RADIO MICROCHIP IMPLANTS EXCITE SOME

1-Small earthquake rattles Athens. 2-Two Earthquakes Shook Albania. 3-More than 800 killed or missing from N.Korea floods. 4-Rain subsides after storm swamps El Paso. 5-Floods kill 150 people in Ethiopia. 6-Philippine volcano sends ash skyward. 7-Thousands flee imminent Philippines volcano eruption. 7-Doubts over UN plan to halt fighting. 8-Radio microchip implants excite some, alarm others

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.

Small earthquake rattles Athens Sun Aug 6, 12:18 PM ET

ATHENS, Greece - A small earthquake rattled Athens early Sunday, causing no damage or injuries, authorities said. The magnitude 4.0 quake occurred about eight miles northeast of the capital, according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute said.Earthquakes occur frequently in Greece but rarely close to Athens.In 1999, a magnitude 5.9 quake that struck the capital killed 143 people and damaged thousands of buildings.Also Sunday, the Geodynamic Institute said a magnitude 5.3 quake occurred off the coast of southern Albania and jolted the northwest Greek city of Ioannina and nearby island of Corfu. No damages or injuries were reported.

Makfax: Two Earthquakes Shook Albania
6 August 2006 | 17:56 | FOCUS News Agency

Tirana. Two earthquakes shook the southern part of Albania and fortunately there were no victims, the Macedonian Makfax agency reports. The first quake was felt at 7:00 a.m. and was with magnitude of 4.6 on Richter scale.

The epicenter according to the seismological center in Tirana was on 4 km from the town of Saranda. The second tremor with a magnitude of 4.7 on Richter scale was registered at 9:49 a.m. at 6km from Himara in Ionic Sea. There is no info for human loss of lives and for the material damages so far.

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.

More than 800 killed or missing from N.Korea floods Mon Aug 7, 12:51 AM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - More than 800 North Koreans are dead or missing after major rain storms and flooding that damaged homes and farmland, a pro-North newspaper published in Japan reported from Pyongyang on Monday.

Three major storms drenchedNorth Korea in July, washing away crops and raising the possibility of famine in a reclusive country that already battles chronic food shortages.

The Choson Sinbo said that as of July 17 that 549 people were killed, 295 went missing and 3,043 were injured in the storms.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said last Friday that flooding in the second week of July had killed 151 people and left 29 missing.Heavy rains fell in parts of (North Korea) between July 14 and 16 and caused major damage, Choson Sinbo said in a report posted on its Web site (www.korea-np.co.jp).

The floods affected 28,747 families, 7,500 of which saw their homes destroyed, it said.Nearly 24,000 hectares of farmland were damaged either by flooding or being washed away, the report said. The area is equivalent to about 1.3 percent of the North's arable land, according to data published by the South Korean government.North Korea has said in its official media that the storms left
hundreds dead or missing.

North Korea has turned down aid offers from South Korea's Red Cross to help it cope with flooding, but a North Korean official was quoted as saying last week the country would not refuse help if it came with no strings attached.The U.N.

World Food Program has said the North had declined its offer of help, saying it would deal with the problem on its own.South Korea told the North in talks just preceding the storms that it would withhold food aid until Pyongyang returned to stalled talks on ending its nuclear weapons program.Private groups in the South have been urging the government to restart humanitarian assistance and said they were preparing an aid package for the North.

Rain subsides after storm swamps El Paso By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press Writer Sun Aug 6, 5:30 PM ET

EL PASO, Texas - With only a slight chance of showers in the forecast, recovery and cleanup efforts were under way Sunday as

this desert city slowly dried out from more than a week of flooding storms. More than 15 inches of rain — nearly twice the annual average — has fallen in El Paso since July 27, City Manager Joyce Wilson said.The deluge sent mud and rocks cascading into some parts of the city, destroying as many as 300 homes and causing an estimated $100 million in damage, Wilson said.So far, about half of the damage has been reported on the west side of the city and county, where quickly rising water and rock slides flooded homes and all but washed out some roads last week, Mayor John Cook said.

One flood-related death was reported, when a contractor clearing a flooded road was hit by a tractor-trailer, authorities said.Cook said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assured him an earthen dam that had threatened to burst in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and flood downtown El Paso last week would hold.Engineers have determined that none of the city's drainage systems, dams or reservoirs failed, Wilson said.Three emergency shelters remained open Sunday but officials anticipated closing two by Monday.

