UNION OF EUROPE IN 16TH CENTURY

1-Europe and us swelter as heat wave claims lives. 2-Medical Chip implants studied. 3-10 dead as storms sweep Japan. 4-50,000 without power across Ontario. 5-Storm cuts power to 440,000 in midAtlantic. 6-Peres meets with Eu 's Solano. 7-There was a union in Europe in the 16th century:it collapsed.

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.

Europe and the US swelter as heat wave claims lives

A heat wave has spread across Europe with near-tropical temperatures so far claiming seven lives as people struggle through their daily lives in temperatures reaching 40 degrees.The United States is also recording extremely high temperatures, which has led to the death of six people and a call for residents of New York city to turn off the lights to conserve energy.

In France, it is those in the southeast who are suffering the most, but even temperatures in Paris will soar to 36 degrees by midweek as the heat wave spreads to the north, forecasters said Around a quarter of the France is being affected by the heat and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin today planned a visit to a Paris retirement home to show the measures the government is taking to care for the elderly population, vulnerable in the heat.

An elderly man and woman have already died in the Bordeaux region in the when the heat exacerbated their medical conditions. Temperatures had reached 38 degrees when the 85-year-old man died in hospital, and the woman, 81 at her home.A 53-year-old
labourer in the eastern French town of Macon died overnight of malign hyperthermia after working outside in temperatures of 33 degrees, authorities said.

French authorities are on high alert, all too aware of the criticism they faced after the 2003 European heat wave in which 30,000 people died - half of them in France. There is no reason for disquiet, but we have to be vigilant and the health protection messages have to be constantly repeated, said Health Minister Xavier Bertrand. France’s main electricity provider, EDF asked customers to cut back on electricity consumption and said it had been forced to buy power abroad.These exceptional weather conditions, coupled with a rise in consumption, have led to a deficit in production, EDF said in a statement.Two people died yesterday at Nijmegen in the Netherlands, during the first day of a four-day walk after temperatures rose to more than 30 degrees. According to reports on Dutch television around 300 people fainted and 30 walkers had to be hospitalised.

Temperatures in the Netherlands today are expected to rise to 36 degrees.

Meteorologists in Germany have warned that tomorrow could be the hottest day of the year, when the mercury could reach 38 degrees and July could possibly be their hottest month in a century.Berlin is expected to reach a maximum of 30 degrees today.In Spain, a 44-year-old man died of heat exhaustion at Orense, in the north-western region of Galicia, regional officials said, when he was working outside as temperatures hit 41.5 C. Another man died on Sunday in Murcia, southern Spain. In Spanish cities temperatures were slightly lower than that today, with Madrid expected to reach a maximum of 34 degrees.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

MEDICAL CHIP IMPLANTS STUDIED
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com

Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans to implant patients in that state, who are suffering from chronic diseases, with a microchip containing their medical information, according to wire service reports. The intention is to give emergency room staff immediate access to such data, avoiding both delays in treatment and costly or serious medical errors. The insurer is teaming up with Hackensack University Medical Center in this pilot program, involving about 200 patients with pre-existing chronic conditions.

The microchip is implanted in a patient's right arm above the elbow, and the hope is that doctors may avoid duplicating medical tests, dangerous drug interactions, and bad diagnoses. At this stage, the article notes, the program is voluntary and won't cost the patient any money to participate. The goal is to test this program for two years, before considering expanding it. - ST ,Staff Reports - Free-Market News Network.

LUKE 2125-26
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.

10 people dead as storms sweep Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - At least 10 people died and 13 went missing in Japan on Wednesday as torrential rains swept through a wide swathe of the country, triggering mudslides and floods.More than 60 cm (24 inches) of rain has fallen in the last few days, disrupting rail and road traffic.Weather forecasters warned that the rain could continue and might trigger more mudslides and floods in central and western Japan.Among those affected, at least four died and four others went missing after mudslides struck houses in Okaya, in Nagano prefecture in central Japan, Kyodo news agency said.Also in Okaya, an 80-year-old woman was found dead after her home was crushed by mudslides, a local official said.About 200 troops joined hundreds of rescue workers in searching collapsed houses and swollen rivers for those missing in the region.

