rips sounds like a politician, agreeing while disagreeing from every angle.

The fact that DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) director Lowell Jacoby attended this divine decodist meeting in February 2003 was sufficient to raise my eyebrows. You never hear much about DIA. It's little brother CIA and ugly stepsister FBI catch the blame that rolls downhill. Jacoby, a three-star military officer is the top advice man to the Secretary of Defense Herr Rumsfeld, and to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on matters of military intelligence (and Bible predictions). DIA is headquartered at the Pentagon with operational activities at the Defense Intelligence Analysis Center in DC, the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center (think anthrax)Detrick, MD and the Missile and Space Intelligence Center in Alabama. Jacoby chairs the Military Intelligence Board, which coordinates activities of the defense intelligence community, and other relationships with other communities. Now what or who does DIA coordinate?

Air Force Intelligence, Army Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Coast Guard Intelligence, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, FBI, Marine Corps Intelligence, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, NSA, Navy Intelligence. "Other relationships": National Security Council, President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, President's Intelligence Oversight Board, Office of Management and Budget, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, DoD.

Katherine Graham said in a speech to the CIA 1988: "We live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn't. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows."

She's half-ass right, just look how secrecy's dirt and danger are flourishing, but "legitimate" and "government steps" can't be used in the same sentence. Nor does the press know much these days although they pretend to in print. That's not democracy. Wonder if the Bible code or the press know where that went.