EliaS Zion's Watchman Speaks Again

The Matrix Movies Could Be More Real Than You Think

~/~ELIA~\~ — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:18:12 +0000

The Matrix Movies Could Be More Real Than You Think

Did you ever consider that reality my not be all that real? According to Michael Talbot author of The Holographic Universe reality isn’t real it’s all a hologram.

“Even visions and experiences involving “non-ordinary” reality become explainable under the holographic paradigm. In a holographic universe there are no limits to the extent to which we can alter the fabric of reality.”

– Michael Talbot, author of The Holographic Universe

In 1982 at the University of Paris, a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect performed what may turn out to be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century. Aspect and the team he was working with found out that subatomic particles such as electrons can instantly communicate with each other under certain circumstances, and it doesn’t matter how far apart they are.

What makes this finding so important is that it totally blows Einstein’s theory that nothing can travel past the speed of light right out of the water. Because of this some physicists have come of with elaborate ideas to try to explain Aspects findings.

For example, University of London physicist David Bohm believes Aspect’s findings suggest that objective reality may not exist, that despite that it seems solid the universe is at heart a gigantic and splendidly detailed hologram.

To anyone who has studied Kabballah, this theory should make perfect sense. The way I understand it, anyway, we all really only exist as an idea in the mind of God.

If you would like to read more about this click here:
http://www.wanttoknow.info/science_spirituality_hologram

“Sorry, We Have To Confiscate Your Laptop”

~/~ELIA~\~ — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:17:32 +0000

“Sorry, We Have To Confiscate Your Laptop“

According to this article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080103030.html

I f you travel with your Laptop or other device which can store digital data - that is what you may hear from federal agents as part of the new border search policies from the Department of Homeland Security.

With no suspicion of wrong doing, electronic devices used to hold digital information (even flash drives and cellphones) have been confiscated and held until all of it’s contents had been examined and deemed harmless.

The new legislation also makes it possible for any papers you are carrying to be taken and examined.

This is bad news for anyone whose job makes it necessary that they carry laptops and/or briefcases filled with paperwork.

Say goodbye to your right to privacy, nothing is sacred anymore.

Maybe these guys have the right idea for airport security lines…..

What has happened to Georgia?????

~/~ELIA~\~ — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:28:22 +0000

What has happened to Georgia?????

No, not that state, the country.

Russia bombed Georgia and sent it’s citizens running for their lives.

Russian forces attacked the crossroads city of Gori basically dividing the country in half.

A Cease fire has reportedly been signed, but Georgia claims Russia is still bombing them.

135 military vehicles (including tanks) were sent into Abkhazia as part of the strike.

Click here to read the article in detail:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/12/georgia-says-bombings-continue-after-russian-order/

Big Brother wants every single e-mail, text

~/~ELIA~\~ — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:53:35 +0000

Big Brother wants every single e-mail, text
Plan would create huge expansion of government surveillance

Britain’s MI5 intelligence service has persuaded the Home Office to get government approval for a massive increase in surveillance in Britain. Every citizen already is captured on camera an average of 400 times a day. But now secret plans by the Security Service and Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist command want to detail every phone call, e-mail, text message and online purchase. The new plans, if ratified by Parliament, would allow the police and intelligence services to access the precise time a phone call was made, the number dialed, the length of the call and, in the case of cell phones, the location of the handset to within an accuracy of a few hundred yards.

To read the entire article go to:

http://susanweimer.blogspot.com/

I’m working on getting all my readers coordinated into one place. My main blog will be at Blogspot and all my main blogging will be done there as well.

So, please follow me there and subscribe to my blog at Blogspot.