A 66-year-old man drowned in an irrigation channel in Yamanashi prefecture in central Japan, a local official said.A 26-year-old man went missing after his car was swept into a river in the central Japanese prefecture of Gifu, Kyodo news agency said.Two people remained unaccounted for after a mudslide buried a house in Kyoto prefecture on Wednesday, Kyodo quoted local officials as saying.(c) Reuters 2006.This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1051042006,Last updated: 19-Jul-06 13:27 BST

REVELATION 16:10-11
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

50,000 still without power across Ontario
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 | 11:28 AM ET ,CBC News

About 50,000 Hydro One customers were still in the dark Wednesday morning, more than a day after violent winds and torrential rains swept through much of the province. That number was down from the 170,000 customers left without electricity immediately
after the storm Monday, which toppled trees and knocked down power lines.

Nearly half of those still without power live in communities across Northern Ontario including the Nipissing, Sudbury and Manitoulin areas, the part of the province hardest hit by the storm.

The largest single pocket of outages is in the Cobden area of eastern Ontario with 9,900 residents.However, thousands of customers in the Newmarket and Orangeville areas were also still without power Wednesday morning.Hydro One called in emergency crews to work through Tuesday night, and had about 1,000 workers responding to calls by Wednesday morning.The extent of the damage is making it difficult to keep up, a spokesman said, citing an example on Manitoulin Island, where 60 trees are down in a two-kilometre stretch.Hydro One said the majority of customers should have power by Thursday, but those in the most remote areas may have to wait until Friday.

Storm cuts power to 440,000 in Mid-Atlantic 35 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A violent cold front packing near-hurricane force winds left more than 440,000 customers in the Mid-Atlantic without power Tuesday night, local power companies said Wednesday. In southeast Pennsylvania, some 365,000 PECO customers lost power Tuesday night, the company said in a release.PECO, a subsidiary of Exelon Corp. of Chicago, said about 283,000 customers were still without service early Wednesday. PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 474,000 natural gas customers in the Philadelphia area.The company said the restoration work would likely be a multi-day effort.The storms also left more than 70,000 customers without power in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, 25,000 out in Westchester County, New York and more than 20,000 out on Long Island, New York. In New Jersey, the utilities still had to restore service to about 30,000 customers.

The same storms passed through the Midwest on Monday, leaving more than 500,000 customers without power in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.Most of the Midwest power companies reported just a few thousand outages remaining Wednesday morning but the hardest hit, Consumers Energy, with more than 315,000 customers affected in Michigan, still had about 60,000 customers without power.Consumers Energy, a subsidiary of CMS Energy, of Jackson, Michigan, expected to restore service to most customers by Thursday afternoon except for the most rural and hardest hit customers who will have to wait another day or so for power.CMS owns and operates more than 14,000 MW of generating capacity in the United States and abroad, markets energy commodities, and distributes electricity (1.8 million) and natural gas (1.6 million) to customers in Michigan.Exelon owns and operates more than 38,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity and natural gas to 5.2 million customers in Illinois and Pennsylvania.

DANIEL 7:23
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(EU) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS,NOW THE EU) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006
VPM Peres Meets with EU European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Solana

Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres Meets with EU European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana Javier Solana,Jill Marie Reinach Office of the Vice Prime Minister 19 July, 2006

Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres met today with European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. At the beginning of the meeting Peres stated, The alternative to the IDF activity is a regime of the forces of darkness in the world. The State of Israel is being attacked and thus must defend herself.The Vice Prime Minister also related to the question of the involvement of international forces in Lebanon and stated, No international force can prevent the existing situation in which the entire area adjacent to the Israeli-Lebanese border, on the Lebanese side, is lined with large explosives and unmarked mines. An international force cannot stop missiles flying in the air. Thus, the Lebanese
Government needs to eject from its midst the terrorist group Hizbollah. Hizbollah is destroying Lebanon and preventing its independence. If the existing 50,000 Lebanese soldiers will not stand up against this, and thus enable 7000 Hizbollah terrorists to rule Lebanon, we will not tolerate such a situation.

