SPAINS REACTION TO MIDEAST CRISIS

1-UK should help kill off the EU constitution. 2-Heatwave brings plague of Jellyfish to Spains shores. 3-Spains reaction to turmoil in the mideast. 4-July the hottest month on Record in Germany. 5-California Heat death toll at 132. 6-Strong Earthquake hits Taiwan. 7-Earthquake in Indonesia, Taiwan and Hawaii. 8-Volcano spews Lava on Indonesian Island. 8-Lanslides, Storms hit London England.

UK should help kill off EU constitution, MPs say
28.07.2006 - 09:52 CET | By Mark Beunderman

A group of cross-party British parliamentarians have urged their government to end the paralysis surrounding the EU constitution by encouraging other states to bin the document. The foreign affairs committee of the UK's House of Commons, made up of Labour, Conservative and Liberal-democrat parliamentarians, in a report dated 19 July concluded that although the [Constitutional] Treaty is not dead, it is comatose and on life support. We conclude that the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe is unlikely ever to come into force, although attempts may be made to enact some of its provisions by other means,the MPs wrote after hearing various UK officials over recent developments in the EU. We recommend that the government encourage its European counterparts to face up to this reality and explicitly to abandon the Treaty as a package.

The UK government led by prime minister Tony Blair has so far refrained from a firm public stance on the fate of the EU constitution after French and Dutch voters rejected the charter last year. London has put plans for a referendum on the text on ice, but has not sided with The Hague which has declared the constitution dead or with those states pushing for a revival of the charter, such as Germany or Spain. It is widely believed that London would not resist a slow starving off of the document however, with the chances of a positive outcome of a British referendum on the constitution seen as marginal. In their report, the MPs also attacked attempts to implement key ideas of the constitution one by one, referred to in Brussels as cherry-picking.The report firmly rejects recent European Commission proposals to eliminate national vetoes in justice and police cooperation, through the so-called passerelle or bridging clauses in the current EU treaties. These proposals, set to be discussed by justice ministers in September, have so far been cautiously welcomed by UK officials, but the House of Commons members write that "we oppose attempts to use the bridging clauses in the current treaties to introduce core objectives of the constitutional Treaty in the field of justice and home affairs.

Attempts to cherry pick and revive another key part of the constitution - the creation of an EU foreign minister post together with an EU diplomatic service - also caused alarm among the deputies. We conclude that, whatever the merits of the proposal to establish a foreign minister and an external action service for the EU, it is important that the European Commission should not develop a diplomatic service or ‘embassies' by stealth. We recommend that the government take steps to prevent the official use of the term ambassador' to refer to the commission's representatives,says the report.The commission in a June paper put the EU consular service back on the agenda by proposing to exchange more personnel with diplomatic services of member states and by suggesting that "the EU should give further consideration to sharing of premises and support services for member state and EU external representations in third countries.

DANIEL 7:7-8,23-24
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,(THE EU) dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.(10 NATIONS)
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn,(#11 SPAIN) before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(THE EU) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(Kick 3 countries out of the Eu in the future some time)

Spain: Heatwave brings jellyfish plague to beaches

28 July, 2006 - SWELTERING temperatures sweeping Europe have brought a plague of jellyfish to Spain's eastern seashores, forcing holidaymakers to stay out of the sea, the Red Cross said on Thursday.The unwelcome visitors, which can reach the size of a dinner plate, have reportedly flourished thanks to a glut of plankton brought on by higher sea temperatures and a decline in natural predators like dolphins and turtles. The Red Cross has treated more than 10,000 jellyfish stings this summer so far in the eastern region of Catalonia, a spokesman for the organisation told Reuters.www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

Spain’s reaction to turmoil in the Middle East
J.J.Martin,JULY 28,2006

As Israel’s assault on Lebanon intensifies in response to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, unfortunately yet again it is the civilians that are getting caught up in this bloody mess.Within the first few weeks of the Israeli onslaught 343 civilians in Lebanon have been killed. In retaliation to the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon Hizbollah has fired more than a thousand rockets at Israel killing 17 of its citizens. The question has been asked whether Israel’s decision to wage war on Lebanon was just and legal, bearing in mind that this crisis has the potential of escalating into a regional conflict and possibly beyond that.