Biblical artifact found in Jerusalem

~/~ELIA~\~ — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:34:49 +0000

Biblical artifact found in Jerusalem

This article found online at:

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/08/03/Biblical_artifact_found_in_Jerusalem/UPI-79131217780548/

JERUSALEM, Aug. 3 (UPI) — Scholars in Jerusalem say they have unearthed evidence corroborating a story in the Old Testament’s Book of Jeremiah.The evidence consists of intact official seals made of clay bearing the name of one of two of King Tzidkiyahu’s ministers who had called for the execution of the prophet Jeremiah in 597-586 B.C., IsraelNN.com reported Sunday.

The seal bearing the name Gedaliahu ben Pashur was found at a site at the entrance to the city of David not far from where the seal of court elder Yuchal ben Shlemiyahu was dug up three years ago.

IsraelNN said the pair were among those who urged the king to execute Jeremiah for his calls to surrender the city to the advancing Babylonians.

“How absolutely fantastic and special this find is, can only be realized when you hold in your hand this magnificent 1-centimeter piece of clay and know that it survived 2,600 years in the debris of the destruction, and came to us complete and in perfect condition,” said Eilat Mazar, a professor at Hebrew University and leader of the dig.

Officials opposing REAL ID statute

~/~ELIA~\~ — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:37:53 +0000

Officials opposing REAL ID statute
Category: News and Politics

This article found online at: http://media.www.newsrecord.org/media/storage/paper693/news/2008/02/14/News/Officials.Opposing.Real.Id.Statute-3208810.shtml

Officials opposing REAL ID statute

Costs, privacy main concerns

Matt Koesters

Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News

The architect of a resolution voicing Ohio’s opposition to a controversial federal law earned a promotion to a prominent committee leadership role.Ohio Rep. Diana Fessler (R-District 79) is the main sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 18, which calls for the federal government to repeal the REAL ID act of 2005.

The resolution has the bi-partisan support of nine other representatives, said Michael Dittoe, legislative aide to Rep. Fessler. If the resolution passes both houses of the Ohio General Assembly, letters would be sent to the president and all members of U.S. Congress.

Last week, Rep. Fessler took over the position of vice-chair of the Ohio House of Representatives Infrastructure, Homeland Security and Veteran’s Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Steve Reinhard (R-District 82). Her resolution has been in the same committee since being introduced in spring 2007, but has not yet received a hearing, according to Dittoe.

“That’s been very disappointing for our office,” Dittoe said. Dittoe is hopeful Rep. Fessler’s appointment to vice-chair of the committee will help move HCR 18 forward.

“She’ll be able to help Rep. Reinhard get HCR 18 on the agenda,” Dittoe said. “But that’s yet to be seen at this point.”

U.S. Congress passed the REAL ID act of 2005 to make it more difficult to fraudulently acquire a driver’s license or identification card as part of an effort to fight terrorism and reduce fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Web site.

“The American public’s desire for greater identity protection is undeniable,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in a Jan. 11 DHS press release. “Americans understand today that the 9/11 hijackers obtained 30 drivers licenses and IDs, and used 364 aliases. For an extra $8 per license, REAL ID will give law enforcement and security officials a powerful advantage against falsified documents, and it will bring some peace of mind to citizens wanting to protect their identity from theft by a criminal or illegal alien.”

The act sets minimum standards for state-issued driver’s licenses, including the establishment of a national database to ensure licenses aren’t issued to individuals by multiple state agencies, according the DHS Web site. States are not required to participate in REAL ID; however, individuals who do not have REAL ID-compliant identification will not be able to board commercial airlines or enter federal buildings.But REAL ID compliance actually might lead to greater risk of identity theft and create burdensome bureaucracy without providing the benefit of any greater protection against acts of terrorism, according to Mike Brickner, communications coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

“[REAL ID is] going to require that we have this huge national database of everyone who gets a REAL ID,” Brickner said. “And it will include very personal information; there’s really no type of protection that is mandated to keep this information private so that identity thieves or other data hackers will not get into this.”

Dittoe agreed.

“Rep. Fessler and the others believed that REAL ID has the potential to move us into a state of total surveillance by the government,” Dittoe said.