State officials have asked President Bush to declare El Paso a disaster area, a necessary step for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to begin providing aid.

I Despite partly sunny skies over El Paso on Sunday, Cook cautioned the flood risk
would continue until at least Thursday, when forecasters expect the chance of rain to finally end.Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol swift water rescue teams and four boats remained in the area and sand bags will continue to be available as a precaution.

Floods kill 150 people in Ethiopia By Tsegaye Tadesse
Sun Aug 6, 1:04 PM ET

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Floods killed about 150 people in eastern Ethiopia when heavy rains caused a river to burst its banks, sending a wall of water into a town that killed most of the victims as they slept, police said on Sunday. Floods from the overflowing Dechatu river hit Dire Dawa town in the middle of Saturday night while residents were sleeping,police inspector Benyam Fikru told Reuters.The death toll has now reached 150.Rescuers from the police and army launched an operation early on Sunday, Benyam said, using bulldozers to dig through the sandy river banks in search of more corpses.We may call off the search as evening approaches and then resume the operation in the morning,he added.Some 220 homes had been destroyed by the floods, Benyam said, and 90 people have been released from hospital after treatment, although four remained there with serious injuries.

Benyam said a store of coffee destined for export was also swept away when the floods hit the town, located in Ethiopia's lowlands, 525 km (326 miles) east of the capital Addis Ababa.The destruction caused to property could run into millions of dollars,the police inspector said. The estimate is being worked out and will be released as soon as possible.Heavy rains in Ethiopia's highlands during the June-August season usually cause rivers in lowland areas to overflow.Last week, government officials said some 15,000 farmers had been rescued from flooded villages and taken to safe areas.

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Philippine volcano sends ash skyward By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 1 minute ago

MANILA, Philippines - A volcano in the Philippines sent six explosions of ash about a half mile into the air Monday, prompting authorities to warn that an eruption appeared imminent and to evacuate tens of thousands of people. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert for the 8,118-foot Mayon volcano to Level 4, the second-highest level. Officials also extended the government's permanent "danger zone" from 4.3 miles to 5 miles on the volcano's southern side.

About 35,000 villagers were being evacuated Monday, and an additional 20,000 people will be moved out if there is a major eruption, said Gov. Fernando Gonzalez of Albay province, about 210 miles southeast of Manila on Luzon island.Classes were immediately suspended in parts of Legaspi city, the provincial capital. Army trucks and government vehicles have been deployed to ferry residents to 34 evacuation centers, officials said.Those evacuated included people who have ventured back to the danger zone to tend crops in the fertile volcanic soil.I survive by tending that farm and I have lived here all my life, said Gerry Losentales, an 87-year-old farmer, as soldiers helped him board an army truck in his village of Mabiniet. I hope the government can help me now.

Lava began flowing from the volcano on July 14 and has been slowly extending down Mayon's slopes. Before the explosions Monday, volcanologists said they had detected 21 low-frequency volcanic earthquakes over the previous 24 hours.

Last week, the government deployed troops to keep sightseers away from the edge of advancing lava. Renato Solidum Jr., head of the volcanology institute, has said the danger could come from a collapse of the lava dome or sudden explosive eruption that could send pyroclastic flows — clouds of superheated gas and ash — racing down the volcano's slopes.Mayon is one of the Philippines' 22 active volcanos. Its most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and buried a town in mud. A 1993 eruption killed 79 people.The Philippines is in the Pacific Ring of Fire,where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common.

Thousands flee imminent Philippines volcano eruption 48 minutes ago

LEGASPI, Philippines (AFP) - Thousands of people were being moved out of their homes in the central Philippines on Monday in the face of the imminent eruption of the rumbling Mayon volcano, officials said. Volcanologists previously said an explosive eruption by Mayon, one of the country's most active volcanoes, could threaten the lives of about 60,000 people.We have to finish this by 12:00 noon (0400 GMT) to avoid incidents. These are orders from the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Center,Legaspi city mayor Noel Rosal said as he supervised the evacuation of 10,500 residents from four villages on Mayon's lower slopes.