Under the Just War doctrine, a guideline used by states and the international community to determine the legality of a war, a Just War is allowed because it is a lesser evil, but it stops being “just” when inappropriate force is used and innocent people and civilians are harmed. In other words, the Israel government cannot attack civilian targets and destroy the infrastructure basic to the life of the population, and then claim self defence.So why has the international community been mute in condemning Israel’s attacks on Lebanon?

Perhaps it is the fear of being accused of anti-Semitism that has made western governments reluctant to speak out. It seems as if criticising Israel’s onslaught in Lebanon equates to anti-Semitism.Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has found this out the hard way.When Sr Zapatero accused Israel of using abusive force in Lebanon at a Socialist youth rally in Alicante and was photographed wearing a Palestinian scarf a Jewish community leader in Spain claimed that Sr Zapatero was anti-Semitic.The silence of the international community today towards what is happening in the Middle East could become regret tomorrow,said Sr Zapatero.

Foreign Minister

Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos defended Sr Zapatero’s comments saying that the Spanish government will not tolerate accusations of anti-Semitism against the Prime Minister, arguing that that the Spanish leader’s criticism of Israeli tactics in Lebanon should not be interpreted in those terms. After all Sr Zapatero’s comments are completely in line with a large part of Spanish and international opinion. There have been protest rallies against the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon in Spain, the United Kingdom, Amsterdam, Russia and as far afield as Sydney, Australia.Furthermore, what about the Israeli citizens who have democratically expressed their disagreement with the Israeli government?

To claim that criticising the Israeli onslaught on Lebanon is anti-Semitic is an insult to Israeli citizens who have argued against their country’s onslaught in Lebanon.Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief has urged Hezbollah to release two Israeli soldiers it had captured immediately and unconditionally, and to cease all attacks on Israel.But in the same breath Solana has accused Israel of disproportionate use of force in Lebanon.Nevertheless, The Partido Popular (PP) was less supportive of Sr Zapatero’s stance on Israel. PP leader Mariano Rajoy said the Prime Minister is behaving like “the leader of a Third World country by criticising the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.Regarding the incident with the Palestinian Kaffiyeh Sr Rajoy said Sr Zapatero probably though he was being trendy.He probably believed it would win him votes,the PP leader jibed, arguing that Sr Zapatero is waging a campaign against Israel.Peace demonstrations organised by the Socialist party and other groups in Madrid and other Spanish cities last Thursday were ridiculous and tasteless Sr Rajoy added.The PP has been a staunch critic of Sr Zapatero’s foreign policy and has argued that the government has failed to adopt a balanced opinion towards the conflict, breaking with the view adopted by the EU of not condemning the actions of Hezbollah militant group as forcefully as those of Israel.The main opposition party is due to present a motion in parliament this week end demanding recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself.

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

July hottest month on record in Germany Fri Jul 28, 11:57 AM ET

FRANKFURT, Germany - July was the hottest and sunniest month ever recorded in Germany, the country's weather service said Friday. The average temperature was 22.1 C (71.8 F), according to provisional figures. The previous record was 21.3 C (70.3 F), recorded in July 1994.The weather service, which has nationwide records dating back to 1901, said this month's average includes forecast temperatures for the remaining days.Uwe Kirsche, a spokesman for the weather service, said forecasting techniques were so accurate that the final figure could vary by no more than 0.1 of a degree, weather service spokesman. The service said the average number of hours of sunshine for July was about 336 hours. The previous record, also recorded in July 1994, was 289 hours.

Death toll from Calif. heat rises to 132 By OLIVIA MUNOZ, Associated Press Writer 46 minutes ago

FRESNO, Calif. - The death toll from California's record-breaking heat wave reached 132 on Friday, the first day in nearly two weeks that temperatures were expected to stay below 100 degrees across most of the state. The big jump in the death count came primarily from Los Angeles County and the Central Valley counties of Merced and Stanislaus, where coroners struggled to keep up.

This is unprecedented for the county,said Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services spokesman David Jones. The county, home to Modesto, typically sees one heat-related death a year, he said. On Friday, it reported 29.The vast majority of deaths believed linked to the heat wave were elderly people, whose bodies don't cope as well in the heat. But there have been younger victims as well: A 38-year-old gardener collapsed on the job and died last week; on Wednesday, two brothers, ages 57 and 68, were found dead in a home without air conditioning.