REAL ID requirements would result in significantly longer waiting periods to obtain identification, because Bureau of Motor Vehicle workers would be required to check the national database to ensure identification had not been issued in other states, according to Dittoe.

“That creates an enormous bureaucratic hurdle for state departments of public safety to get over, just to ensure that someone hasn’t already been issued an identification card,” Dittoe said.

The DHS is making approximately $360 million available to assist states with REAL ID implementation, and the total cost of implementation nationwide is almost $4 billion, according to the press release.

However, estimates of the actual cost vary. Dittoe estimated that REAL ID implementation would cost more than $10 billion nationwide, and Brickner estimated the cost at $30 billion, not including the cost of upkeep after implementation.

“Representative Fessler and the other nine members who co-sponsored the resolution are definitely supportive of the government’s campaign against terrorism,” Dittoe said. “There’s no question about that. But they strongly believe that the benefits of the REAL ID are greatly outweighed by the costs. Because it does infringe on civil rights and personal freedoms, and because of the cost that it would impose on the state.”

REAL ID
Requirements

-Information and security features that must be
incorporated into each card.

-Proof of identity and U.S. citizenship or legal status of an applicant.

-Verification of the source documents provided by an applicant.

-Security standards for the offices that issue licenses and identification cards.

=========================================

Friends,

The congressmen in Ohio have the right idea.

We all need to get behind this idea and encourage our congressmen to do the same thing.

We can stop this Real ID act if we all ban together.

Alone, we can do nothing - but together we can move mountains.

Please write a copy of the following letter to your congressmen.

Subject: Please act to repeal the Real ID Act of 2005

Dear Congressman,

Ohio Rep. Diana Fessler (R-District 79) is the main sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 18, which calls for the federal government to repeal the REAL ID act of 2005.The resolution has the bi-partisan support of nine other representatives. If the resolution passes both houses of the Ohio General Assembly, letters would be sent to the president and all members of U.S. Congress.

I am writing to encourage you to get behind this resolution and take action to call for the federal government repeal the REAL ID act of 2005.

Thank You

[your name and address]

=========================================

Take action - get involved!!!!!

The following is where you can get in touch with your congressmen.

You can contact Your representative in Congress by

going to  http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Go here for a list of U.S. Representatives at http://www.house.gov/

Homeland Ministry Official: Real ID for Cold Medicine

~/~ELIA~\~ — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:53:29 +0000

Homeland Ministry Official: Real ID for Cold Medicine
Category: News and Politics

This article found online at: http://www.infowars.com/?p=96

Homeland Ministry Official: Real ID for Cold Medicine

Dan Goodin
The Register
February 5, 2008

A senior US Department of Homeland Security official has floated the idea of requiring citizens to produce federally compliant identification before purchasing some over-the-counter medicines.

“If you have a good ID … you make it much harder for the meth labs to function in this country,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Policy Stewart Baker told an audience last month at the Heritage Foundation. Cold medicines like Sudafed have long been used in the production of methamphetamine. Over the past year or so, pharmacies have been required to track buyers of drugs that contain pseudoephedrine.

His comment came five days after the agency released final rules implementing the REAL ID Act of 2005 that made no mention of such requirements. It mandates the establishment uniform standards and procedures that must be met before state-issued licenses can be accepted as identification for official purposes.

Beyond boarding airplanes and entering federal buildings or nuclear facilities, there are no other official purposes spelled out in the regulations. And that’s just what concerns people at the Center for Democracy and Technology. They say Baker’s statement underscores “mission creep,” in which the scope and purpose of the REAL ID Act gradually expands over time.

“Baker’s suggested mission creep pushes the REAL ID program farther down the slippery slope toward a true national ID card,” CDT blogger Greg Burnett wrote here. He says requiring people to produce a federally approved ID to buy cold medicine is a good example of the “significant ramifications” attached to the act.

So far, 17 states have formally opposed REAL ID, which takes effect on May 11. Residents of those states will be subject to additional searches and other inconveniences when flying and may be barred from entering federal buildings and nuclear plants.