Peres continued, Israel is fighting two fronts, which is difficult and painful, but for us, it is a matter of life or death. We are in the midst of a war not of our choosing, as well as a war of no choice. All of Israel is today united behind the Government steps.Peres also stated, Israel is a country that stands firm against terrorism, and we have not requested from any country to send soldiers to defend us. Israel is right, strong and steadfast in its steps.

TRANSEUROPOLITIK: There was a union in Europe in the 16th century. It collapsed Written by Piotr Maciej Kaczynski,Wednesday, 19 July 2006

On July 4, 1569, the Union of Lublin was created. It’s unlikely you have heard of it. Yet this predecessor of the European Union created the most progressive state in Europe.

The EU faces a dead end. Wracked by the problems of the constitution and a
supposed split between Old and New Europe, Europe has to fall back on its shared history. New Europe, too, is a part of this history, and some of its past is more relevant than we might think.

Once upon a time in the East

Once upon a time there was a union in Europe. In the Eastern part of our continent a country more politically advanced than any yet seen in Europe was created. The Republic of Two Nations (Poles and Lithuanians), created by the Union of Lublin in 1569, was a unique societal and political experiment.In an age of continuous religious warfare, the Republic was an oasis of tolerance. Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Jews and Muslims lived together and their rights and duties were only partially dependent on their religion.

The Europe of the 16th and 17th centuries was full of states controlled by absolute monarchs. The Republic was different. Kings were elected by the Sejm (parliament), and followed its decisions in most areas of policy making. Some 10% of the population had electoral powers to choose their members of the Sejm, a democratic mandate unparalleled at the time.

The Republic was based on the principle of limited equality. To be a member of the ruling class (szlachta) meant being a citizen. And the szlachta were numerous. In certain regions up to 20% of inhabitants were members. Poor, rich, Catholic or Protestant, everyone could have been members of the class. They all had the same rights and duties towards the state; they were equal in courts regardless of their importance and wealth. A popular saying was: Szlachcic na zagrodzie równy wojewodzie (a poor nobleman is equal to a governor).Being a member of szlachta was very attractive not only for the inhabitants of the Republic. The noblemen of the Saxony and Russia (the boyars) wanted their countries to join the Republic so they would have the same privileges as the Republic’s szlachta.

A lesson for our time

What eventually killed the Republic’s political experiment was ignorance. As long as the Republic stayed open and inclusive for others, as long as it was based on the principle of equality and tolerance, it was the most admired state in 16th and early 17th century Europe.But as the Republic turned away from the principle of openness, problems started to arise. The Republic’s Parliament operated through consensus – if one member opposed a policy, then the entire session would be lost. Increasing internal fractures hamstrung attempts at political reform. Then, when the Cossacks (today’s Ukrainians) asked to be members of the szlachta, they were refused. This resulted in increased domestic tensions and civil wars.What lessons for today’s Europe?

First, do not ignore the experiences of the new member states. Second, it is a historical fact that a more advanced political project in Europe is possible. Third, this project requires visionaries and leadership. Fourth, this project needs to be open and inclusive. As long as the Union of Lublin was an open project, attractive for others (insiders and outsiders), it lasted and developed. When the Republic turned its back on this principle, it collapsed.Piotr Maciej Kaczynski,Warsaw (Poland)

Co-founder of the European Perspectives Group - Political analyst in the Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw-based think-tank.

Member of the Steering Committee of Babel International, publisher of cafebabel.com. Author of over forty texts published in leading

European newspapers and magazines.This Letter of Europe has been published by © cafebabel.com