Many of them probably underestimated the potential for harm, county coroners told The Associated Press.They've dealt with heat forever,said Sgt. Sue Norris, supervisor of the Merced County coroner's office. They don't think that it could be a real danger.The entire state has been sizzling in triple-digit temperatures since July 16. Only Friday were the heat advisories finally lifted and meteorologist said the heat wave appear to be nearing its end.By Monday, Tuesday we'll be even cooler than normal, said Mike Delman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. In the extended forecast, It might warm up a bit, but nothing like what we had.The Central Valley bore the brunt of the heat wave with temperatures hitting 115 degrees. On Thursday, aid workers in Fresno went door-to-door checking on the elderly as the number of suspected heat-related deaths climbed.

In the Fresno County morgue, the walk-in freezer was stuffed with bodies, with some piled on top of others, said Coroner Loralee Cervantes. With limited air conditioning, employees worked in sweltering heat as they investigated at least 22 possible heat-related deaths.State Sen. Dean Florez said as he called on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency in the Central Valley to make more financial and personnel resources available.The conditions, staying this hot for this long, are simply too much for the most vulnerable residents,Florez said.Schwarzenegger said he had already taken action to help residents cope with the heat, pointing to 75 cooling centers available at fairgrounds and conservation measures to avoid blackouts.There's not much more we can do,he said.I don't know what it means to declare a state of emergency when we're already doing everything.At least six Central Valley counties declared local states of emergency that allow farmers to bury livestock killed by the heat in landfills or on their own properties — disposal methods not normally allowed by state water laws.

The number of consecutive days when temperatures surpassed 110 degrees was unprecedented for California, meteorologists said. Woodland Hills, which set a Los Angeles County record of 119 degrees on Saturday, hit 102 degrees on Thursday, its 22nd day of triple-digit heat.Californians trying to keep cool have also set records for energy consumption, forcing some voluntary blackouts and even catching the Department of Water and Power officials by surprise.Before this week, the utility's highest peak energy use was recorded at 5,661 megawatts. The heat wave created a demand of 6,165 megawatts — shocking officials who predicted usage wouldn't top 6,100 megawatts for another four years. They didn't even believe our customers could ever put such a load on our system — that we could even have energy use from our customers up to that kind level," DWP board member David Nahai told the Los Angeles Times. The utility serves 1.4 million customers.

July has seen extreme heat across the country. In St. Louis, the misery was worsened by storms that knocked down power lines last week in the worst blackout in city history. Most of the 12 Missouri deaths attributed to the heat wave occurred in the St. Louis area, where about 34,000 homes and businesses remained without power Thursday. Missouri regulators opened an investigation into whether AmerenUE and other utilities were properly prepared for the storms, and whether they responded adequately.

Associated Press Writers Juliana Barbassa, Samantha Young, Marcus Wohlsen, Jordan Robertson, Robin Hindery, Don Thompson, David A. Lieb, Jim Salter and Robert Jablon contributed to this report.

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Strong earthquake hits off Taiwan Fri Jul 28, 5:49 AM ET

TAIPEI, Taiwan - A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Taiwan on Friday, rocking buildings in the capital but causing no damage or casualties, the Central Weather Bureau said. The quake's epicenter was located about 90 miles southeast of Taipei, the bureau said. Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of a tsunami.The quake was also felt in the Yonaguni islands in southwestern Japan, but there were no reports of damage or injuries there either, officials said.Taiwan's weather bureau warned against aftershocks, but said they were not expected to cause any damage because of the epicenter's distance from the island.Quakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage. However, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan in September 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.

Earthquakes in Hawaii, Indonesia, Tawain
Jul 27, 2006 / Environment

HONOLULU (July 27) _ A light earthquake occurred at 10:03:33 AM (HST) on Thursday, July 27, 2006 . The magnitude 4.4 event occurred 37 km (23 miles) SSW of Makena, Maui. The hypocentral depth is 31 km (19 miles). A four-point-five-magnitude earthquake off the Big Island rattled windows and residents on islands as far away as Oahu, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage, although one resident reported feeling the quake through her car stopped at a stop light. That's pretty strong.