Baker’s statement belying the official DHS position on REAL ID isn’t the first time the agency has made confusing remarks about the legal requirements surrounding identification. According to travel writer Edward Hasbrouck, DHS officials continue to plant the misunderstanding that residents from states which don’t comply with REAL ID requirements won’t get on planes. They will, Hasbrouck asserts here. In fact, he says, airlines are prevented by law from requiring any kind of ID.

Nonetheless, the DHS website continues to claim a photo ID is needed to pass through security checkpoints. Hasbrouck has his suspicions about the motives for such statements.

“The most obvious explanation is that they want to use the implied (but legally and factually empty) threat of denial of air travel to intimidate states into ‘voluntarily’ complying with the Real-ID Act and its rules,” he writes.

OKAY - CALL ME A MEMBER OF THE TIN FOIL HAT BRIGADE BUT THIS LOOKS REAL TO ME…..

~/~ELIA~\~ — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:58:48 +0000

OKAY - CALL ME A MEMBER OF THE TIN FOIL HAT BRIGADE BUT THIS LOOKS REAL TO ME…..

(the videos didn’t embed but if you click the links it will take you to where you can watch them) Lou Dobbs Announces New World OrderAdd to My Profile | More Videos

IS STAN JONES WEARING A TIN FOIL HAT????? Libertarian Stan Jones of Montana TELLS THE TRUTHAdd to My Profile | More Videos

WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS????? WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT????? NORTH AMERICAN UNION & VCHIP TRUTHAdd to My Profile | More Videos

SO - YOU GET OUT OF LINE AND THEY TURN OF YOUR CHIP!!!!!?????

DOES THAT SOUND LIKE FREEDOM TO YOU?????

IF THESE PEOPLE ACCOMPLISH THIS THERE WILL BE NO MORE FREEDOM!!!!! NO MORE DEMOCRACY!!!!!

FOLKS YOU CAN KISS FREEDOM OF SPEACH, RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS, RIGHT TO A FARE AND SPEEDY TRIAL ALL GOODBYE.

YOU WILL BE LITERALLY LIVING IN A PRISON THAT WILL COVER THE ENTIRE PLANET.

WE HAVE TO STOP THIS!!!!!

SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE RFID CHIP NOW!!!!!

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!!!

DONT KNOW WHO TO CONTACT? OR WHAT TO SAY?

JUST COPY AND PASTE THESE ADDRESSES INTO YOUR EMAIL WITH A MESSAGE THAT SAYS…..

subject: Say No To V-Chip Legislation

Dear congressman,

I am opposed to the mandatory implantation of the RFID chip. I am also opposed to the mandatory use of this chip in any way to control person’s movements (such as gaining entrance into government facilities) and/or thier assets (such as bank accounts etc).

I would like to encourage you to vote against any such legislature that would require mandatory use of the RFID chip in any such manner.

Thank you,[your name]

OH - P.S. ONLY CONTACT CONGRESSMEN FROM YOUR STATE.AND INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS SO THEY KNOW YOU ARE FROM THE STATE THEY REPRESENT.

CONTACT LIST FOLLOWS:

THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST BUT IT’S A START UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Don’t know who your rep is - you can contact Your representative in Congress by going to http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Click here for a list of U.S. Representatives at http://www.house.gov/