The region was rocked early Monday by five successive volcanic blasts within 40 minutes, followed by a fountain of lava from

Mayon's crater, he said on local radio.By mid-morning the peak was covered in a dark cloud of volcanic material rising several kilometers (miles) above the crater.The government's seismology institute on Monday raised a five-step volcano alert over Mayon at the next-highest level of 4, meaning an eruption could occur within days.It began abnormal activity in February, and started emitting small lava flows on July 15.Materials thrown from the crater of the 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) mountain could threaten anyone within an eight-kilometer (five-mile) radius, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in an advisory.

It advised local officials in the central province of Albay to order the evacuation of 28 areas around the mountain, including parts of Legaspi city and the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Ligao, Malilipot, Santo Domingo and Tabaco.Areas just outside of these (villages) should prepare for evacuation in the event explosive eruptions intensify,it said.Mayor Rosal said government vehicles are rounding up residents of the farming hamlets of Mabinit, Bonga, Matanag and Buyuan.We are just waiting for them to gather some of their things before we take them to the major evacuation centers,he said.Evacuations were also underway in the other threatened villages.

The mayor said the mild lava eruption last month gave us ample lead time to prepare the evacuation centers, mostly schools and other government buildings beyond the volcano danger zone.They were stocked with food and sleeping facilities while tap water and electricity connections were provided.Asked if any residents were refusing to leave, Rosal said: Some are reluctant to leave.

Mayon has had 47 eruptions in recorded history, the latest being a mild outpouring of lava in June 2001.The volcano with a near-perfect cone buried the town of Cagsawa in the 19th century, killing an estimated 1,000 people.

Doubts over UN plan to halt fighting

Attempts to bring about an end to the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah fighters based in Lebanon appeared to stall yesterday.

A draft United Nations resolution was rejected by the Lebanese government, which said it was one-sided and failed to consider its own proposals for ending the conflict.Under the Franco-American plan there would be no call for an immediate ceasefire, Israel would be allowed to continue defensive military operations and its soldiers would be allowed to remain in southern Lebanon until an international force is deployed.Government officials in Beirut, said to have the backing of other capitals in the Middle East, argued it would have the effect of legitimising Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon.

The Israeli government is reported to be broadly satisfied with the draft resolution. Meanwhile, a Hizbollah rocket attack on north east Israel yesterday killed 12 people and injured 12 others.According to the Independent, foreign secretary Margaret Beckett is preparing to fly to the UN to press for humanitarian corridors to be established to get aid to the Lebanese.The Guardian reports that
the Iranian government has described Tony Blair and George W Bush as co-defendants in war crimes committed by Israel.

Conservative leader David Cameron has also intervened in the debate to say that elements of Israel's actions have been disproportionate.The Mirror reports on a poll of 221 MPs by the Ceasefire Group. It found 204 of those MPs, including 119 Labour
members, were in favour of an immediate and effective ceasefire.

BELIEVE THE BIBLE WHEN IT SAYS ALL THE WORLDS POPULATION WILL BE CONTROLED BY MICRO CHIP IMPLANTS. DON'T LET THESE WRITERS DECIEVE YOU IN TO BELIEVING AYTHING ELSE, ONLY GOD DOES NOT LIE TO US , MEN DO.

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.

Radio microchip implants excite some, alarm others
By Francine Brevetti - Business Writer

IMPLANTABLE microchips such as the VeriChip (left) store data electronically. The technology is available from Applied Digital Solutions Inc. (VERICHIP CORP.) IN ONE of our stark nightmares of a Big Brother future, everybody on the planet is implanted with a microchip that carries the facts about your identity, medical history, DNA and tracks your movements under the watchful eye of a supreme authority.

Relax. It's not possible. Not the tracking part anyway. A radio frequency identification (RFID) chip merely carries a number. That number can be read by a scanner that leads to a database of information, possibly about you, or in the case of merchandise, information about pricing or other relevant data. The scanner needs to be 3 to 6 inches away from the chip. It cannot track your movements.

This is a huge misconception. It's not GPS (global positioning system). It merely tags you if there's a reader in range,said Will Smith, editor of RFID Update, the industry's daily online bible. RFID chips are becoming more mainstream. They are used to identify animals. They are used by retailers such as Wal-Mart to improve inventory management. But some say the mere existence of technology to implant microchips in humans, even if for voluntary use, bodes ill for the future.

And there already are voluntary uses for implanted chips.

Today, VIP members of the Baja Beach Clubs in Barcelona, Spain, and Rotterdam, Netherlands, can pay for drinks by having management scan a VeriChip Corp. microchip they have voluntarily had implanted in their hands as a distinguishing mark of their
premier level of membership.