A different earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 hit offshore the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said on Thursday. The United States Geological Survey put the quake, which occurred at 1116 GMT, at a magnitude of 6.0. Stuart Weinstein, assistant director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, says the quakes were too small to generate a tsunami. A few hours later, another earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted Taiwan , The epicentre of the quake, which struck about 3:40 p.m. (0740 GMT), was 82.1 kilometres off Ilan on the north-eastern coast and five kilometres under the sea, the Seismological Observation Centre said. There was no immediate reports of casualties. The quake was felt throughout Taiwan. In Taipei, tall buildings swayed, and some office workers and residents ran into the street.

These quakes comes less than a week after a powerful undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami on the south coast of Java island, killing nearly 700 people. The Hawaii temblor at 10:03 am was reported to shaking homes and office buildings for a few seconds from Honolulu (Oahu) to Wailuku (Maui) According to the U-S Geological Survey, the earthquake was in the ocean, centered 44 miles southwest of Makena near Ko'olawe, an island near Maui at a depth of about 5 miles. Indonesia's 17,000 islands sprawl along a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity, (which includes New Zealand, Japan, the Aleution islands of Alaska, and west coasts of North and South America), is part of what is called the "Pacific Ring of Fire". It is composed over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes, with Hawaii located in the center.

GENESIS 6:13
13 for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Volcano on Indonesian island spews lava Fri Jul 28, 7:25 AM ET

MANADO, Indonesia - A volcano on an eastern Indonesian island started spewing lava and hot clouds, forcing the evacuation of thousands of villagers, officials said Friday. Lava and hot ash rumbled 750 yards down Mount Karangetang's slopes Thursday, its second eruption since July 17, said Saut Simatupang, chief researcher at the government's volcanology agency.Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from five villages, said Iskandar Gobel, a North Sulawesi provincial official, and police said more would likely leave in coming days. Nobody was hurt.Mount Karangetang, one of the country's most active mountains, has been rumbling for weeks. Six villagers were killed when Karangetang erupted in 1992.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.The 5,850-foot Karangetang is on Siau, part of the Sulawesi island chain, which has not been affected by a recent string of natural disasters.An earthquake off Java island triggered a tsunami earlier this month that left 600 people dead, and a temblor on the same island in May killed 5,800. Mount Merapi, also on Java, has seen heightened activity in recent months.

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Flights cancelled and Tube landslide as storms hit London
By Martina Smit

While thunder storms caused flash floods, disrupting flights from Stansted Airport, the Piccadilly Tube line was closed by a landslide.Six hundred passengers were evacuated after a Tube driver was forced to make an emergency stop as it left Boston Manor station in west London.Water overflowed from the flooded basement of nearby flats, causing three to four tonnes of debris from the embankment to land on the tracks, a London Underground spokesman said.The train did not derail and no-one was injured.Because some of the carriages still faced the platform, the train was emptied in about 15 minutes.The Piccadilly line was closed between Heathrow and Northfields. Workers cleared the track overnight for services to resume this morning.

Flights cancelled

Air traffic at Stansted Airport has also returned to normal after thunderstorms caused Ryanair to cancel at least nine flights last night.Easyjet also put services on hold, while some incoming flights were diverted to Luton and Birmingham.London's West End was set to be crippled by another day of blackouts caused by excessive use of air conditioning systems across the capital.Energy supplier EDF said there was a "significant risk" that staggered power cuts would hit more than 3,000 shops, restaurants and theatres in Soho today. (See full report.)

UK's hottest summer?

Met Office forecasters said the thunderstorms heralded the end of the current heatwave. Although temperatures were forecasted to reach 30C in London today, highs are expected to drop to 25C over the next few days.July is nevertheless on course to be named the UK's hottest month on record with an average mean temperature of 17.7C topping the 17.3C of July 1983 and August 1995.

But the worst may be yet to come. The main heatwave in 2003 occurred in the first half of August, with the UK's highest temperature ever measured (38.5 C at Faversham in Kent) recorded on the 10th of that month.The latest monthly forecast for this August suggests that temperatures will remain above average,a Met Office spokesman said.It could even become the UK's warmest summer on record, he added. "So far, mean temperatures are higher than they were at this point in 2003, the joint-warmest summer on record (together with 1976).

Empty vegetable shelves

Meanwhile experts have warned shops and supermarkets to prepare for vegetable shortages caused by the hot, dry summer.

OEITFL, which represents Europe's fruit and vegetable processing industry, warned that the UK's production of peas and spinach has fallen by some 20%, with cauliflower crops down as much as 30%.,Updated 12.11pm.