Neil.Abercrombie@mail.house.gov, - (Hawaii)pelosi@mail.house.gov - CaliforniaAnibal@mail.house.gov,gary_ackerman@mail.house.gov,ca28ima.pub@mail.house.gov - (28th Congressional District)jay.inslee@mail.house.gov, - (First Congressional District of Washington State)rick.larsen@mail.house.gov,adam.smith@mail.house.gov, senator@boxer.senate.gov, lynn.woolsey@mail.house.gov, George.Miller@mail.house.gov, - (7th Congressional District of California) sf.nancy@mail.house.gov, barbara.lee@mail.house.gov, budmail@mail.house.gov, budmail@mail.house.gov, snyder.congress@mail.house.gov, - (Arkansas) faleomavaega@mail.house.gov, ed.pastor@mail.house.gov, democratic.caucus@mail.house.gov, lynn.woolsey@mail.house.gov, zoegram@lofgren.house.gov, samfarr@mail.house.gov, gary.condit@mail.house.gov, lois.capps@mail.house.gov, brad.sherman@mail.house.gov, Howard.Berman@mail.house.gov, arcoiris@mail.house.gov, Rep.Harman@mail.house.gov, Millender.McDonald@mail.house.gov, talk2geb@mail.house.gov, loretta@mail.house.gov, degette@mail.house.gov, - (First Congressional District of Colorado) david.skaggs@mail.house.gov, Kennelly@mail.house.gov, bozrah@mail.house.gov, rep.boyd@mail.house.gov, thurman@mail.house.gov, pdeutsch.pub@mail.house.gov, alcee.pubhastings@mail.house.gov, cymck@mail.house.gov, john.lewis@mail.house.gov, guamtodc@mail.house.gov, neil.abercrombie@mail.house.gov, leach.ia01@mail.house.gov, rep.boswell.ia03@mail.house.gov, bobby.rush@mail.house.gov, luis.gutierrez@mail.house.gov, danny.davis@mail.house.gov, sidney.yates@mail.house.gov, jfc.il12@mail.house.gov, lane.evans@mail.house.gov, tim.roemer@mail.house.gov, in09.wyr@housemail.house.gov, rep.carson@mail.house.gov, john.olver@mail.house.gov, jim.mcgovern@mail.house.gov, mtmeehan@mail.house.gov, joe.moakley@mail.house.gov, william.delahunt@mail.house.gov, rep.cardin@mail.house.gov, rep.tomallen@mail.house.gov, stupak@mail.house.gov, jim.barcia-pub@mail.house.gov, debbie.stabenow@mail.house.gov, dkildee@mail.house.gov, david.bonior@mail.house.gov, slevin@mail.house.gov, john.conyers@mail.house.gov, martin.sabo@mail.house.gov, tell.bill@mail.house.gov, tocollin.peterson@mail.house.gov, oberstar@mail.house.gov, gephardt@mail.house.gov, ike.skelton@mail.house.gov, thompsonms2nd@mail.house.gov, gene.taylor@mail.house.gov, EClayton1@mail.house.gov,david.price@mail.house.gov, CongMcIntyre@mail.house.gov,Rep.Earl.Pomeroy@mail.house.gov,bill.pascrell@mail.house.gov,thomas.manton@mail.house.gov,major.owens@mail.house.gov, rep.carolyn.maloney@mail.house.gov, jserrano@mail.house.gov, mike.mcnulty@mail.house.gov, mhinchey@mail.house.gov, louiseny@mail.house.gov, mike.oxley@mail.house.gov, ted.strickland@mail.house.gov, rep.kaptur@mail.house.gov, sherrod@mail.house.gov, telljim@mail.house.gov, rep.elizabeth.furse@mail.house.gov,darlene@mail.house.gov, paul.kanjorski@mail.house.gov, murtha@mail.house.gov, mchale@mail.house.gov, rep.doyle@mail.house.gov, robert.weygand@mail.house.gov, jclyburn@mail.house.gov, bob.clement@mail.house.gov, bart.gordon@mail.house.gov,hford@hr.house.gov, max.sandlin@mail.house.gov, rmhall@mail.house.gov, nick.lampson@mail.house.gov, lloyd.doggett@mail.house.gov, Rep.Hinojosa@mail.house.gov, silvestre.reyes@mail.house.gov,ima_tx30@mail.house.gov - Texas District 30 tx18@lee.house.gov, texas17@mail.house.gov, martin.frost@mail.house.gov, ken.bentsen@mail.house.gov, ask.gene@mail.house.gov, rep.e.b.johnson@mail.house.gov, owen.pickett@mail.house.gov, rep.goode@mail.house.gov, jim.moran@mail.house.gov, ninthnet@mail.house.gov, Donna.Green@mail.house.gov, bernie@mail.house.gov, adam.smith@mail.house.gov,jerry4wi@mail.house.gov, telltom@mail.house.gov, jay.johnson@mail.house.gov, bobwise@mail.house.gov, nrahall@mail.house.gov
UNITED STATES SENATE