In Cincinnati, CityWatcher.com, a video surveillance company, requires its employees to maintain strict security standards. One of the means it offers them as an option is a microchip implanted in their upper right arm, which is read by a scanner when they enter a sensitive area.

Two employees accepted.Scott R. Silverman, chief executive officer of Applied Digital Solutions Inc., whose VeriChip subsidiary sells implantable chips, said in a June interview with Fox News Channel that his company's chip could be used to register foreign workers and their identities at the U.S. border. He had discussed RFID technology with Washington leaders for use in a guest worker program, he also disclosed.

Since the technology cannot track individuals, he was merely suggesting that foreign workers be chipped with their biometric information.

Is this an acceptable use of implantable chips?

The (RFID) industry was horrified,said Smith of RFID Update. We are constantly having to clean up after VeriChip and its sensational application.Three years ago, Silverman also proposed the use of implanted chips as a cashless payment system in
retail outlets.

Imagine going to a checkout counter and waving your hand instead of your credit card. It's an interesting idea no one can steal your identity and you cannot lose it like a card or a wallet. But the idea hasn't gained any traction in the world of commerce in the three years since he floated it.

VeriChip's firstquarter revenue did increase to $6.6 million, from $15,000 in the first quarter of 2005, propelled by two acquisitions, though its loss was $1 million. VeriChip filed a registration statement in December for an initial public offering of shares of its common stock, but has yet to set an IPO date.

Shares of parent company Applied Digital reached a 52week low of $1.40 on July 28.

The United Kingdom's IDTechEx forecast that the global RFID market value will be $2.7 billion in 2006 and will grow to $26.2 billion in the next decade. RFID tags in use currently are estimated at 1.3 billion this year and are expected to grow to 585 billion by 2016, the research company said. However, those implanted in humans are a minuscule amount in comparison.Meanwhile, the government of South Africa is currently researching the implanting of chips in prisoners. Farhad Aghdasi, who oversees the research program, said ethical issues can be overcome as the implants will be done only on those with a criminal record, according to SABC News.The state of Wisconsin recently outlawed the implantation of microchips against a person's will, although there was no obvious move to do so in that state. And Ohio is considering a similar law. Unfortunately, the language of the Ohio proposal assumes chips can track citizens' movements.

Implanted chips have long been used for identifying livestock and pets.

When a dog with an implant gets lost and some nice person finds it and takes it to the vet, the microchip in its neck connects to a centralized database, which ultimately can connect the dog to its owner. A major veterinarian in Thailand has recently complained about that country's unruly pachyderms and has proposed microchipping elephants in Bangkok, according to the IOL online news site.The cow and the dog do not complain.Their owners are grateful. But for people, it's a whole different story.

Fears, beliefs and biases are brought into play.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Privacy Information Center and researchers Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre as well as some Christian fundamentalist groups have been outspoken on the subject.EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg has been quoted saying workplace safety has become increasingly eroded. He complained that there were no laws and regulations surrounding the deployment of chips in humans or in inanimate objects.In the 1980s, you'd take a poly graph test to get a job. In the 1990s, it was drug testing. A little later on, it was reading your email. . . . Is the law going to create any zones of safety?he said on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight.In fact, the VeriChip microchip is encrypted. But as hackers get smarter, it's unclear how long your data will remain inviolate to all but the most crude attempts at intrusion.

The fundamentalist Christian cosmology holds that an Antichrist will rise up to enslave all people who have a mark on the right hand or on the forehead, deriving this belief from the verse Revelations 13:1618.RFID Update editor Smith doesn't see demand for implanted microchips being very great because people are not comfortable with the technology.They (VeriChip) keep coming up with new ideas for products, because they can't find markets that gain any traction because it creeps people out.

The benefits don't outweigh the creepiness factor,Smith said.

Even though RFID technology cannot track us and our movements, Thomas Frey, a futurist with the DaVinci Institute, said that in the future satellites will be hovering to track every individual; and each will have a unique signature that will be scanned by some technology of the future.This technology will be capable of picking out single individuals in crowds and recognizing them by their unique signature,providing there are no privacy barriers.That's a huge if.

Business Writer Francine Brevetti can be reached at fbrevetti@angnewspapers.com or (510) 2086416.