on the other side of the globe, so much so that Cal wished Ethan was back in the States so the two of them could pal around. He didn’t have a brother. Ethan was the closest thing.
Cal reset the feed, and Ethan’s face was crystal clear. “Okay, you’re coming in great. So, how are things in Israel?”
“Hot,” Ethan said with a grin.
“And you’re not just talking about the desert heat?”
Ethan nodded. “You got it. Yeah, there’s talk over here about a major shakeup on the Temple Mount. Josh told me this morning there are plans to rebuild the Jewish Temple up there. Josh says, after two thousand years of waiting, there’s a lot of excitement in Israel over this. I can’t see the big deal, but then, that’s just me …”
“Wow,” Cal shot back. “The Temple rebuilt? That’s huge! Listen, bro, you got to get into your New Testament. It’s all laid out in Matthew 24. Jesus predicted the destruction of the Herodian Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem when He was on earth. And it ended up happening — in AD 70 — just like He said. In that same place in Matthew, Jesus talks about the desecration of the Temple by the Antichrist at the end of days, which implies that the Temple has to be rebuilt first. Man, we’re getting close …”
“Thank you, Reverend Cal,” Ethan cracked. “I’d start the hymn singing except I’ve got a lousy voice.”
Cal chuckled and noticed Phil Rankowitz had finished gathering all the members around the big table. “Okay, Ethan, gotta go. Probably good too. I’m not sure how much of your off-key singing I could take.” Ethan guffawed. “Can you do me a favor?” Cal asked. “Have my dad join us on the screen. Good talking to you. Stay safe over there, Ethan.”
Cal touched the prompt for the multiple-screen option, and the video broke into quadrants, one for each remote participant. Once the meeting started, Phil Rankowitz took the lead. He described an article written by an eccentric investigative journalist named Curtis Belltether, whose research had revealed a seamy, even criminal, side to the brilliant and suave Alexander Coliquin, then a rising international diplomat with a global, rock-star kind of following. Belltether’s explosive article had been mailed to AmeriNews on the same day that Belltether was found murdered in a hotel room. Since then Coliquin had been elevated to secretary-general of the United Nations, and the stakes over publishing the article had been raised exponentially.
“Here’s the problem folks,” Phil explained. “We paid Belltether for the article before his death. We own the rights. That’s not the issue. The question is whether we can afford to release the article over our AmeriNews Internet/Allfone service at this time.”
Retired Senator Alvin Leander spoke up. “Why not? Isn’t that why we launched AmeriNews in the first place?”
Phil explained, “Well, as you know, we started the news service because the feds pushed all the TV and radio news over to the Internet so they could use over-the-air broadcast spectrum for other purposes. They said it was for emergencies. But it never worked out that way. You remember the story. A handful of networks and technology companies, mostly controlled by foreign money, became the gatekeepers for all the news and information on the web. And the White House willingly collaborated with them, allowing them to maintain a vise-grip monopoly over the Internet as long as they sang the administration’s tune. Until we introduced AmeriNews, that is, and got it grandfatheredonto the Internet through a technical loophole in the FCC regulations. The loophole was quickly closed for all other comers, so AmeriNews is the only show in town where Americans are going to get the other side of the story.
“By the way, an update for you. A few years ago we started delivering our news, free of charge at first, to the Allfones of every American who uses that device — about fifty percent of the
Cal reset the feed, and Ethan’s face was crystal clear. “Okay, you’re coming in great. So, how are things in Israel?”
“Hot,” Ethan said with a grin.
“And you’re not just talking about the desert heat?”
Ethan nodded. “You got it. Yeah, there’s talk over here about a major shakeup on the Temple Mount. Josh told me this morning there are plans to rebuild the Jewish Temple up there. Josh says, after two thousand years of waiting, there’s a lot of excitement in Israel over this. I can’t see the big deal, but then, that’s just me …”
“Wow,” Cal shot back. “The Temple rebuilt? That’s huge! Listen, bro, you got to get into your New Testament. It’s all laid out in Matthew 24. Jesus predicted the destruction of the Herodian Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem when He was on earth. And it ended up happening — in AD 70 — just like He said. In that same place in Matthew, Jesus talks about the desecration of the Temple by the Antichrist at the end of days, which implies that the Temple has to be rebuilt first. Man, we’re getting close …”
“Thank you, Reverend Cal,” Ethan cracked. “I’d start the hymn singing except I’ve got a lousy voice.”
Cal chuckled and noticed Phil Rankowitz had finished gathering all the members around the big table. “Okay, Ethan, gotta go. Probably good too. I’m not sure how much of your off-key singing I could take.” Ethan guffawed. “Can you do me a favor?” Cal asked. “Have my dad join us on the screen. Good talking to you. Stay safe over there, Ethan.”
Cal touched the prompt for the multiple-screen option, and the video broke into quadrants, one for each remote participant. Once the meeting started, Phil Rankowitz took the lead. He described an article written by an eccentric investigative journalist named Curtis Belltether, whose research had revealed a seamy, even criminal, side to the brilliant and suave Alexander Coliquin, then a rising international diplomat with a global, rock-star kind of following. Belltether’s explosive article had been mailed to AmeriNews on the same day that Belltether was found murdered in a hotel room. Since then Coliquin had been elevated to secretary-general of the United Nations, and the stakes over publishing the article had been raised exponentially.
“Here’s the problem folks,” Phil explained. “We paid Belltether for the article before his death. We own the rights. That’s not the issue. The question is whether we can afford to release the article over our AmeriNews Internet/Allfone service at this time.”
Retired Senator Alvin Leander spoke up. “Why not? Isn’t that why we launched AmeriNews in the first place?”
Phil explained, “Well, as you know, we started the news service because the feds pushed all the TV and radio news over to the Internet so they could use over-the-air broadcast spectrum for other purposes. They said it was for emergencies. But it never worked out that way. You remember the story. A handful of networks and technology companies, mostly controlled by foreign money, became the gatekeepers for all the news and information on the web. And the White House willingly collaborated with them, allowing them to maintain a vise-grip monopoly over the Internet as long as they sang the administration’s tune. Until we introduced AmeriNews, that is, and got it grandfatheredonto the Internet through a technical loophole in the FCC regulations. The loophole was quickly closed for all other comers, so AmeriNews is the only show in town where Americans are going to get the other side of the story.
“By the way, an update for you. A few years ago we started delivering our news, free of charge at first, to the Allfones of every American who uses that device — about fifty percent of the
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