SOME SENATORS MUST BE CONTACTED AT WEBSITES

http://kohl.senate.govhttp://levin.senate.gov/contact/index.cfmKerry.senate.govhttp://mikulski.senate.gov/mailform.htmlhttp://johnson.senate.gov/contact/ - (south Dakota)http://akaka.senate.gov - (Hawaii)http://www.clinton.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm?subj=issue - (New York)http://clinton.senate.gov - (New York)http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm - (California)http://www.georgemiller.house.gov/contactusUNITED STATES GOVERNORS
governor.rowland@po.state.ct.us, governor@gov.state.ak.us, azgov@azgov.state.az.us, b.owens@state.co.us, ssnyder@state.de.us, fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us, gov@gov.state.hi.us, governor@state.il.us, tom.vilsack@igov.state.ia.us, governor@ink.org, governor@mail.state.ky.us, governor@state.me.us, governor@gov.state.md.us, GOffice@state.ma.us, governor@govoff.state.ms.us, gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us, governor@state.nd.us, governorkeating@email.com, rigov@gov.state.ri.us, governor@govoepp.state.sc.us, sdgov@state.sd.us, dsundquist@mail.state.tn.us, governor@state.ut.us, governor.locke@governor.wa.gov, governor@governor.state.wv.us, wisgov@gov.state.wi.us, Governor@missc.state.wy.us

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel

~/~ELIA~\~ — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:15:10 +0000

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel
Category: News and PoliticsThis article found online at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-14-hezbollah-israel_N.htm

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel ordered its embassies on high alert and the FBI put U.S. terror squads on guard to protect Jewish institutions after Hezbollah’s leader vowed Thursday to retaliate anywhere in the world for the assassination of one of its top commanders.

“Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: Let this war be open,” Hassan Nasrallah told a throng of fist-waving mourners who attended the funeral of Imad Mugniyeh, the mastermind of terror spectaculars that claimed hundreds of American lives.

Thousands of black-clad mourners raised their fists in the air, chanting, “At your orders, Nasrallah” in response to Nasrallah, who appeared via video. He has been in hiding since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon.

Nasrallah’s fiery speech signaled the Iranian-backed Shiite group was ending a yearslong policy of battling Israel only on Israeli or Lebanese territory, raising the specter of attacks in Western or other countries.

Hezbollah and its Iranian backers blamed Israel for Mughniyeh’s death in a car bombing Tuesday in Damascus, the Syrian capital. Israel denied involvement.

Nasrallah accused Israel of taking the fight outside the “natural battlefield” of Israel and Lebanon. “You have crossed the borders,” he said.

Unlike Middle Eastern leaders who have indulged in exaggerated rhetoric, Nasrallah is known for acting on his threats. In 2006, he vowed to take action to free Lebanese prisoners in Israel, and in July that year, Hezbollah guerrillas staged a daring cross-border raid that snatched two Israeli soldiers as bargaining chips.

The incident triggered a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah that devastated southern Lebanon, with the guerrillas lobbing several thousand rockets into northern Israel. It ended with the Israeli soldiers still captive and no deal for a prisoner swap has yet been reached.

Fearing revenge attacks after Mughniyeh’s assassination, Israel ordered its military and embassies overseas on high alert Thursday and recommended Jewish institutions worldwide do the same.

And in Washington, the FBI put its domestic terror squads on alert for any threats against synagogues or Jewish centers in the United States.

Thursday’s events in Beirut raised fears that Lebanon’s internal turmoil could worsen. Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of Hezbollah’s pro-Western political opponents filled a downtown Beirut square to mark the anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination.

Fearing clashes, authorities deployed thousands of troops. The two mass gatherings ended with a few fights involving fists, sticks and knives between government supporters and opponents that left at least four injured.

Officially, the Israeli government denied involvement, but speaking privately, Israeli military officials were more vague, refusing to confirm or deny involvement. Israel has reacted with similar ambiguity after past assassinations widely believed to be the work of its spy agency, the Mossad. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

In Washington, the State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Hezbollah’s statements were “quite concerning and they should be alarming to everyone.”

“Quite clearly, Hezbollah has a long record of carrying out violent acts and acts of terrorism around the globe,” he said.

Some experts suggested that Hezbollah could count on Iran for help on any attacks against Israeli targets. “The only aspect that is uncertain about Hezbollah’s retaliation is its timing and location. Its happening and lethality are almost certain,” said Bilal Saab, a Middle East security researcher at the Brookings Institution.

Hezbollah has retaliated in the past for Israeli attacks. A 1992 car bombing of Israel’s Embassy in Argentina came a month to the day after Hezbollah’s secretary-general Abbas Mussawi was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike in southern Lebanon. The 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires followed Israel’s capture of a senior Hezbollah leader, Mustafa Dirani, and airstrikes on a Hezbollah training camp in Lebanon.

Western and Israeli intelligence agencies have accused Mughniyeh and Hezbollah of carrying out those attacks, which killed more than 100 people. Mughniyeh was also believed linked to a 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 17 Americans. Those were the last attacks outside Israel or Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, though it denies responsibility.

The funeral hall in the Roueiss neighborhood of south Beirut was packed with mourners in front of Mughniyeh’s coffin, draped in a Hezbollah flag. Two giant posters of the bearded militant leader in a cap and military fatigues were hung behind the coffin, with a banner reading, “The Great Commander Martyr — Hajj Imad Mughniyeh.” Some mourners cried as a band played Lebanon’s national anthem and the guerrilla group’s anthem. Outside in the rain, tens of thousands massed.

Nasrallah warned Israel that its alleged killing of Mughniyeh was a “very big folly” which will be avenged.

“Mughniyeh’s blood will lead to the elimination of Israel. These words are not an emotional reaction,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who attended the funeral, offered condolences to the family and Mughniyeh’s associates. Underlining Iran’s close ties to Hezbollah, he sat between Mughniyeh’s father and Hezbollah’s deputy leader.

“He’s not the first martyr, nor will he be the last on this path,” Mottaki said, reading a statement from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “There will be hundreds and millions more” like him.

The coffin was then carried through the crowds of mourners, who marched with it to a nearby cemetery, praying aloud, as some chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”

Mughniyeh’s killing exacerbated tensions at a time when Lebanon is already entrenched in a long-running political crisis between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the U.S.-backed government. Government backers accuse Hezbollah of seeking to restore Syrian domination of the country, while the opposition says the government is putting Lebanon in the hands of the United States and Israel.

Earlier in the day, tens of thousands gathered in the main Martyrs’ Square of downtown Beirut to commemorate the third anniversary of Hariri’s assassination. The anti-Syrian rally appeared larger than the crowds at Mughniyeh’s funeral, but it had been planned weeks in advance.

Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, crowds paid respects at Hariri’s grave site as his brother, Shafik, unveiled a statue of Hariri at the spot where he was killed. The sound of beating drums mixed with cheers from the crowd as speakers lashed out at the opposition.

Saad Hariri, the late premier’s son, launched a scathing attack against the Syrian government. But he spared Hezbollah, apparently in deference to the funeral, and even reached out to the opposition, saying: “Our hand will remain extended no matter what difficulties and conspiracies there are.”

When Saad Hariri alluded to Mughniyeh’s funeral, the crowd booed.